Merle Rasmussen

Merle Rasmussen will make a brief appearance in Pat Kilbane’s “The Dreams in Gary’s Basement: A Documentary on Gary Gygax.” He previously appeared in Reverend Derek W. White’s documentary, “The Satanic Panic and the Religious Battle for the Imagination.”

In case Merle’s name seems familiar it could be because he and TOP SECRETTM Espionage Role-Playing Game are mentioned in Ben Rigg’s book, “Slaying the Dragon: A Secret History of Dungeons & Dragons.” He is also mentioned in Jon Peterson’s books, “Game Wizards: The Epic Battle for Dungeons & Dragons” and “The Elusive Shift: How Role-Playing Games Forged their Identity.”

When not serving as a footnote in Tabletop Role-Playing Game history, he is researching and writing “Merle’s Worlds,” a sequel to “Rasmussen’s Planetarium.” On March 9, 2022, Frog God Games published his 370-page collection of 20 evergreen, scientific settings (with Adventure Hooks and Campaign Seeds) for use with science fantasy or science fiction role-playing games. You may also see his 1,000-word article about “Rasmussen’s Planetarium” in Issue #5 of “Scientific Barbarian” megazine.

Merle has written and submitted a manuscript based on the Black Plague of Europe with a company known for solo fantasy adventures. He has also written over one hundred 1,000-word building descriptions for Montkelian, a medieval fantasy urban setting, being brought to you by Jared Nielsen’s World of Game Design. Merle is also in negotiations on a fantasy medieval “sandbox” setting.

In case you missed them, Merle is credited with “Rendezvous Oasis (SOL1),” for TOP SECRET: NEW WORLD ORDER(TM) The Espionage Role-Playing Game published by Solarian, LLC, in February 2022. He also wrote STAGECOACH KING: Western Stagecoach Commerce Game published by Kenzer & Company on August 2, 2018.