- Source: Russ Morrissey
Russ Morrissey, also known as Morrus is a British reporter, game designer, podcaster, author and owner of EN World. Morrissey founded the ENnie Awards in 2001, which he ran until 2018. He also founded the book publisher EN Publishing, and the tabletop gaming news website EN World, both of which he runs currently.
Career
= EN World and EN Publishing
=Morrissey wrote his first tabletop RPG at the age of 14 in 1984. He founded d20reviews.com in 1999, which was renamed EN World, also known as Morrus' Unofficial Tabletop RPG News in 2001, a tabletop RPG news website and community.
In 2001, Morrissey founded the publishing company EN Publishing and has gone on to publish over 300 books under the brand.
In 2014 under EN Publishing, Morrissey wrote and published the W.O.I.N. Roleplaying Game System (What's O.L.D. IS N.E.W.).
In 2014, he was a judge on the Paizo design competition RPG Superstar.
In February 2017 Morrissey announced that he would be creating the new officially licensed Judge Dredd roleplaying game. This was later crowdfunded on Kickstarter in late 2018 and successfully funded with over 2000 backers. The Judge Dredd & The Worlds of 2000 AD roleplaying game was released immediately after the Kickstarter campaign and uses the W.O.I.N. system developed by Morrissey several years earlier.
In October 2020 Morrissey's company announced the Awfully Cheerful Engine, a comic-book inspired tabletop game. In August of the same year, he announced a project codenamed Level Up, an advanced take on Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition. The game was published in 2021.
In February 2024 Morrissey wrote the article 'The Rise And Fall Of Evil Genius Games' which investigated the sudden resignation of multiple staff members, the lawsuit between EGG and Netflix over the official Rebel Moon tabletop roleplaying game, the use of Web3 technology, and problems with the company's work environment.
= The ENnies
=Morrissey founded the Gen Con EN World RPG Awards (the ENnie Awards) in 2001, which he ran until 2018. The ENnies were created as an annual fan-based award for tabletop role-playing game products, and since 2002 were hosted at Gen Con in Indianapolis, Indiana.
= The Perturbed Dragon and Battle of the Bards
=In 2012, Morrissey and his brother Darren Morrissey co-wrote a six-part animated cartoon series called The Perturbed Dragon. This comedy series played on the tropes and cliches of tabletop gaming, and culminated in a music competition called Battle of the Bards.
= Morrus’ Unofficial Tabletop RPG Talk
=In 2018 Morrissey launched a tabletop news and sketch comedy podcast called Morrus’ Unofficial Tabletop RPG Talk, which has run for over 300 episodes. The show is presented by Morrissey and his co-hosts Peter Coffey and Jessica Hancock, and features weekly guests and topics. Morrus' Unofficial Tabletop RPG Talk is currently funded through Patreon. The podcast has include guests such as Keith Baker (game designer), Sean K. Reynolds, Jason Bulmahn, Jonathan Tweet, Robert Marriner-Dodds, Owen K.C. Stephens, Dominic McDowall-Thomas, Chris Spivey, Monte Cook, and Ryan Dancey.
= The Cauldron
=Morrissey's science fiction novel The Siege of Concordant, set in a galaxy called The Cauldron, was released in 2020.
Bibliography
2000-pr Editor-in-Chief, EN World
2000-pr Publisher, EN Publishing
2001–19 Founder, Gen Con EN World RPG Awards (“ENnies”)
2002 Co-author, Tournaments, Fairs, and Taverns
2002 Co-author, Four-Color to Fantasy
2008 Author, Advanced Rules for Beginners
2008 Co-author, War of the Burning Sky #12: The Beating of the Aquiline Heart
2010 Author, Paragons of the Burning Sky
2011 Author, Space Fight!
2012 Co-writer, The Perturbed Dragon cartoon series
2013 Co-author, Russ Morrissey’s To Slay A Dragon
2015 Co-author, Russ Morrissey’s To Stake A Vampire
2015 Author, Starship Construction Manual
2016 Author, What’s OLD is NEW Starter Kit
2016 Author, N.E.W. The Science Fiction Roleplaying Game
2016 Author, Real Solspace: A Guide to our Stellar Neighbourhood
2016-pr Publisher, EN5ider Magazine
2016–20 Publisher, TRAILseeker Magazine
2017-pr Publisher, EONS Magazine
2017 Author, Universal Upgrades
2017 Author, O.L.D. The Fantasy Heroic Roleplaying Game
2017 Author, Trappist
2017 Author, The Moons of Boria
2017 Co-author, Xenomorphs: The Fall of Somerset Landing
2018–present Co-presenter, Morrus’ Unofficial Tabletop RPG Talk podcast
2018 Co-author, Judge Dredd & The Worlds of 2000 AD
2018 Co-author, Starship Recognition Manual
2018 Co-author, N.O.W. The Modern Action Roleplaying Game
2018 Co-author, Judge Dredd & The Worlds of 2000 AD Quickstart
2018 Co-author, The Dark Decade: From Dust Till Dawn
2018 Author, Galactic Sentience Catalog
2018 Co-author, Spirits of Manhattan
2018 Author, Santiago: A Myth of the Far Future
2019 Author, Simply6: The Fast, Universal RPG
2020 Co-author, SolSpace: The Spartan Gambit
2020 Co-author, Mythological Figures & Maleficent Monsters
2020 Author, The Siege of Concordant
2020 Project Lead, Level Up
2020 Author, Awfully Cheerful Engine
2021 Co-author, Spirits of Manhattan
2021 Co-Lead Design, Adventurer's Guide
2021 Co-Lead Design, Trials & Treasure
2021 Co-Lead Design, Monstrous Menagerie
2022 Co-author, To Save A Kingdom
2023 Co-author, What's OLD is NEW Starter Box
2023 Co-author, Level Up Starter Box
2024 Co-author, Voidrunner's Codex
2024 Co-author, Star Captain's Manual
Media mentions
Russ Morrissey has appeared on the following podcasts, radio shows, videos, and articles.
Keith Baker: Six Questions: Russell Morrissey
Mud & Blood Podcast: Judge Dredd Interview With Russ Morrissey
Shane Plays Radio Show: Full Version Of W.O.I.N. RPG Interview With Russ Morrissey
Tabletop Babble Podcast: Morrus
Farsight Blogger: Russell Morrissey of EN World
Shane Plays Radio Show: EN World & The ENnies with Russ Morrissey
Shane Plays Radio Show: D&D Gets Classier with Morrus & Peter!
Gamers Web: The British Are Coming AGAIN: Judge Dredd and the Worlds of 2000AD Roleplaying Game Interviews and Insights
Rand Roll: On Random Generators with Russ Morrissey of EN World
Mildra: Interview with Russ Morissey of EN World
Design Notes: 10 Questions plus 1! Russ Morrissey
The Bedrock Blog: Russ Morrissey Interview: O.L.D. and N.E.W. RPGs
RPGnet: Russell Morrissey, What Is Old Is New
BJ Geek Nation Podcast: Russ Morrissey with What's Old Is New RPG
The Tome Show: New Ranger and Evolution of RPGs Podcast
The Smart Party: Judge Dredd and the Worlds of 2000AD (Interview with Russ Morrissey)
Plot Points: Maleficent Mythological Monsters For 5E
Shane Plays: Mythological Figures & Maleficent Monsters for 5E
Tabletop Babble: Morrus
RPG Publisher Spotlight: EN Publishing
Bald And Board: 5th Edition
Shane Plays Geek Talk: Advanced 5E RPG Sneak Preview
Polygon