Sean Patrick Fannon is an American role-playing game designer and writer. He has been working in the gaming industry since 1988, and is best known for his work with the Savage Worlds game system, including his epic fantasy setting, Shaintar, and his conversion of the classic game Rifts. He has also worked as a designer in the video game industry and a consultant in the film industry.[citation needed]
Personal life
Fannon was born on January 4, 1966, in Tennessee. He began playing role-playing games in 1977.[1][2][3] Before becoming a successful game designer, he worked as a deputy sheriff, airline agent, and armored car driver[citation needed]. He attended West Point from 1984 to 1986[citation needed]. He currently lives in Littleton, Colorado.
In 1995, Fannon wrote The Fantasy Roleplaying Gamer's Bible, an introduction to the role-playing hobby, for Prima Entertainment. A second edition of the book was published by Obsidian Studios in 1999.[9] This book has been cited as a good introductory guide to roleplaying games for people that are not roleplayers.[10][11]
Multimedia company IEI's games division 8th Wonder Games hired Fannon in 1996 to target the role-playing games niche.[12]
Fannon was one of the staff to join new company FASA as it was being put together in 2012, with his role in marketing and promotion.[13]: 379
DriveThruRPG
From October 2008 until 2012 Fannon worked as a Marketing and Communications Manager for DriveThruRPG where he managed communications, promotions, marketing, and business development for RPG sites. This included helping to advertise projects like their "Gamers Help Haiti" program,[14] which raised money to donate to Doctors Without Borders during their effort to provide medical support to the people of Haiti following the 2010 Haiti earthquake. This effort raised over $175,000.[15] He also helped DriveThruRPG begin more active support of other charities, leading to them establishing permanent accounts with Hero Initiative, Feeding America, Red Cross, and Doctors Without Borders.[16]
Shaintar
In 2005, Shaintar: Immortal Legends the first book set in Fannon's epic fantasy setting for Pinnacle Entertainment Group's Savage Worlds RPG,[17] was published by Talisman Studios. In 2013, Savage Mojo began publishing the Shaintar line, starting with a successful Kickstarter campaign for Shaintar: Legends Unleashed. Two Shaintar books, Shaintar: Legends Arise and Shaintar: Legends Unleashed, were nominated for Ennie awards in 2014.[18]
Evil Beagle Games
In 2012, Fannon started his own game company, Evil Beagle Games, with Carinn Seabolt, in Huntsville, Alabama.[3] From 2014 to 2017, Ross Watson joined the company as Managing Director.[19] In 2017, Evil Beagle Games became an LLC, with Sean, Bill Keyes, Leonard Pimental, and Michael Surbrook forming the company. In 2020 Evil Beagle LLC was restructured and expanded,[20] and Jennifer Shinefeld was appointed CEO.[21]
Fannon was the Game Designer Guest of Honor at MomoCon 2013,[28] Gaming Guest of Honor for ConGlomeration in 2014,[29] a featured guest at Cleveland ConCoction,[30] the Gaming Guest of Honor for Con on the Cob in 2016,[31] and 2017,[32] a Celebrity Guest for Tacticon in 2017, a guest at Magic City Con,[33] and a special guest at GenghisCon 2018,[34] and at ChupacabraCon 2017.[35]
Fannon was also part of an academic panel discussion at the 2018 Denver Comic Con with Professor James Fielder, Ph.D. of United States Air Force Academy about Social Sciences in Worlds that Never Were: Using Fantasy and Science Fiction Literature in the Classroom.[36]
Allegations of sexual harassment
On May 1st, 2018 Christopher Helton posted an article to ENWorld.org detailing accusations made against Sean Patrick Fannon by both named and anonymous sources. The article detailed allegations including behaviors that made women feel uncomfortable and statements and messages that furthered that sentiment. In light of the accusations, ENWorld advised that Fannon's weekly column would no longer run on the site.[37]
Fannon responded to these allegations by posting on an RPG.net forum on May 2nd, 2018. In his post, Fannon revealed the name of an accuser who had remained anonymous in Helton's article, and cited excerpts from private correspondence with Helton and ENWorld site administrator Morrus. RPG.net moderators redacted these details.[38]
On January 21st, 2019, Engine Publishing posted an online statement advising that due to the allegations from the ENworld article, they would be replacing Fannon's foreword for their RPG book Never Unprepared with a new foreword by Shanna Germain.[39]
Three months later, on 2 May 2019, Jodi Black of Pinnacle Entertainment Group posted on the Pinnacle forums to note that Fannon had stepped down as the brand manager for the Savage Rifts line.[40]
On 4 May 2022, Fannon posted on LinkedIn to announce his retirement from full-time professional game development and publishing, saying that he was pursuing "an excellent new career as a technical writer".[41]
Bibliography
Savage Worlds role-playing books
Savage Worlds
Freedom Squadron
Freedom Squadron Commando's Manual
Freedom Squadron Plans & Operations Manual
Accursed
Accursed: The Guns of Dagerov
Accursed: Ill Omens
Savage Rifts
Savage Rifts: The Tomorrow Legion Player's Guide
Savage Rifts: Game Master's Handbook (Nominated for a 2017 ENnie award for Best Rules.[42][43])
Savage Rifts: Savage Foes of North America
Savage Rifts: Coalition Field Manual
Savage Rifts: Archetypes Set 1
Savage Rifts: Archetypes Set 2
A Fine Solution 1: Welcome to the World
A Fine Solution 2: The Circle of Death
A Fine Solution 3: Triangle Triad
A Fine Solution 4: Unwanted Heroes
A Fine Solution 5: Power Play
Shaintar
Shaintar: Legends Arise (Nominated for a 2014 ENnie award.[18])
Shaintar: Legends Unleashed (Nominated for a 2014 ENnie award.[18])
Shaintar Immortal Legends
Shaintar Atlas
Shaintar Black Lantern Report: Camden
Shaintar Black Lantern Report: Mercenary Companies
Shaintar Black Lantern Report: Origins of the Society
Shaintar: Dwarven Clanhomes
Shaintar Adventure: The Burning Heart
Shaintar Guidebook: Desert Princes
Shaintar Guidebook: Dregordia
Shaintar Guidebook: Eastport
Shaintar Guidebook: Elvish Nation
Shaintar Guidebook: The Freelands
Shaintar Guidebook: Galea
Shaintar Guidebook: Goblinesh
Shaintar Guidebook: Korindia
Shaintar Guidebook: Magic & Cosmology (Vol I)
Shaintar Guidebook: Malakar Dominion
Shaintar Guidebook: Mindoth's Tower
Shaintar Guidebook: Nazatir
Shaintar Guidebook: Olara
Shaintar Guidebook: Prelacy of Camon
Shaintar Guidebook: Serenity
Shaintar Guidebook: Shaya'Nor
Shaintar Guidebook: The Wildlands
Shaintar Anthology: Southern Kingdoms
Bloody Awful
Godstrike Tempest: Shaintar/Suzerain Crossover
Flame Down Below
Other Savage Worlds works
Crossbows, Crafting, and Ka-ZOT!
Day in the Life: Gaming the Downtime
Dungeonlands: Heroes And Servitors
Enascentia: Touch of Flame
Nova Praxis: Savage Worlds edition
Fire in the Darkness
Savagely Useful: Random Magic Items
Other role-playing games
Aaron Allston's Strike Force (revised) (Winner of a 2016 BAMFsie award.[44])
^Lancaster, Kurt (October 1999). Warlocks and Warpdrive: Contemporary Fantasy Entertainments With Interactive and Virtual Environments. McFarland Publishing. pp. 35, 48. ISBN978-0786406340.
^van Vuuren, Gerhardus (2005). Planning a Let's Pretend Game, Games of make-believe: role playing games as devising theatre. Pietermaritzburg.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^Tillett, L Scott. "Firm toying with new video games division", Triangle Business Journal; Raleigh Vol. 12, Iss. 5, (Oct 04, 1996): 4.
