Ken St. Andre

Ken St. Andre
St. Andre (right) at his residence in Phoenix, Arizona, with friend Bernard Assaf (left), 2020
St. Andre (right) at his residence in Phoenix, Arizona, with friend Bernard Assaf (left), 2020
BornKenneth Eugene St. Andre
(1947-04-28) April 28, 1947 (age 77)
Ogden, Utah, U.S.
Nickname"Ken", "Trollgod", "Trollgodfather"
OccupationGame designer, writer
Period1975–present
GenreRole-playing games, fantasy
Spouse
Catherine
(div. 2012)

Literature portal

Kenneth Eugene St. Andre (born April 28, 1947[1]) is an American fantasy game designer and author, best known for creating the fantasy role-playing game, Tunnels & Trolls (T&T), and the computer role-playing game, Wasteland.

In 1975, St. Andre wrote rules for a fantasy role-playing game he called Tunnels & Trolls (T&T) as a rebellion against the recently published Dungeons & Dragons which he felt was heavily dependent on the use of miniatures, with which he had no experience.[2] In the following decades he published several editions of, and adventures for, T&T, including rules and adventures for a monsters-as-heroes variation named Monsters! Monsters! (M!M!).

St. Andre maintained a 40+ year long professional partnership with Rick Loomis, founder of game publisher Flying Buffalo, which published various Tunnels & Trolls editions and products starting in 1975 and until Flying Buffalo's sale in 2021. He continues to write fiction and gaming materials published under the Trollhalla Press Unlimited[3] imprint, for items produced with his game design partner and artist Steve Crompton, and under the Trollgodfather Press imprint, for everything else St. Andre publishes.

St. Andre has been an active member of The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America since 1989. In June 2018, The Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design inducted St. Andre into its Hall of Fame.[4]

Ken St. Andre married once and has two children. He currently lives in Sun City, Arizona.[5]

  1. ^ "Summary Bibliography: Ken St. Andre". The Internet Speculative Fiction Database. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  2. ^ Maliszewski, James (14 May 2012). "An Interview with Ken St. Andre". Grognardia: Musings and Memories from a Lifetime of Roleplaying. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  3. ^ "DriveThruRPG". Trollgodfather Press on DriveThruRPG.com. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  4. ^ "Ken St Andre Inducted in the Orgins [sic] Awards Hall of Fame". Dungeon Master Magazine. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  5. ^ St. Andre, Ken (2007). "Shadowfist". In Lowder, James (ed.). Hobby Games: The 100 Best. Green Ronin Publishing. pp. 269–272. ISBN 978-1-932442-96-0.