Scott Bennie, writer, producer and designer of various video games and tabletop roleplaying games, has died at age 61 due to complications from pneumonia, as confirmed in his report. Facebook page.
While you may not recognize Scott Bennie by name, you probably know some of his work. At Interplay in the 1990s, he served as producer and designer on both volumes of their adaptation of The Lord of the Rings, as well as the strategy simulator Castles and Castles: The Northern Campaign. His other Interplay credits, primarily as a writer, include the Star Trek games Starfleet Academy and Judgment Rites, Castles 2: Siege and Conquest, as well as the original Fallout.
In an interview published in Steemit in 2017, Bennie was humble about his contribution to the classic RPG, saying, “I didn’t have much to do with Fallout. Some maps, some Hub bits, and some system messages. And the Mysterious Stranger Perk. And I named Dogmeat – If anything lasts in my writing career, it will be the name of this dog.”
Bennie’s other video game credits include Descent, Descent to Undermountain, Stonekeep, Champions of Norrath, and the enhanced CD-ROM edition of the original SimCity. He was also a prolific tabletop RPG designer, having written supplements and adventures for Dungeons & Dragons, Champions, Marvel Superheroes, Mutants & Masterminds, and adaptations of The Lord the Rings and World of Warcraft.
In addition to working on the tabletop game Champions – for which he created the Gestalt-Earth setting – Bennie was well known in the community for his MMO version, Champions Online, where he played a superhero named Thundrax. On a praise posted on facebookformer Interplay employee Jesse Heinig, wrote that: “For a lot of people, roleplaying is a chance to try to play, for a while, as someone different, but to Scott, Thundrax felt like ‘What if Scott had superpowers? ‘ He was kind, considerate and ready to help, all qualities Scott carried in spades.”
On Twitter, game developers who worked with Bennie wrote tributes praising her writing, as well as her kindness and intelligence.
The entire Champions and Cryptic family is saddened to hear of the passing of Scott Bennie, aka Thundrax, a longtime designer for the pen and paper Champions game and an avid CO player. Rest in peace Scott, we will miss him so much. pic.twitter.com/wACrE3k3qIMarch 29, 2022
I was saddened to learn that Scott Bennie died today. He was a brilliant writer who worked with us at Interplay on some true classics like Star Trek: Judgment Rites and Starfleet Academy. RIP.https://t.co/fkCSVYDdFIMarch 30, 2022
My friend and former co-worker, game designer Scott Bennie, died of complications from pneumonia. His Champions League work was groundbreaking. I hope he knew the esteem people had for him.March 29, 2022
My dear friend, Robert “Scott” Bennie, passed away from pneumonia. He was a great game designer and writer. I will miss him.March 29, 2022
Scott Bennie was an old friend of mine. A creative genius, we know ourselves as contributors to Rogues Gallery, the fanzine Hero Games. But I’ve admired his work for a long time. He has struggled for decades with health issues and depression. 1/3 https://t.co/oAicElz034March 29, 2022
I woke up to the sad but expected news of Scott Bennie’s death. He was a genius RPG (tabletop and PC) creator, and a friend for nearly 30 years. Life was cruel to his body, but his words flew like his superhero, Thundrax. His Gestalt-Earth, for Champions is still brilliant. 1/March 29, 2022
I am saddened to hear of the passing of my old friend Scott Bennie, who I met through the wonderfully tight-knit community of Hero Games designers in the early 90’s. He was a sharp man, full of cool ideas, and I bumped into him at a convention. it was always the highlight of that week.March 29, 2022
It is my sad duty to inform you – for those who haven’t heard – that great RPG and computer game designer Scott Bennie has flown off to the Next Great Adventure. May Thundrax fly forever! Paladin will miss him… pic.twitter.com/wgnYKn7XxuMarch 29, 2022