Loss of a Great GURPS GM

night-hunter · 08-25-2020, 10:46 AM

I must sadly report that Vance W. Terrell, my close friend and one of the best gamers in both GURPS and the former AD&D 3e, died on August 14th. He was 55, and had been diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease, and then apparently was attacked by an extremely rapidly developing cancer. His death was both very sudden and quite unexpected. He brought me into the RPG world back in 1984 under AD&D which he had begun playing soon after it first came out, and we switched to GURPS in 1988 shortly before 3e came out. As both a DM & GM his worlds were creative, entertaining, thought provoking, memorable fun, and never merely hack & slash, although there was sufficient combat. His campaigns ranged from the traditional Sword & Sorcery, through a Modern series based on Peter Saxon's Guardian series (The Killing Bone, Dark Ways of Death, The Haunting of Alan Mais, Vampires of Finistere & The Curse of Rathlaw), a late Victorian age "weird tales", to a far future "space marines rescue mission," and lately a Sword & Sorcery/Aliens mix set on an alternate Yurth. I and my gaming group will miss him greatly.

Andrew Hackard · 08-25-2020, 10:50 AM

I'm very sorry to hear about your GM and your friend. This year has been terrible for so many people.

night-hunter · 08-25-2020, 11:05 AM

Thank you. I agree 2020 has been horrendous.

Say, it isn't that bad! · 08-25-2020, 12:05 PM

You have my sympathy. Losing a friend is never easy.

SimonAce · 08-25-2020, 12:16 PM

My condolences.

Anders · 08-25-2020, 12:24 PM

My condolences. It's hard to lose a friend.

night-hunter · 08-25-2020, 12:54 PM

Thank you all!

Rupert · 08-25-2020, 01:37 PM

My condolences.

Blind Mapmaker · 08-25-2020, 01:55 PM

My dearest condolencs. An early and sudden death is always sad and doubly so in a niche game system of a niche hobby. I hope you'll always be able to cherish the good memories of him (of which you obviously have many).

Maybe having a memorial game session or expressing your feelings through another medium (writing about your favourite adventure or making a map of the campaign) can help you and your fellow players deal?

I lost a friend and fellow player quite early in life and am still sad that we had nearly nothing to help remember the good times - another group he played with even burned his character sheet after they let his character die. I'd love to have a campaign log of those adventures...

Gollum · 08-25-2020, 04:13 PM

My condolences, Night-Hunter. As said by others above, losing a friend is always very hard.

08-25-2020, 10:46 AM	#1
night-hunter Join Date: Feb 2007	Loss of a Great GURPS GM I must sadly report that Vance W. Terrell, my close friend and one of the best gamers in both GURPS and the former AD&D 3e, died on August 14th. He was 55, and had been diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease, and then apparently was attacked by an extremely rapidly developing cancer. His death was both very sudden and quite unexpected. He brought me into the RPG world back in 1984 under AD&D which he had begun playing soon after it first came out, and we switched to GURPS in 1988 shortly before 3e came out. As both a DM & GM his worlds were creative, entertaining, thought provoking, memorable fun, and never merely hack & slash, although there was sufficient combat. His campaigns ranged from the traditional Sword & Sorcery, through a Modern series based on Peter Saxon's Guardian series (The Killing Bone, Dark Ways of Death, The Haunting of Alan Mais, Vampires of Finistere & The Curse of Rathlaw), a late Victorian age "weird tales", to a far future "space marines rescue mission," and lately a Sword & Sorcery/Aliens mix set on an alternate Yurth. I and my gaming group will miss him greatly.

08-25-2020, 10:50 AM	#2
Andrew Hackard *Munchkin* Line Editor Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Austin, TX	Re: Loss of a Great GURPS GM I'm very sorry to hear about your GM and your friend. This year has been terrible for so many people. __________________ Andrew Hackard, *Munchkin* Line Editor If you have a question that isn't getting answered, we have a thread for that. Let people like what they like. Don't be a gamer hater. #PlayMunchkin on social media: Twitter \|\| Facebook \|\| Instagram \|\| YouTube Follow us on Kickstarter: Steve Jackson Games and Warehouse 23

08-25-2020, 11:05 AM	#3
night-hunter Join Date: Feb 2007	Re: Loss of a Great GURPS GM Thank you. I agree 2020 has been horrendous.

08-25-2020, 12:05 PM	#4
Say, it isn't that bad! Join Date: Dec 2013	Re: Loss of a Great GURPS GM You have my sympathy. Losing a friend is never easy. __________________ In which I post about a TL9-10 solar system http://forums.sjgames.com/showthread.php?t=169674 If you don't know why I said something, please ask. Assumptions are the death of courtesy. Disappointed in the behaviour I have too-often encountered here.

08-25-2020, 12:16 PM	#5
SimonAce Join Date: Aug 2004	Re: Loss of a Great GURPS GM My condolences.

08-25-2020, 12:24 PM	#6
Anders Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Gothenburg, Sweden	Re: Loss of a Great GURPS GM My condolences. It's hard to lose a friend. __________________ “When you arise in the morning think of what a privilege it is to be alive, to think, to enjoy, to love ...” Marcus Aurelius

08-25-2020, 12:54 PM	#7
night-hunter Join Date: Feb 2007	Re: Loss of a Great GURPS GM Thank you all!

08-25-2020, 01:37 PM	#8
Rupert Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Wellington, NZ	Re: Loss of a Great GURPS GM My condolences. __________________ Rupert Boleyn "A pessimist is an optimist with a sense of history."

08-25-2020, 01:55 PM	#9
Blind Mapmaker Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Mannheim, Baden	Re: Loss of a Great GURPS GM My dearest condolencs. An early and sudden death is always sad and doubly so in a niche game system of a niche hobby. I hope you'll always be able to cherish the good memories of him (of which you obviously have many). Maybe having a memorial game session or expressing your feelings through another medium (writing about your favourite adventure or making a map of the campaign) can help you and your fellow players deal? I lost a friend and fellow player quite early in life and am still sad that we had nearly nothing to help remember the good times - another group he played with even burned his character sheet after they let his character die. I'd love to have a campaign log of those adventures... __________________ My GURPS and mapmaking blog: The Blind Mapmaker

08-25-2020, 04:13 PM	#10
Gollum Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: France	Re: Loss of a Great GURPS GM My condolences, Night-Hunter. As said by others above, losing a friend is always very hard.