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.

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.

Re: Loss of a Great GURPS GM
 

Thank you. I agree 2020 has been horrendous.

Re: Loss of a Great GURPS GM
 

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

Re: Loss of a Great GURPS GM
 

My condolences.

Re: Loss of a Great GURPS GM
 

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

Re: Loss of a Great GURPS GM
 

Thank you all!

Re: Loss of a Great GURPS GM
 

My condolences.

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...

Re: Loss of a Great GURPS GM
 

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

Re: Loss of a Great GURPS GM
 

My late father had Parkinson's Disease and was painful to try and talk to him at the end - you simply could not hold a conversation with him as 5 minutes in he'd lose track and you would up going over the same material.

Re: Loss of a Great GURPS GM
 

My condolences as well, may the memories bring you all some peace.

Re: Loss of a Great GURPS GM
 

I obviously never knew him, but I can at least offer my condolences for your loss. As well as my thanks for sharing even a simple version of your history with him, and the hobby we all share.

Re: Loss of a Great GURPS GM
 

May your friend rest in peace, accept my my condolences for your loss.

Re: Loss of a Great GURPS GM
 

I'm sorry that your friend has gone so soon. I'll bet most of us would have enjoyed a chat with him.

Re: Loss of a Great GURPS GM
 

It's the worst, losing a friend – especially a friend who shares one of your passions in life. I went through this with the untimely loss of my friend Mike, also a GURPS GM, in 2013. So I can empathize, deeply, and wish the best to you and everyone else in Vance's life.

Re: Loss of a Great GURPS GM
 

My condolences as well. Losing someone important to you is hard.

Re: Loss of a Great GURPS GM
 

You have my extreme sympathies; he sounds like a wonderful person to have had in your life, and that is too short a season.

Re: Loss of a Great GURPS GM
 

My condolences. Cool that you posted so we can raise a virtual tankard in honor of our cousin in role playing.

RIP Michael Lee Viviano aka Kilmore
 

I wasn't sure if I should post this here, but saw someone else lost a GURPS buddy and posted, so am doing so.

I'm still in shock.

It may be hard to believe that someone I never met in person was one of my best friends, but Michael Lee Viviano aka Kilmore was. He was the GM in our weekly online GURPS game which I played in regularly when I wasn't running it now and then. He helped me with a GURPS book I wrote under contract that's being edited now. I helped build several Wikis with him that featured his campaigns, and added to three of his fictional worlds. I did graphic design for him and he did artwork for me.

In an average week, I spent more time in contact with him that with anyone else I only knew online and with almost anyone else I knew in person, especially during this time of social isolation.

Ironically, he very recently said he was going to be working on a will, not because he was sick, but because it was good to be prepared--and he knew four people who had COVID-19. It was COVID-19 that took him from us.

I miss him very much.

Re: Loss of a Great GURPS GM
 

I'm sorry to hear about your loss. I can relate--I also recently lost a GURPS buddy. (Post is here.)

Re: Loss of a Great GURPS GM
 

I'm deeply sorry to hear about both of your friends passing, they sound like inspirational great people, my condolences.

Re: RIP Michael Lee Viviano aka Kilmore
 

It's not against the rules but I'd rather not have several distinct threads on the same topic, particularly one this personal, so I'm merging them and asking that anyone who has recently departed GURPS-connected friends use this thread rather than starting a new one.

Re: RIP Michael Lee Viviano aka Kilmore
 

I was completely confused for a while and thought I'd accidentally posted in the wrong place--I didn't realize you had moved things.

Honestly, to me two different people dying is two different topics. I wrote obituaries for newspapers, and even if two people died in the same incident, they each got their own obit. But I know here it's not my decision.

Re: Loss of a Great GURPS GM
 

My condolences to you, and your friend's loved ones.

Re: Loss of a Great GURPS GM
 

My condolences on your loss. Loosing a friend is never easy.
Of course a good GM is very rare & loosing both makes it twice as bad.

Re: RIP Michael Lee Viviano aka Kilmore
 

My sympathy for your loss as well.

I lift a mug in toast to his memory.

Re: Loss of a Great GURPS GM
 

Thank you all for your sympathy and condolences. It means a lot to me that the GURPS community is now aware of Vance's contribution to our gaming.

I lift a mug in his memory, and a second as a salute to you all.