Russ Morrissey


Russ Morrissey - also known as Morrus - is a British reporter, game designer, podcaster, author, and owner of EN World. Morrissey founded the ENnie Awards in 2001, which he ran until 2018. He also founded the book publisher EN Publishing, and the tabletop-gaming news website EN World, both of which he runs currently.

Career

EN World and EN Publishing

Morrissey wrote his first tabletop RPG at the age of 14 in 1984. He founded d20reviews.com in 1999, which was renamed EN World, also known as Morrus' Unofficial Tabletop RPG News in 2001, a tabletop RPG news website and community.
In 2001, Morrissey founded the publishing company EN Publishing and has gone on to publish over 300 books under the brand.
In 2014 under EN Publishing, Morrissey wrote and published the W.O.I.N. Roleplaying Game System.
In 2014, he was a judge on the Paizo design competition RPG Superstar.
In February 2017 Morrissey announced that he would be creating the new officially licensed Judge Dredd roleplaying game. This was later crowdfunded on Kickstarter in late 2018 and successfully funded with over 2000 backers. The Judge Dredd & The Worlds of 2000 AD roleplaying game was released immediately after the Kickstarter campaign and uses the W.O.I.N. system developed by Morrissey several years earlier.
In October 2020 Morrissey's company announced the Awfully Cheerful Engine, a comic-book inspired tabletop game. In August of the same year, he announced a project codenamed Level Up, an advanced take on Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition. The game was published in 2021.
In February 2024 Morrissey wrote the article 'The Rise And Fall Of Evil Genius Games' which investigated the sudden resignation of multiple staff members, the lawsuit between EGG and Netflix over the official Rebel Moon tabletop roleplaying game, the use of Web3 technology, and problems with the company's work environment.

The ENnies

Morrissey founded the Gen Con EN World RPG Awards in 2001, which he ran until 2018. The ENnies were created as an annual fan-based award for tabletop role-playing game products, and since 2002 were hosted at Gen Con in Indianapolis, Indiana.

The Perturbed Dragon and Battle of the Bards

In 2012, Morrissey and his brother Darren Morrissey co-wrote a six-part animated cartoon series called The Perturbed Dragon. This comedy series played on the tropes and cliches of tabletop gaming, and culminated in a music competition called Battle of the Bards.

Morrus’ Unofficial Tabletop RPG Talk

In 2018 Morrissey launched a tabletop news and sketch comedy podcast called Morrus’ Unofficial Tabletop RPG Talk, which has run for over 300 episodes. The show is presented by Morrissey and his co-hosts Peter Coffey and Jessica Hancock, and features weekly guests and topics. Morrus' Unofficial Tabletop RPG Talk is currently funded through Patreon. The podcast has include guests such as Keith Baker, Sean K. Reynolds, Jason Bulmahn, Jonathan Tweet, Robert Marriner-Dodds, Owen K.C. Stephens, Dominic McDowall-Thomas, Chris Spivey, Monte Cook, and Ryan Dancey.

The Cauldron

Morrissey's science fiction novel The Siege of Concordant, set in a galaxy called The Cauldron, was released in 2020.

Media mentions

Russ Morrissey has appeared on the following podcasts, radio shows, videos, and articles.
  • Keith Baker: Six Questions: Russell Morrissey
  • Mud & Blood Podcast: Judge Dredd Interview With Russ Morrissey
  • Shane Plays Radio Show: Full Version Of W.O.I.N. RPG Interview With Russ Morrissey
  • Tabletop Babble Podcast: Morrus
  • Farsight Blogger: Russell Morrissey of EN World
  • Shane Plays Radio Show: EN World & The ENnies with Russ Morrissey
  • Shane Plays Radio Show: D&D Gets Classier with Morrus & Peter!
  • Gamers Web: The British Are Coming AGAIN: Judge Dredd and the Worlds of 2000AD Roleplaying Game Interviews and Insights
  • Rand Roll: On Random Generators with Russ Morrissey of EN World
  • Mildra: Interview with Russ Morissey of EN World
  • Design Notes: 10 Questions plus 1! Russ Morrissey
  • The Bedrock Blog: Russ Morrissey Interview: O.L.D. and N.E.W. RPGs
  • RPGnet: Russell Morrissey, What Is Old Is New
  • BJ Geek Nation Podcast: Russ Morrissey with What's Old Is New RPG
  • The Tome Show: New Ranger and Evolution of RPGs Podcast
  • The Smart Party: Judge Dredd and the Worlds of 2000AD
  • Plot Points: Maleficent Mythological Monsters For 5E
  • Shane Plays: Mythological Figures & Maleficent Monsters for 5E
  • Tabletop Babble: Morrus
  • RPG Publisher Spotlight: EN Publishing
  • Bald And Board: 5th Edition
  • Shane Plays Geek Talk: Advanced 5E RPG Sneak Preview
  • Polygon