Author Topic: ICE Announcement - Terry Amthor RIP  (Read 5262 times)

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Offline NicholasHMCaldwell

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ICE Announcement - Terry Amthor RIP
« on: October 02, 2021, 05:45:55 AM »
To all in the ICE family

It is with the greatest sadness that we must inform you that the incomparable Terry Amthor has died. We extend our most heartfelt condolences to his sister Tamara, his family and his friends.

The cause and circumstances of his death are still under investigation, so we cannot provide any details on this and will defer to his family on what they choose to disclose in due course.

Terry was a founder member of the original ICE and a co-creator of Rolemaster and Spacemaster, writing and contributing to many of its most iconic products, and to some of the most exceptional 1st edition Middle-earth modules. Most of all, he has shaped our imaginations with his masterful Shadow World epic fantasy setting. He continued to develop Kulthea through his own Eidolon Studio company, before joining forces with Guild Companion Publications to create new sourcebooks and adventures bringing ever more of Shadow World to life, and working as our layout guru for most of our other products. 

Author, designer, world builder, and friend, Terry’s genius has enriched our lives for decades. His creations will continue to inspire us all for years to come.

Rest in peace, Terry.

Nicholas, Colin, John and Thom

Dr Nicholas HM Caldwell
Director, Iron Crown Enterprises Ltd
Publisher of Rolemaster, Spacemaster, Shadow World, Cyradon, HARP & HARP SF, and Cyberspace, with products available from www.drivethrurpg.com
Author: Mentalism Companion, GURPS Age of Napoleon, Construct Companion, College of Magics, HARP SF/HARP SF Xtreme

Offline Erondor78

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Re: ICE Announcement - Terry Amthor RIP
« Reply #1 on: October 02, 2021, 07:29:34 AM »
Oh no! Please give my condolences to his family!

We have lost a great one.

 :-[

Offline Hurin

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Re: ICE Announcement - Terry Amthor RIP
« Reply #2 on: October 02, 2021, 11:04:36 AM »
Oh no. What a shock. I am so sorry for Terry and his family. He was always so welcoming in talking to us on the forums, and he's left such a huge legacy. What a hole his loss leaves in our gaming worlds.  :-[ :-[ :-[ :'(
'Last of all, Húrin stood alone. Then he cast aside his shield, and wielded an axe two-handed'. --J.R.R. Tolkien

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Offline Malim

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Re: ICE Announcement - Terry Amthor RIP
« Reply #3 on: October 02, 2021, 01:41:20 PM »
May Eissa greet him well!
Sir Elor Blacke knight of Helyssa, Kytari Fighter lvl 25 (RM2)
Malim Naruum, Yinka Lord Bashkor lvl 27  (RM2)

Offline grodog

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Re: ICE Announcement - Terry Amthor RIP
« Reply #4 on: October 02, 2021, 05:26:32 PM »
That's terrible news :-(

Allan.

Offline pming

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Re: ICE Announcement - Terry Amthor RIP
« Reply #5 on: October 03, 2021, 01:48:45 AM »
:(
RIP, Dear Sir.
Condolences to friends and family.
:(
^_^

"-30C? That's not too cold....now, -52C...THAT's cold."

--Me, said to a visitor to my city.

Offline damage

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Re: ICE Announcement - Terry Amthor RIP
« Reply #6 on: October 03, 2021, 05:36:30 AM »
I am very sad to hear this.

 - David.

Offline Spectre771

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Re: ICE Announcement - Terry Amthor RIP
« Reply #7 on: October 03, 2021, 05:47:31 AM »
My God, that is horrible.  Being able to chat with him publicly and privately was such an honour for me.  I was such a huge fan (as all of us are) and Shadow World gave me decades of enjoyment.  Please pass on to his family our sincerest sympathies.  I wish I had gotten his autograph when I had the opportunity.
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let's all be heroes and run away!

Offline DragonReborn

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Re: ICE Announcement - Terry Amthor RIP
« Reply #8 on: October 03, 2021, 06:48:33 AM »
This is so sad. He created such a wonderful world to explore and it was wonderful to share adventures therein with him as the writer. It was a personal experience. I'm heart broken.
Sebastian Klapdor
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Offline Frabby

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Re: ICE Announcement - Terry Amthor RIP
« Reply #9 on: October 03, 2021, 06:52:44 AM »
R.I.P.
 :(
This is sad news. His work shall live on in unnumbered RPG groups.

Offline jdale

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Re: ICE Announcement - Terry Amthor RIP
« Reply #10 on: October 03, 2021, 10:00:48 PM »
A serious loss for us all. His many years of tireless contributions made the world of Rolemaster -- both within Shadow World and beyond -- a greater place.
System and Line Editor for Rolemaster

Offline GM

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Re: ICE Announcement - Terry Amthor RIP
« Reply #11 on: October 04, 2021, 03:27:25 AM »
Shocking news. A great loss...
RIP Terry :(
"It is said that the future is always born in pain. The history of war is the history of pain. If we are wise, what is born of that pain matures into the promise of a better world, because we learn that we can no longer afford the mistakes of the past."

G'Kar - Babylon 5

Offline Xanxiax

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Re: ICE Announcement - Terry Amthor RIP
« Reply #12 on: October 04, 2021, 06:58:54 PM »
What a tragic loss for Mr Author’s friends and family, and for this community. My condolences to his friends and family who will read this. I read this announcement and it hit me surprisingly hard.

I rediscovered Shadow World during the lockdown. I purchased all the new and revised books on Drivethrurpg and I was impressed by the quality and depth of the new material. I hope that Shadow World will survive, and I hope that we, his fans, will get to see all the great unpublished projects that Mr. Amthor was working on. The art outlasts the artist.

Rest In Peace Mr. Amthor.

Offline OLF, i.e. Olf Le Fol

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Re: ICE Announcement - Terry Amthor RIP
« Reply #13 on: October 06, 2021, 01:31:11 PM »
Oh, my. Such a huge loss and sad day for Rolemaster and all of the franchise's players.
RIP, Terry, and  condolences to your friends and family.
The world was then consumed by darkness, and mankind was devoured alive and cast into hell, led by a jubilant 紗羽. She rejoiced in being able to continue serving the gods, thus perpetuating her travels across worlds to destroy them. She looked at her doll and, remembering their promises, told her: "You see, my dear, we succeeded! We've become legends! We've become villains! We've become witches!" She then laughed with a joyful, childlike laughter, just as she kept doing for all of eternity.

Offline Dittotb

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Re: ICE Announcement - Terry Amthor RIP
« Reply #14 on: October 06, 2021, 07:50:58 PM »
Say it ain't so. His work and his worlds enriched my life in ways I cannot fully explain. Thank you for your great work.
Yet another bottle falls off the shelf.

Offline OLF, i.e. Olf Le Fol

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Re: ICE Announcement - Terry Amthor RIP
« Reply #15 on: October 07, 2021, 12:45:27 PM »
I guess God got hooked to RPGs thanks to Gary Gygax, so now he wants to try Rolemaster!
The world was then consumed by darkness, and mankind was devoured alive and cast into hell, led by a jubilant 紗羽. She rejoiced in being able to continue serving the gods, thus perpetuating her travels across worlds to destroy them. She looked at her doll and, remembering their promises, told her: "You see, my dear, we succeeded! We've become legends! We've become villains! We've become witches!" She then laughed with a joyful, childlike laughter, just as she kept doing for all of eternity.

Offline Bran Mac Cailleach

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Re: ICE Announcement - Terry Amthor RIP
« Reply #16 on: October 10, 2021, 05:04:51 PM »
My condolences to Terry's family, I always enjoyed my interactions with Terry over the decades. He will be missed.

Offline EltonJ

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Re: ICE Announcement - Terry Amthor RIP
« Reply #17 on: October 11, 2021, 09:27:39 AM »
That's terrible news. :-[  That leaves a hole here, and I was planning on getting Shadow World. (PDFs of course).  We've lost the best, and now someone will have to take up the ranks.

Offline Arigon

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Re: ICE Announcement - Terry Amthor RIP
« Reply #18 on: October 11, 2021, 10:41:26 PM »
Well...I finally joined the forums, and horrible news hit me like a slap in the face....

My unsolicited and completely true Eulogy to Terry Kevin Amthor:

 I met Terry many years ago.  I was much younger, but so was he.  I was a fan boy before there were fan boys.... Meeting him meant more to me than when I met Dave Arneson, or Gary Gygax, or even Marc Miller.(I love Traveler almost as well) I am a fan of all those legends. Terry though, he was more.  Probably because I fell particularly in love with Shadow World.

Since that time I have been playing or running Shadow World games since the 1st edition...Geeze....30+/- years ago, and played and GM'ed, writing entire campaigns in Rolemaster, Spacemaster, Cyberspace, DarkSpace, and MERP games for longer.  I never did do HARP, and I skipped GURPS. I had my crits! My fumbles! My Althans and my Tolkien inspired Elves....Heck, I even played in the Hero System for a while, Champions was great, So was Shadowrun, but I could replicate it in I.C.E. products, so I always came back to Rolemaster, and ultimately to Shadow World....time and time again.

My groups have stormed the Dragon Lord's keep, and died to Lorgalis (or joined him to thwart Ondoval!). They have conquered new realms on continents in Shadow World not yet detailed, but always sailed back to Emer or Jaiman.

TKA was/is a legend to those of us who have lived in his imagination for so long. I have entire volumes of materials I have written on my own through the years, and so many of them are based on the marvelous world of Kulthea. 

Terry gifted us that fantasy. Sure I bought every new edition of any Shadow World title as it came out. I stayed with the Second Edition of Rolemaster, and Space Master, but I was eager for the vision of a new Shadow World title, or a remaster, or a new edition.

I was eager to alter my own game world based on his updates.  It was crazy. It was fun. It is a passion.  Damn, I will miss that. Through all this, it felt like I knew him much more than a random chance meeting at a 'Con so long ago.

When I worked with DHS/FEMA and was deployed to the very heart of a disaster, when finally I would lay my head down after working 20+ hours a day in Hurricane Katrina for instance, I would pull out my dog eared copy of the Master Atlas, and Jaiman and read/plot in them.  Those two along with the Emer Addendum were always in my backpack. More than fifty deployments to as many disasters over the years. In my sleeping bag or in a hotel, I would read. I would imagine, hell I even dreamed. 

I was a Loremaster with six fingers and violet eyes. I was in my world. My own Shadow World, inspired by Terry's dreams and visions. I did that from the beginning of my career, until I retired. It was and is a part of my life, a part which my wife will never fully understand, but she shakes her head and puts up with me and with Terry's volumes of books.... She is good like that...

To say I am, and have been a fan would be an understatement. I have had three wives, but I have only had one real RPG passion, and Terry, and the rest of you with I.C.E. made that possible. For me though, Terry was the king...

Rest in Peace Terry. I will carry on your dream for my own groups, and in my own dreams.. While I was never fortunate enough to call you my friend in life, you were always an inspiration. 

You will be missed. :'(

Offline Hurin

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Re: ICE Announcement - Terry Amthor RIP
« Reply #19 on: October 11, 2021, 10:51:33 PM »
That's one eulogy that is going to be hard to top!
'Last of all, Húrin stood alone. Then he cast aside his shield, and wielded an axe two-handed'. --J.R.R. Tolkien

'Every party needs at least one insane person.'  --Aspen of the Jade Isle