Skirmisher Publishing

Skirmisher Publishing

Skirmisher Publishing LLC is a Spring Branch, Texas-based publisher of wargames, roleplaying games, and historic reprints. It was founded by author, editor, and game designer Michael J. Varhola and is co-owned by Robert "Mac" McLaughlin, Oliver Cass, and Geoffrey Weber.

About half of Skirmisher's products have been published under the d20 System, a system of game mechanics for role-playing games published in 2000 by Wizards of the Coast that is based on the third edition of Dungeons & Dragons and named after the 20-sided die which is central to the core mechanics of the system.

Skirmisher products created for the d20 system include the books Experts (2002), Warriors (2003), Tests of Skill (2004), Nuisances (2005), and Experts v.3.5 (2005). Artists whose work appears in these books include Brendan Cass, Dragan Ciric, Sharon L. Daugherty, William Hazzard II, Phil "Shade" Kightlinger, and Lissanne Lake -- noted for her numerous Dragon Magazine covers -- and Geoffrey Weber.

Other notable Skirmisher publications include a reprint of the H.G. Wells 1913 wargaming classic Little Wars (2004) — which the company republished in a self-standing form for the first time in 27 years — a reprint of Wells' 1911 work Floor Games (2006), which includes a foreword by game designer James F. Dunnigan, and the 3rd edition of the Cthulhu Live live-action roleplaying game.

The company also has a line of Orc miniatures that it has dubbed the "Orcs of the Triple Death" and which it supports with a series of products that include d20 game statistics and descriptive text.