Skirmisher Publishing - History

History

Skirmisher Publishing LLC was not incorporated until early 2005, but prior to that had simply been "doing business as" Skirmisher Publishing since mid-2001. According to information posted on the company Website, however, its origins are much older, and date immediately to a miniature wargaming development group founded by Varhola and Weber in the mid-1990s and ultimately to the Munich, Germany-based gaming circle in the early 1980s that included Varhola, McLaughlin, and friends Paul Knorr and George Sieretski (the latter of whom helped develop the "skirmish wargaming" rules from which the company derived its name).

When Skirmisher published its first d20 book, Experts, in 2002, publisher Varhola decided to dedicate it to Dungeons & Dragons creator Gary Gygax and to ask him to write a foreword to the book, believing that such an implicit endorsement would be an auspicious sign for his fledgling venture.

"No reader should be surprised at finding this prefatory piece herein," wrote Gygax in the first paragraph of this foreword. "As the principle one to whom this book is dedicated, there was no conceivable way I could refuse writing a short introduction for it without seeming to be a total ingrate. I mention this merely to point out the clever tactics of the authors, for the same ingenuity is certainly applied to the contents of the work proper." Skirmisher retained the same dedication and foreword in the revised, expanded, and redesigned Experts v.3.5, which it released in 2005.

In 2004, Skirmisher distinguished itself by becoming the first gaming company to publish in its books maps created using digital images of three-dimensional models. Publications featuring this technique include Tests of Skill and Experts v.3.5 (examples of which are available as free downloads on the company Website).