My name is Steve Williamson and I am the creator and designer of Ashes of Isar. I have been playing RPGs since 1980 when I played my first game of Dungeons & Dragons. Since then I’ve played many others but always kept coming back to my first love, AD&D.
Ever since I was a kid, I’ve had a love of history, especially the history of World War II. Movies like The Dirty Dozen and The Great Escape and later Saving Private Ryan — and who could forget The Band of Brothers series on HBO! — have always inspired my sense of imagination at how bravery and ingenuity and sacrifice motivated so many incredible individuals to win the war.
I first learned about the Special Operations Executive, or S.O.E., around 2019 and became fascinated by its methods and motivation. From my reading about the S.O.E., the inspiration for a role-playing game based on agents operating behind enemy lines blossomed.
After spending several months at the proverbial drafting table, I created Ashes of Isar, a role-playing game that lets 1-6 players plus a Game Master take on the personas of S.O.E. agents operating behind enemy lines to disrupt the Nazi war machine, and “Set Europe ablaze” as Winston Churchill so eloquently put it.
Although I have written fantasy novels before (see my other site, Ruckerworks.com), this is my first role-playing game. I hope you enjoy it and find enjoyment with the materials, resources and reviews I post on this website.