I recently heard that Steven A. Tinner, co-host of the Critical Glitch podcast, gamemaster to the stars, and all-around excellent guy, passed away. So I’m going to talk a little bit about him now.
At Origins Game Fair in 2012, we at Catalyst learned we were going to have the chance to have Felicia Day of Geek and Sundry play a game of Shadowrun. Naturally we wanted her to have as good an experience as possible, so the current conventions coordinator, Steven “Bull” Ratkovich, was tasked with selecting the right gamemaster for the job.
He chose Tinner, and he made an excellent choice. Tinner had been Bull’s gamemaster for a long time, throwing him into the shadows, making life difficult for his characters, occasionally blowing him up, but always making sure all the players had an awesome time.
As a gamemaster, he had all the tools. The rules knowledge, the storytelling ability, the characterization, the enthusiasm—it was all there. Even better, he wanted his players to have fun. Sure, he was tough and would put them through the wringer, but that’s what gave them the stories they talked about years after the games happened. And that’s what happened almost any time you talked to someone who played in a game Tinner ran—they’d tell you a story about the trouble they went into, how fragged up everything got, and how much fun they had.
At conventions, Tinner was one of many great Shadowrun gamemasters who found a way to accommodate any players who came. If people wanted to game, he wanted to make that happen. When he wasn’t running a game, he was an enthusiastic player, throwing himself into his character with energy and glee and daring everyone else at the table to keep up.
Recently, he joined with Tim Patrick to co-host the Critical Glitch podcast covering all things Shadowrun. Listening gives you pure, unfiltered Tinner—smart, opinionated, funny, well informed, and a good interviewer and listener. Quite simply, he had a voice worth listening to.
I knew him through his Shadowrun life, but that wasn’t the only part of his life. He was a family man, active in his faith, and a person of great kindness and compassion. In short, he was the kind of guy we need many more of.
I always look forward to convention season, especially to the chance to walk into the Shadowrun gaming area and see old friends. The fact that Tinner won’t be in that room is a very sad thought; the fact that he will be cackling with glee somewhere as players in that room run into dire situations brings some comfort. I just wish I’d be able to hear it.
Thanks for the laughs, great runs, and good times, Tinner.
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