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{{Short description|Game author, Tolkien scholar}}

'''John D. Rateliff''' (born December 9, 1958<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Rateliff |first=John D. |year=1990 |title='Beyond the fields we know': the short stories of Lord Dunsany |url=https://epublications.marquette.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1904&context=dissertations_mu |journal=PhD Thesis, Marquette University |pages=5 (Biographical Information)}}</ref>) is an American [[independent scholar]] of [[fantasy literature]] and author of [[roleplaying game]]s. He specializes in the study of the works of [[J. R. R. Tolkien]], particularly his [[Middle-earth]] writings,<ref>{{cite news |last=McManus |first=Kelly |date=November 24, 2007 |title=Getting to the Bottom of the Hobbit's Tale |newspaper=[[The Globe and Mail]] |page=D25}}</ref> and wrote and edited the 2007 book ''[[The History of the Hobbit]]''.

== Early life ==

John D. Rateliff was raised in [[Magnolia, Arkansas]].<ref name="Sacnoth">{{cite web |last=Rateliff |first=John D. |title=John D. Rateliff's Bio in Brief |url=http://www.sacnothscriptorium.com/about/default.html |website=Sacnoth's Scriptorium |access-date=5 December 2022}}</ref> He moved to Wisconsin in 1981 to study Tolkien's manuscripts at [[Marquette University]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Gillespie |first=Mike |date=July 29, 2007 |title=Hot Type: The History of The Hobbit by John D. Rateliff |newspaper=[[Ottawa Citizen]] |page=C3}}</ref> Rateliff is an expert in [[Tolkien studies]],<ref>{{cite journal |last=Anderson |first=Douglas A. |author-link=Douglas A. Anderson |date=2009 |title=John D. Rateliff: A Checklist |journal=[[Tolkien Studies]] |volume=6 |pages=22–26 |doi=10.1353/tks.0.0061 |s2cid=170130503}}</ref> and he earned a Ph.D in 20th-century British literature from Marquette.<ref>{{cite news |date=January 26, 2002 |title=Rings treasures in US library |newspaper=[[The Evening Post (New Zealand)|The Evening Post]] |page=9}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Antlfinger |first=Carrie |date=January 27, 2002 |title=Marquette University Has Tolkien Collection: The University Bought Manuscripts from the British Author |newspaper=[[Wisconsin State Journal]] |page=C6}}</ref>

== Career ==

Rateliff has helped organize several major conferences on Tolkien.<ref name="HG">{{Cite book | contribution=Mythos (about the [[Mythos (card game)|''Mythos'' card game]]) | title=[[Hobby Games: The 100 Best]] | last=Rateliff | first=John D. | editor-last=Lowder | editor-first=James | editor-link=James Lowder | publisher=[[Green Ronin Publishing]] | year=2007 | pages=209–212 | isbn=978-1-932442-96-0}}</ref> He contributed essays to ''[[Tolkien's Legendarium: Essays on The History of Middle-earth]]'' (2000) and to a volume marking the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'', and edited ''[[The History of The Hobbit]]'', containing drafts of Tolkien's ''[[The Hobbit]]'' with extensive commentary.<ref name="HG"/> Having written his dissertation on [[Lord Dunsany]], Rateliff likes to describe his degree as "a Ph.D in fantasy."<ref name="HG"/>

He worked for the game companies [[TSR, Inc.|TSR]], [[Wizards of the Coast]], and [[Hasbro]], contributing to a large number of products in the ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'' line.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.alibris.co.uk/search/books/author/Rateliff,%20John |title=Books by John Rateliff |publisher=[[Alibris]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pen-paper.net/rpgdb.php?op=showcreator&creatorid=387 |title=John D. Rateliff |work=Pen & Paper |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071004082130/http://www.pen-paper.net/rpgdb.php?op=showcreator&creatorid=387|archive-date=4 October 2007}}</ref> In addition he worked as a freelancer for companies including [[Decipher Inc.]], [[Green Ronin]], [[White Wolf Publishing|White Wolf]], [[Guardians of Order]], and [[Chaosium]].<ref name="Sacnoth"/>

Rateliff was the co-editor of the third edition ''D&D'' ''[[Player's Handbook]]'' and ''[[Dungeon Master's Guide]]'' (the original [[d20 System]] game rules), and worked on such titles as ''[[Mark of Amber]]'', ''[[Night Below]]'', ''[[Return to the Tomb of Horrors]]'', the [[Eberron]] [[Eberron Campaign Setting|core rulebook]], and [[Decipher, Inc.|Decipher]]'s ''[[Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game]]''.<ref name="HG"/> He is the author of the adventures ''[[The Standing Stone]]'' and ''[[Return to the Keep on the Borderlands]]'', and co-editor of and contributor to ''d20 Cthulhu''.<ref name="HG"/>

== Publications ==

=== Children's books ===

* ''Egypt (Children of the World)'' (with Valerie Weber and Julie Brown; Gareth Stevens Publishing) (1992)

=== Roleplaying ===

* ''Player's Survival Kit/Book, Adventurer's Log, and Cards'' Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, 2nd Edition (1995)
* ''[[Return to the Keep on the Borderlands]]'' [[Advanced Dungeons & Dragons]] (1999)
* ''[[Reverse Dungeon]]'' Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (2000)
* ''[[Hero Builder's Guidebook]]'' Dungeons & Dragons (co-author) (2000)
* ''[[The Standing Stone]]: An Adventure for 7th-Level Characters'' Dungeons & Dragons Adventure (2001)
* ''[[The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game]]'' Decipher (co-author) (2002)
* ''[[EverQuest]] Player's Handbook'' (2002)
* ''[[Fushigi Yûgi]]: Ultimate Fan Guide #1'' (2002)

=== Studies of works by the Inklings ===

{{see|Inklings|Time travel in The Lord of the Rings}}

* "Early Versions of [[Farmer Giles of Ham]]" in ''Leaves from the Tree: J. R. R. Tolkien's Shorter Fiction'', [[The Tolkien Society]] (1991)
* "Rhetorical Strategies in Charles William's Prose Play" in ''The Rhetoric of Vision: Essays on Charles Williams'' edited by [[Charles A. Huttar]] and Peter J. Schakel (1996)
* "'The Lost Road', 'The Dark Tower', and 'The Notion Club Papers': Tolkien and Lewis's Time Travel Triad" in ''[[Tolkien's Legendarium: Essays on The History of Middle-earth]]'' edited by [[Verlyn Flieger]] and [[Carl F. Hostetter]] (2000)
* ''[[The History of The Hobbit]]'' (2007)<ref>{{cite news |last=Owchar |first=Nick |date=30 December 2007 |title=Middle-earth evolution |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |page=R9}}</ref>

== References ==

{{reflist|30em}}

== External links ==

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20220122104051/http://www.sacnothscriptorium.com/ Official Website]
* {{cite web|url=http://www.tolkien-online.com/john-rateliff-interview.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081223094458/http://www.tolkien-online.com/john-rateliff-interview.html |title=Interview with John Rateliff|url-status=usurped|archive-date=December 23, 2008}}
* {{cite web|url=http://www.montecook.com/cgi-bin/page.cgi?int_dnd30_Rateliff|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090210200448/http://www.montecook.com/cgi-bin/page.cgi?int_dnd30_Rateliff |title=A Talk With John D. Rateliff|archive-date=February 10, 2009}}
* [http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Interviews/John_D._Rateliff_%284-16-07%29 Interview of John D. Rateliff] at [[Tolkien Gateway]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20081230005727/http://radio.nationalreview.com/betweenthecovers/post/?q=M2EyNjkyYjY4ODE1YzM2MTZhNjQxNTA3NzM1NmU5MmE= Audio interview with John D. Rateliff.] [[National Review]].

{{D&D topics}}
{{J. R. R. Tolkien}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rateliff, John D.}}
[[Category:1958 births]]
[[Category:Dungeons & Dragons game designers]]
[[Category:Independent scholars]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Marquette University alumni]]
[[Category:The Tolkien Society members]]
[[Category:Tolkien scholars]]
[[Category:Tolkien Society Award winners]]
[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]

John D. Rateliff - Revision history

imported>Chiswick Chap: archive