Robert N. Charrette

Robert N. Charrette (born 1953) is an award-winning graphic artist, game designer, sculptor and author. Charrette has authored more than a dozen novels. His gaming materials have received many Origins Awards. Charrette was inducted in the Origins Hall of Fame in 2003. His work is known for a clean, realistic style that invokes themes from Feudal Japan and Chanbara films and in particular, historical and fantastic representations of Samurai culture. His early work in game design and miniature sculpting set the tone for depictions of Japanese mythology in American fantasy and science fiction. His 1979 role-playing game Bushido was one of the first role-playing games with a non-Western theme and remained in print for more than three decades. Charrette produced gaming products for Fantasy Games Unlimited, Grenadier Models Inc. and Ral Partha Enterprises, FASA and currently operates Parroom Enterprises, LLC, a boutique miniatures game company.

Charrette grew up in Rhode Island. He earned an interdisciplinary degree in biology and geology at Brown University. He is a lifelong fan of dinosaurs and participates in the La Belle Compagnie, a non-profit dedicated to educating the public about daily life during the Hundred Years War.

Charrette began his career in 1976 as an illustrator for Little Soldier Games. He continued on at the company's successor, Tyr Games, which became Phoenix Games and then Fantasy Games Unlimited in 1980.

Charrette added game design and sculpting to his repertoire. With Paul R. Hume, he co-wrote and illustrated Bushido (1979), Aftermath! (1981) and Daredevils (1982). Charrette co-wrote Spacefarers with Ed Lipsett. By 1979, Charrette had created 25 mm miniatures to accompany Bushido and Fantasy Games Unlimited's Gangster! and Space Opera game worlds. Those initial Japanese-themed figures began a series that he would revise many times. He produced similar Samurai-themed lines for Grenadier Models Inc., Ral Partha Enterprises, Reaper Miniatures and others.

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