I have just learned that Lawrence DiTillio, better known to many of us as Larry DiTillio, passed away yesterday at the age of 79, after a long illness.

DiTillio was a writer for television, the man who wrote the Saturday morning cartoons He-Man & the Masters of the Universe and She-Ra, among other dozens of titles. He also worked on Babylon 5 and a number of other series. In this role, he touched the lives of millions of kids the whole world over.

But to me, and to many others, DiTillio was the game designer of The Masks of Nyarlathotep, the colossal campaign for the Call of Cthulhu roleplaying game. Considered by many the War and Peace of roleplaying, Masks of Nyarlathotep changed the way in which roleplaying campaign were designed. It coupled a complex, non-linear plot with such an incredible amount of historical detail and invention that made the experience of playing it an absolute delight and, in many ways, a life-changing experience.

Larry DiTillio was the man whose story about a dark plot for the downfall of humanity had me and my friends sitting around a table every Saturday afternoon or Thursday night for two years. He did contribute to make us what we are. He will be missed.