Mike Nystul created and wrote numerous role-playing game

Role-playing game

A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...

 products in the 1990s. He is best known as the creator of The Whispering Vault

The Whispering Vault

The Whispering Vault is a horror-themed role-playing game originally published in 1993.Characters within The Whispering Vault used to be human, but after a life dedicated to protect humanity against supernatural beings they have been recruited into the ranks of the Stalkers, the main heroes of the...

 role-playing game

Role-playing game

A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...

, which he published through his own company, Pariah Press

Pariah Press

Pariah Press was the company, funded by Mike Nystul, that published the first commercial edition of The Whispering Vault role-playing game....

. He also wrote several products for FASA's

FASA

FASA Corporation was an American publisher of role-playing games, wargames and board games between 1980 and 2001. Originally the name FASA was an acronym for "Freedonian Aeronautics and Space Administration", a joking allusion to the Marx Brothers film Duck Soup. This tongue-in-cheek attitude was...

 Shadowrun

Shadowrun

Shadowrun is a role-playing game set in a near-future fictional universe in which cybernetics, magic and fantasy creatures co-exist. It combines genres of cyberpunk, urban fantasy and crime, with occasional elements of conspiracy fiction, horror, and detective fiction.The original game has spawned...

 line and the Role Aids series published by Mayfair Games

Mayfair Games

Mayfair Games is a publisher of board, card, and roleplaying games. They also license German-style board games and publish them in English throughout the world...

, among other material. He additionally enjoys a unique distinction in the industry for having an official Dungeons & Dragons

Dungeons & Dragons

Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...

spell, Nystul's Magic Aura, named after his real name, rather than that of a character.