FASA

FASA published such games as BattleTech, Shadowrun, Earthdawn, Crimson Skies, and Vor. Their games didn't have a core underlying set of rules as other publishers sometimes do (such as White Wolf Game Studios' Storyteller system, or Steve Jackson Games' GURPS system.)

Sadly, FASA is no more. They've closed their doors. Earthdawn was sold to Living Room Games a couple years back, and Shadowrun is now owned by WizKids LLC. Let's hope good things continue to come out of those game lines.

According to its founders, it stands for the Freedonian Aeronautics and Space Administration. Properly pronounced the same as NASA. The name comes from the country Freedonia, in the Marx brothers' movie 'duck soup'.

On April 30, 2001, FASA will close it's doors forever. Shadowrun and BattleTech will be sold to Wizkids LLC, a company founded by FASA co-founder Jordan Weisman. And thus comes the end of an era...