John D. Rateliff (born December 9, 1958[1]) is an American independent scholar of fantasy literature and author of roleplaying games.
He specializes in the study of the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, particularly his Middle-earth writings,[2] and wrote and edited the 2007 book The History of the Hobbit.
"[8] He worked for the game companies TSR, Wizards of the Coast, and Hasbro, contributing to a large number of products in the Dungeons & Dragons line.
[9][10] In addition he worked as a freelancer for companies including Decipher Inc., Green Ronin, White Wolf, Guardians of Order, and Chaosium.
[3] 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 core rulebook, and Decipher's Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game.