Clark Peterson and his old friend Bill Webb formed Necromancer Games in the spring of 2000 to publish role-playing materials using the d20 license; on August 10, 2000, the same day Wizards of the Coast was to release the new Player's Handbook at GenCon 33, Peterson and Webb published a free PDF adventure called The Wizard's Amulet just a few minutes after midnight. On September 13, 2000, Necromancer Games announced a partnership with White Wolf in forming their "Sword & Sorcery" imprint. Peterson and Webb produced many of White Wolf's rulebooks, including Creature Collection, Relics & Rituals, The Divine and The Defeated, and Creature Collection II. Peterson ran "Return to the Caverns of Thracia" as a tournament at GenCon XXXV in 2002, after Necromancer Games formed a partnership with Judges Guild to release Judges Guild products. Peterson was initially a big supporter of the GSL for fourth edition D&D when it was announced on April 2008, but by July, after seeing the new license applied, he declared it "a total unmitigated failure". In March 2010, Peterson declared that Necromancer Games was on indefinite hiatus. Peterson has since co-created Legendary Games, focusing on plug-in material for Pathfinder Roleplaying Game adventure paths and sourcebooks.
Peterson attended Washington and Lee University for his undergraduate education and graduated from Loyola Law School. He was admitted to the California Bar in 1994 and the Idaho Bar in 2001. He was a deputy district attorney in Las Vegas. He was a defense attorney at Amendola Doty & Brumley PLLC in Coeur d'Alene. Peterson was selected to fill a vacant judge magistrate's seat in Idaho's First District Court in 2010. Peterson retained his position as magistrate with 81% of the vote in 2012; his first term expired in 2016. In December 2013, two litigants in cases over which Judge Peterson had presided made claims that Peterson's recent financial and marital problems and role-playing hobby distracted him from his duties. Administrative District Judge Lansing Haynes defended Peterson, describing him as "extraordinarily engaged in his work," "a real agile thinker," "a great resource to other judges", and "hard-working" with a "sharp focus". He saw no problem with Peterson posting on message boards during breaks from work. Peterson asserted that his hobby has never delayed a hearing or prevented him from doing work. In response to the concerns, Peterson announced plans to not post during business hours and to use caution in commenting about products. He also deleted his online avatar, Orcus, Lord of the Undead, to focus on his judicial activities. Peterson was the target of protesters prior to his 2016 reelection. Despite this, he won 73% of the vote to retain his position as a magistrate.
