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James M. Ward

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James M. Ward
Born(1951-05-23)May 23, 1951
United States
DiedMarch 18, 2024(2024-03-18) (aged 72)
Occupation
  • Writer
  • game designer
  • author
LanguageEnglish
GenreFantasy, role-playing game
Notable worksDeities & Demigods, Greyhawk Adventures, Pool of Radiance, Metamorphosis Alpha, Gamma World

James Michael Ward[1] (born May 23, 1951[2] - March 18, 2024[3]) is an American game designer and fantasy author who worked for TSR, Inc. for more than 20 years.

Career

Dungeons & Dragons and TSR

Ward was one of the players in Gary Gygax's early Greyhawk games as Gygax developed the Dungeons & Dragons game.[4]: 24  The Dungeons & Dragons character Drawmij was named after him;[citation needed] "Drawmij" is simply "Jim Ward" spelled backwards. Rob Kuntz and Ward's Gods, Demi-Gods & Heroes (1976) expanded the original D&D game by introducing gods.[4]: 8  Ward designed Metamorphosis Alpha (1976), which was the first science-fantasy role-playing game, and published as TSR's fourth role-playing game.[4]: 9  Ward co-authored Deities & Demigods (1980).[4]: 382  In the early 1980s, Ward and Rose Estes formed an education department at TSR, planning to market classroom modules to teachers.[4]: 14  Ward ran Kuntz's adventure "The Maze of Xaene" as the D&D tournament module for the 1983 EastCon convention, although that module was never published by TSR.[4]: 240  Ward wrote Greyhawk Adventures (1988), a hardcover supplement that presented new rules for the Greyhawk setting.[4]: 19  Ward, with David Cook, Steve Winter, and Mike Breault, co-wrote the Ruins of Adventure adventure scenario that was adapted into the game Pool of Radiance.[5]

In 1989 he was inducted into the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design Hall of Fame.[6] When TSR produced a second edition of AD&D (1989), Ward instituted changes such as removing assassins and half-orcs as player character options from the game, explaining this decision in Dragon #154 (February 1990) that "[a]voiding the Angry Mother Syndrome has become a good, basic guideline for all of the designers and editors at TSR, Inc"; Ward printed many upset replies from upset in Dragon #158.[4]: 23  Ward can be glimpsed early in the Dragon Strike tutorial video playing the man who is slapped in the face at the king's party.[7] Ward designed the Spellfire collectible card game.[8] Ward was eventually made the VP for Creative Services, but left TSR because of disagreements with how the company handled its crisis involving book sales in 1996.[4]: 30 

After TSR

Ward designed the Dragon Ball Z Collectible Card Game.[8] Ward was a co-founder of the d20 company Fast Forward Entertainment with Timothy Brown, Lester Smith, John Danovich, and Sean Everett.[4]: 351  From 2000 - 2005, he was President of Fast Forward Entertainment, an independent game development company.[9] Ward wrote Sete-Ka's Dream Quest (2006), an adventure gamebook published by Margaret Weis Productions.[4]: 353  He wrote the Halcyon Blithe novel Dragonfrigate Wizard (Tor, 2006), which he considered one of his better and prouder creations.[8]

Ward joined Troll Lord Games, writing supplements such as the boxed set Towers of Adventures (2008) and the Castles & Crusades supplement Of Gods & Monsters (2009); Ward was also made the editor for their Castles & Crusades magazine, The Crusader Journal.[4]: 382  Ward also wrote the horror fantasy game Tainted Lands (2009), based on the "SIEGE" system from Castles & Crusades.[4]: 382 

Ward wrote for Gygax Magazine beginning in 2013,[10] including a new Metamorphosis Alpha adventure "They All Died at the International Space Station,"[11] which was also released as a standalone product.[12] Ward was co-author of GiantLands by Wonderfilled, which was announced on Kickstarter in 2019 and shipped in 2022.[13][14][15]

Personal life

James Ward married his wife Janean in the early 1970s, and they have three sons together, Breck, James, and Theon.[8]

In 2010, Ward was diagnosed with a serious neurological disorder that required treatment at the Mayo Clinic. His friend Tim Kask has helped to establish a fund to help Ward offset some of the medical bills.[16] On March 18, 2024, EN World reported that Mr. Ward had passed away.[3]

Selected works

Fiction

Role-playing games

Television

Other

  • Dragon Ball Z Collectible Card Game.
  • Westeros GAME OF THRONES Miniatures rules (2007).
  • Astrobirdz Concept card game, RPG, board game, coin game, YA novels.
  • My Precious Presents card game
  • Dragon Lairds board game, created by Ward and Tom Wham, was published in 2008 by Margaret Weis Productions, Ltd.[19]
  • In 2008, Ward became the Managing Editor of and a contributor to The Crusader magazine published by Troll Lord Games.[20]

References

  1. ^ James M. Ward at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database.
  2. ^ "Jim Ward". Eldritchent.com. Archived from the original on December 28, 2016. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
  3. ^ a b "D&D Luminary Jim 'Drawmij' Ward Passes".
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Shannon Appelcline (2011). Designers & Dragons. Mongoose Publishing. ISBN 978-1-907702-58-7.
  5. ^ The Dragon editors (September 1989). "The Envelope, Please!". Dragon (149): 20–21. {{cite journal}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  6. ^ "The 1989 Origins Awards". The Game Manufacturers Association. Archived from the original on December 16, 2012.
  7. ^ Moore, Roger E. (October 1993). "Editorial". Dragon (#198). Lake Geneva, Wisconsin: TSR, Inc.: 14.
  8. ^ a b c d Ward, James M. (2007). "The Great Khan Game". In Lowder, James (ed.). Hobby Games: The 100 Best. Green Ronin Publishing. pp. 138–141. ISBN 978-1-932442-96-0.
  9. ^ "Fast Forward Info". Fast Forward Games. Archived from the original on April 7, 2002. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
  10. ^ Hinojosa, David (April 22, 2013). "Dragon Magazine Resurrected: A Review of 'Gygax Magazine' #1". The Gaming Gang. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
  11. ^ "Gygax magazine #3". Solarian. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
  12. ^ "Metamorphosis Alpha Archive". www.tsrarchive.com. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
  13. ^ Wincen, Kim (November 6, 2022). "GiantLands – The Beginning". A gentleman with opinions. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
  14. ^ "Giantlands (Limited Edition) - RPG from Wonderfilled". Noble Knight Games. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
  15. ^ Tenkar, Eric (February 1, 2022). "Giantlands - Reviewish - Book 1, Part 1 - Damn It Tenkar, Where Are the Rules?". Tenkar's Tavern. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
  16. ^ Friends of Starship Warden: "the James M. Ward Relief Fund". Archived from the original on November 25, 2010.
  17. ^ "Dragon Magazine #42" (PDF). Dragon.
  18. ^ Ward, James M. (August 2008). Towers of Adventure. ISBN 978-1-929474-19-6.
  19. ^ Ward, James M.; Wham, Tom (2008). Dragon Lairds. ISBN 978-1-931567-60-2.
  20. ^ "The Crusader". The Crusader. 4 (8). Troll Lord Games. March 2008.
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