James M. Ward
James M. Ward | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 23, 1951 United States |
| Occupation | Writer, game designer, author |
| Language | English |
| Nationality | American |
| Genre | Fantasy, role-playing game |
| Notable works | Deities & Demigods, Greyhawk Adventures, Pool of Radiance, Metamorphosis Alpha, Gamma World |
James M. Ward (born May 23, 1951),[1] is an American game designer and fantasy author. He worked as a game developer and writer 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.[2]: 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.[2]: 8 Ward designed Metamorphosis Alpha (1976), which was the first science-fantasy role-playing game, and published as TSR's fourth role-playing game.[2]: 9 Ward co-authored Deities & Demigods (1980) .[2]: 382 In the early 1980s, Ward and Rose Estes formed an education department at TSR, intended to sell classroom modules to teachers.[2]: 14 Ward ran Kuntz's adventure "The Maze of Xaene" as the D&D tournament module at EastCon in 1983, although the module never saw print at TSR.[2]: 240 Ward wrote Greyhawk Adventures (1988), a hardcover volume that presented new rules for the Greyhawk setting.[2]: 19 Ward, with David Cook, Steve Winter, and Mike Breault, co-wrote the adventure scenario that was adapted into the game Pool of Radiance.[3]
In 1989 he was inducted into the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design Hall of Fame.[4] When TSR produced a second edition of AD&D (1989), Ward instituted changes such as removing assassins and half-orcs from the game, explaining 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 readers' replies in Dragon #158.[2]: 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.[5] Ward designed the Spellfire collectible card game.[6] Ward was eventually made the VP for Creative Services, but left TSR over disagreements about how the company's crisis involving book sales in 1996 was handled.[2]: 30
After TSR
Ward designed the Dragon Ball Z Collectible Card Game.[6] Ward founded the d20 company Fast Forward Entertainment with Timothy Brown, Lester Smith, John Danovich, and Sean Everett.[2]: 351 From 2000 - 2005, he was President of Fast Forward Entertainment, an independent game development company.[citation needed] Ward wrote Sete-Ka's Dream Quest (2006), an adventure gamebook published by Margaret Weis Productions.[2]: 353 He wrote the Halcyon Blithe novel Dragonfrigate Wizard (Tor, 2006), which he considered one of his better and prouder creations.[6] Ward joined Troll Lord Games, writing books such as the Towers of Adventures (2008) boxed set and the Of Gods & Monsters (2009) supplement for Castles & Crusades; Ward also became the editor for Troll Lord's C&C magazine, The Crusader Journal.[2]: 382 Ward also wrote the horror fantasy game Tainted Lands (2009), based on C&C's "SIEGE" system.[2]: 382
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.[7]
Personal life
James Ward married his wife Janean in the early 1970s, and they have three sons together, Breck, James, and Theon.[6]
Selected works
Fiction
- Dragonsword of Lankhmar (TSR, 1986), a pair of gamebooks starring Fritz Leiber's Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser characters.
- Pool of Radiance, with Jane Cooper Hong, (TSR, 1989), a Forgotten Realms novel derived from the Pool of Radiance computer game.
- Pools of Darkness, with Anne K. Brown (TSR, 1992), the sequel to Pool of Radiance
- Pool of Twilight, with Anne K. Brown (TSR, 1993), the third book in the Pool series.
- Midshipwizard Halcyon Blithe (Tor Books, 2005).
- Sete-Ka's Dream Quest (Margaret Weis Productions, 2006).
- Dragonfrigate Wizard Halcyon Blithe (Tor Books, 2006).
- Time Twisters Anthology (Daw Books, 2006).
- The Curse of Time (Margaret Weis Productions, 2007).
Role-playing games
- Metamorphosis Alpha (TSR, 1976), the first science fiction role-playing game.
- Gods, Demi-Gods & Heroes, with Robert J. Kuntz (TSR, 1976), one of the four rules supplements to the original edition of Dungeons & Dragons.
- Gamma World, with Gary Jaquet (TSR, 1978), the first role-playing game in the post-apocalyptic subgenre.
- Deities & Demigods, with Robert J. Kuntz (TSR, 1980), a core rulebook for the 1st Edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons presenting similar material to that of Gods, Demi-Gods & Heroes. This work introduced a number of now iconic Dungeons & Dragons deities, such as Corellon Larethian, Garl Glittergold, Gruumsh, Moradin, and Yondalla.
- The Mansion of Mad Professor Ludlow (TSR, 1980).[8]
- Greyhawk Adventures (TSR, 1988), a hardcover sourcebook for the World of Greyhawk campaign setting.
- Metamorphosis Alpha 4th Edition (Mudpuppy Games, 2006).
- Towers of Adventure (Troll Lord Games, 2008), a digest box set for the Castles & Crusades game.[9]
- Tainted Lands (Troll Lord Games, 2010), a dark horror themed box set expansion for the Castles & Crusades game.
- Beneath the Dome (Troll Lord Games, 2013), a serial adventure for the Castles & Crusades game.
- Gods and Monsters (Troll Lord Games, 2014), a book on gods and monsters from various mythologies for the Castles & Crusades game.
- 77 Worlds RPG (http://Firesidecreations.com , 2014), a science fiction post apocalyptic role-playing game and campaign setting using the Ward Card System (WCS). The 77 Lost Worlds RPG is part of the Apocalyptic Space series of RPGs.
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.[10]
- In 2008, Ward became the Managing Editor of and a contributor to The Crusader magazine published by Troll Lord Games.[11]
References
- ^ "Jim Ward". Eldritchent.com.
- ^ 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.
- ^ The Dragon editors (September 1989). "The Envelope, Please!". Dragon (149): 20–21.
{{cite journal}}:|author=has generic name (help) - ^ "The 1989 Origins Awards". The Game Manufacturers Association. Archived from the original on 2012-12-16.
- ^ Moore, Roger E. (October 1993). "Editorial". Dragon (#198). Lake Geneva, Wisconsin: TSR, Inc.: 14.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Friends of Starship Warden: "the James M. Ward Relief Fund". Archived from the original on 2010-11-25.
- ^ "Dragon Magazine #42" (PDF). Dragon.
- ^ Ward, James M. (August 2008). Towers of Adventure. ISBN 978-1-929474-19-6.
- ^ Ward, James M.; Wham, Tom (2008). Dragon Lairds. ISBN 978-1-931567-60-2.
- ^ "The Crusader". The Crusader. 4 (8). Troll Lord Games. March 2008.
External links
- James M. Ward at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
- "Games listing at Pen-paper.net". Archived from the original on December 15, 2008. Retrieved January 18, 2009.
- Games listing at Boardgamegeek.com
