It's being reported that Jim Ward has passed.
Ward contributed so much to the games we love, and he was one of its first players. Ward was one of the players in Gary Gygax's early Greyhawk games as Gygax developed the Dungeons & Dragons game. The Dungeons & Dragons character Drawmij was named after him. "Drawmij" is "Jim Ward" spelled backwards. Ward designed Metamorphosis Alpha, which was the first science-fantasy role-playing game, and published as TSR's fourth role-playing game. Ward co-authored Deities & Demigods. Ward wrote Greyhawk Adventures. Ward, with David Cook, Steve Winter, and Mike Breault, co-wrote the Ruins of Adventure scenario that was adapted into the game Pool of Radiance. In 1989 he was inducted into the
Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design Hall of Fame.
James Ward married his wife Janean in the early 1970s, and they have three sons together, Breck, James, and Theon. In 2010, Ward was diagnosed with a serious neurological disorder that required treatment at the Mayo Clinic. He was 72.
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