D&D General Jennell Jaquays Appreciation

Nikosandros · Jan 9, 2022

darjr said:
Oh please? I dunno if it’s been done but I dint recall.

Add another vote for that...

cbwjm · Jan 9, 2022

I like how positive this thread is. I see too many other threads that just seem to be people sniping at each other but so far, it seems everyone just has positive things to say about her work.

Ralif Redhammer · Jan 10, 2022

I didn't discover The Dungeoneer until much later, but what strikes me is how ahead of its time it feels. You read the articles and could expect them to have been published 5-8 years later in the mid 80s, not the late 70s.

Sacrosanct said:
I am extremely grateful to her for her work in the Dungeoneer, because it set the path for adventure construction. And I love her art. As a bonus, she's a genuine great human being as well.

It sounds like the deluxe compilation from Goodman Games coming out might have a bit of that in it.

Filthy Lucre said:
I've studied her work a lot in pursuit of designing highly engaging and playable dungeons. Has she ever thought about publishing her thoughts on dungeon/map design??

2e represented such an evolutionary jump for my gaming, and that book is no small part of the reason why. It's a book that got me thinking about what it meant to be a DM, what my responsibilities were, and how to be better.

delericho said:
Yep, that book is probably the best "how to DM" guide I've read, and is probably the single best RPG product I own.

darjr · Jan 14, 2022

Loved this by her.

Nikosandros · Jan 14, 2022

I didn't rembet it was by her. I also think it's a great piece.

the Jester · Jan 14, 2022

Reynard said:
We shouldn't fault people for needing to learn, and we should applaud them for doing so.

Yes; I myself only learned not to use deadnames in referring to transitioned people before they transitioned a few months ago, in another thread that discussed Jennell. A lot of the issues around trans identity just don't occur to a lot of us, because until very recently, they've not come up in the public discourse very much at all. Most of us have a lot of learning to do.

RealAlHazred · Jan 14, 2022

Cool, I get to talk about a supplement nobody ever talks about!

One of the supplements Jennell did for JG was the Book of Treasure Maps. You know how the random tables in many games occasionally tell GMs to put a "treasure map" in a trove? What, are you going to just come up with one on the fly? No, it's going to take you time to construct. Rolling that result is an exercise in creating more work for the GM.

So, Jennell made a book with several "treasure maps" in it, each one with a location and encounters pre-built. Need a treasure map? Pick one you like from the table of contents and put it in a previously-unexplored part of your game world. Done.

Later, TSR tried to do the same thing with slick-looking products similar in name and scope, but for my money the scenarios in the original are fantastic, much better than any similar books.

I also appreciate the LARPers / cosplayers getting a photo on the cover.

Ralif Redhammer · Jan 14, 2022

That rawness to Judges Guild is a big part of their charm for me. It also meant that they weren't afraid to get weird. While D&D was shedding the wildness of 70s fantasy, they still embraced it.

Also, yeah, that cover!

Liane the Wayfarer said:
Later, TSR tried to do the same thing with slick-looking products similar in name and scope, but for my money the scenarios in the original are fantastic, much better than any similar books.

I also appreciate the LARPers / cosplayers getting a photo on the cover.

aco175 · Jan 14, 2022

I was watching a review on You Tube about the 5e Rappun Athok from a couple years ago and the reviewer was talking about the maps and said that they have a lot of good 'Jaquaying' going on. Thought about this thread.

darjr · Jan 24, 2022

Jennell shared that her profile photo is a cover for the Dungeon! board game that she made but it wasn’t used because TSR was purchased by WoTC and plans changed.