D&D General D&D Luminary Jim 'Drawmij' Ward Passes

James M. Ward, writer of Metamorphosis Alpha, co-writer of Deities & Demigods, author of Greyhawk Adventures, and veteran of TSR, has passed away at the age of 72.

Ward was one of the first players in Gary Gygax's early Dungeon & Dragons games in the 1970s--the wizard Drawmij is 'Jim Ward' spelt backwards--and worked for TSR until the mid-1990s. He co-founded Fast Forward Entertainment in the early 2000s. Ward also worked with Troll Lord Games for several supplements.

Jim wrote a column right here at EN World, dealing into various aspects of D&D's genesis and development, and the early days of TSR in the 1970s and 1980s. Amongst the many things he shared with us is a wonderful article where he introduced himself (as if he needed to!) to EN World. I can't think of a better person to summarise Jim's career than the man himself.

Our thoughts are with his friends and family.

 

[Erdric Dragin]

Heard his politics and issues with inclusivity was crap though. Let's not butter up the accolades here, both the good and bad have to count.

 

[dagger]

Heard his politics and issues with inclusivity was crap though. Let's not butter up the accolades here, both the good and bad have to count.

His accolades speak for themselves.

 

[Upper_Krust]

Heard his politics and issues with inclusivity was crap though. Let's not butter up the accolades here, both the good and bad have to count.

Way to stick a knife in a dead man's back. What a "hero" you are. You should be ashamed.

 

[Umbran]

Heard his politics and issues with inclusivity was crap though. Let's not butter up the accolades here, both the good and bad have to count.

Way to stick a knife in a dead man's back. What a "hero" you are. You should be ashamed.

Mod note:
Those of you who cannot treat the occasion of the death of a fellow human being and gamer with sufficient decorum and grace will be ushered out of the discussion.

 

[EternalDungeonMaster]

When someone passes it is an opportunity to celebrate their life, perhaps in the way that you might hope your life gets celebrated when your time comes. Life is difficult, and we make many turns and choices as we navigate it, some for better and some for worse. There is no point in dwelling on someone's mistakes when they go. A real human being has died who had friends and family and a major, transformative impact on the hobby we all love. Remember that when you're sitting back behind the anonymity of your computer putting your words out into the world.

Peace.

 

[General_Tangent]

Having a few days to reflect on his passing, I think the main thing I'll remember him for is how he tried to get across was how terrible diabetes can be and to try to educate others so as not to fall into the same trap as him.

 

[Mannahnin]

"To the living we owe respect, to the dead we owe only truth."

For the living we maintain decorum. But I will absolutely not criticise any whom he hurt when they choose to express that.

 

[SteveC]

I'm a long-time member of Enworld. Not an important one but someone who's been here a long time. With Jim's passing, I'm seeing some members I used to interact with and enjoy posts from a long time ago who haven't been here for many years posting again. Death brings us back to the places we used to spend time at, doesn't it? I know that some of you knew Jim. I also know that relatives and friends of Jim are likely to see this discussion.

To all of you, I just want to offer my condolences. And beyond that, I want to apologize in some small way, as a member of the community, for what's been said. I only gamed with Jim once, but the games he made were very important to me as I was growing up. He was part of my childhood in the way that an important author can be part of your life. And when I did game with him, his love of the hobby and gaming shone through. We had a lot of laughs in the game.

I know the random comments from someone those of you who knew Jim don't know won't mean much, but I want to apologize for what's been said. And I'm going to get out my old and well-worn copy of Gamma World and read it thinking of Jim.

 

[Electryc]

Heard his politics and issues with inclusivity was crap though. Let's not butter up the accolades here, both the good and bad have to count.

So classy. Keep the trash talk to a minimum.

 

[Umbran]

So classy. Keep the trash talk to a minimum.

Mod Note:
How about you allow the moderators to handle issues, especially when we already did?

In the future, if you see a post that you feel might be breaking the board rules, please report it, rather than get confrontational about it yourself. Thanks.