D&D General Industry Veteran Jennell Jaquays Passes

Jennell Jaquays was an important figure in the development of Dungeons & Dragons and the tabletop roleplaying game industry. She passed away today at the age of 68. Known for her work on Dark Tower and Caverns of Thracia, she was a game designer and artist; she was responsible for many RPG covers, including Dragon Mountain. Jennell worked for TSR, Judges Guild, and Chaosium, amongst others, as well as video game companies, working on Quake and Age of Empires, and was also an activist for trans rights, instrumental in bringing about important legislation as creative director for the Transgender Human Rights Institute. Jenny had been suffering from Guillain-Barré syndrome in recent years.

Our condolences go out to Jennell's friends and family. The industry lost a legend today.

 

[sevenbastard]

RIP. Caverns of Thracia is still my favorite megadungeon by far. Here's hoping we're still getting a Goodman Games OAR release of it.

Me too. They announced it back in May of 22. But they might be holding off with the 5.5 release.

https://goodman-games.com/blog/2022/05/26/goodman-games-acquires-caverns-of-thracia/the rights

Currently no PDF/POD option and I don't like to take my 1979 printing out of the storage box. So as much as I would love to run it, hard to do.

 

[Wolfpack48]

I am so sad to hear this. I know she was trying to recover. All best and prayers to her family, friends and many many fans. She was a legend.

 

[William Ronald]

May her memory be for a blessing. May her legacy live on.

 

[Steampunkette]

Her work in gaming will never be forgotten. I hope her work with the Transgender Human Rights Institute will, likewise, be remembered.

Give Leelah a big hug for me, Jennell!

 

[Bob Dunham]

A true pioneer. RIP.

Jaquaying the dungeon is always good advice and The Caverns of Thracia and Dark Tower are forever classics.

She will be missed

She has stated she was uncomfortable with that term, and it has since been changed by the author:

Xandering the Dungeon

I believe that dungeons should always be heavily xandered....Okay, it's true. I'm just making words up now. When it comes to xandering the dungeon, though, what I wanted was a word that coul

thealexandrian.net

 

[GuyBoy]

Such sad news. Jennell was the greatest dungeon designer ever IMO and was a giant of this hobby, but also a wonderful human being and a fantastic leader of transgender rights, as well as basic dignity and kindness. Rest in Peace. Rest in Power.

 

[Arilyn]

I am so sorry to hear this sad news. Jenelle was a pioneer in the RPG industry and will be sorely missed. Condolences to her loved ones.

 

[ArmoredSaint77]

Sadness.

I grew up with Jennell's art on my walls, and later in life became a friend of her daughter, who lives near me. Somewhere, I have pictures of me strapping her daughter into my own armour. I even had some fun conversations with Jennell about gaming over the years.

 

[Kannik]

Her "Campaign Sourcebook and Catacomb Guide" book taught me how to run a game - when I was a teenager growing up in a small town in the Bible Belt with no one else to guide me. Still keep it on my shelf. I wish I'd had the opportunity to thank her in person for helping light the way to a hobby I've enjoyed for decades.

I have the book at home on my shelves and haven't read it in years. Tonight I will do so in her honour. She was a giant in shaping our great hobby and will be missed. Condolences to her loved ones.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

They announced it back in May of 22. But they might be holding off with the 5.5 release.

They're still chugging along on it, last I heard. It's just that Dark Tower is taking them a long time and they have a number of other projects in the works. The pipeline's only so big. I imagine that's why they're going with the relatively easy Grimtooth's for their next OAR, since they've already created digital files using the Grimtooth stuff a few years ago and don't have to do all the work from scratch that they do for Dark Tower (which is getting close) and Thracia.