Early this past week Jim Ward died at the age of 72.
Jim Ward, the man behind Drawmij the Magic-User and other notable NPCs in The World of Greyhawk, was the man that contributed to the following (and more):
- Deities & Demigods
- Greyhawk Adventures
- Pool of Raidiance (novel)
- Gamma World
- Metamorphosis Alpha
By now there's plenty of articles about the man's death; this one will be as good as any of them.
Gary and Dave get the glory, but we forget men like Jim at our peril because they were just as important to building the foundation of the hobby in their own contributions. Jim in particular contributed to the fantastic futuristic adventure side of the hobby with Gamma World and Metamorphis Alpha, a pair of games that would join Traveller as the works making way for successors now dominating that space: Fallout, Wasteland, BattleTech/MechWarrior, etc.
The old guard are leaving us. Archive what they know and did while you can so that knowledge is not lost.
And rest in peace Jim. There's a seat at the table waiting for you.
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