Jim Ward (game designer)

Ward was one of the players in Gary Gygax's early Greyhawk games as Gygax developed the Dungeons & Dragons game.[2]^:24 The Dungeons & Dragons character Drawmij was named after him; "Drawmij" is simply "Jim Ward" spelled backwards. Rob Kuntz and Ward's Gods, Demi-Gods & Heroes (1976) expanded the original D&D game by introducing gods.[2]^:8 Ward designed Metamorphosis Alpha (1976), which was the first science-fantasy role-playing game, and published as TSR's fourth role-playing game.[2]^:9 Ward co-authored Deities & Demigods (1980) .[2]^:382 In the early 1980s, Ward and Rose Estes formed an education department at TSR, intended to sell classroom modules to teachers.[2]^:14 Ward ran Kuntz's adventure "The Maze of Xaene" as the D&D tournament module at EastCon in 1983, although the module never saw print at TSR.[2]^:240 Ward wrote Greyhawk Adventures (1988), a hardcover volume that presented new rules for the Greyhawk setting.[2]^:19 Ward, with David Cook, Steve Winter, and Mike Breault, co-wrote the adventure scenario that was adapted into the game Pool of Radiance.[3]

In 1989 he was inducted into the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design Hall of Fame.[4] When TSR produced a second edition of AD&D (1989), Ward instituted changes such as removing assassins and half-orcs from the game, explaining in Dragon #154 (February 1990) that "[a]voiding the Angry Mother Syndrome has become a good, basic guideline for all of the designers and editors at TSR, Inc"; Ward printed many upset readers' replies in Dragon #158.[2]^:23 Ward can be glimpsed early in the Dragon Strike tutorial video playing the man who is slapped in the face at the king's party.[5] Ward designed the Spellfire collectible card game.[6] Ward was eventually made the VP for Creative Services, but left TSR over disagreements about how the company's crisis involving book sales in 1996 was handled.[2]^:30

Ward designed the Dragon Ball Z Collectible Card Game.[6] Ward founded the d20 company Fast Forward Entertainment with Timothy Brown, Lester Smith, John Danovich, and Sean Everett.[2]^:351 From 2000 - 2005, he was President of Fast Forward Entertainment, an independent game development company. Ward wrote Sete-Ka's Dream Quest (2006), an adventure gamebook published by Margaret Weis Productions.[2]^:353 He wrote the Halcyon Blithe novel Dragonfrigate Wizard (Tor, 2006), which he considered one of his better and prouder creations.[6] Ward joined Troll Lord Games, writing books such as the Towers of Adventures (2008) boxed set and the Of Gods & Monsters (2009) supplement for Castles & Crusades; Ward also became the editor for Troll Lord's C&C magazine, The Crusader Journal.[2]^:382 Ward also wrote the horror fantasy game Tainted Lands (2009), based on C&C's "SIEGE" system.[2]^:382

In 2010, Ward was diagnosed with a serious neurological disorder that required treatment at the Mayo Clinic. His friend Tim Kask has helped to establish a fund to help Ward offset some of the medical bills.[7]

• Dragonsword of Lankhmar (TSR, 1986), a pair of gamebooks starring Fritz Leiber's Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser characters.
• Pool of Radiance, with Jane Cooper Hong, (TSR, 1989), a Forgotten Realms novel derived from the Pool of Radiance computer game.
• Pools of Darkness, with Anne K. Brown (TSR, 1992), the sequel to Pool of Radiance
• Pool of Twilight, with Anne K. Brown (TSR, 1993), the third book in the Pool series.
• Midshipwizard Halcyon Blithe (Tor Books, 2005).
• Sete-Ka's Dream Quest (Margaret Weis Productions, 2006).
• Dragonfrigate Wizard Halcyon Blithe (Tor Books, 2006).
• Time Twisters Anthology (Daw Books, 2006).
• The Curse of Time (Margaret Weis Productions, 2007).

• Metamorphosis Alpha (TSR, 1976), the first science fiction role-playing game.
• Gods, Demi-Gods & Heroes, with Robert J. Kuntz (TSR, 1976), one of the four rules supplements to the original edition of Dungeons & Dragons.
• Gamma World, with Gary Jaquet (TSR, 1978), the first role-playing game in the post-apocalyptic subgenre.
• Deities & Demigods, with Robert J. Kuntz (TSR, 1980), a core rulebook for the 1st Edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons presenting similar material to that of Gods, Demi-Gods & Heroes. This work introduced a number of now iconic Dungeons & Dragons deities, such as Corellon Larethian, Garl Glittergold, Gruumsh, Moradin, and Yondalla.
• The Mansion of Mad Professor Ludlow (TSR, 1980).[8]
• Greyhawk Adventures (TSR, 1988), a hardcover sourcebook for the World of Greyhawk campaign setting.
• Metamorphosis Alpha 4th Edition (Mudpuppy Games, 2006).
• Towers of Adventure (Troll Lord Games, 2008), a digest box set for the Castles & Crusades game.[9]
• Tainted Lands (Troll Lord Games, 2010), a dark horror themed box set expansion for the Castles & Crusades game.
• Beneath the Dome (Troll Lord Games, 2013), a serial adventure for the Castles & Crusades game.
• Gods and Monsters (Troll Lord Games, 2014), a book on gods and monsters from various mythologies for the Castles & Crusades game.
• 77 Worlds RPG (http://Firesidecreations.com , 2014), a science fiction post apocalyptic role-playing game and campaign setting using the Ward Card System (WCS). The 77 Lost Worlds RPG is part of the Apocalyptic Space series of RPGs.

• Dragon Ball Z Collectible Card Game.
• Westeros GAME OF THRONES Miniatures rules (2007).
• Astrobirdz Concept card game, RPG, board game, coin game, YA novels.
• My Precious Presents card game
• Dragon Lairds board game, created by Ward and Tom Wham, was published in 2008 by Margaret Weis Productions, Ltd.[10]
• In 2008, Ward became the Managing Editor of and a contributor to The Crusader magazine published by Troll Lord Games.[11]