James M. Ward, 1951-2024

Jim Ward, designer of the groundbreaking Metamorphosis Alpha, passed away yesterday at the age of 72. His career included many works for TSR and several independent publishers, including Fast Forward Entertainment, Margaret Weis Productions, and Troll Lord Games.

 

Jim was an Original Gangsta in the fledgling roleplaying hobby. His career began at Gary Gygax's table in development games of Greyhawk. He would later collaborate with Rob Kuntz on Gods, Demi-Gods & Heroes, the supplement that introduced gods to the Dungeons & Dragons universe. His 1976 Metamorphosis Alpha, in which players fight for survival on a damaged generation ship, was the fourth RPG published by TSR. He continued to work with the company for 20 years, reaching VP status, before going indie in 1996.

 

He was also known for his work with collectible card games, including the Spellfire, Dragon Ball Z, Tomb Raider, Wheel of Time, and Babylon 5 CCGs. In his copious free time, he was a novelist; he also created book-length programmed adventures.

 

He was well-read and thoughtful and had the hobby's interests at heart. He will be missed.