News came out last night that former TSR writer and game designer Jim "Drawmij" Ward had passed.
Jim was responsible for some of my favorite books—not just the amazing "Metamorphosis Alpha" and later "Gamma World," but also "Gods, Demigods and Heroes" and "Deities & Demigods," to which I owe a lot of virtual ink here at The Other Side.
Jim was always very nice to chat with. I wanted to make sure I included his point of view on the whole Cthulhu Mythos issue in D&DG when it would come up since there was always so much misinformation about it. He had been sick for a bit, so while last night news was not a shock, it is still a loss.
I got the chance to chat with him a couple of times at the Troll Lords Games booths at various cons. He was always nice. I was disappointed when he began hitching his wagon to Justin LaNasa, but I had assumed he just wanted to make games and saw this as a chance.
Of course, that doesn't matter now. I had been hoping to see him again at Gary Con in a couple of days, even if I knew that chance was very, very slim.
It has been a bad three months for loosing people in this hobby for me. So if there is any advice I can give at this time, if there is someone out there you want to talk with, do it now. Don't wait for "oh we can meet up this summer" or "Oh, I catch them at the next con." No. Do it now.
It's true we often think we have more time than we really do to say what we want to say.
ReplyDeleteI was so sad to hear this news today. I met Jim last year at Gary Con, my first time in attendance. Glad I got to meet him at least once. Though I've been roleplaying for over 30 years, I am relatively new to attending conventions. It's been good to meet the founders of the hobby who are still with us and who have passed on. Alas, we're all getting older, with less sand in our hourglasses with each passing day. Rest in peace, Jim.
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