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When I started running 1st Edition D&D again two years ago (first time in 40 years), I gathered and took an inventory of my 1st Edition material, and then went on a spending spree. Then I went on another. About a year ago, I somehow made a purchase that blew my mind. It’s a mint condition (you read that right) Wilderness Survival Guide by Kim Mohan but signed by James Ward. It was such an unbelievable haul that I had to contact James, before I even received it, to make sure the signature was legit. James verified his signature for me. (I’m sure many of you have even better stories of James, but that’s mine.)

Shortly thereafter, Kim died. Yesterday, the community lost James. I didn’t know James, but he shaped my childhood. Of note, I didn’t study mythology because I played 1st Edition; I played 1st Edition because I was already a mythology buff, and that drew me to the game. You can imagine how much I loved Deities & Demigods when I was a kid. When I returned to D&D after 23 years away, it was for the tail end of 3.5 Edition, and despite that edition’s Deities & Demigods being even less useful than the original, it was still my favorite book. He also wrote the “zeroth” edition D&D sourcebook Gods, Demi-Gods & Heroes (which I never used), and the TTRPG Metamorphosis Alpha (which I played once). That’s just to name a couple.

James is just the latest entry in a long list of TTRPG gaming legends we’ve lost, but as I didn’t know any of them personally, everything they’ve ever meant to me will exist for me as long as I do. No one can take that from me. But last month, I lost yet another family member in a long list of ones that meant a lot to me, so I get that I’m not the one grieving today. There’s a piece missing from each of their family members and friends, and I get the impression James had many. It’s hard to find a picture of the guy by himself. He seems always to be hanging out with someone, shaking hands, etc.

My condolences to all who’ve lost something so significant yesterday.

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