We don’t always realize how much of an impact a person has on our lives. We didn’t realize that so many of the projects we’d loved over the years were touched by this man, and we didn’t realize how many foundations were built on their work. This is a story about one of those people and how they influenced me. Please keep in mind that this is not exhaustive. It was a moment in a man’s life that touched so many lives.
Start from Chapter 1
In 1987, I picked up the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting, the original boxed set of the setting. I didn’t get many adventures in those days, but I jumped on the bandwagon of getting the original Forgotten Realms books. Waterdeep and the North is dense, but it’s very similar to the original boxed game. I enjoyed it, but I was still comfortable with the idea of running the game in a detailed campaign environment.
When Wild Frontier came out, I wondered if I would like it. Deepwater and North have already started to touch on some of these locations, so how much detail do I need? As soon as I started reading this book, I was floored. This information book is great. It’s not just “Nordic, but has a lot more magic.” It’s got weird, wacky things embedded in every corner. Not only does it introduce some very unique material, but there are places where it ties these elements together with locations, plots, and factions mentioned in other Realms source books. It introduces some of the kingdom’s deep history not in a boring way, but in a “Heart of a Failed God” kind of way. There’s a tribe of savages whose patron saint is a brontosaurus! The original Forgotten Realms boxed set hinted at portals connecting the Realms to other worlds, but several adventures were retconned to take place in the Forgotten Realms. country. This sourcebook talks about the nature of the realm and the fact that it touches multiple other worlds, saying “This NPC from the Phoenix Egg adventure is here now…the adventure didn’t take place here, but this is an NPC in the multiverse A place to settle in.”
But I think what really blew me away was the way the information was presented. Yes, we get the same background information/NPC commentary/adventure content format as in the campaign lore book, but this time, our point of view character isn’t Elminster. Of course, they wrote to Elminster to keep him updated, but these were new voices with new perspectives. Our point of view character is that of a sage and his assistants, providing information and banter, and a clear sense that these are not distant experts with many connections to draw from, but people who learn by doing… and getting into trouble.
So not only did it provide great content, and more than just what I wanted more from Realms, it also taught me an important lesson. You can learn about the rhetoric and conventions of the setting, and instead of trying to follow an established template, you can try to iterate in a way that’s consistent with the setting. You can respect the context without being limited by what has or has not yet appeared. By introducing different narrators, the source manual taught me that the key to having fun with this setting is to create your own, using the details as tools and guidelines rather than fitting the game into a rigid formula.
It was there that my love for Realms was solidified, plus my idea of what I wanted my setup to be. I didn’t want the setting to be too close to the historical setting. I wanted to be weird and spectacular. I want Realms to be a place that actively connects multiple other worlds, rather than passively adding elements of Dungeons & Dragons rules into the background. I want the people of the Kingdom to know they live in an amazing place.
And it’s all because of Jenny Jaques.
Long Interrelated Shadows
I was only 15 years old at the time and knew very little about the history of Dungeons & Dragons. I didn’t know that Jennell Jaquays was one of the first third-party developers to contribute to Dungeons & Dragons. She’s an archetype for the era we’re currently living in, where much of what guides our perception of Dungeons & Dragons doesn’t necessarily come from official content released by Dungeons & Dragons’ current owners.
Jennell’s adventure games pioneered the concept of telling stories by introducing elements into dungeons. Rather than just adding collaborative challenges in an interesting sequence, her adventures include story elements that feed back into the navigation methods used by adventurers. In an era when designers didn’t often explain why adventures were set up the way they were, Jaquays was able to convey intent through her descriptions and interconnected elements.
Dark Tower, one of the most popular early Dungeons & Dragons adventure games, was not produced by TSR. When Paizo compiled their list of top adventure games in 2004 for the 30th anniversary of Dungeons and Dragons, The Dark Tower was the only adventure game not made by TSR or Wizards of the Coast. Jaquays’ adventure design creates a legacy of casual complexity and variety, keeping players from feeling overwhelmed. It creates many potential interactions, none of which are “expected,” but none of which break the conceit of the overall adventure.
So obviously, Jaquays’ history of creating detailed and approachable adventure content, and her ability to convey gameplay elements into explanatory use cases must be the end of how much I’ve been influenced by Jaquays’ history, either directly or indirectly, right?
But Wait, There’s More
It took me a long time to realize how much RPG imagery I came across from Jaquays. The first time I saw her work was in the hardcover edition of AD&D Legends and Lore, where she drew the Nehwon myth. I can honestly say that this painting probably ultimately led me to reading Lieber’s Farford and Gray Mouth stories. Dungeon Magazine, Ghostbusters RPG, Spelljammer, Dragon Mountain… It’s impossible for me to list them all, and it’s even hard to find an exact list of Jaki’s art. It’s easy to find out more stuff you don’t know about.
While Jennell Jaquays is a legend in the tabletop RPG industry, that’s not her only legend. It wasn’t until the past few years that I realized that several of my favorite video games were influenced by Jaquays’ work.
- I love Donkey Kong, and the game’s port on Colecovision made me realize that home video games aren’t necessarily synonymous with Atari – jennell Jaquays is part of that team
- The first online multiplayer game that took up a lot of my time was Quake 3: Arena – and Jennell Jaquays was a part of it.
- Quake 3: Arena made me realize that maybe my aging reflexes weren’t the same as when I reached level 78 of Pac-Man or beat Castlevania, and Age of Empires also made me realize I realized how much I appreciate real-time strategy games
I knew that Jenell Jaquays was a trans woman and that she had transitioned between the time I first became aware of her work and the time I became aware of her work in the video game industry, but not until I started following her on social media, I just saw her passion and passion for protecting marginalized groups. The more I learn about Jeanne Jaques, the stronger my respect for her becomes. Jenelle makes an impact because of her gifts with art, words, and code; she makes an impact because of her compassion and humanity.
What Might Happen
A few years ago, Jennell Jaquays created a series of system-neutral RPG supplements called Central Casting. It was a revolutionary game, but it didn’t reflect her current feelings, and in some places it reflected her attitude. is common and wrong. Jaques was working on developing new versions of these resources when she was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre syndrome. I’m sad that not only will we not get to see her work on this updated product, but we won’t get to see her reaction to Goodman Games’ D&D 5e adaptation Dark Tower.
As we look at the many characters who shaped early Dungeons & Dragons, as well as those we’ve lost, it’s easy to focus on those “on the inside.” It’s important to recognize the contributions of Jennell Jaquays, not only because she was an outsider, but because the “inside” of the Dungeons & Dragons community was deeply impacted by her work “on the outside.”
Jennell Jaquays is one of those people who is easily forgotten by history, and I very much wish that wasn’t the case because she is so fundamental to our age and fascination with science fiction and fantasy games. She’s a standout, and I hope she’ll rise to the occasion as more gaming history is made.