Jean Rabe is an American journalist, editor, gamer and writer of fantasy and mystery. After a career as a newspaper reporter, she was employed by

TSR, Inc. TSR, Inc. was an American game publishing company, best known as the original publisher of ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D''). Its earliest incarnation, Tactical Studies Rules, was founded in October 1973 by Gary Gygax and Don Kaye. Gygax had bee ...

for several years as head of the Role Playing Game Association and editor of the ''

Polyhedron In geometry, a polyhedron (plural polyhedra or polyhedrons; ) is a three-dimensional shape with flat polygonal faces, straight edges and sharp corners or vertices. A convex polyhedron is the convex hull of finitely many points, not all on th ...

'' magazine. Rabe began a career as a novelist for TSR and

Wizards of the Coast Wizards of the Coast LLC (often referred to as WotC or simply Wizards) is an American publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and List of science fiction themes, science fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail stores for ga ...

, and over the last 30 years has produced over three dozen books and scores of short stories, at first in the genres of game-related

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

and

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

and later as an author of mystery novels. Rabe wrote game accessories and novels for the ''

Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by TSR (company)#Tactical Studies Rules ...

'' fantasy worlds of ''

Greyhawk Greyhawk, also known as the World of Greyhawk, is a fictional world designed as a campaign setting for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy roleplaying game. Although not the first campaign world developed for ''Dungeons & Dragons''—Dave Arneson ...

'', ''

Forgotten Realms ''Forgotten Realms'' is a campaign setting for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') fantasy role-playing game. Commonly referred to by players and game designers alike as "The Realms", it was created by game designer Ed Greenwood around 1967 as a ...

'' and ''

Dragonlance ''Dragonlance'' is a shared universe created by Laura and Tracy Hickman, and expanded by Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis under the direction of TSR, Inc. into a series of fantasy novels. The Hickmans conceived ''Dragonlance'' while driving in t ...

'', and contributed to

West End Games West End Games (WEG) was a company that made Board game, board, Role-playing game, role-playing, and wargaming, war games. It was founded by Daniel Scott Palter in 1974 in New York City, but later moved to Honesdale, Pennsylvania. Its product line ...

' '' Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game'' and

FASA Fasa ( fa, فسا, Fasā, also Romanized as Fassa) is a city and capital of Fasa County, Fars Province, Iran. At the 2016 census, its population was 110,825, in 33,379 families. Fasa is the fourth most populous city of the province. The city date ...

's ''

BattleTech ''BattleTech'' is a wargaming and military science fiction franchise launched by FASA Corporation in 1984, acquired by WizKids in 2001, which was in turn acquired by Topps in 2003; and published since 2007 by Catalyst Game Labs. The tradema ...

'' product lines. She served the

Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, doing business as Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association, commonly known as SFWA ( or ) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization of professional science fiction and fantasy writers. While ...

as business manager and editor of the association's ''SFWA Bulletin'' until 2013. Rabe has become known for collaborations with

Andre Norton Andre Alice Norton (born Alice Mary Norton, February 17, 1912 – March 17, 2005) was an American writer of science fiction and fantasy, who also wrote works of historical and contemporary fiction. She wrote primarily under the pen name ...

and a series of short story anthologies frequently co-edited with

Martin H. Greenberg Martin Harry Greenberg (March 1, 1941 – June 25, 2011) was an American academic and anthologist in many genres, including mysteries and horror, but especially in speculative fiction. In all, he compiled 1,298 anthologies and commissioned ov ...

. Rabe admits she has ghost written a few works, and has co-written fiction and non-fiction works with such diverse writers as

Gene DeWeese Thomas Eugene DeWeese (January 31, 1934 – March 19, 2012) was an American writer of science fiction, best known for his ''Star Trek'' novels. He also wrote Gothic, mystery, and young adult fiction, totalling more than 40 books in his caree ...

Stephen D. Sullivan Stephen D. Sullivan is an American author and artist. Career Sullivan taught a course in ''Dungeons & Dragons'' at MIT the first of its kind in the country. Sullivan worked for TSR as a writer and artist. Sullivan joined CEO John Rickets, Ma ...

Don Bingle Donald J. Bingle (born ) is a Chicago-area attorney and author originally from Naperville, Illinois.McRoberts, Flynn (August 28, 1988). "Fantasies come true: Game fair leads players through a labyrinth of fun", ''Chicago Tribune''. Role-playing ...

, and

F. Lee Bailey Francis Lee Bailey Jr. (June 10, 1933 – June 3, 2021) was an American criminal defense attorney. Bailey's name first came to nationwide attention for his involvement in the second murder trial of Sam Sheppard, a surgeon accused of murdering ...

. She wrote her first "Piper Blackwell mystery" novel in 2018 and has published five books in the series.

Early life

Jean Rabe was born in

Ottawa, Illinois Ottawa is a city located at the confluence of the navigable Illinois River and Fox River in LaSalle County, Illinois, United States. The Illinois River is a conduit for river barges and connects Lake Michigan at Chicago, to the Mississippi Ri ...

, and learned to play games at an early age — checkers, chess, and euchre by the age of 7, and

board wargames A board wargame is a wargame with a set playing surface or board, as opposed to being played on a computer or in a more free-form playing area as in miniatures games. The modern, commercial wargaming hobby (as distinct from military exercises, o ...

in high school. In 1974 she enrolled in journalism at

Northern Illinois University Northern Illinois University (NIU) is a public research university in DeKalb, Illinois. It was founded as Northern Illinois State Normal School on May 22, 1895, by Illinois Governor John P. Altgeld as part of an expansion of the state's system ...

. In her junior year, while attending the inaugural

Windycon Windycon is a science fiction convention held in Lombard, Illinois, on the weekend closest to Veterans Day. ISFiC, the parent corporation that runs Windycon,Pavlac, RossWhat's an ISFiC ISFiC Web Site, retrieved, 2015-11-10 was founded in 1973 in ...

games convention, she was introduced to the fantasy role-playing game ''

'', which had just been published by TSR earlier that year. She subsequently took up the game as a hobby and social activity. She graduated from Northern Illinois with a Bachelor of Science in Journalism.

Journalist

After graduating from university, Rabe worked as a newspaper reporter and bureau chief for the ''

Quincy Herald-Whig Quincy Media, Inc., formerly known as Quincy Newspapers, Inc., was a family-owned media company that originated in the newspapers of Quincy, Illinois. The company's history can be traced back to 1835, when the ''Bounty Land Register'' was one of ...

'' in

Quincy, Illinois Quincy ( ), known as Illinois's "Gem City", is a city in and the county seat of Adams County, Illinois, United States, located on the Mississippi River. The 2020 census counted a population of 39,463 in the city itself, down from 40,633 in 2010. ...

. Rabe joined the ''

Evansville Courier & Press The ''Evansville Courier & Press'' is a daily newspaper based in Evansville, Indiana. It serves about 30,000 daily and 50,000 Sunday readers. History The ''Evansville Courier'' was founded in 1845 by William Newton, a young attorney. Its first ...

'' in

Evansville, Indiana Evansville is a city in, and the county seat of, Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States. The population was 118,414 at the 2020 census, making it the state's third-most populous city after Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, the largest city in ...

in late 1983, covering critical news subjects like labor relations, prison conditions, and groundwater contamination, but frequently writing stories which highlighted her love of animals. Before Christmas 1985, reporter Rabe was dispatched to

Fort Campbell Fort Campbell is a United States Army installation located astride the Kentucky–Tennessee border between Hopkinsville, Kentucky and Clarksville, Tennessee (post address is located in Kentucky). Fort Campbell is home to the 101st Airborne Divi ...

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

to cover President

Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

's visit consoling family members after a tragic crash at

Gander, Newfoundland Gander is a town located in the northeastern part of the island of Newfoundland in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, approximately south of Gander Bay, south of Twillingate and east of Grand Falls-Windsor. Located on the nor ...

took the lives of 256 servicemen and crew. Although others got the front page bylines, the ''Courier & Press'' credited Rabe with essential journalism which significantly affected the coverage. Rabe later worked as a

stringer Stringer may refer to: Structural elements * Stringer (aircraft), or longeron, a strip of wood or metal to which the skin of an aircraft is fastened * Stringer (slag), an inclusion, possibly leading to a defect, in cast metal * Stringer (stairs), ...

for the ''

Rockford Register Star The ''Rockford Register Star'' is the primary daily newspaper of the Rockford, Illinois, metropolitan area. The fifth-highest circulation newspaper in Illinois, the Register Star takes its name from the 1979 merger of two predecessors, the '' ...

''.

Gamer

TSR hired Rabe in 1987 to coordinate the

RPGA The RPGA (also called the Role Playing Game Association and the RPGA Network at various times), was initially part of the organized play arm of TSR, Inc and later of Wizards of the Coast. From 1980 to 2014, it organized and sanctioned role-playing ...

Network. She also used her writing skills to create magazine articles and novels. In addition, Rabe wrote and edited ''

'' and ''

Gamma World ''Gamma World'' is a science fantasy role-playing game, originally designed by James M. Ward and Gary Jaquet, and first published by TSR in 1978. It borrowed heavily from Ward's earlier game, ''Metamorphosis Alpha''. Setting ''Gamma World'' t ...

'' adventure modules (see list below). Rabe became the editor of a

magazine, ''MechForce Quarterly'', in 1995. For

, TSR had Rabe write the next major event for

Krynn ''Dragonlance'' is a shared universe created by Laura and Tracy Hickman, and expanded by Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis under the direction of TSR, Inc. into a series of fantasy novels. The Hickmans conceived ''Dragonlance'' while driving in ...

after '' Dragons of Summer Flame'', which came to be the ''Dragons of a New Age'' trilogy, beginning with ''

The Dawning of a New Age ''The Dawning of a New Age'' is a fantasy novel set in the Dragonlance campaign setting of the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game. The novel was written by Jean Rabe and based on characters and settings from Margaret Weis and Trac ...

'' (1996). When

purchased TSR, they published the rest of Rabe's ''Dragons of a New Age'' trilogy before bringing back

Margaret Weis Margaret Edith Weis (; born March 16, 1948) is an American fantasy and science fiction author, of dozens of novels and short stories. At TSR, Inc., she teamed with Tracy Hickman to create the ''Dragonlance'' role-playing game (RPG) world. She is ...

and

Tracy Hickman Tracy Raye Hickman (born November 26, 1955) is an American fantasy author. He wrote the ''Dragonlance'' novels with Margaret Weis. He also wrote role playing game material while working for TSR, Inc., TSR and has cowritten novels with his wife, ...

as the main authors of Dragonlance. Her ''Dragons of a New Age'' trilogy consisted of ''Dawning of a New Age'', ''Day of the Tempest'', and ''Eve of the Maelstrom''. Her other Dragonlance work includes ''Maquesta Kar-Thon'', co-authored with Tina Daniell, and ''The Silver Star''. Her other work for TSR includes ''Red Magic'', ''Secret of the Djinn'', and ''Night of the Tiger''. Rabe also created content for

Imperium Games Imperium Games was an American game company that produced role-playing games and game supplements. History Marc W. Miller partnered with Sweetpea Entertainment to license his science-fiction property '' Traveller'' in exchange for funding to ...

. Rabe worked with Janet Pack on ''The Forces of Dagnarus'' for the ''

Sovereign Stone The Sovereign Stone series is a trilogy of fantasy novels: ''Well of Darkness'' (2000), ''Guardians of the Lost'' (2001), and ''Journey into the Void'' (2003), set in the same universe of the '' Sovereign Stone'' Role-playing game. Both the books ...

'' role-playing game. She has also written more than four dozen short stories, including those set in the ''Dragonlance'', ''

'', and ''Star Wars'' settings. Three of her ''Star Wars'' short stories — "The Breath of Gelgelar", "Day of the Sepulchral Night", and "The Farrimmer Cafe" —have been published in the '' Star Wars Adventure Journals''. She has written science fiction stories for

's office in

Green Bay, Wisconsin Green Bay is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The county seat of Brown County, it is at the head of Green Bay (known locally as "the bay of Green Bay"), a sub-basin of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Fox River. It is above sea lev ...

, and coedited a number of all-original anthologies with Greenberg for DAW Books(see list below).

Writer

Rabe has also written articles for ''On The Lake'', a local magazine for tourists. In 2005, Rabe served as a juror for the

Andre Norton Award The Andre Norton Nebula Award for Middle Grade and Young Adult Fiction (formerly the Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy) is an annual award presented by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) to the ...

for young adult fiction, which was established that year. Rabe was the business manager and later the editor of the bimonthly ''SFWA Bulletin'', published by the

. In June 2013, Rabe resigned the post in the course of a controversy about alleged

sexism Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but it primarily affects women and girls.There is a clear and broad consensus among academic scholars in multiple fields that sexism refers primari ...

in ''SFWA Bulletin'' articles written by, among others,

Mike Resnick Michael Diamond Resnick (; March 5, 1942 – January 9, 2020) was an American science fiction writer and editor. He won five Hugo awards and a Nebula award, and was the guest of honor at Chicon 7. He was the executive editor of the defunct ...

and Barry N. Malzberg.

Awards

''Dragonlance: Death March'' was nominated for the 2009 Special Gaming Scribe Award — awarded by the International Association of Media Tie-in Writers — for "Best Original gaming-related tie-in novel of 2009.Scribe Award Nominees Announced
posted March 26, 2009, retrieved December 29, 2010

Bibliography

''Dungeons & Dragons'' modules

* * * *

''Dragonlance'' series

*1993 ''

Krynnspace ''Krynnspace'' (product code SJR7) is a supplement published by TSR (company), TSR in 1993 for the fantasy role-playing game ''Dungeons & Dragons'' that is a crossover between the ''Spelljammer'' and ''Dragonlance'' campaign settings. Description ...

'', a crossover setting for ''Dragonlance'' and ''

Spelljammer ''Spelljammer'' is a campaign setting originally published for the ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' (2nd edition) role-playing game, which features a fantastic (as opposed to scientific) outer space environment. Subsequent editions have included ' ...

'' *1995 ''Maquesta Kar-Thon'', with Tina Daniell *1996 ''

'', Dragons of a New Age series *1997 ''Day of the Tempest'', Dragons of a New Age series *1998 ''Eve of the Maelstrom'', Dragons of a New Age series *1999 ''The Silver Stair'', Bridges of Time series *2000 ''Downfall'', the Dhamon Saga *2001 ''Betrayal'', the Dhamon Saga *2002 ''Redemption'', the Dhamon Saga *2004 ''The Lake of Death'', Age of Mortals series *2007 ''The Rebellion'', The Stonetellers series *2008 ''Death March'', The Stonetellers series *2009 ''Goblin Nation'', The Stonetellers series

Novels connected to other fantasy role-playing settings

*1991 ''Red Magic'', a ''Forgotten Realms: The Harpers'' series *1994 ''Secret of the Djinn'', ''

Endless Quest The ''Endless Quest'' books were three series of gamebooks. The first one was released in the 1980s by TSR, while the following two were released by Wizards of the Coast. Originally, these books were the result of an Educational department establi ...

'' series *1995 ''Night of the Tiger'', ''Endless Quest'' series *1996 ''Sands of Deception'', ''Endless Quest'' series *2004 ''The Finest Creation'', Finest Trilogy *2005 ''The Finest Choice'', Finest Trilogy *2006 ''The Finest Challenge'', Finest Trilogy *2006 ''Aftershock'', a ''

Shadowrun ''Shadowrun'' is a science fantasy tabletop role-playing game set in an alternate future in which cybernetics, magic and fantasy creatures co-exist. It combines genres of cyberpunk, urban fantasy and crime, with occasional elements of conspir ...

'' novel with John Helfers *2006 ''

Return to Quag Keep ''Return to Quag Keep'', a 2006 fantasy novel by Andre Norton and Jean Rabe, is a sequel to the fantasy novel ''Quag Keep'' written by Norton in 1978. Although Norton and Rabe began their collaboration in the early 2000s, Norton's death in 2005 mea ...

'', with

*2006 ''A Taste of Magic'', with Andre Norton *2007 ''Fenzig's Fortune'' *2008 ''Dragon Mage'', with Andre Norton *2018 ''The Bone Shroud''

Piper Blackwell Mysteries series

*2018 ''The Dead of Winter: A Piper Blackwell Mystery'' *2018 ''The Dead of Night: A Piper Blackwell Mystery'' *2019 ''The Dead of Summer: A Piper Blackwell Mystery''

Anthologies edited by Rabe

* ''Historical Hauntings'', with Martin H. Greenberg (DAW, 2001; ) * ''Sol's Children'', with Martin H. Greenberg (DAW, 2002) * ''Renaissance Faire'', with Andre Norton (DAW, 2005) * ''Furry Fantastic'', with Brian M Thomsen (DAW, 2006; ) * ''Time Twisters'', with Martin H Greenberg (DAW, 2007; ) * ''Pandora's Closet'', with Martin H Greenberg (DAW, 2007; ) * ''Terribly Twisted Tales'', with Martin H. Greenberg (DAW, May 2009; ) * ''Spells of the City'', with Martin H. Greenberg (DAW, 2009; ) * ''Timeshares'', with Martin H Greenberg (DAW, 2010; ) * ''Steampunk'd'', with Martin H. Greenberg (DAW, 2010; ) * ''Boondocks Fantasy'' with Martin H. Greenberg (DAW, 2011; )) * Blue Kingdoms ** ''Blue Kingdoms: Shades & Specters'', with

(Walkabout Publishing, 2008; ) ** ''Blue Kingdoms: Buxom Buccaneers'', with Stephen D. Sullivan (Walkabout Publishing, 2008; ) ** ''Blue Kingdoms: Mages and Magic'', with Stephen D. Sullivan (CreateSpace, 2010; ) * ''A Hero by Any Other Name'' (Silence in the Library, 2013; )

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rabe, Jean 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American women writers American fantasy writers American magazine editors American women non-fiction writers American women novelists Dungeons & Dragons game designers Electronic literature writers Living people Novelists from Illinois People from Quincy, Illinois Role-playing game writers Science fiction editors Women magazine editors Women science fiction and fantasy writers Year of birth missing (living people)