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Wes Ives

d. 1995

American game designer

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About Wes Ives

Wes Ives was a designer.

Wesley D. Ives, also known as Wes Ives, was an American game designer. He produced five games for Fantasy Games Unlimited, an american publishing house for role-playing games and contribute to Thieves' World Complete Sanctuary Adventure Pack from Chaosium, one of the publisher's bestselling game supplements.

During his short game designer life he also wrote articles for Alarums & Excursions, Dragon, and The Strategic Review magazines. In 1976, he wrote "How to Use Non-Prime Abilities" for the first issue of Dragon. This was about character attributes (known as "Abilities" in Dungeons & Dragons) and was the first time a designer proposed rolling an "Ability check". A modified version of this rule later became the core mechanic of Dungeons & Dragons.

Edward E. Simbalist intended to produce a series called the Compleat Role-Player's Handbook, the first book of which was meant to be available at Gen Con 1979, writing it with Ives and Wilf Backhaus, but no installments of the Handbook series were ever produced.

He worked as a computer technician for a school system in Swansea, South Carolina. Swords & Sorcerers (Chivalry & Sorcery) (1978), Fantasy Games Unlimited Saurians (Chivalry & Sorcery) (1979), Fantasy Games Unlimited Chivalry & Sorcery Sourcebook (1981), Fantasy Games Unlimited Thieves' World (1981), Chaosium Chivalry & Sorcery Sourcebook 2 (1983), Fantasy Games Unlimited

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Important facts

Died
1995
Occupation

Frequently asked questions

Who was Wes Ives?

American game designer

When did Wes Ives die?

Wes Ives died in 1995.

What was Wes Ives's occupation?

Wes Ives was a designer.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Wes Ives

· Wikidata: Q136305128

· DBpedia: Wes Ives

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Wes Ives. https://biography.guide/wes-ives/

MLA: "Wes Ives." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/wes-ives/.

Chicago: "Wes Ives." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/wes-ives/.

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