Jonathan Tweet | |
|---|---|
 Tweet in 2015 | |
| Born | 1965 (age 59–60) Rock Island, Illinois, U.S. |
| Alma mater | St. Olaf College |
| Occupation(s) | Game designer, author, blogger, writer |
| Spouse | Tracy (d. 2008) |
| Children | 1 |
| Father | Roald Tweet |
 Problems playing this file? Seemedia help. | |
| Website | jonathantweet |
Jonathan Tweet (born 1965[1]) is an Americangame designer who has been involved in the development of therole-playing gamesArs Magica,Everway,Over the Edge,Talislanta, the third edition ofDungeons & Dragons and13th Age, and the collectible miniatures gameDreamblade. In 2015 Tweet releasedGrandmother Fish, a full-color, full-sized book aboutevolution aimed at preschoolers. In 2018 Tweet releasedClades andClades Prehistoric, two card games for children and adults which demonstrate the concept of aclade.
Native toRock Island, Illinois, Tweet is the son ofRoald Tweet, anAugustana College professor emeritus and local historian,[2] and Margaret Tweet.[3] Jonathan Tweet started playingD&D in the 1970s, when his father gave him his firstDungeons & Dragons game. He then formed his own gaming group by recruiting classmates.[4] Tweet graduated from Rock Island High School class valedictorian in 1983. He majored in psychology and sociology at his parents' alma mater,St. Olaf College in Minnesota.[2]
Jonathan Tweet andMark Rein-Hagen foundedLion Rampant in 1987 while they were attendingSt. Olaf College. There, they also metLisa Stevens who later joined the company.[5]: 232 His article "Egyptian Magic forCall of Cthulhu" appeared inDifferent Worlds #47 (Fall 1987), the magazine's final issue.[5]: 84 In 1987, Tweet and Rein-Hagen designed the gameArs Magica, a game centered around wizards in the Middle Ages.[4][5]: 232–233 Tweet left Lion Rampant and briefly left the RPG industry in 1989 to begin a new career.[5]: 234 Tweet wroteFestival of the Damned (1991), an adventure published byAtlas Games forArs Magica.[5]: 252 Tweet continued to run a game he created called "Al Amarja" for a group inRock Island, Illinois, and wrote about the game in articles published inAlarums and Excursions; whenJohn Nephew read these articles he wanted to publish the game, and the result wasOver the Edge (1992), the first original game from Atlas Games.[5]: 253 His design onOver the Edge notably involved free-form rules and a subjective approach.[4] Lisa Stevens recommended toWizards of the Coast to have Tweet work freelance to revise theTalislanta rules for Wizards to publish, and also write the first new adventure for their version of the game; Tweet also wrote a revised version of theTalislanta Guidebook (1992), and the adventureThe Scent of the Beast (1992).[5]: 277 Tweet wrote the adventureApocalypse (1993) for theRole Aids line byMayfair Games.[5]: 169 Nephew and Tweet also designedOn the Edge (1994), acollectible card game based onOver the Edge.[5]: 253 Tweet joined Wizards of the Coast as a full-time employee in June 1994, and brought about new product lines for the company beginning withArs Magica, which Tweet recommended Wizards to acquire.[5]: 279 Tweet designedEverway, which was first published by Wizards of the Coast in 1995.[5]: 254, 280 After Wizards of the Coast moved away from role-playing games, Tweet worked onPortal, aMagic: The Gathering set designed to help new players learn the game.
Tweet was lead designer on the third edition ofDungeons & Dragons.[5]: 286 [6] Tweet,Monte Cook, andSkip Williams all contributed to the 3rd editionPlayer's Handbook,Dungeon Master's Guide, andMonster Manual, and then each designer wrote one of the books based on those contributions.[7] Tweet oversaw theChainmail Miniatures Game design team, andSkaff Elias was responsible for the main design work andChris Pramas created the game world.[5]: 289 Tweet became the head of the miniatures group, and theDungeons & Dragons Miniatures Game (2003) was the result of the work by Tweet,Rob Heinsoo, and Skaff Elias.[5]: 292 On December 2, 2008, Tweet was laid off from Wizards of the Coast.[8][9]
13th Age ad20 System RPG, designed by Heinsoo and Tweet was published byPelgrane Press on August 3, 2013.[10] The pre-release version was a nominee for the RPG Geek RPG of the Year 2013.[11]
In 2015 Tweet publishedGrandmother Fish, aKickstarter-funded book described as "the first book to teach evolution to preschoolers".[12] While criticized by creationist organizations,[13] it has been praised by science educators.[14]
In 2018 Tweet, along with children's science illustrator Karen Lewis, released two card games,Clades andClades Prehistoric. These animal matching games are intended to be used as tools to teach about evolution.[15] Clades Solo, an app version that includes both prehistoric and modern animals, was released in 2019[16]
The third edition ofOver the Edge, with a new setting and new rules, was released June 1, 2019.
Anatheist since grade school,[17] Tweet has devoted much of his personal website to his views on religion,[18][19] in particular on the historical Jesus.[20] He also blogs about religion on the Secular Sunday School blog.[21]
My plan was to demonstrate hell to be absurd... One Sunday, I screwed up my courage and announced to the teacher, "I don't believe in Hell."
The teacher responded with "I don't either."
With the initial foray against dogma a total failure, I called off the whole assault. Speaking my mind would have to wait for college.
— Jonathan Tweet[22]
Tweet and his wife Tracy moved toSeattle, Washington, in 1994. Tracy died frommultiple sclerosis in 2008.[2] He continues to live in the Seattle area with his daughter.[23]
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