Matt James
Matt James is an American game designer and a decorated veteran of the United States Army. He has also designed game content for Wolfgang Baur's Kobold Press (formerly Open Design LLC). In 2012 James won an ENnie Award for Monster Vault: Threats to the Nentir Vale and has been nominated for several Origins Awards.
Matt James
- Name
- Matt James
- Occupation
- Army veteran, game designer
- Born
- 1981
- Nationality
- United States
- Honours
- Bronze Star Medal · Purple Heart
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Matt James is an American game designer and a decorated veteran of the United States Army. He has also designed game content for Wolfgang Baur's Kobold Press (formerly Open Design LLC). In 2012 James won an ENnie Award for Monster Vault: Threats to the Nentir Vale and has been nominated for several Origins Awards.
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wikidata · Q16221353
In this article
Biography
Biography
In 2014, James won an ENnie Award for Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Bestiary 4.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Matt James • Birth Name — Matt James • Occupation — Army veteran, game designer • Genre — Role-playing games, fantasy, science-fiction • Notable Works — Red Aegis RPG, Rogue Spartan, Into the Unknown: The Dungeon Survival Handbook, Soldiers of Fortune, Monster Vault: Threats to the Nentir Vale • Website — http: www.dnd.co
Game design career
Game design career
James began designing games at a young age while writing content for a live action roleplaying game called Avalon LARP. After his service in the military, he began designing professionally. He received his first break when he was asked to fill in for another designer for a Dungeons & Dragons adventure that would be published in Dungeon Magazine. From there, he would regularly contribute to Dragon Magazine and Dungeon Magazine. Since then, James has co-authored many Dungeons & Dragons and Pathfinder products, including the award-winning sourcebook Monster Vault: Threats to the Nentir Vale (2011). James and his older brother Brian R. James have teamed up to produce additional content for the Forgotten Realms as well as D&D as a whole. They have announced that they are moving forward with their long-established game company Vorpal Games.
Red Aegis RPG products, Vorpal Games
Red Aegis RPG products, Vorpal Games
• Red Aegis Roleplaying Game (2016), lead developer
Pathfinder RPG products, Paizo Publishing
Pathfinder RPG products, Paizo Publishing
• Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Ultimate Equipment Guide (2012), designer • Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Bestiary 4 (2014), designer - ENnie Award winner
Dungeons & Dragons RPG products, Wizards of the Coast
Dungeons & Dragons RPG products, Wizards of the Coast
• Fortune Cards: Drow Trechery (2012), lead designer • Into the Unknown: The Dungeon Survival Handbook (2012), designer • Lair Assault: Attack of the Tyrantclaw (2012), designer • Monster Vault: Threats to the Nentir Vale (2011), designer - ENnie Award winner
Kobold Press
Kobold Press
• Soldiers of Fortune (2011), designer
Privateer Press
Privateer Press
• Iron Kingdoms: Full Metal Fantasy (2012), designer • Iron Kingdoms: Unleashed (2015), designer
Military
Military
• Illustration — President Bush awards the Purple Heart to Matt James. After the US invaded Iraq, James enlisted and served as a paratrooper in the United States Army from 2003–2006. While deployed to Iraq in 2005, James earned the Bronze Star Medal for saving the life of a US Marine who was critically injured after being shot with a M2.50 caliber automatic machine gun. President George W. Bush would later award the Purple Heart to James after he was severely wounded on a separate mission. James was medically retired from military service due to the wounds he suffered during combat operations, and now lives in the Washington, DC area where he focuses on game design and advocacy for disabled veterans.
Where the work is held
Collections and holdings
Institutional holdings are recorded as follows.
Honors
• 2012: Monster Vault: Threats to the Nentir Vale wins a Silver ENnie Award for Best Monster/Adversary product. • 2012: Monster Vault: Threats to the Nentir Vale is nominated for Best Roleplaying Supplement or Adventure by the 38th Annual Origins Awards. • 2014: Pathfinder: Bestiary 4 wins a Gold ENnie Award for Best Monster/Adversary
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Congratulations to the 2012 ENnie Award winners! | ENnie Awards.
- 2.2014 Nominees and Winners – ENNIE Awards.
- 3.Congratulations to the 2012 ENnie Award winners! ENnie Awards. www.ennie-awards.com.
- 4.Monster Vault: Threats to the Nentir Vale (http://www.wizards.com/dnd/product.aspx?x=dnd/products/dndacc/283640000/ )
- 5.2014 ENnie Awards Winners ENnie Awards. www.ennie-awards.com.
- 6.RED AEGIS Roleplaying Game.
- 7.President George W. Bush shakes hands with CPL. Matthew James after awarding the Manassas, Va., soldier with a Purple Heart during a visit Friday, July 1, 2005, to Walter Reed Army Medical Center. CPL. James is recovering from injuries received while serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom. White House photo by Eric Draper.
References
Citations
References
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General reference
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 17 August 2026.
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