Jean Rabe, Early TSR Editor and Dragonlance Author, Dies

Jean Rabe, an early TSR staffer who edited Polyhedron magazine and served as the first head of the RPGA network, died on January 19, 2026. Her passing marks the loss of a writer and organizer whose career bridged the hobby’s early professional era and the thriving organized-play scene that many players take for granted today.

Jean Rabe wrote modules and fiction tied to Dungeons & Dragons and Gamma World during her years at TSR. She later worked as a freelancer across licensed properties, producing BattleTech material and Star Wars short fiction, among other work. Rabe also contributed novel-length fiction to the Dragonlance line, including Dragons of a New Age and the Stonetellers trilogy, titles that remain part of Dragonlance reading lists and reference points for campaign builders.

Beyond bylines and novels, Jean Rabe’s administrative roles mattered to players and organizers. As the first head of the Role Playing Game Association (RPGA), Rabe helped put structures in place for networked events, convention play, and magazine-driven community outreach. Her editorship at Polyhedron put scenario ideas, campaign support, and hobby commentary into the hands of referees and players, helping to seed local gaming tables and concurrent events at conventions.

Obituaries and notices published in the days after her death detail funeral and memorial arrangements. Those notices also underline the practical legacy: Rabe’s manuscripts, magazine work, and organizational legacy continue to inform both archival research and active play. Dungeon masters can find hooks and continuity cues in her Dragonlance novels, and organized-play coordinators can trace elements of modern event practices back to the RPGA framework she led.

For authors and referees, Jean Rabe’s career is a concrete example of navigating professional writing, licensed properties, and community building. Re-reading Dragons of a New Age or the Stonetellers trilogy will refresh campaign ideas rooted in Dragonlance lore, while legacy Polyhedron issues remain a source of encounter design and adventure seeds. Local memorials may give players and creators a focal point for tribute sessions, panel discussions, or archived-works preservation efforts.

Jean Rabe’s death closes a chapter on a contributor who helped turn conventions and magazines into sustained community infrastructure. Expect tributes from fellow writers and organized-play groups in the coming days, and consider revisiting Rabe’s modules and novels to see how her imprint still shows up at the table.