Gary Gygax, 'Father of D&D,' Dies at 69

[hyphenate]

Gary Gygax, 'Father of D&D,' Dies at 69
By Lore Sjoberg March 04, 2008 | 1:43:14 PM


Gary Gygax, one of the co-creators of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, died Tuesday morning at his home in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, according to Stephen Chenault, CEO of Troll Lord Games.

Gygax designed the original D&D game with Dave Arneson in 1974, and went on to create the Dangerous Journeys and Lejendary Adventure RPGs, as well as a number of board games. He also wrote several fantasy novels.

"I don't think I've really grokked it yet," said Mike Mearls, the lead developer of the upcoming 4th edition of Dungeons and Dragons. "He was like the cool uncle that every gamer had. He shaped an entire generation of gamers."

Gygax was not directly involved with Dungeons & Dragons after 1985, but he continued to create adventures to be used with it, which were published by Troll Lord Games.

Gygax had been in poor health for some time, according to his wife Gail. Chenault says he will publish more information, including funeral arrangements, on the Troll Lord message board as it becomes available.

http://blog.wired.com/underwire/2008/03/report-gary-gyg.html

[niyad]

1. RIP-- you brought much joy always.

[Harry Monroe]

2. He was the original "geek"

And I say that with respect. I remember D&D from college in the '80's and spent many hours playing. RIP Mr. Gygax.

[Dukkha]

3. guess he lost that final roll

He was a great guy with +18 charisma. Enjoy your DM overlord in the great game in the sky.

[tomreedtoon]

4. And he's going to (roll dice) HELL!

Sorry, you failed your saving throw.

And that - the idea that your character's fate could be determined by a dice roll - is the reason that the "paper" role playing games Gygax created are going the way of the buggy whip. Well, that and the abusive egotists who too often represented the "ideal gamemasters."

[Book Lover]

16. Clearly you never played with the right kind of people (nm)

[tomreedtoon]

40. I RAN role playing conventions. I know whereof I speak.

The fact is that the "social" aspect of role-playing gaming only exists among old farts. The younger generation wants to kill, kill, kill and dominate. Paper role playing games had to provide that to keep some of their audience from drifting away to computer games. Thus Vampire: The Masquerade and the other abusive, violent versions of the earlier games.

People in Central Florida over the last decade may remember "SunQuest Games." For about ten years we provided the best gaming we could, often wrecking our personal lives to achieve that end. We finally gave up when it was obvious that the shrinking gaming audience didn't care for mutual support or even friendliness. Heck, thanks to the brilliant work of America's teaching professionals, half the people who were curious about the game couldn't even read the books.

[LanternWaste]

22. I was under the impression that table-top role playing..

I was under the impression that table-top role playing has been experiencing higher growth since 2003 and has undergone an almost renaissance-like rebirth in popularity. :shrug:

"...idea that your character's fate could be determined by a dice roll"
Which is less "realistic" than a character's fate determined by how fast one can push a button?

[ReadTomPaine]

26. Pick better friends...

assuming you can. That will improve a lot more than just your role playing experience.

[ProgressiveFool]

35. wtf? a little respect, please

I'll mention your comments when I play with my group on Friday night, which we just started very recently out of nostalgia.

And it's not just the original game, it's all the stuff it led to, up to and including the billion dollar MMORPG computer game industry.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

36. No, wait, let me guess: you played, your character died, and

you threw a hissy fit at the GM.

[TransitJohn]

46. I thought the damn card games

like Magic did a lot to kill of role playing in the 90s.

[Jack Rabbit]

5. I had fun playing D&D with my nephews and kids

I would align my character as chaotic good and do things I would never do in real life, but would like to do. I once passed a bad check to a troll at a bridge demanding an exorbitant toll.

[villager]

6. And what about his great "Futurama" cameo!?

n/t

[Richard Steele]

19. "Hi. I'm *rolls dice*... PLEASED to meet you!"

One of the best Futurama episodes ever.

[villager]

27. 'Twas indeed....

n/t

[fed-up]

7. His games did wonders for helping my son's developing creativity/ storytelling/writing skills RIP nt

[FreepFryer]

8. Well, geek or no, he's got 23 Charisma and 23 Strength now. God Bless the Wizard Gygax :)

[BreweryYardRat]

9. Damn. I haven't played D&D in years, but it was a lot of fun.

RIP, Mr. Gygax.

[derby378]

10. Gary has failed his final saving throw...

RIP, Gary. May your abode in the afterlife be filled with peace, joy, and 20-sided dice out the wazoo.

[Recursion]

20. Damn, wish I'd read down before I posted

Plagiarism strikes again...

[The Straight Story]

11. He rolled a d20 and finally got a 1 - he will be missed

makes me want to play some D&D again.

[CJCRANE]

12. Had great fun

playing D&D as a teenager in the '80s.

Amazing how far a little imagination could take you.

[nadinbrzezinski]

13. RIP...

lost that last saving throw

[Book Lover]

14. Godspeed, Dungeon Master

[mdmc]

33. yes

[comtec]

15. NNNNNNN OOOOOOOOOOO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*weeps loudly for many days*
69....that's just too young!
not with today's medicine and such...
69....I suppose if you gotta die on a number ;)

I guess even with all the bonuses he's going to fail his save VS death eventually.

God rest your wonderfully twisted soul Gary Gygax!
this day will be mourned by gamer for centuries to come!

[Aristus]

17. I always thought "Gary Gygax" was an amazingly cool name for an RPG inventor.

If his name had been Fred Smith, nothing he did would have been as cool.

I once owned a fine condition first edition of "Deities And Demigods". I sold it for about $60 thirteen or fourteen years ago when I needed money due to unemployment. I kind of wish I stil had it. I wonder what I could get for it today?

[Recursion]

18. I guess he failed that saving throw

:(

RIP, Gary. You found a way to help awkward, gangly youths like myself invent a world where we were what we dreamed of being.

[TlalocW]

21. Never played D&D, but I speak the language because of friends

And knew who he was. He sounded like a cool guy.

TlalocW

[goddess40]

23. my kids play every week

is play the right word.

[ZombieHorde]

48. Yes, DnD is played. nt

[ReadTomPaine]

24. This gentle reader pauses for a moment of silence...

...

Thanks for the memories, Gary. You weren't perfect, but you were irreplaceable nevertheless. We'll miss you.

[alcibiades_mystery]

25. But for Gary Gygax

I would never have known the word stalactite when I was ten years old.

[LittleClarkie]

28. Bummer

That's a shock

[Winterblues]

29. I remember buying one of the first "board games" with little pewter figures

It soon evolved to no board just modules for the dungeon master and imagination. It was wonderful and we enjoyed it as a whole family. Then came the computer...I miss the old days of just imagination and everybody's input into each decision..Great fun...

[Capt. America]

30. Off to the Happy Hunting Grounds....

I can tell you with absolute sincerity that Gary Gygax's creation (D&D) provided me with at least 1000 hours of comeraderie and joy with my fellow gamers that I would not have had without his creativity and vision. I am 35 years old and I have been playing D&D since I was 12.

Gary Gygax is a demi-god in Geek Nation.

You shall be missed.

[hyphenate]

31. Somewhere I still have my old

AD&D Creatures book, and a pad of created characters. And I'll bet I still have dice, graph paper, and maps somewhere, too.

Going to get D&D supplies was a fun outing, even though I was an adult. We started playing pretty early, about 1978 or so. We eventually went on to play sporadically for about 15 years.

Anyone remember that horrible movie with Tom Hanks based on Rona Jaffe's book, Mazes and Monsters. THAT was how we were depicted back then--worse than any Trekkie or Trekker (even though many of us were Trekfen as well), because parents thought we were being consumed by the devil. (Which one? :rofl:) And that was when Falwell came out to play in our playground, and became a bully.

[hyphenate]

32. Did I mention I was/am female?

Back then we were oddities because we were female D&Ders. I got in trouble when I was out in California in 1979 and put my name and phone number on a bulletin board at the game shop to play--the store owner called my SIL and she was like all put out saying I could get killed giving my name and phone number out in public like that.

[LittleClarkie]

34. Hey, another gamer grrl.

Howdy!

I still play. Every two weeks with a bunch of dudes.

[distantearlywarning]

37. I'm a gamer girl too.

In high school I couldn't get any guys to let me join their group. Apparently girls were just too scary back then.

These days I play D&D every Friday with a group with exactly 4 guys and 4 girls in it!

[Capt. America]

44. Hey gamer girls...

I only played D&D with women a few times but I noticed that they almost always played girl elves. Is this a thing with the ladies?

PS: Have any of you read the book Confessions of a Part Time Sorceress? http://www.amazon.com/Confessions-Part-time-Sorceress-Dungeons-Dragons/dp/0786947268

Its actually a very entertaining read.

[kineneb]

39. 3rd girl gamer checking in

In the late 1970s my boyfriend, now husband, introduced me to RPGs, and we played D&D/AD&D with the same group of friends for years. Then we shifted to Traveller. We haven't played any RPGs for several years, due to Hubby's declining health. He has two bookcases full of rule books for various games, and we both have small collections of lead figures. I would still like to play sometime.

[Lex Talionis]

38. Use the resurrect spell, Dude! I still have it stored in the ring! Great game concept, but,

To many I knew took it waaaay to serious. Lex, 13th lvl fighter,killed by treachery, salutes Lord Gygax!

[derby378]

41. D&D helped put personal ethics in a completely different light

Instead of mere good and evil, you now had to deal with law and chaos. Then there's the neutral alignments as well. As geeky as it may sound, it helped describe how two different people who were essentially good at heart could still have a hard time getting along with each other (e.g. lawful good Marine vet vs. chaotic good Camp Casey supporter).

[FreedomRain]

42. Gamer girls were about the only ones I ever talked to!

Thanks,Gary

[Swamp Rat]

43. "Game over, man! Game over!"

RIP Gary Gygax O8)

[JackRiddler]

45. Well, he influenced my life until I was 20 or so, so RIP n/t

[BoneDaddy]

47. RIp brother

You gave me hours of creative fun and entertainment as a child.