Well this sucks, and although it’s not movie related – it must be announced. Gary Gygax legendary creator of Dungeons And Dragons died today. We get the following news from CNN:
Gary Gygax, who co-created the fantasy game Dungeons & Dragons and helped start the role-playing phenomenon, died Tuesday morning at his home in Lake Geneva. He was 69. He had been suffering from health problems for several years, including an abdominal aneurysm, said his wife, Gail Gygax.
Gygax and Dave Arneson developed Dungeons & Dragons in 1974 using medieval characters and mythical creatures. The game known for its oddly shaped dice became a hit, particularly among teenage boys, and eventually was turned into video games, books and movies. Gygax always enjoyed hearing from the game’s legion of devoted fans, many of whom would stop by the family’s home in Lake Geneva, about 55 miles southwest of Milwaukee, his wife said. Despite his declining health, he hosted weekly games of Dungeons & Dragons as recently as January, she said.
Dungeons & Dragons is an essential part of a quality lived experience. I have thrown many dice in a variety of role-playing games throughout my life and Gary Gygax is the root that sprouted this joy. Sitting around a table with good friends, improvising through a story and battling legendary creatures is a level of fun that cannot be described, but must be experienced.
Gary Gygax leaves behind a legacy to be proud of. His original vision has birthed legions of games and spawned an industry based on imagination. My friend Bill met Gygax and got the man to bless his dice. As he held the dice in his hand he uttered the words “may your will determine your outcome”. That is a pretty bad ass proclamation from the creator, and a nice story to recount on this day of remembrance.
If you have the means, buy some dice today in memory of Gygax and roll your THACO
Wonder if he’s rolling in his grave…….tee hee
Filmmakers are all dungeon masters indeed!
A pretty actress called me a “dungeons and dragons geek” yesterday, and she meant it as a compliment.
Filmmakers are all dungeon masters. The dungeons may be 19th century asylums, religious cults, or water tunnels under New York City, but everything I’ve been hired to write lately has been influenced by my adolescent scribbling on graph paper and rolling of multicolored dice.
Bought the dice and ran temple of elemental evil in honor of Gygax, the world is a much darker place without him. Here is hoping that he finds that great Treasure horde in the sky.
By The Beard Of Gygax You Must!
RIP.
Damn, now i feel compelled to DM again.
RIP Mr Gygax, i wish you could have lived to see a good D&D movie but it wasn’t to be. People will be playing with your creation until the end of time.
Sad news indeed.
I have a lot of fun memories involving roleplaying back in high school. I might have been the only girl, but that made it all the more fun.
Sad news! Nerd or not…D&D spawned a genre…and most of the people that visit this site have enjoyed the fruits of that.
Very Sad News Indeed!
damn.
healey, gygax…who’s next?
After I heard this through a friend, I retired two characters I’ve been playing since first being introduced to the game in the late 1980s. Even if you’ve never played grab some friends, some beer and throw down a game. Just don’t LARP until you’re really tippy.
“Dungeons & Dragons is an essential part of a quality lived experience.”
LMAO
You have what is rapidly becoming a legendary ability to say the most with the least. (Yes, I mean that to be taken in more than one way.)