Dungeons & Dragons Co-Creator Gary Gygax Dies At 69

AP ^ | 3/4/08

[steve-b]

MILWAUKEE (AP) - The man who co-created the game Dungeons & Dragons and helped start the role-playing phenomenon is dead.

Gary Gygax (GEYE'-gaks) died this morning at his home in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, about 55 miles southwest of Milwaukee.

His wife, Gail Gygax, says he had been suffering from health problems for several years, including an abdominal aneurysm.

Gygax and co-creator Dave Arneson developed the role-playing game in 1974 and it went on to become 1 of the best-selling games ever. Dungeons & Dragons is considered the grandfather of fantasy role-playing games and has influenced video games, books, movies and inspired legions of adoring fans.

Gygax' wife says he always enjoyed hearing from the game's devoted fans about how the game influenced their lives.

[Ransomed]

Yeah, Gary truly made himself available to the fans of D&D when he really didn’t have to be. I think he would have dug FR too...I recall he wasn’t a fan of big gubberment. Could be he was on, I reckon, but nothing turned up when I searched “Col. Pladoh”.

Freegards

[Buggman]

I started playing D&D in 1985, when I was just 10. I've been through the red and blue boxes and three-and-a-half editions of the big game. The game inspired my love of history and metaphysics, which in turn inspired my love of Scripture.

My best friend and I will be starting a campaign for the next generation of gamers on Sunday. We'll be opening with the Kaddish in Gary's honor.

RIP Gary.

[Nowhere Man]

Well, I came up through wargaming, but I played D & D, Twilight 2000 and 2300, to name a few RPGs...still have my books and still play. I also am married to a fellow geek, hold down a job, made a try at serving my country (till I found out I am an epilieptic) and am a Reagan Conservative (and gaming reinforced that! Let's just say it's geeks like us who have a good idea how bad defense cuts are besides those serving).

There would be no hobby without men like Gary. And here's a thought. Much of the popularity of Role Playing came from the military, and I suspect there are still D & D campaigns going on somewhere in Iraq and Afghanistan today.

So, here is to Mr. Gygax. I suspect God's rolling up a character right now...

It's me, Chuck, checking in. I know in the military, they run simulations endlessly so your early games and RPG's had that flavor. I have one early board game RPG called "Sorceror," it came out in 1975 IIRC. You are a sorceror and go about with your magic and troll army to take over towns and battle.

Other cool games I like are Twilight: 2000, Morrow Project and Car Wars. Gamma World gets honorable mention.

I hate to cut this short but I'm cubicle bound here at work and lunch is almost over. BTW, maybe I'll design a character sheet for Barak Obama. B-D

[GOP_Party_Animal]

...maybe I'll design a character sheet for Barak Obama.

Will he be a thief or a bard?

[arderkrag]

I heard about this today. My whole group is depressed now. We’ll be holding a moment of silence before this week’s session.

[kanawa]

Been playing WoW too long.

Often wondered if there were any other Freepers playing.

[Domandred]

Rest in peace friend. Gygax did more to bring geekery and nerdity (words I made up) to the mainstream then anyone else.

Course that could be a bad thing...if it wasn’t for Gygax I probably wouldn’t be a World of Warcraft addict today.

[kevkrom]

...maybe I'll design a character sheet for Barak Obama.

Will he be a thief or a bard?

Bard specializing in Perform(oratory) and PrCing into Evangelist at level 6. (Patron deity: himself)

BTW... any fantasy artists wanting to illustrate for a d20 publisher, check out my tagline.

[Teflonic]

This is really sad news for me, started playing D&D 26 years ago and it has been a huge influence in my life. He truly is the most influential game designer of all time. Here's the tail end of a GameSpy interview of this great man:

GameSpy: Looking back over your life, both Dungeons & Dragons, and all the stuff you've accomplished since, are there any particular moments that stand out that you can say, 'Those are some of my favorites?'

Gygax: Oh well, just completing and marketing D&D and AD&D and actually writing the Gord the Rogue novels. I do stuff that I like. The books I write because I want to read them, the games because I want to play them, and stories I tell because I find them exciting personally. When you finish one you feel great.

I did the Giants series in-between writing the Monster Manual, and before starting on the Player's Handbook. When I finished the Player's Handbook, I wrote the Drow series as sort of a relaxation to get away from writing rules. If I'm writing an adventure module, it's almost as much fun as playing it out because you can say, 'I know the guys are gonna love this part! -- or hate this part, or this will give them fits trying to figure out what to do.' [Laughs]

GameSpy: So when you look back now are there any regrets? Is there anything in your life you'd like to do over?

Gygax: No. I don't believe that there's any use in that. It's sort of like once the water's gone under the bridge it's past, so there's not much sense in worrying about it.

GameSpy: Last question. I hope this doesn't sound morbid, but what would you like to have written on your tombstone? How do you want the world to remember you?

Gygax: I was gonna say, "Better here than Philadelphia," but I think somebody already did that. [Laughs] I would like the world to remember me as the guy who really enjoyed playing games and sharing his knowledge and his fun pastimes with everybody else.

[Domandred]

Gygax was a big influence for me as well. I posted over at my blog today about it: Gary Gygax dies.

I'd repost it here but it's kinda long for a forum post. I admit I used a few tissues as I was remembering the good and bad times.

[Xenalyte]

My Rennie chef friend Ben’s Gygax Memorial Haiku:

Twenty-sided die
Rolls silently from your hand
Dude. You failed your save.

[Xenalyte]

This is out-freakin-STANding.

[Moose4]

Pool of Radiance was the first game I ever bought for my first Intel-based PC...a Leading Edge XT, dual 360k 5 1/4” floppies, 8088 running at a screaming 7.14 MHz clock speed and rocking four colors on that good old CGA adapter.

}:-)4

[Xenalyte]

You have Deities and Demigods?

Marry me. Damn the law.

[Xenalyte]

If World War II were an online game ...

*Hitler[AoE] has joined the game.*
*Eisenhower has joined the game.*
*paTTon has joined the game.*
*Churchill has joined the game.*
*benny-tow has joined the game.*
*T0J0 has joined the game.*
*Roosevelt has joined the game.*
*Stalin has joined the game.*
*deGaulle has joined the game.*
Roosevelt: hey sup
T0J0: y0
Stalin: hi
Churchill: hi
Hitler[AoE]: cool, i start with panzer tanks!
paTTon: lol more like panzy tanks
T0JO: lol
Roosevelt: o this fockin sucks i got a depression!
benny-tow: haha america sux
Stalin: hey hitler you dont fight me i dont fight u, cool?
Hitler[AoE]; sure whatever
Stalin: cool
deGaulle: **** Hitler rushed some1 help
Hitler[AoE]: lol byebye frenchy
Roosevelt: i dont got crap to help, sry
Churchill: wtf the luftwaffle is attacking me
Roosevelt: get antiair guns
Churchill: i cant afford them
benny-tow: u n00bs know what team talk is?
paTTon: stfu
Roosevelt: o yah hit the navajo button guys
deGaulle: eisenhower ur worthless come help me quick
Eisenhower: i cant do **** til rosevelt gives me an army
paTTon: yah hurry the fock up
Churchill: d00d im gettin pounded
deGaulle: this is fockin weak u guys suck
*deGaulle has left the game.*
Roosevelt: im gonna attack the axis k?
benny-tow: with what? ur wheelchair?
benny-tow: lol did u mess up ur legs AND ur head?
Hitler[AoE]: ROFLMAO
T0J0: lol o no america im comin 4 u
Roosevelt: wtf! thats bullsh1t u fags im gunna kick ur asses
T0JO: not without ur harbors u wont! lol
Roosevelt: u little biotch ill get u
Hitler[AoE]: wtf
Hitler[AoE]: america hax, u had depression and now u got a huge fockin army
Hitler[AoE]: thats bullsh1t u hacker
Churchill: lol no more france for u hitler
Hitler[AoE]: tojo help me!
T0J0: wtf u want me to do, im on the other side of the world retard
Hitler[AoE]: fine ill clear you a path
Stalin: WTF u arsshoel! WE HAD A FoCKIN TRUCE
Hitler[AoE]: i changed my mind lol
benny-tow: haha
benny-tow: hey ur losing ur guys in africa im gonna need help in italy soon sum1
T0J0: o **** i cant help u i got my hands full
Hitler[AoE]: im 2 busy 2 help
Roosevelt: yah thats right biznitch im comin for ya
Stalin: church help me
Churchill: like u helped me before? sure ill just sit here
Stalin: dont be an arss
Churchill: dont be a commie. oops too late
Eisenhower: LOL
benny-tow: hahahh oh sh1t help
Hitler: o man ur focked
paTTon: oh what now biotch
Roosevelt: whos the cripple now lol
*benny-tow has been eliminated.*
benny-tow: lame
Roosevelt: gj patton
paTTon: thnx
Hitler[AoE]: WTF eisenhower hax hes killing all my sh1t
Hitler[AoE]: quit u hacker so u dont ruin my record
Eisenhower: Nuts!
benny~tow: wtf that mean?
Eisenhower: meant to say nutsack lol finger slipped
paTTon: coming to get u hitler u paper hanging hun cocksocker
Stalin: rofl
T0J0: HAHAHHAA
Hitler[AoE]: u guys are fockin gay
Hitler[AoE]: ur never getting in my city
*Hitler[AoE] has been eliminated.*
benny~tow: OMG u noob you killed yourself
Eisenhower: ROFLOLOLOL
Stalin: OMG LMAO!
Hitler[AoE]: WTF i didnt click there omg this game blows
*Hitler[AoE] has left the game*
paTTon: hahahhah
T0J0: WTF my teammates are n00bs
benny~tow: shut up noob
Roosevelt: haha wut a moron
paTTon: wtf am i gunna do now?
Eisenhower: yah me too
T0J0: why dont u attack me o thats right u dont got no ships lololol
Eisenhower: fock u
paTTon: lemme go thru ur base commie
Stalin: go to hell lol
paTTon: fock this sh1t im goin afk
Eisenhower: yah this is gay
*Roosevelt has left the game.*
Hitler[AoE]: wtf?
Eisenhower: sh1t now we need some1 to join
*tru_m4n has joined the game.*
tru_m4n: hi all
T0J0: hey
Stalin: sup
Churchill: hi
tru_m4n: OMG OMG OMG i got all his stuff!
tru_m4n: NUKES! HOLY **** I GOT NUKES
Stalin: d00d gimmie some plz
tru_m4n: no way i only got like a couple
Stalin: omg dont be gay gimmie nuculer secrets
T0J0: wtf is nukes?
T0J0: holy shitholyshithoylshti!!!111
*T0J0 has been eliminated.*
*The Allied team has won the game!*
Eisenhower: awesome!
Churchill: gg noobs no re
T0J0: thats bullshit u fockin suck
*T0J0 has left the game.*
*Eisenhower has left the game.*
Stalin: next game im not going to be on ur team, u guys didnt help me for ****
Churchill: wutever, we didnt need ur help neway dumbarss
tru_m4n: l8r all
benny~tow: bye
Churchill: l8r
Stalin: fock u all
tru_m4n: shut up commie lol
*tru_m4n has left the game.*
benny~tow: lololol u commie
Churchill: ROFL
Churchill: bye commie
*Churchill has left the game.*
*benny~tow has left the game.*
Stalin: i hate u all fags
*Stalin has left the game.*
paTTon: lol no1 is left
paTTon: weeeee i got a jeep
*paTTon has been eliminated.*
paTTon: o sh1t!
*paTTon has left the game.*

[Constitution Day]

Isn’t it?

XM Comedy played that song on the afternoon this article was posted, so I was really psyched.

[steve-b]

LOL! That’s even better than the election one I posted upthread.

[Moose4]

See, fellas? Who said D&D can’t help you get hot chicks?

}:-)4

[Xenalyte]

“I want to cast Magic Missile.”

[Xenalyte]

Check this out.