Seriously Matt, in this thread, at this time, that was in very poor taste. And as someone who is generally in very poor taste I know of what I speak.
This is sad, the man performed a great service for all of nerd-dom. If I had a flag I’d fly it at half mast.
Blue box was my first set as well. I put all the chits into Dixie cups. I tried running it, but we really couldn’t get the rules to make much sense to us.
I can’t remember where I got my first “real dice”, but they were lumpy and mis-shapen, and you had to blacken the numbers with a grease pencil.
Ultimately we connected with some older gamers who showed us the magic of the “Advanced” rules.
Well this sucks.
(memo to self-- catch Colbert Report tonight)
And for no particular reason…
I’m going to go and dig up some old dice and roll them in his honor. RIP, Gary Gygax.
Talked to a few of my gaming buddies, we will play a tomb of horror scenario in rememberance of gary.
Failed his save versus death.
Rest, mate. And thanks.
RIP for one of tabletop gaming’s founding fathers and true pioneers.
I was a DM for years and years and years. In middle and high school the valedictorian, the salutitorian (or whatever number two in the class is), and me played pretty regularly. We went through tons of systems (Amber, Marvel, RIFTS, etc.) but always came back to DnD. In fact when I was in Wilmington, NC I went to a sweet comic book store that had a lot of the old hardcover first edition AD&D books with his name on them. I bought Dieties and Demigods for old times sake. They even had the original Player’s Guide (with the people tunneling around) and DM guide (with the efreeti).
Fond memories. Farewell sir.
I still have all my first edition stuff.
D&D (and role-playing games in general) changed my life, so it’s quite sad to hear of his passing. I hope he lived well and was happy. I’ll have a whiskey tonight in his name.
-Mink-
D&D geek 4life.
As a former tabletop RPG guy, I can say that Gary Gygax is literally why I’m here.
By the time I got out of tabletop, he’d gone the cranky-old-man-on-the-porch route, saying that roleplaying was really about collecting treasure and those damn LARPers had better get offa his lawn, but it didn’t matter. Without him, none of the rest of it would have happened.
I still have my blue box. I’ll be cracking it open tonight.
Here’s the AP write:
AP STORY:
Dungeons & Dragons co-creator Gary Gygax dies at 69; mapped out role-playing game in 1974
Eds: ADDS details.
By EMILY FREDRIX=
Associated Press Writer=
MILWAUKEE (AP) – 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.
“It really meant a lot to him to hear from people from over the years about how he helped them become a doctor, a lawyer, a policeman, what he gave them,” Gygax said. “He really enjoyed that.”
Dungeons & Dragons players create fictional characters and carry out their adventures with the help of complicated rules. The quintessential geek pastime, it spawned a wealth of copycat games and later inspired a whole genre of computer games that’s still growing in popularity.
Funeral arrangements are pending. Besides his wife, Gygax is survived by six children.(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
A lejendary man. RIP.
Saga of Old City is still one of my favorite books. I can’t even count how much time I spent playing D&D.
RIP friend.
Very sad news. His work had such a profound influence on my childhood, and helped me make many like-minded friends over the years.
Well he certainly changed my life as well, RP geek that I am. He was guest of honour at one of our cons in the 80s. I was in the finals of the D&D tournament and he sat in and commented on our flailing about. My thoughts at the time were geez what a pompous git.
However definitely a huge influence on my life.
From an interview we did a few years back (2004):
GameSpy: Gaming fans were upset a few months ago when we heard that you had had a stroke. How is your health now?
Gary Gygax: I feel pretty good now. I just can’t exert myself too much. I’m still too overweight, though. I shouldn’t even be smoking these cigars. I also quit smoking a pack of Camels a day.
GameSpy: Well, that should help.
Gygax: After fifty years, it was a bummer. I love to smoke.
GameSpy: I’d bet you love to live even more.
Gygax: [Laughs] Probably so, probably so.
RIP. :(
Had those too before getting the ‘Dragon Dice’ that looked like they were carved from gem stones and came in a cool cloth pouch.
Kept mine in a Crown Royal bag. I definately had my “lucky dice” that no-one else was to touch.