Sad news for D&Ders?

[Lee]

AP is reporting the passing of Gary Gygax.

http://www.wbay.com/global/story.asp?s=7963395

[ploesch]

I was introduced to DnD in 1978 for a Birthday present. It was a few years later that I was allowed to sit at a table where Gygax was the Dungeon Master. He was a great fun guy that loved the game and genre.

He was tough though, his games were not very forgiving even though he was.

[AndrewTall]

A man who leaves a big legacy - I wonder how many people have played RPG's of one sort or another (pnp, or computer based) by now? Not to mention the authors and artists whose careers were kick-started by RPG's.

[Thelandrin]

Wow. A great man passes. Like George Lucas, he will probably be remembered for many decades to come.

[The Swordgaunt]

One of the most instrumental persons in the development of this great hobby... Rest in peace.

[Pauper]

I mean words of lament, that is a loss.

They could have send all the officials of Eberron and Faerun without such dire impact. He was original, they are just paid hirelings.


Sorry for typing my opinion once more? :eek:

[geeman]

For the past couple days, I`ve been mulling over how to characterize
the influence of GG in a suitably respectful and accurate way, and this is it:

Hugh Hefner didn`t invent beautiful naked women. He didn`t even
popularize them or make them any more appealing than they ever had
been. But he did personalize them. He made what had been the
aristocratic attitude towards sex democratic and accessible to the
common man, and he did so in a time when that was particularly
counter-culture. He made us believe that with the right stereo
equipment, political views and attitude, beautiful naked women were
something that we could not only dream of, but that we could maybe even have in our lives.

Similarly, Gary Gygax didn`t invent fantasy fiction, mythology, plots
or characters, but he made them things that we can put our hands
on. I own my first D&D character just as much as I own the first
issue of Playboy I ever bought (or stole from my Dad`s
closet....) He gave us the tools to strip away the outward shell of
characters who were until that point nothing more than abstractions,
so that we can engage with them in a way that goes beyond
storytelling. We can do more than dream about such things now;
we can have them in our lives.

Gygax was the guy who put it all together. There were lots of
contributors without whom he never would have got anywhere, but (to
use an analogy that the old war gamer would probably have liked) they
are like the individual acts of bravery on the battlefield that win
the battle for the general. Without the general in command we`d have
a vastly different set of computer games out there in the world
today, and I`d suggest even more than a few different attitudes
towards acting and drama, for the influence of gaming plots and
structure has had a much broader influence on the culture than most
people would recognize.

I have no doubt that without Gygax, the world would be a noticeably
different and not-so-interesting place and, in the final analysis,
that`s about the best thing you can say about a person. So for that
we (and most people who don`t even know it) owe him a big debt of gratitude.

Gary

[Lawgiver]

I cannot convey how much of an impact Gary had on my life. I encounter D&D in 8th grade and at 29 it has led me down many roads and ultimately is the reason I'm heavily involved in the gaming industry today. I was deeply saddened to hear of his passing and my condolences go out to friends and loved ones. But I took great joy in reading Gary's correspondence with fans, especially this one. I look forward to one day hopefully getting to sit at a gaming table with Gary in heaven.



Thank You, Michael,

All I am is another fellow human that has at last, after many wrong paths and failed attenpts, found Jesus Christ.

Via con dios,
Gary

"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." Matthew 5:16



Your spirit of excellence, passion and joy were a shining example to all of us in life, but this decision is the one of greatest importance and a path I hope many others will follow you down my friend. Via con dios Gary.