Gary Gygax rolled a natural one today, dying at the age of 69. Here is a bit of the AP: obituary.
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.
More here http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9885383-7.html
So, who’s up for tackling the Temple of Elemental Evil this weekend? I mean, we have to do something to honor the man. Anyone have an idea for a fitting tribute?
Gail Gygax. Man.
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Tears of the Troglodyte
Survived by his loving wife Gail and their children, Garrett, Gregory, Gwyneth and Gilgamesh. His first wife, Gehenna, could not be reached for comment.
Consult your DM screen and calculate the odds that his “abdominal aneurysm” was caused by too much Pibb and Frito-Lay.
Consider my lead miniature painted and poised for adventure in any sort of memorial campaign. I will be playing a half-elven cleric, as is my wont.
kittens and grandmas
Carlos the Dwarf Stands and Delivers
Are they sure?
Are they sure he’s dead? Maybe his hit points only reached zero.
Someone contact Erol Otus and see if he still remembers that Resurrect spell.
Fly By Night
I’m listening to Fly By Night, All the way though.
I have the hex grid and water markers ready! Call me up and we’ll roll.
I’ll be playing the no level guy, who found the Staff of the Magi in the Keep, as is my wont.
I bet we could get Jeff Dee
Holy cow! Those boys from Fks&Gks are using dominoes as dungeon walls! Was this a common practice? Why didn’t we know about that? Seems pretty smart! I have dominoes. I have my “smoked gems” dice set. I have extra Player Handbooks and a booklet of the original blank character sheets. And I think Dadmin Master once downloaded the entire TSR module library. Let’s roll.
I rolled a six-sided "WHY?!!!"
So maybe: Gregory, Garrett, Gwyneth, Gilgamesh, Galahad and Githyanki.
And from a news story discussing Gary’s deteriorating health…
“He would be in a daze,” Gail Gygax said. “Especially when he was creating a new world. One time he was painting a globe for two weeks.” http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/welcome
D&Dumber
I failed my first and only D&D “game”, hanging out in a dorm room decorated with Motley Crue posters with a “guide” who was much like John Candy in “Stripes”.
Couple of months ago, I lent my VHS of “Boone DeGluken” to a cohort who helps host a weekly video viewing for a crowd that includes a couple of recent D&D converts - went over a smash!
Gun Gy
Holy cow! Those boys from Fks&Gks are using dominoes as dungeon walls! Was this a common practice? Why didn’t we know about that? Seems pretty smart! I have dominoes. I have my “smoked gems” dice set. [/quote] Fuck that, I wanna get a drill and thread me together some crazy-ass dices to make some sweet pret-a-porter. You with me, Wiz? Yarn, purty dices, uncomfortable-to-wear-but-pretty bodices … OK, I’m sorry but I’d rather wear a bikini made of 20-sided dices than play a D&D game. (OK, maybe “fucking sweatpants”? Leg warmers? A porkpie hat?) I guess that got me where I am today. I DO thank and love you, sweet E. Gary Gygax, for the life I have now, because when all is said and done, I would be childless, husbandless, alone, and totally without ex-boyfriends, and many friends, not to mention free time one night a week when I did have said ex-(but not then) boyfriends, without your D&Dtastic contributions. I thank you, Mr. Gygax, more than all of the times I’ve cursed you because I went to bed alone because of you. I have come to understand; and I have laughed with you at names such as “gelatinous cube” and “shambling mound.” I do not pretend to understand the worlds, much less the people, you have brought forth. But I do love you for your strong influence in making so many men (and occasionally) women what they have become. Mainly, my children’s fathers. God Bless.
funny...ive been trying to
funny…ive been trying to get a group of folks to commit to a night a week for a spell now….spells…mmmm….magical delicous spells….
no such luck….but then just today…..as if i rolled a seventeen on my well worn 20 sider….tessie starts work….
she plays on monday nights…
better bet yer bipples im gonna move on into some of that action….
You're going to need a mace. Or Mace.
[quote=Angie]Fuck that, I wanna get a drill and thread me together some crazy-ass dices to make some sweet pret-a-porter. You with me, Wiz? Yarn, purty dices, uncomfortable-to-wear-but-pretty bodices … OK, I’m sorry but I’d rather wear a bikini made of 20-sided dices than play a D&D game. (OK, maybe "fucking sweatpants"? Leg warmers? A porkpie hat?) [/quote]
If you go for the dice(y) bikini, I’m going to recommend you roll for some weapons, too, because you’re going to need them to beat down the boys. I do like the clear die, and think they’d make some nice memorial jewelry….
I played a fair amount of D&D, but I never knew exactly what I was doing. I basically did whatever Sean said, which served him well in that he was always entertained AND winning. I also thoroughly enjoyed painting figurines, especially if they needed to have color-coordinated robes.
by the way....tessie has 12
by the way….tessie has 12 sided dice earrings….she got them for xmas….
Hey, ladeez!
E. Gary Gygax Memorial Roll-Up
Slimons and I were blabbing about how those games are mostly fun for the character creation process, then Cookie and I were talking about the same thing, pretty much, ten minutes later. From those discussions was born the idea of the E. Gary Gygax Memorial Roll-Up. Show up. Create some characters. Play a ridiculously short and sweet old school adventure and leave 1d12 + 1 hours later.
This would be a one-time deal, an actual tribute, sort of like bank robbers agreeing to one last job before retiring to Bermuda.
Cookie also suggested that every character should be named with an anagram of Gygax, as in “The Great Gaxgy, Gnome Illusionist.”
Date, location and details to follow.
Who will DM?
Who will be the Dungeon Master? I wanna know so I can tell if it’s "gravy train" campaigning or "kill-em all" style. Don’t trust the NPC, he’s lying about his allignment and will stab you in the back. Maybe I’ll just stay home and watch Friday Night Videos.