Ernest Gary Gygax (July 27, 1938 – March 4, 2008)

[greentongue]

Goodbye, Gary...

If people live on in the minds of others and the marks they have made, he will be around for a good long time.
=

[WSmith]

I can't even post a real post. Maybe later.

[Finarvyn]

Y'know, the really sad thing is that I had heard he was sick but had no idea he was THAT sick. I would have sent him a "thank you" e-mail or something had I realized things were this dire. I'm sure that Gary (and others of the era) understand that they had a huge impact on many of our lives, but it would have been nice to tell him that one more time. Gaming has been a part of my life for over 30 years, which is more than 2/3 of my entire existance, and OD&D was the single greatest influence in my gaming world.

If I had to make a list of the greatest influences in my entire life, my father would come first. He would be followed closely by RIchard Feynman's approach to physics, Roddenberry's Star Trek, Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, Gygax/Arneson OD&D, and my wife/kids. (That's just off of the top of my head, and in no particular order. The important thing is that Gary's work ranks so high....)

[crimhthanthegreat]

Very sad for all us us that Gary has passed on. But he would not want us to be sad. So in my group we are getting together to lift a toast to him and honor his memory. Being that all of us are about the same age to us he was still young, much too young to go and that hits us particularly hard. So we are going to have our own private feast and game session to celebrate his life and accomplishments and mourn his passing and to honor his memory. We owe him for thousands of hours of fun, he will not be forgotten and he will be missed.

Our condolences to his family, may God comfort you all at this time!

[Falconer]

Dear Mike Mearls,

Is there any chance you can encourage WotC to seize this occasion to do a reprint of the original Dungeons & Dragons, Mr. Gygax’s magnum opus?

If its limited release coincided with the release of 4e, it would be seen as a celebration of the 4e release (rather than a dangerous competitor—which, in any case, is ridiculous) as much as a celebration of Gygax’s life.

Just thought I would ask. Thanks.

[Zulgyan]

Send Mearls an e-mail. He might aswer faster.

[Stonegiant]

It is sad and ironic that three of the people who have had the greatest impact on my life (outside of church and family) I never had the opportunity to meet in person-

Gary Gygax
Charles Schultz
and
JRR Tolkien

Boy have I got some and questions and hand shaking to do when I go on to my final rest.

[korgoth]

It's really hard for me to post anything about this right now.

I never took the opportunity to thank him. We interacted a bit on EN World a while ago; I was properly solicitous and I hope that he was able to read the respect in my lines... but I wasn't thanking him. I was just chatting about stuff (scotch whisky, mostly, if I recall). I wish I had the chance to look him in the eye, shake his hand and tell him how much he, a man I had never met, has meant to me.

I was a nerd and a bookworm as a kid. We moved around a lot. I hung out with adults and played chess and didn't get along with kids my own age. So really I never had that many friends. Maybe this will sound pathetic, but in a way Gary Gygax was my friend. I read his books and I delighted in his style... as you may recall the 1e DMG is downright conversational at times. His imaginations and flights of fancy fueled my much drier intellect to attain the fantastic as well.

I feel like I knew him somehow. Not actually, obviously, but in the sense that his words (and thus, to some extent, sentiments) led my life in directions it might not have otherwise gone, and exposed my imagination to his unique visions. It's akin to losing a parent. I just lost one a while back so I know what that feels like, and this is not nearly so intense of course (it would be if I knew him personally), but there is a lot of similarity in it.

Anyway, I have to think about something else now. One last thing I will say, though: whatever else I am inclined to say about WOTC (and I'm not happy about some things right now, and yes obviously it regards an upcoming product line) I am happy to acknowledge my own gratitude and indebtedness to them for making OD&D available to the masses at least in PDF. Of course I'd love it if they reprinted it, and I'd love it twice as much if they reprinted it and named it "4th Edition"; but whatever else, it is genuinely a mitzvah that they allow it to be sold in any form at all. They could just sit on it if they wanted to... whether they stand to profit from it or not, it is really genuinely a service to the gaming community that they keep it 'in print', at least electronically.

[Zulgyan]

I want to post the best page on an RPG book ever:



He was a humble game designer, and wanted us all to become great referees.

Thank you so much E.G.G.

[danproctor]

stonegiant said:

It is sad and ironic that three of the people who have had the greatest impact on my life (outside of church and family) I never had the opportunity to meet in person-

Gary Gygax
Charles Schultz
and
JRR Tolkien

Boy have I got some and questions and hand shaking to do when I go on to my final rest.

My wife and I went to Winter's Dark II in January at the spur of the moment really, and we were very fortunate to get to meet Gary. What surprised me most about him was that even after hundreds, or more likely thousands, of gamers over the years have told him the same things about how he impacted their lives, how much he influenced their capacity for imagination, Gary was genuinely happy to hear it every time. He was also very humble. He jumped at the chance to sign game books, and was never dismissive of admiring fans. And all of this is just my one time impression, but from what I've heard from others this was the norm for him.

I'll never forget those few hours in Gary's dining room playing OD&D, or the next day when he was helping me play Dragon Lairds as I was getting my butt stomped by Jim Ward and Tom Wham (and my wife of course). I've been thinking back also to the days when my friends and I first discovered the red box D&D when I was 8 years old, and how that whole summer we adventured in worlds we never would have otherwise imagined. Imagine the power of something that can keep kids of this age sitting still in one place for hours at a time, instead of running around wreaking havoc in the neighborhood.

Well, there is so much more I could say, but I guess the words could never express what Gary's work has meant to me. There is no doubt that Gary will live on through so many of us and even through people who have yet to discover him. I wish his family well.

[doc]

I still can't believe it, but after spending several hours on various websites reading how Gary touched so many lives I am starting to come to terms with his passing.

I never met him personally, but one of the things that always struck me about him was that in every picture I ever saw of him he had a big smile. He enjoyed life and enjoyed gaming with all his heart, and it showed.

If you go to The Order of the Stick webpage, you will find a special tribute comic strip honoring Gary Gygax (and don't pretend that you all don't have The Order of the Stick bookmarked under Favorite Places). It's very cool.

This Thursday is going to be EGG appreciation night for my group. I am going to put these kids who have never played anything earlier than 3.0 through the original Giant modules.

Doc

[sham]

My prayers are with Gary's family and friends. I am grateful for the past 30 years of fantasy, creativity and FUN that I owe to Gary. I just wish I could've thanked him in person. Many, many more adventures will be enjoyed in his memory. R.I.P Gary.

Wow, I'm almost in tears right now. So many great memories.

Thanks, Gary.

[geoffrey]

korgoth said:

Maybe this will sound pathetic, but in a way Gary Gygax was my friend. I read his books and I delighted in his style... as you may recall the 1e DMG is downright conversational at times. His imaginations and flights of fancy fueled my much drier intellect to attain the fantastic as well.

I feel like I knew him somehow. Not actually, obviously, but in the sense that his words (and thus, to some extent, sentiments) led my life in directions it might not have otherwise gone, and exposed my imagination to his unique visions. It's akin to losing a parent. I just lost one a while back so I know what that feels like, and this is not nearly so intense of course (it would be if I knew him personally), but there is a lot of similarity in it.

I feel much the same way. I never met Gary, but I also feel that he was my friend. His death makes me feel like an orphan. He is a father to all FRPGers.

[sham]

In Gary's honor, inspired by a few posts I saw on other forums about 'rolling 1d20 ' in his honor, I decided to roll 3d6 six times straight in Gary's honor. I have not yet decided exactly what to do with these stats, but I was bowled over by the results.

First, I took out 3d6 and gave a warm up roll. 6,6,6. An 18. I kid you not. This then was no warm up roll, and became Str 18. I followed with some really amazing rolls and ended up with what is probably the best straight rolled D&D character I've ever seen. If I share the actual results I doubt anyone would believe them. Suffice to say these numbers will used for a major NPC in my campaign.

I decided if these dice were this 'hot' I'd keep rolling. Then the 8's and 9's showed up, and a 7, so I stopped.

I'll decide what to do with this character later. For now, hopefully my sentimental silliness doesn't offend anyone.

I am truly set back by this news today. My Wife doesn't understand why I suddenly became so morose tonight. I tried to explain, but I just couldn't.

After a little while, she said "I really need to play more D&D with you. I think I must be missing out."

[foster1941]

One of the guys in my semi-former gaming group (they're still playing, and I'm still on their email list, but I haven't played with them since the last DM-switch and campaign-reset about 6 months ago) suggested getting together sometime soon for a one-shot old-school dungeon-crawl in honor of EGG's memory. I'm trying to convince them to let me run The Lost Caverns of Tsojconth* (probably just the Greater Caverns level) using the OD&D rules. That seems like a wonderfully fitting tribute, running Gary's first published dungeon under his first published ruleset. Alas, at least a couple of the guys in the group are die-hard AD&D only, so they'll probably insist on the AD&D version (module S4) instead, but I'm trying...

*note: the info on this site is wrong; the module was published in 1976, not 1978.

[badger2305]

I am saddened by Gary's death, though I had been aware he was in poor health. My thoughts and prayers are with his family and loved ones.

I very much endorse the idea of celebrating Gary's life and achievements. Introduce someone new to gaming, host a gaming session at your home or nearby college or FLGS, gather friends and tell your favorite gaming stories. It's what he would want us to do, I feel.

[Zulgyan]

www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZ5SoBJ8EWY

[Stonegiant]

zulgyan said:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZ5SoBJ8EWY

Wow, that brought up all sorts of weird emotions, I also realize now that I really need to buy a copy of the D&D experience on DVD.

[Zulgyan]

Don't miss the "About the video" description.

[kesher]

As I've been reading all these tributes, I've been thinking a lot. This whole thing has made me sadder than I would've expected. The fact is, there was a chunk of my gaming life where I discounted Gygax; I considered his writing confused and his ideas bogged down in the "past", whatever that means.

However, just a couple of years ago, when my interest in all things oldskool was picking up steam, I reread the DM's Guide, carefully and thoroughly. I came to several conclusions:

1. His writing style, while baroque at times, was actually pretty entertaining.

2. More importantly, he had a crystal clear vision of how he intended the game to be played. It's right there in the text, with no actual ambiguity. Reading various articles in early Dragon magazines only confirms it. I just never payed attention, and spent A LOT of time trying to play an almost completely different game than he had intended, and getting frustrated with HIM for that. Too bad for me, 'cause that game is stellar, and I've wasted a lot of time NOT playing it.

So, sorry, Gary. I made fun of you in the past, and you didn't deserve it. I don't know how useful a forum confessional is, but thanks for the game. The highest tribute I can think to give is simply this: I'll pass it on to my sons.

Aaron

*edited for clarity

[coffee]

One thing I'm glad about is that I actually did take the opportunity to thank the man for what he's done for the hobby. I was asking a question over on Dragonsfoot, and just had to throw in my thanks at the same time. He was quite gracious (as I understand he always was). He didn't think of himself as the creator and us the fans; we were all just fellow gamers. That's classy.

[tgamemaster1975]

I am just stunned with the news. I knew he had been ill for several years, but somehow I just figured that he had many years left. Life is short. Send them the flowers while they live. Tell the ones you love that you love them today. He brought more laughter and more fun to my life, especially to my college years, than anyone has a right to have.

Hail to the Gygax!!

[grodog]

Per the post on DF @ www.dragonsfoot.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=27991 the funeral and services will be open to the public. I was already flying up on Sunday to visit with RJK, so I'm moving the flight up a day to attend.

[James Maliszewski]

coffee said:

He didn't think of himself as the creator and us the fans; we were all just fellow gamers. That's classy.

This is very true. He and I exchanged more than a few emails over the years, particularly in the last year as my interest in OD&D was rekindled. In fact, the worst of it is that I still have one sitting in my in-box and, while the subject matter is pretty mundane, I don't have the heart to delete it.

But Gary was always adamant that he was no different than any of us. I call him Gary because he told me I could, "as one gamer to another," after I'd been calling him "Mr. Gygax" for years. What struck me even more than that, though, was that he didn't insist I call him Gary and noted that he didn't want to suggest that showing respect for one's elders was somehow illegitimate or even inappropriate.

That's the way he was: classy, as Calithena puts it. We shall not see his like again.

[danproctor]

Hi all, crossposted from the KnK boards:

I put this together based on a photo Rhuvein took of me with Gary at the con in January, when we played OD&D at Gary's place. I'm posting this so you can use it on your websites, blogs, etc. if you want.

[kesher]

So, my younger brother, who hasn't gamed for at least a decade, was talking to his wife and a couple of their friends about The Passing. They decided, right then and there, to start playing again. I think that rocks.

Now, granted, they'll be playing BD&D (my brother wanted to run something he was familiar with), but they're playing; the campaign starts next weekend. Plus, now my neice and nephew might well have their parents introduce them to the game, instead of me, which I think is eminently better.

[crimhthanthegreat]

A blogger wrote:

I stumbled onto this post on Gygax which has to be the final word on the Dungeonmaster. It appropriately considers Gygax and WFB and draws a connection I thought nobody else would share--hence I did not write it, but Cimmerian/Leo Grin did. Thanks for a thoughtful reflection.

The Dungeonmaster Has Died

[calithena]

Hi Dan -

Any chance I could get a B&W version of that for the dedication in the first issue of Fight On! ?

[danproctor]

calithena said:

Hi Dan -

Any chance I could get a B&W version of that for the dedication in the first issue of Fight On! ?

of course, just send me an email (danielproctor "at" yahoo "dot" com)

[kesher]

Here's the New York Times obit, by a senior editor at Wired. The accompanying diagram is priceless.

www.nytimes.com/2008/03/09/opinion/09rogers.html?_r=2&pagewanted=all&oref=slogin