RIP Gary Gygax

[D_Davis]

Today is a sad day for nerds everywhere.

http://games.slashdot.org/games/08/03/04/1750206.shtml

He's gone on to the great adventure in the sky, hopefully while drinking some ale in a torch-lit tavern.

[shaun]

Saving throw obv failed.

:sad:

[Kurious Jorge v3.1]

At least he's going to a place where everybody is a level 5 wizard and there are no trolls or orcs.

[D_Davis]

The Fark thread is massive...

http://forums.fark.com/cgi/fark/comments.pl?IDLink=3443526

[D_Davis]

http://hometown.aol.co.uk/milliemoo99/home/dadgroup.jpg

[Stay Puft]

http://img513.imageshack.us/img513/6513/tarrasquehn2.jpg

That thing was awesome. A friend of mine randomly put it into one of our campaigns just to fuck with us. Half the party died. The other half ran away.

R.I.P. Gygax. Good times.

[D_Davis]

I would argue that Gygax influenced the realms of fantasy fiction just as much as someone like Tolkien.

[rocus]

In college, every Thursday night a group of my friends and I (about 6-7 of us) would meet up in a conference room above the student union that was unused. We would play until the wee hours of the morning, eating pizza and killing baddies. I can talk about the adventures as if they actually happened. Good times.

[Spinal]

I would argue that Gygax influenced the realms of fantasy fiction just as much as someone like Tolkien.

Would there be a Gygax without Tolkien though? I always assumed that Gygax's innovation was finding a way to essentially make Tolkien interactive. I've never researched the connection between the two though, so I don't know how direct it was.

[D_Davis]

Would there be a Gygax without Tolkien though? I always assumed that Gygax's innovation was finding a way to essentially make Tolkien interactive. I've never researched the connection between the two though, so I don't know how direct it was.

Probably not.

Gygax definitely owes his lineage to Tolkien, for sure, but Gygax also did a lot to expand the realms of high and low fantasy. His impact was probably more evangelical, and through the way he incorporated myths and legends from all over the world, and introduced people to these aspects, he helped to draw more and more people into various fantasy worlds.

[Spinal]

Probably not.

Gygax definitely owes his lineage to Tolkien, for sure, but Gygax also did a lot to expand the realms of high and low fantasy. His impact was probably more evangelical, and through the way he incorporated myths and legends from all over the world, and introduced people to these aspects, he helped to draw more and more people into various fantasy worlds.

Good point. I've never played an actual game of pencil-and-paper D&D, but man, I loved reading those books when I was a kid. I remember saving up my money to buy the Monster Manual and Deities and Demigods. My brother and I would use them as inspiration to create our own games, sometimes involving dice and stats, sometimes not.

[Fezzik]

As someone still heavily involved in the PnP RPG industry, this news hits hard.

I'm traveling to Orlando this weekend for MegaCon, where my newest D&D organized play adventure premieres, and I'm hoping they do something in memory of Mr. Gygax.

*removes his Helm of Brilliance and bows his head*

Godspeed, Gary. May all your crit threats confirm.

:sad:

[Wryan]

From the guys at Penny Arcade...

http://www.penny-arcade.com/images/2008/20080304.jpg

Never played D&D myself, btw.

[D_Davis]

As someone still heavily involved in the PnP RPG industry, this news hits hard.

I'm traveling to Orlando this weekend for MegaCon, where my newest D&D organized play adventure premieres, and I'm hoping they do something in memory of Mr. Gygax.

*removes his Helm of Brilliance and bows his head*

Godspeed, Gary. May all your crit threats confirm.

:sad:

The Con season is going to be bitter sweet this year.

I'm tempted to go to a bunch just to see the tributes.

[D_Davis]

Good point. I've never played an actual game of pencil-and-paper D&D, but man, I loved reading those books when I was a kid. I remember saving up my money to buy the Monster Manual and Deities and Demigods. My brother and I would use them as inspiration to create our own games, sometimes involving dice and stats, sometimes not.

Because of D&D, I got into writing, drawing, world mythology, and Joseph Campbell.

Gygax had a lot to do with this. Maybe not directly, but his finger prints are all over the person I am today.

[Spinal]

Maybe not directly, but his finger prints are all over the person I am today.

I'm sure none of us will hold that against him.

[D_Davis]

I'm sure none of us will hold that against him.

Blame Gygax!

I'd like to thank Jesus, Gary Gygax, Commander Mark of the Secret City, Robotech, Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois.

:lol:

[megladon8]

http://img513.imageshack.us/img513/6513/tarrasquehn2.jpg

That thing was awesome. A friend of mine randomly put it into one of our campaigns just to fuck with us. Half the party died. The other half ran away.

R.I.P. Gygax. Good times.


That was one of the images some people were trying to pass off as "it's the Cloverfield monster!!!" a couple of months back.

And RIP Gygax. :cry:

[Spinal]

I'd like to thank Jesus, Gary Gygax, Commander Mark of the Secret City, Robotech, Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois.


AKA The Axis of Evil

[Fezzik]

That was one of the images some people were trying to pass off as "it's the Cloverfield monster!!!" a couple of months back.

And RIP Gygax. :cry:


Damn, that would have been awesome.

Long live the Tarrasque!

[D_Davis]

AKA The Axis of Evil

The Axis of Universal Awesome-sauce, more like it.

[bac0n]

Gary Gygax was the reason I never got laid until college.

Which isn't necessarily a bad thing.

RIP, GG

[megladon8]

And I love that Penny Arcade cartoon.

Tastefully done - shows respect for the man and his legacy, and manages to make a light, harmless and genuinely funny joke.

[Ezee E]

Never played D&D, but I have played Star Wars RPG on the D6 system, and even created my own games of Aliens, and a whole different Sci-Fi game. I'm sure neither would exist without that man.

RIP

[Spinal]

Anyone ever play Top Secret (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_Secret_%28role-playing_game%29)?

[D_Davis]

Anyone ever play Top Secret (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_Secret_%28role-playing_game%29)?

Never played it, but I looked at it many times on the shelves of various game stores.

[Spinal]

Never played it, but I looked at it many times on the shelves of various game stores.

It was a really cool James Bond-ian twist on the D&D rules. Reading this thread makes me want to buy a copy on Ebay or something.

[Stay Puft]

That was one of the images some people were trying to pass off as "it's the Cloverfield monster!!!" a couple of months back.

Ha! I didn't know that.

I would pay to see New York get destroyed by the tarrasque. That would be an awesome monster movie. And it lives in two dimensions! How would the American military kill it? They wouldn't. It would go on a feeding frenzy and then go back to sleep. Only to be awaken for the sequel! Franchise material, right there.

[D_Davis]

It was a really cool James Bond-ian twist on the D&D rules. Reading this thread makes me want to buy a copy on Ebay or something.

I did play the James Bond RPG. I think it was made by the same company. Perhaps one was derived from the other?

Never mind...they weren't.

[megladon8]

Ha! I didn't know that.

I would pay to see New York get destroyed by the tarrasque. That would be an awesome monster movie. And it lives in two dimensions! How would the American military kill it? They wouldn't. It would go on a feeding frenzy and then go back to sleep. Only to be awaken for the sequel! Franchise material, right there.


The government's last and only option is...

Clive Owen.

[lovejuice]

I would argue that Gygax influenced the realms of fantasy fiction just as much as someone like Tolkien.

i'm the farthest person possible from d&d fanboyism, but speaking as an FF's fan, even we own a debt to this guy. and i agree with you about the influence of gygax over tolkien.