The co-creator of Dungeons and Dragons passed away this morning. He was 69. From the AP Article:

Gygax and co-creator Dave Arneson developed the role-playing game in 1974 and it went on to become one of the best-selling games ever. Dungeons & Dragons is considered the grandfather of fantasy role-playing games and has influenced video games, books, movies and inspired legions of adoring fans.

Undoubtedly, more later.

UPDATE: ICv2 has a nice obit that talks about the various legal battles surrounding GGG and DD.

posted by mark coale

1 COMMENT

  1. I failed MY roll against sadness. He seemed like a genuinely fun and cool guy. Thanks for making middle school fun Gary.

  2. Having first played Dungeons & Dragons over thirty plus years ago, D&D was the spark of creativity that ignited my imagination. While I haven’t had much involvement with the game over the last few years, I am looking forward to the fourth edition coming out later this year, and look fondly at the years of enjoyment that D&D has provided over the years.

  3. I actually didn’t start playing until college, which was pretty fun, since playing D&D while ever-so-slightly inebriated was lots of fun.

  4. I’ve been playing various incarnations of D&D since the mid-1980s. I met my wife through gamer friends. We got her playing and now she GMs.

    I’ve never met Gary, but will be missed.

  5. I’ve been playing various incarnations of D&D since the mid-1980s. I met my wife through gamer friends. We got her playing and now she GMs.

    I’ve never met Gary, but he will be missed.

  6. no disrespect to the recently deceased, but didn’t Mr Gygax represent the very stereotype that we all try so hard to disprove?
    didn’t his creation, it’s followers, and the public perception of both in some ways help keep this artform that we love relegated to dank “LCS” and mother’s basements for decades?
    i’m sure he was a perfectly wonderful human being, but many of the people he gave voice and persona to have done nothing but damage to the zeitgeist surrounding comics, stunting it’s growth and acceptance.

    and if you think Gygax and Dungeons and Dragons don’t have any effect or influence in the world of comics and cartooning, you are wrong. why else would it be reported here?

  7. “Life’s a die, then you bitch.” –button slogan
    Most regional SF/Fantasy conventions would not exist were it not for the cash gamer attendees pay. They enter the ballroom on Friday, spend the entire weekend gaming, stumble out on Sunday afternoon satisfied, and all it cost was tables and volunteers to run the tournaments. One convention I worked funded the first show by running a one-day gaming con during Easter Break!
    How many comics shops also sell gaming paraphenalia? How many comics writers also write fantasy and science fiction?
    And for every Comic Book Guy stereotype, there’s an interesting, intelligent fangirl like Asia Carera.

  8. Stop trying to disprove the stereotype. Nothing’s holding back comics, while people are making basement jokes the comics themselves have gotten better and better.
    Gary Gygax gave a lot of people a lot of good times. We should all be so lucky.

  9. Wizards has effectively wrote Gary out of continuity with 4.0, discontinuing Greyhawk.

    Gary was running gaming sessions up until January and it’s a shame that I didn’t get out there to participate more. He was a very cool and appreciative guy.

  10. Gary Gygax was a creative man who showed millions of people a way to tap into their own creativity and have fun. Probably only Stan Lee has had a greater influence on things that fill my spare time.

    Goddard, his death is being reported here because there are people who are interested in both comics and D&D. Or simply because Heidi found it worth reporting. Sure, there is a negative stereotype of a D&D nerd out there. Yes, it has a lot in common with the negative stereotype of the comics nerd.

    But to argue that the existence of D&D has been detrimental to comics? That’s a pretty big leap of logic. There are always going to be nerds. Does every nerd hurt comics? Did D&D make more nerds, or were the nerds already there? What about Star Wars nerds? Do they hurt comics too? There are a LOT of Star Wars nerds out there who like to dress up and go to conventions. Does that hurt comics? Star Trek nerds? Babylon-5 nerds? Buffy nerds? Lord of the Rings nerds?

    And what about LARPers? I bet *they’re* the reason for most of the problems that comics are having these days. They’re the nerdiest nerds of all.

  11. “Wizards has effectively wrote Gary out of continuity with 4.0, discontinuing Greyhawk.”

    Please shut up. It drives me crazy that a great man’s death is being used to push forward people’s bugaboos.

    The new edition of D&D will be dedicated to Gary, and that’s a fine tribute.

  12. I didn’t begin my RPGing with D&D, nor have I played a lot of D&D in my time. Greg Stafford means a lot more to me in terms of games I enjoy. Still… E. Gary Gygax is the one who started my favorite hobby.

    RIP, Mr. Gygax.

    Wizards has effectively wrote Gary out of continuity with 4.0, discontinuing Greyhawk.

    No, he’s still there. It’s still called Dungeons & Dragons, after all. Gygax and Arneson haven’t been retconned.

    And this isn’t the first time Greyhawk’s been discontinued, right? It, Schwarzenegger, will be back.