Gary Gygax Obituary at The Economist

chevalier · Mon, 17th Mar '08, 12:22am

Economist.com has published a longer obituary on the occasion of the death of Gary Gygax - the father of Dungeons & Dragons, known among the players as the original Dungeon Master. The article deals with the origins of D&D and the role of Mr Gygax in those, as well as the way he was removed from his creation later on, a while before Wizards of the Coast purchased TSR, the company Mr Gygax had founded. Here's an excerpt:

Gary Gygax was perfectly equipped to bring this fantastic world to basements and dining-room tables all over the world. As a boy he was fascinated by games of all sorts, from pinochle to chess. His father, a violinist, read him countless pulp novels featuring dragons, wizards and elves. Even the family name, he once said, had fantastic origins, proving that the Gygaxes were descended from Goliath.

An interest in history lured him into war-gaming, the re-enactment of historical battles with miniature men and a simple rulebook. For several months the members of the Lake Geneva Tactical Studies Association (a grand name for a group of friends that met in Mr Gygax's basement) entertained themselves by re-fighting old battles. One day, to spice things up, Mr Gygax turned a plastic dinosaur into a dragon and mixed in wizards and trolls among the men-at-arms.

Read the rest at Economist.com.

Caradhras · Mon, 17th Mar '08, 7:19pm

Quote:

“Gary Gygax Fails Fortitude Save” read one online epitaph, intelligible only to the initiated.

Should be "Save vs Death" really and not that 3E Fortitude stuff.

Mon, 17th Mar '08, 12:22am	#1
chevalier SPS Account Holder Senior News Editor Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: I wish I were in the land of coffee... Posts: 16,675 Like: 2 Liked 1 Time in 1 Post vBActivity - Stats XP: 62,754 Level: 62 vBActivity - Bars Level Completion: 24.53% Daily Activity 3.42% Weekly Activity 2.94% Monthly Activity 2.76% Achievements	Gary Gygax Obituary at The Economist Economist.com has published a longer obituary on the occasion of the death of Gary Gygax - the father of Dungeons & Dragons, known among the players as the original Dungeon Master. The article deals with the origins of D&D and the role of Mr Gygax in those, as well as the way he was removed from his creation later on, a while before Wizards of the Coast purchased TSR, the company Mr Gygax had founded. Here's an excerpt: Gary Gygax was perfectly equipped to bring this fantastic world to basements and dining-room tables all over the world. As a boy he was fascinated by games of all sorts, from pinochle to chess. His father, a violinist, read him countless pulp novels featuring dragons, wizards and elves. Even the family name, he once said, had fantastic origins, proving that the Gygaxes were descended from Goliath. An interest in history lured him into war-gaming, the re-enactment of historical battles with miniature men and a simple rulebook. For several months the members of the Lake Geneva Tactical Studies Association (a grand name for a group of friends that met in Mr Gygax's basement) entertained themselves by re-fighting old battles. One day, to spice things up, Mr Gygax turned a plastic dinosaur into a dragon and mixed in wizards and trolls among the men-at-arms. Read the rest at Economist.com.
	Last edited by Taluntain; Tue, 18th Mar '08 at 12:36pm.

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