I just learned that Gary Gygax, the architect of an arguable waste of time I spent a slavish amount of my pre-adolescence involved with, just passed away.
I actually got to meet the great man when my father pitched a story to Forbes Magazine about the budding phenomenon in 1979. I was twelve years old and thoroughly geeked out. We flew to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin (headquarters of Gygax's TSR Games), and I got to schmooze with Gygax, Brian Blume and the stable of in-house artists like Jeff Dee and Erol Otus. You have no idea how huge this was for me at the time. I still have my autographed copy of the Dungeon Master's Guide. I shall never part with it.
In any case, let the Gelatinous Cubes pause in their tireless slithering. Let the Orcs bow their tusks. Let the Purple Worms mope in their slime-caked lairs. May the twenty-sided dice be still. Pour thyself a dragon-festooned hogshead of mead and pour one out for the late, great Dungeon Master.
ADDENDUM: Our local NPR affiliate, WNYC, just did a nice piece on Gygax for All Things Considered. You can hear it by clicking right here.
Recent Comments