Rock, Paper, Shotgun

Farewell to the Father of Roleplaying

Posted by Alec Meer on March 4th, 2008 at 6:25 pm.

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Update – confirmations now trickling in from across the web.

Okay – this is oddly uncorroborated by larger news sources as yet, but as the sad tidings originated just hours ago as a posting from the head of Troll Lord Games, his current publisher, they’re very likely true.

Gary Gygax, the co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons, has passed away, aged just 69. He had been seriously ill for some time.

Would we ever have had PC RPGs without Gygax’s laying down of roleplaying foundations back in 1974? Oh, probably – in some form, anyway. But would we have had Ultima, Fallout, Diablo, World of Warcraft, even Deus Ex? Probably not. Baldur’s Gate, Neverwinter Nights and Planescape Torment? Definitely not.

This man gave a great deal to gaming. Bow your heads.

Photo by Alan De Smet.

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58 Comments »

  1. KingMob says:

    There is an empty chair,
    at the table this day.
    A hallowed place where,
    a friend once played.
    The roll of his dice,
    my ears long to hear.
    Or perhaps it would suffice,
    if he should suddenly appear.
    With character sheet in hand,
    and a bag of Cheeze-doodles to share.
    All his friends would stand,
    as he sat in the empty chair.
    I hear his voice a-callin’,
    and it ties my heart in a knot.
    For he cries, “Though a comrade has fallen,
    You must play for those who cannot.”
    We conquered worlds on the run,
    he and I in the name of fun.
    And as others may come and go,
    I make both both friend and foe.
    But what I long for most,
    is our past now long a ghost.

    “Empty Chair Eulogy,” Knights of the Dinner Table
    http://www.kenzerco.com/index.php?cPath=22_23

  2. neoanderthal says:

    this was the same intensity gobsmack for me as when doug adams died. dammit, what a shame…

  3. sigma83 says:

    Farewell, and rest in peace.

  4. matt says:

    I’ll join in, that’s some sad news to start a day.

  5. Shamer says:

    For giving us a portal leading to wondrous realms of imagination and showing us how to use it… I too shall respectfully raise a cup of Dwarven Ale with my party comrades, silent by the fireplace, in a tawern, in some distant land…

  6. Joe Martin says:

    …shit.

    I’ll be sure to name a character after him next time I speedrun Baldurs Gate 2. Gygax is a frankly awesome name anyway.

  7. Alex Grose says:

    Don’t know whether anybody noticed this from the Now Show this week.

    Recoded it and uploaded it here:
    Click

  8. Stephane Abecassis says:

    I feel I must pay my respect to the one person that made my imagination fly as a youngster. I played countless hours of ad&d perusing the rules. I think I owe that man a big part of my understanding of english. In 82 there was no translation in french
    Puisse tu reposer en paix Gary Gygax.
    may you rest in peace, You’ll be remembered

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