Gary Gygax: In Memoriam
The year was 1989. My best (and at the time, only) friend, Jeff, was sleeping over for the weekend, and in addition to bringing his sleeping bag and his copy of the uber-cool Zelda II, he had brought the Player's Handbook for AD&D (2nd ed.). As he explained how cool the game was, I hesitated on his offer to help me create a character. "But Jeff," I protested in earnest without any sense of irony and clearly in denial about my true nature, "isn't that a game for nerds?"
Nineteen years later, it's fair for me to say -- again, in earnest -- that D&D played a very significant role in my life. It allowed me to play with concepts about what type of man I wanted to grow up to be. It helped me branch out, and it also helped me meet other people who enjoyed mythic tales and difficult puzzles. Tabletop games were soon augmented by console RPGs, which were themselves later supplemented by CCGs, LARPs, and MMORPGs. 80% of my friends today are people I have gamed with in some medium (as are, I think, 95% of people who read this blog).
And the adventures we have had throughout all those games! I was eyewitness to Syth becoming the greatest archmage in all of history (at least, in one demiplane). My friends and I prevented a war from consuming the world of Oerth. I killed an opponent with only my Blessing-enchanted Ornithopter. Legions of angels fought on my behalf against the forces of darkness. I explored the lands of Rokugan with friends far more honorable than myself. I created undead abominations to further my twisted ambitions. I was a superhero, blessed with a mystically-powered ring. I was a villain who ruthlessly slaughtered an innocent bard because I hated people who wore feathered hats. Even now, I explore the Weird West during my travels with my righteous brother and our colleagues, just as I traverse the border worlds looking for adventure alongside a crew of browncoats. As a mage, my spells have brought powerful enemies to their knees, and reduced other foes to dust. As a rogue, no lock was safe from my nimble fingers. Armed with a magic sword, it was I who slew the demon prince Demogorgan, as my friends answered the hero's call to save the world from annihilation. Collectively, my friends and I have saved the lives of billions. And in the process, we've found ourselves.
As far as I'm concerned, every single one of those adventures were indebted in some way to Gary Gygax.
A myriad of nerds, geeks and dorks have already written fitting tributes to Gary Gygax's passing. "Gone to see the Big GM in the Sky", "It's time to roll up a new character", and "Does anyone have a Scroll of Resurrection handy?" seem appropriate obits for a gamer known for his snarky sense of humor. But just in case his spirit is reading blogs while he's LFG up in Elysium, I just want to thank Mr. Gygax for creating not just a game, but an entire industry that has meant a great deal to untold millions of people. Yes, D&D is a game for nerds, and I'm proud to say I'm one of them.
Requiescat In Pace
