Jolt Country

Gary Gygax passed away today.

Read on the ifMud that Gary Gygax passed away today. I never met the man, but he was very much an inspiration to me, as a writer. I was given the 1st Edition Advanced Dungeons and Dragons manuals by a friend of my father's at an early age, and I remember reading the player's handbook cover to cover, memorizing everything I possibly could, and deciding to be a DM for my own groups because it meant I could read more of what Mr. Gygax wrote "guilt-free."

There was a certain sense of wonder in that edition that grips me to this day- part of it was definitely due to the fact that it was the very first instance of D&D that I ever became familiar with, but the way those books were written (and perhaps the way they were presented) really gave you the impression that this wizened old man was just transcribing the way an alternate world worked. Certainly, there was an old west feel to the game, in so much as the Demons and Devils were removed for the 2nd Edition because the same people that were young hippies in the 60s became parents in the 80s and WHOA was this new shit truly going to fuck up kids in a way LSD couldn't and wouldn't.

There is one section in the 1st edition ruleset of the Dungeon Master's Guide that speaks to how the various spells work with other magic spells and items. Gygax starts with the first spell for Magicians and goes on through all levels and then does the same for Clerics. This was in there because the man loved his craft and was a professional (and naturally, one of the things cut for the next release, which he had nothing to do with).

One review of Necrotic Drift mentions how strange it is that Jarret seems to reference the 1st Edition of AD&D in the future (around 2015), which was old when the game was made, much less when the game took place. I don't know if I ever specifically said, but this was definitely intentional, and absolutely due to the fact that Gary Gygax was one of the most creative, hard-working and brilliant game designers the world has ever known. I've played D&D using the second edition rules hundreds of times, and I had an opportunity last year to play with a group of guys using the 3rd edition, and through it all I still think the 1st edition was the most fun. There are some logic holes in how Gygax and Dave Arneson originally presented things, but honestly, I think it's great to give that amount of wiggle room for interactive group storytelling. I know you can't run a company selling one batch of books from 1974, so it's not like I am bitter or anything, but the crazy shit the 1st edition had going on, with Decks of Many Things and artifacts and half-orc player characters still resonates with me.

I owe him a world of gratitude.

There may one day be another one like him, but it won't be in any of our lifetimes. R.I.P.

Not that I've spent more than a little time there, I think it's sort of neat that the guy was still in Lake Geneva, WI, at the time of his death. Moreso than Scott Adams games or pkzip or any other, D&D is the one Wisconsin-based geek-associated creation that resonates the strongest and has affected the most people.

One of my cousin's friends spent seven years in prison for burglary and arson. Guy likes to ramble on about anything (for someone who spent so much time in prison, he's one of those crazy guys who's always upbeat about everything). I don't remember how it came up, but one time he excitedly told us about how prison was his first exposure to D&D and how the guards thought their drawn maps were possibly escape plans.

Whether or not that second part was true or just an elaboration by someone who likes to talk, I still think it's cool to think of the unexpected places that D&D offers entertainment and distraction.

I've always wondered why there isn't some sort of museum paying homage to TSR in Lake Geneva (if there is one, I don't know about it). Maybe Gygax himself didn't want one while he was still around to see it, but I think such an acknowledgement would be well-deserved and overdue.