Have you seen/met any of these D&D "celebs"?

[Wisdom Penalty]

I'm simply curious to see how many of us have ever actually seen or met some of the names we spot on many of the books we've purchased over the years. I've stuck with TSR/WotC because those are the names with which I'm most familiar. I'm sure I've missed some Big Names. Sorry about that.

W.P.

 

[EricNoah]

Gary, Skip, Andy, Jonathan, and Monte. I think my encounters with Gary and Monte were the only ones long enough that they might recall them (I talked to Skip at a seminar, and basically shook hands and said howdy to Andy and Jonathan).

I have met a significant portion of the current D&D 4E crew, including James Wyatt, Mike Mearls, Dave Noonan, and Michelle Carter.

 

[JediSoth]

I met Gary Gygax and Erol Otus for the first time at GenCon last year and got them to both sign my copy of D3: Vault of the Drow.

I played in a demo ran by Andy Collins back in '03, and met Bruce Cordell that same year.
In '04 I met Mike Mearls, Dave Arneson in '05, and Keith Baker in '06, I believe it was. I also met Rich Burlew in '05 and '06, and even wrote a term paper about OotS for a class I was taking on comics (which he graciously signed and doodled a Thog in).

I've met and chatted with Monte every year since GenCon moved to Indy in '03 (and Sue, too).

I've also met Larry Elmore and Keith Parkinson (may he rest in peace), both great guys...Aaron Williams, too. Last year I shared an elevator and joked around with the guy who draws "Goblins," but didn't realize who it was until after the fact.

 

[Plane Sailing]

How could you miss Eric Noah, Morrus, Piratecat and Henry off that list !

 

[kenobi65]

An awful lot of them, entirely due to frequently attending GenCon.

 

[T. Foster]

I assume the 13th choice in the poll is actually supposed to be the late David Sutherland (TSR artist and cartographer) and not actor Donald Sutherland (M*A*S*H, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, etc.)?

 

[Wombat]

Out of these, only Dave Arneson.

I have also met Lou Zocchi (a very enthusiastic, if odd, man), Dave Hargrave (the less said the better), Greg Stafford (and most of the other folks at Chaosium), Wilf Backhaus (Chivalry & Sorcery), Lee Gold (Alarums & Excursions),and a fair host of others from the Very Early Days.

Oh, and several folks who work on Ars Magica...

And I have probably met several others who I do not really remember...

 

[Piratecat]

I assume the 13th choice in the poll is actually supposed to be the late David Sutherland (TSR artist and cartographer) and not actor Donald Sutherland (M*A*S*H, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, etc.)?

Poll edited!

I'm at about nine folks, I think.

 

[DaveyJones]

i go to the auctions at Gen Con. you meet a few of the "oldtimers" there. not on the list.

i've also harold johnson, hickman, and weis (not on the list).

keith baker even recognized me this year at gen con.

 

[kenobi65]

i've also harold johnson, hickman, and weis (not on the list).

I need to share my Tracy Hickman story.

Late 1983 or early 1984, one of our co-DMs says, "I've got this great new module I want to run you guys through." It was the original Ravenloft, and it wound up being a TPK.

The next summer, my girlfriend (who was one of the other players to lose a PC in that session) and I are in the Exhibit Hall at GenCon, which was at UW-Parkside in those days. We're walking down the aisle, past the TSR booth, and we see this rather unassuming young man sitting behind the table. His name tag says, "Tracy Hickman".

I point at him. "YOU!!!" He looks taken aback for a moment, then he grins, and replies, "Ravenloft, right?" We told him the whole story of how his module wiped us out; he seemed very entertained by it.