In tribute to Gary Gygax

[wedgeski]

Never talked to him, never met him... and yet he sits in spirit at my dinner table, every Sunday, from the hours of 1pm to 5pm, while four of my friends try desperately to survive the havoc I wreak on them from behind the screen. Still very much missed.

 

[Hairfoot]

It's hard to overstate the impact Gary Gygax has had on popular culture, games and fiction, and anything I said about the impact he's had on my own life would be an understatement. He is missed and remembered.

Now I must write up something Gygaxian and Arnesonian to menace my players with on Friday.

 

[Starfox]

I can still visualize his signature from one of the early 1E books - I think it was the PH. And recall thinking "Gygax" - what kind of weird name is that? But the name stuck in my memory and became "Mr. DnD". Signing his work like that made me want to do the same, write my own stuff so I could put my name on it - in gaming or otherwise.

 

[Klaus]

Gary was a part of my learnings of the English Language. I learned words like "jeopardy", "goblet", "morningstar" (and "holy water sprinkler", for that matter), "stool", "mantlepiece" and more from him through the 1e AD&D books. He was my Doctor Seuss, you might say.

I hope Gary is somewhere comfortable, kicking off his "boots, low, soft" in front of a warn hearth and enjoying immortality. He has surely earned it!

 

[Janx]

back in 1997 or so, KoDT had just released issue 20, the GaryCon issue. At my local game shop in Houston (Frontier Games), a local shopper had just joined Steve Jackson games. She managed to wrangle a guest visit of Steve Jackson to the shop.

I had the brilliant idea of buying a second copy of the GaryCon issue, and having Steve sign half of it. He wrote the first half of the message, and signed Jackson, leaving room for Gary to finish the mesage and sign Gary. Thus creating the only signed anything by Gary Jackson.

I never got around to getting to GenCon and having Gary sign it. Now it's obviously too late.

Don't put off your good ideas for too long, lest the opportunity to bring them to fruition be missed.

 

[nedjer]

I mainly thank Gary for a short book with a blueish cover and a dragon on the front. It only had levels 1-3 but one encounter with a Gelatinous Cube and I was hooked. Didn't work out so well for the PC.

 

[Mark]

I met him first in the 70s when I was just a youngster at the last Gencon held in Lake Geneva, then a handful of other times over the years since. He was always a gracious person to me and his love of gaming in all forms was infectious. I'll be remembering him this Thursday (also GM's Day, March Fo(u)rth!) and honoring him later this month at GaryCon II in Lake Geneva, gaming with his old cohorts, conspirators and offspring. He will be missed.

 

[Upper_Krust]

Never met him personally, but we did swop a number of emails around about 2001/2002 and at the time I remember being completely in awe that the main man would take the time out to chat. Still have those emails saved of course.

I have two other memories of him (beyond the countless hours of enjoyment D&D has brought I mean). The first was when he originally came to ENWorld as Col. Pladoh and was lambasted by one of the other patrons here (hello Colonel Hardisson) whom I think was under the impression it was some guy pretending to be Gary. When the truth was uncovered I felt bad for Colonel Hardisson - but it was hilarious reading his apologies. Gary saw the funny side of course.

The second was also here on ENWorld. There was a thread wishing Gary a happy 64th birthday and he seemed toget a kick out of the link I posted which took you to a website playing the Beatles "When I'm 64".

Sorely missed but never forgotten.

 

[Raven Crowking]

I am one of those who never met him personally, but I do very much miss his "voice" on the forums.

 

[Elphilm]

There was a thread wishing Gary a happy 64th birthday and he seemed toget a kick out of the link I posted which took you to a website playing the Beatles "When I'm 64".

That's wonderful.

I don't really have anything to add except that I miss Gary too, and that it's heartwarming to read people's recollections in this thread.