If Only I Had a Wish in My Pocket
filed on Tuesday, March 04, 2008 at 10:00:52 PM CST

Today, Ernest Gary Gygax, known to thousands and thousands of nerds, geeks, and freaks as either E. Gary Gygax, or just plain old Gary Gygax, passed away.  Gygax was one of the most significant figures in the history of roleplaying games, and certainly the father (or perhaps grandfather) of Dungeons & Dragons.  While his name had lost the luster and shine in the years after his departure from TSR (for you young'uns, the company who owned Dungeons & Dragons that got bought out by Wizards of the Coast who got out by Hasbro), but those of us who remember the glory days of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (before there was all this 2nd Edition stuff, and long before they dropped the Advanced and brought the 3rd Edition) know his name very well.

Gygax was also the author of perhaps one of the most inspired and creative dungeons ever to devastate players as they traversed their characters into the depths of the Tomb of Horrors.  But he didn't stop therE. No.  He followed up with Expedition to the Barrier Peaks, which was the strangest combination of science fiction and fantasy that one could imagine -- and yet -- it was also one of the most challenging adventures known to advanced players.

In his passing, Gygax takes with him a legacy of fun, but those of us who still play Dungeons & Dragons, mixing rulesets, getting the most out of the game that we can, through us he will live on.

And truly I have never seen a more appropriate tribute to someone recently passed as exists on Penny Arcade.

Farewell, Gary Gygax.  May the wind be at your back, and your journeys filled with gold!