# RIP Gary Gygax **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [March 4, 2008, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-gary-gygax/440053 "2008-03-04T17:52:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2008, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-gary-gygax/440053/41 "2008-03-05T00:14:56Z")
> [@](#): > > 1. “When I heard, I cried 2d10 tears.” Ha! 🙂 -FrL- ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2008, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-gary-gygax/440053/42 "2008-03-05T00:15:01Z")
PA tribute - [Bordering on the Semi-Tasteful](http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2008/03/04) ---
**Author:** ![TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/51bf81/32.png) [@TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2008, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-gary-gygax/440053/43 "2008-03-05T00:20:54Z")
[QUOTE=Fear Itself] Nobody had him. [/QUOTE] I’m surprised. I read the _Believer_ article a year ago, where Gygax talked about his abdominal aneurysm and explained that “it could go at any time, and when it goes, I go.” I was bummed to hear that and mentally noted to not be surprised when I heard the news sometime in the next few years. RIP, gary. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2008, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-gary-gygax/440053/44 "2008-03-05T00:33:50Z")
Goodbye, sir. Your game is a pastime that gave me many happy hours. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2008, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-gary-gygax/440053/45 "2008-03-05T00:53:59Z")
[QUOTE=chrisk] No weapon _has_ hit points, little kobold. [/QUOTE] Actually, they do. For Sundering purposes. But anyway, godspeed Gary. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2008, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-gary-gygax/440053/46 "2008-03-05T01:31:20Z")
Full Frontal Nerdity tribute comic: [http://nodwick.humor.gamespy.com/ffn/index.php?date=2008-03-04](http://nodwick.humor.gamespy.com/ffn/index.php?date=2008-03-04) Brian ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2008, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-gary-gygax/440053/47 "2008-03-05T03:00:36Z")
Order of the Stick tribute. [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0536.html](http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0536.html) Says it all. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2008, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-gary-gygax/440053/48 "2008-03-05T03:58:11Z")
[QUOTE=E-Sabbath] Order of the Stick tribute. > **[536 A Brief Tribute - Giant in the Playground Games](https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0536.html)** Says it all. [/QUOTE] "A lot of guys there are still testy about ‘Tomb of Horrors.’ " Heh. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![sturmhauke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@sturmhauke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sturmhauke)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2008, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-gary-gygax/440053/49 "2008-03-05T06:41:30Z")
[QUOTE=adam yax] So no one had a resurrection spell? ☹ [/QUOTE] No spell, not True Resurection, not Wish, not even Epic magic, can bring back someone whose time is up. Rest in peace, Supreme Dungeon Master. ---
**Author:** ![janis\_and\_c0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janis_and_c0/32/21_2.png) [@janis\_and\_c0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janis_and_c0)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2008, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-gary-gygax/440053/50 "2008-03-05T07:56:04Z")
The Empty Chair (Eulogy for a Gamer) There is an empty chair, at the table this day. A hallowed place where, a friend once played. The roll of his dice, my ears long to hear. Or perhaps it would suffice, if he should suddenly appear. With character sheet in hand, and a bag of Cheeze-doodles to share. All his friends would stand, as he sat in the empty chair. I hear his voice a-callin’, and it ties my heart in a knot. For he cries, “Though a comrade has fallen, You must play for those who cannot.” We conquered worlds on the run, he and I in the name of fun. And as others may come and go, I make both both friend and foe. But what I long for most, is our past now long a ghost. ( KODT) ---
**Author:** ![rainy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c2a13f/32.png) [@rainy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rainy)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2008, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-gary-gygax/440053/51 "2008-03-05T13:24:24Z")
I’ve had a lot of fun around the table this man built. R.I.P. -rainy ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Goob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c77e96/32.png) [@Mr.Goob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Goob)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2008, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-gary-gygax/440053/52 "2008-03-05T15:17:45Z")
Ah fond memories of my teenage life. My 1st edition hardcovers have a place of honor in my library. Thinking now, I’m shocked by how old he was when he started the game. I started with the AD&D boxed sets when I was 11 and knew it had been around a little while. I figured E.G.G. would have only been about 10 years older than me. College age guys dreaming up the big adventures. He started this at around my age now. There’s hope for me yet! ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2008, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-gary-gygax/440053/53 "2008-03-05T15:20:54Z")
[QUOTE=Jophiel] I don’t think it’d be a stretch at all. I can’t claim to know a lot about the man personally but I’ve read the old AD&D 1st ed books cover to cover a million times as well as his old Dragon columns. I can credit him with my interest in fantasy and probably a fair bit with my increased literacy. [/QUOTE] Plus all those other “dice rpg” games probably wouldn’t have been invented yet. Lilbro’s first book was the LotR trilogy, at age 15. This was triggered by uncounted times hearing “so read the freaking books” when asking a question during a LotR/MERP playing session. But LotR/MERP would probably never have existed without Gygax, he just didn’t get royalties for it any more than the guy who invented oil paint got them from every other painter of the time. Before that, he could read just fine - he’d just never found a reason to do it. Thanks Gary. Your invention almost gave my mother a heart attack when she first heard us talking about all those un-Christian gods, another when she first saw Lilbro with a book in his hands. Good times, good times! ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2008, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-gary-gygax/440053/54 "2008-03-05T15:47:39Z")
[QUOTE=Mr. Goob] Ah fond memories of my teenage life. My 1st edition hardcovers have a place of honor in my library. [/QUOTE] That’s not a bad idea, I have all my AD&D stuff packed away safely in a plastic storage box, but the old hardcover books should be on my bookshelves! ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2008, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-gary-gygax/440053/55 "2008-03-05T17:14:07Z")
Didn’t somebody once refer to D&D as [a game that combines the charm of a Pentagon briefing with the excitement of double-entry bookkeeping](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_309b.html)? Or is Uncle Cecil only infallible when it comes to facts, not opinions? ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2008, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-gary-gygax/440053/56 "2008-03-05T17:27:55Z")
[QUOTE=sciurophobic] Didn’t somebody once refer to D&D as [a game that combines the charm of a Pentagon briefing with the excitement of double-entry bookkeeping](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_309b.html)? Or is Uncle Cecil only infallible when it comes to facts, not opinions? [/QUOTE] Oh, he’s pretty much correct. It’s just that some people _enjoy_ double-entry bookkeeping, y’see. RIP Gygax. I never played 1st Edition and I never intend to, but the impact he had on the gaming world was enormous. ---
**Author:** ![Trion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ccd318/32.png) [@Trion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trion)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2008, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-gary-gygax/440053/57 "2008-03-05T18:00:45Z")
[QUOTE=sciurophobic] Didn’t somebody once refer to D&D as [a game that combines the charm of a Pentagon briefing with the excitement of double-entry bookkeeping](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_309b.html)? Or is Uncle Cecil only infallible when it comes to facts, not opinions? [/QUOTe] Cecil is perfectly infallible when expressing his opinions. He is not infallible when expressing mine. RIP Mr. Gygax. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2008, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-gary-gygax/440053/58 "2008-03-05T18:25:27Z")
Gygax dead, Favre retires, yesterday was a bad day for Wisconsin. Next thing you know they’ll be bringing back prohibition. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2008, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-gary-gygax/440053/59 "2008-03-05T18:37:35Z")
[QUOTE=sciurophobic] Didn’t somebody once refer to D&D as [a game that combines the charm of a Pentagon briefing with the excitement of double-entry bookkeeping](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_309b.html)? Or is Uncle Cecil only infallible when it comes to facts, not opinions? [/QUOTE] When was that article written? It says 1980 at the top, but given the text of the article that is very unlikely. (This becomes especially clear in the last few paragraphs. CD-ROMs? Due out in 1996?) -FrL- ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2008, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-gary-gygax/440053/60 "2008-03-05T19:04:39Z")
[QUOTE=Frylock] When was that article written? It says 1980 at the top, but given the text of the article that is very unlikely. (This becomes especially clear in the last few paragraphs. CD-ROMs? Due out in 1996?) -FrL- [/QUOTE] That article (minus the CD-ROM stuff) appears his first book, which is copyright 1984, so 1980 is probably correct. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-gary-gygax/440053.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-gary-gygax/440053.md?page=4)