Gary Gygax, Dungeons & Dragons’ Co-Creator, Dies at 69

Before there was an Internet and even before there were personal computers, there were role-playing games [RPG]. The most popular, but by no means the only one, was “Dungeons & Dragons.” Published in 1974, “D&D” quickly became a part of adolescence in a great many basements. Co-Creator Gary Gygax failed to make his final saving throw and passed on yesterday at the age of 69.

“D&D” was a fantasy RPG in which players would adopt the persona of a single character in an imaginary world like Middle Earth and, using an ever-expanding rule book of ever increasing complexity along with various polyhedral dice, would spend a Saturday or an evening involved in what would now be called “interactive story-telling.” One player would be the master of ceremonies, the Dungeonmaster, leading the others through a scenario he either developed on his own, or in later years, purchased from a hobby shop.

It got its start as an addendum to a miniatures (tin soldiers) game called “Chainmail.” Miniature gaming was one variety of war game that had been around since at least the German Empire’s training tool “Kriegspiel.” The other was board games made popular by publishers like Avalon Hill and Strategic Publications Inc. The rule books were longer than the instructions for an IRS 1040 long form, and the math, well, those who played got really good at calculating odds in their heads.

Other RPG’s that followed in “D&D’s” footsteps took up different periods of history. “Boot Hill” was a western, “Traveller” from Game Designers’ Workshop was a science fiction game, “Empire of the Petal Throne,” the game that immediately followed “D&D” into the market, was a far future fantasy (and probably the most enjoyable because of the immense detail). “En Garde” allowed one to rise in Richelieu’s France. And “Tunnels and Trolls” along with “Monsters! Monsters!” put tongue firmly in cheek to rival the original game.

With the advent of the computer in the home, the Internet and the various gaming platforms, sitting round a card table on the week-end with a glass of Coke, three friends and a bunch of oddly shaped dice is increasingly rare. But every digital RPG owes Mr. Gygax and his partner, Dave Arneson, a debt of gratitude. And so do a lot of middle-aged geeks for countless hours of adventure.

© Copyright 2008 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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