View Full Version : Gary Gygax is dead
dohrt
05-03-2008, 10:06 AM
He died at "level' (age) 69.
Man, that guy is probably 90% responsible for any and all words I know that are more than two syllables, and many that are 1-2 syllables!
For some reason, as a young boy of 7 or 8, the world of dungeons and dragons fascinated me, partly because of the mystique of spells and magic and elves and dragons and . . . SWORDS. But equally because of the way that guy wrote the rulebooks. I remember so many words that I had no idea what they meant, and having to look them up. It seemed like every paragraph he was using some new fancy words for things, and I just got addicted to it. I played off and on with friends, but mostly found their abilities to bring their characters to life very unfullfilling. Instead, I read the rules, and enjoyed learning and expanding my vocabulary (and other skills) in the name of that "game". After gygax left, the books just weren't the same to me. I read many during the 2nd edition days, but largely, the style of writing that had drawn me in so close was . . . gone.
Interesting. I wonder if I would be as good of a reader or have a halfway decent vocabularly if I had never found D&D and AD&D.
Anyways, I for one salue the man.
Kenzan
05-03-2008, 10:23 AM
Beat me to it.
RIP Gary.
From the moment I picked up your game in 1978, my life (and the lives of pretty much everyone on the planet)
Has never been the same.
May all your rolls be natural 20.
:(
Kenzan
05-03-2008, 10:27 AM
P.s...
Before someone else says it,
He failed his saving throw.
Credit to my workmate for that one, though he does not mourn the loss as the rest of us REAL nerds.
Inner_Silence
05-03-2008, 12:17 PM
now he is half-celestial with epic Challenge Rating...
yoda-waza
05-03-2008, 01:44 PM
His wikipedia entry is current down to this day, the day he died. Spooky.
Kagerou
05-03-2008, 02:19 PM
Worked for me....maybe he's haunting your computer :eek:
It's too bad that his illness was exacerbated by incorrect treatment....guess he wasn't carrying a potion of healing with him.
corwyn
05-03-2008, 02:23 PM
His wikipedia entry is current down to this day, the day he died. Spooky.
Never underestimate the power of nerds in large numbers. Wikipedia tends to get updated very quickly because so many people help keep it up to date. I think the Heath Ledger page also was updated about as soon as the news broke.
I may be the only geek in the world who's never played any form of D&D, but R.I.P. Mr. Gygax...
DCPan
05-03-2008, 04:09 PM
For those of you with facebook....
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=10857697050
Fred27
05-03-2008, 06:18 PM
http://icanhascheezburger.files.wordpress.com/2008/03/dndkittehmorn128491548670347053.jpg
http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic
Theodore
06-03-2008, 12:38 AM
Not sure how he died, but my son, who was a big D&D fan when he was a kid, sent me this video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IACqyANNPEY)indicating that it may have hastened his demise.
JSchmidt
06-03-2008, 01:20 AM
Not sure how he died, but my son, who was a big D&D fan when he was a kid, sent me this video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IACqyANNPEY)indicating that it may have hastened his demise.
Fake, but fun :)
corwyn
06-03-2008, 01:24 AM
Fake, but fun :)
Yeah, it's actually from a godawful TV show "Reno 911" from the Comedy Central station here in the US. It's, as you can probably ascertain, a spoof police show.
futabachan
06-03-2008, 01:25 AM
http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0536.html
May he get great stats when he rolls up his new character.
NERDS! go do something more productive. like sleep.
AlexM
06-03-2008, 02:23 AM
He finally lost that last saving throw.
I hope he's rolling 20s...
Neil Gendzwill
06-03-2008, 03:09 AM
NWikipedia tends to get updated very quickly because so many people help keep it up to date. I think the Heath Ledger page also was updated about as soon as the news broke.Check this (http://www.theonion.com/content/news/area_man_honored_to_be_one_who) out.
corwyn
06-03-2008, 03:18 AM
Check this (http://www.theonion.com/content/news/area_man_honored_to_be_one_who) out.
However, only moments after clicking on the "Save page" button, Yardley realized he had neglected to change the word following the closing parenthesis from "is" to "was." But when he attempted to make the correction, Yardley told reporters, he was "deeply saddened" to find that somebody, between the time he added the death date and the time the page went live, had already altered that portion of Ledger's biography.
"I was shocked when I saw that," said Yardley, adding that he took a personal moment to grieve the lost opportunity. "But I guess that's how unpredictable life can be sometimes. One second you're on top of the world as the author of a crucial Wikipedia entry, and the next second it's all gone. Poof."
Seems like a rather extreme reaction, no?
Neil Gendzwill
06-03-2008, 03:55 AM
It's The Onion, dude.
corwyn
06-03-2008, 03:57 AM
It's The Onion, dude.
Good point. I hadn't noticed that.
Kenzan
06-03-2008, 04:49 AM
NERDS! go do something more productive. like sleep.
Actually,
Playing D & D stimulates the imagination, engages the thought processes, requires often large degrees of math, reading comprehension, research, organizational and public speaking skills, and allows players to practice engagement in many types of mock social scenarios.
All of these skills can be used in real life, unlike video games, and or sleeping, or any of the other inane things that you think are a worth while, that is, when you are not acting like a complete troll.
G.Gygax was a man who changed the lives of so many people that it is really quite profound.
In other words, if you have not played the game, or know what you are talking about,
STFU.
ghostdancer
06-03-2008, 05:11 AM
will agree with that statement
+rep for you
MAZ77
06-03-2008, 06:19 AM
Actually,
Playing D & D stimulates the imagination, engages the thought processes, requires often large degrees of math, reading comprehension, research, organizational and public speaking skills, and allows players to practice engagement in many types of mock social scenarios.
All of these skills can be used in real life, unlike video games, and or sleeping, or any of the other inane things that you think are a worth while, that is, when you are not acting like a complete troll.
G.Gygax was a man who changed the lives of so many people that it is really quite profound.
In other words, if you have not played the game, or know what you are talking about,
STFU.
Although I have never played the game, and I can admire your sentiment, you have to admit his ignorant rant (probably a joke) made you laugh. Its like that guy on revenge of the nerds that would say "NEERRRDDS!"
anyways, that is all i have to add (i didnt say add value did i?) to this matter and will STFU.
MSPaintClock
06-03-2008, 11:59 AM
All at once nerds had rolled ones and Gary Gygax critically died.
Kenzan
06-03-2008, 04:44 PM
All at once nerds had rolled ones and Gary Gygax critically died.
There's never a +8 Soul Sucking Vorpal weapon around when you really need one.
JoDuncan
06-03-2008, 05:35 PM
Awwww man, i used to love those games and everything that spawned forth from them (was it TSR? I can't remember)
Sad day -8 HP +12 EXP
I always smile when i remember back to my friends dice "collection", he had a bazillion of them: 6 sided, 12 sided, 14 sided, 634 sided... heaps! And all were essential for playing!
Role for initiative bitch
(Cowers head in shame that he was more of a Warhammer geek than a D&D nerd although both were cool.... ooooh, Warlock of Firetop Mountain Yo!!! Turn to page 4 if you want to fight the beast......)
As many people, I played D&D and AD&D when I was young, Mr. Gygax created a full new way to experience games and interaction.
And, what's more important, the impact of his creation has trascended his game, into global culture. The role play game concepts, and the D&D world is now everywhere, from TV to movies, to books, to videogames...
It's difficult to explain a whole lot of the present cultural world without those references, even when talking about "official culture".
My respect for his family.
NERDS! go do something more productive. like wash.
Like JoDuncan I was a Warhammer addict and if Games Workshop is anything to go by, and my own experiences of role-playing at friends houses personal hygiene would be a more productive past-time than sleeping. Didn't Marilyn Manson say something along the lines of for every year spent play D&D you lose 5 years of your life. If this be true the Legendary [even for me without ever actually playing D&D] Mr Gygax surely would have been immortal if he had never played.
I've been reading a review of D&D version 4 on aintitcool, sad he never saw that new version complete, even if he may not have been a part of it. I'm sure it may herald a new era in role-playing popularity. G.O.D. help us all!
Kenzan
11-03-2008, 07:33 AM
NERDS! go do something more productive. like wash.
You know, it's really funny when British people say that.
and quite ironic as well!
:D :silly:
This one (http://xkcd.com/393/) made me Laugh Out Loud as those youngsters say nowadays
Kagerou
29-05-2008, 11:38 AM
Using my level 47 Necromancer skills I drag this thread up from the dead for this (http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=-5825493270005637835&hl=en)
Fukuryu
01-06-2008, 06:11 AM
Using my level 47 Necromancer skills I drag this thread up from the dead for this (http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=-5825493270005637835&hl=en)
Hehe, f*cking (literally...) great! Maybe some hardcore fan will take offense... but it is hilarious anyway!
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