MP, don't cry.

I really shouldn't be flippant about this.

Gary Gygax, the creator of Dungeons and Dragons, died recently.

My coworker, MP, plays D&D online. I usually feel superior to him because I gave up that silly, childish game when I finished high school. That silly, childish, wonderful game...

I am sure I still have a stack of D&D books at my mother's house and doubtless a few bags of dice of ridiculous sizes as well. To remember how fun, imaginative and foolish D&D gamers can be, visit this site dissecting the thought processes involved in making monsters.

I remember, as well, some controversy that arose in a supposed correlation between playing D&D and Satan Worship. Author Michael Stackpole tested that claim and found no evidence for it.

A poem to the passing of Gygax can be found here.

Although I played the game frequently and enthusiastically, I seem to recall at some early point in gaming, I began to dislike Gygax for some reason. I hate to speak unkindly of the deceased and I don't remember the details anyway, but I think it was about commercialization of the game. That was more of a big deal to a teen than it might be now.

Whatever the case, hearing his name brings to mind an adolescent boy (me) with my adolescent friends (exclusively boys) discussing going into pubs, drinking and bragging, discussing how a Permanent Light spell cast on a frisbee would be great for investigating long tunnels and outrageously flirting with (imaginary) women, human or otherwise.

My best wishes to his family in a difficult time.