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Yep, I'm a nerd.

Easily one of the most influential individuals in the history of gaming, Gary Gygax passed away yesterday at the age of 69. For those who don't know, he was the creator of Dungeons and Dragons many years ago as well as many other great games.

Hopefully this stuff really doesn't happen in threes...



Jim

I heard that on the way home yesterday. It makes me feel old.

I didn't have much, but I still have about 90% of my Advanced D&D stuff (from around 1979 or 1980?). A cousin of mine borrowed and then lost my DM guide and Monster Manual books. I am still not happy about that.

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Richard Casto
1972 Porsche 914
2013 Honda Fit Sport
2015 Honda Fit EX
http://motorsport.zyyz.com
Money can't buy happiness, but somehow it's more comfortable to cry in a Porsche than a Kia.

I hear ya on the old part!

One of my prized possessions when I was a kid was an original "white box" D&D rule set that proceeded the hardback AD&D books signed by Mr. Gygax when my Dad took me to one of the early Gen Cons way back when. I remember collecting just about everything D&D related I could find in those days. Good times...

I still have all that stuff boxed away somewhere since I'm a nerd *and* a pack-rat.

Jim

Yeah, my stuff came after the white box stuff. It is one of the AD&D boxes. But it is squashed flat due to use and has lots of tape to hold it together. Along with that is some dice, some maps and a few lead characters. It's boxed up in the attic somewhere.

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Richard Casto
1972 Porsche 914
2013 Honda Fit Sport
2015 Honda Fit EX
http://motorsport.zyyz.com
Money can't buy happiness, but somehow it's more comfortable to cry in a Porsche than a Kia.

I've still got most (all?) of my original D&D, Advanced, and 2nd ed stuff. Once WotC bought into it, I quit for "better" games.

They're all games that helped me since elementary school with math, english, and countless other things.

Ahhhh...good times.

A lot of the old hardcovers (with the old artwork) can be found at the Edward McKay's line of used book stores. I know there is one in Fayetteville. There used to be one here in Raleigh next to Babies R Us, but I believe it closed (relocated?)

Nitpick: the other co-creator of D&D, Dave Arneson, had all the good ideas and wasn't an asshole.

But as Websnark said, what Gygax really did was popularize D&D and RPGs in general, and for that he's pretty much solely responsible. IMHO, that's had a much more major impact than his contribution to the rules sets.

Oh, and you want nerd? I actually played the fantasy rules from Chainmail before D&D came out, beat that!

And I'm still running Traveller (from 1977), and while I've moved on to later rulesets, I in fact still refer to the Little Black Books quite frequently.

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Martyn Wheeler
AXing Kit's '05 Mazda 3, #29 HStock
(when The Gonzo Symphonic allows)