So, who is Gary Gygax? He is the man who helped to create ‘Dungeons & Dragons’ and tends to be the main name associated with it. This game was clearly based on Tolkien’s work, but Gygax allowed people to live out their fantasies. That’s probably why certain groups thought it was evil and demonic. Anyway, the game has evolved a lot over the decades. I stopped at 3rd Edition and I think it’s on 5 or 6 by now. Many fantasy authors have indulged in DnD to get ideas, test out characters, or simply have fun. I know this game is a main inspiration since it’s the system where I played Luke Callindor, Darwin Slepsnor, and Sin.
So, Happy Gary Gygax Day.
Legends of Windemere 
I played a little D&D was younger, and it was big inspiration for me to start writing fantasy, and it remains so.
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The Dragonlance and Forgotten Realms book also helped
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Same here. It was all Forgotten Realms for me. So much inspiration there.
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I never played D&D, and I regret it. My friends weren’t into it. There was an older group, a couple of grades ahead of us, who played, although it seemed to be mostly an excuse to get high and drink alcohol. I was okay with that, too, but I couldn’t wrangle an invitation to join.
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I’ve met those types of players. These days, you can probably find a local group who are willing to let a first timer in.
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I never knew about the DnD creator. What a great, imaginative mind!
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He had an amazing impact on the fantasy genre. Shame he isn’t more widely known.
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Happy Gary Guygax Day. Thanks for educating us who have never played DnD.
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You’re welcome.
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😀
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A worthy day. My brother still has a set of the original books. I wonder if they’re worth anything these days. I once named a diety or something Gygax, but I can’t remember which tale it was in.
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They could be. Probably collectors out there.
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I don’t know what my life would be without D&D and comic books.
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Same here.
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First I discovered Tolkien (thanks to a 9 year old boy, who went by the wonderful name of Fred Spittal.) Then I found CS Lewis.
Everything started from there and I began playing D & D. I played Dragonlance as a player and read the books. Then I became a DM and after playing a few commercial scenarios, I decided to write one myself.
This was the basis of my Wolves of Vimar series, but unlike you, Charles, I didn’t follow the play closely. Maybe because I played it with several groups over the years. I played it with a D & D club in the school where I worked, and as pupils left, I started a new group.
Thanks Gary Gygax for everything you did for fantasy, both D & D and stories.
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I went Tolkien then DnD with it being hack/slash until college. The original Legends game got changed a lot when it went to book form. I kept key ‘cool’ events and general plot, but it couldn’t stay as it was. Players didn’t really talk, villains weren’t deep enough for a book, and leveling made no sense.
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