Anxst

Article Here

Well, damn. I still play role playing games to this day, and have been for almost 20 years. I got to play with Gary at Gen Con 4 different times, and was saddened to hear he was lost to us today. Without him, I'm sure my life would have ended up very different. RPG's of different stripes have been my hobby, my passion, and for almost 5 years ('95-'00), my career as the owner of an RPG/Comic book store.

Stop for a moment, gamers of the world, and ponder how games might be different if Gary had never been around. That's all he would have hoped for, I think.

__________________
Don't mind me. I'm just releasing the insanity pressure from my headvalves.

Baraka_Guru

I'm with you, Anxst. Who I am today I owe in part to the game he helped create--


....wait a minute--

You played D&D with Gary Gygax?!


It's amazing what following creators and contributors have done with the game. I have no idea what Gygax thought of all of it.

All I know is that if it weren't for Neverwinter Nights online play on an awesome server, I'd be pining for the days when I could play pen-and-paper D&D.

I knew about the work of Gygax before Tolkien. (Even though Tolkien was a huge influence.)


* * * * * *

Thank you, Mr. Gygax, for playing such a large part in inspiring the imaginations of boys (and now girls... yes!) everywhere.

I will be a part of the d20 salute rolling around the world.

__________________
Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön

Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot

Cynthetiq

yeah i've been trying to get into a pen and paper game for about 2 years now with a group that plays from time to time. they've gotten older and their campaign takes a back seat to raising a family.

last time I played was with a large group of people at work. We'd commandeer a conference room on the weekends and play from morning until late at night. it was great! best part is that my wife likes to play too.

I heard this earlier but couldn't find much to corroborate the story but more and more forum posts about an email from his brother.

wherever he his, it's all good.

__________________
I don't care if you are black, white, purple, green, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, hippie, cop, bum, admin, user, English, Irish, French, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, indian, cowboy, tall, short, fat, skinny, emo, punk, mod, rocker, straight, gay, lesbian, jock, nerd, geek, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, driver, pedestrian, or bicyclist, either you're an asshole or you're not.

Charlatan

Hearing about this prompted me to send an email to my friends that I used to play with back in high school.

I haven't played in years but my son does and it always makes me pleased to see him with his dice and books.

__________________
"My hands are on fire. Hands are on fire. Ain't got no more time for all you charlatans and liars."
- Old Man Luedecke

Redjake

This sucks. One of my favorite novel series was based on this stuff (Dragonlance). That's insane that D&D is that old! I remember one time my stepmother told me she knew folks in college that played - I was like what???? D&D was around in the late 70s?? Insane.

__________________
Off the record, on the q.t., and very hush-hush.

Baraka_Guru

Don't tell me you've never played D&D "Basic":



This is the first rulebook I played with....and there are ones far older than this one. (I got into it in the late '80s.)

__________________
Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön

Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot

ratbastid

Oh, man, Baraka.... You just totally nostalgia-ed me.

I remember playing on the porch in front of my school building in fifth grade, with that very book.

desal75

I have never played a pen and paper RPG but as a huge fan of games like Dragon Quest, Elder Scrolls, and other console RPG's I can't deny the influence he had on my life.

Its a sad day for all of gaming.

__________________
The Man in Black fled across the desert and the Gunslinger followed.

Baraka_Guru

I spent many weekends with my cousin (and occasionally some other friends) playing from this book and the following "intermediate" and "advanced." We then moved on to playing the original Pool of Radiance on Commodore 64.

* * * * *

Trivia question for the thread (no cheating): What does THAC0 mean, and how do you use it?


* * * * *

*Baraka's level 15 human paladin rolls d20 to make a diplomacy check: charisma bonus +3 and diplomacy skill of 10 = 14 + 3 + 10 = 27*

Let us not look to this day in sadness; let us look to it with gratitude.

*Roll d20 for a will save*

__________________
Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön

Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot

Daniel_

THAC0.

Spoiler: To Hit Armour Class Zero

Daniel_:

STR 14
DEX 11
CON 15
INT 18
WIS 16
CHA 17
COM 14

Level 12 Administrator/Scientist
AC 14
HP 200
XP 1.8E6

__________________

╔═════════════════════════════════════════╗
Overhead, the Albatross hangs motionless upon the air,
And deep beneath the rolling waves,
In labyrinths of Coral Caves,
The Echo of a distant time
Comes willowing across the sand;
And everthing is Green and Submarine
╚═════════════════════════════════════════╝

Ustwo

__________________
Agents of the enemies who hold office in our own government, who attempt to eliminate our "freedoms" and our "right to know" are posting among us, I fear.....on this very forum. - host

Obama - Know a Man by the friends he keeps.

Daniel_

Love it, Ustwo.

__________________

╔═════════════════════════════════════════╗
Overhead, the Albatross hangs motionless upon the air,
And deep beneath the rolling waves,
In labyrinths of Coral Caves,
The Echo of a distant time
Comes willowing across the sand;
And everthing is Green and Submarine
╚═════════════════════════════════════════╝

snowy

I was very sad to hear this; I'm not a pen-and-paper gamer myself, but I have a lot of good friends who are. In fact, one of my friends works in development for Dungeons and Dragons--it's his dream job come true.

And Ustwo, thanks for the giggles. I laughed so hard my roommate asked WTF was wrong with me. I recall my friend J., a hardcore old-school RPer, doing something similar to my friend S. when S. first started playing WoW. Sigh.

__________________
If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Anxst

Ah, THAC0. To Hit Armor Class Zero. I miss AD&D 2nd ed. sometimes. Then, I smack myself for thinking it.

As an unarmored average human, your Armor Class would be 10. In the old days, everything was backward. Lowering your AC was better, because your AC was subtracted from your attacker's THAC0. So, with a THACO of 20, hitting an unarmored average human, you need a (20-10=10) 10 or higher on a d20 roll to hit.

That's how it worked. Nowadays, higher numbers are always better.

Anyone remember when your "shitty" d20 that always seemed to roll ones was used for every saving throw you ever made?

Yeah, I played with Gary Gygax at Gen Con a few times. He was a great DM, more worried about making sure every had a good time than sticking directly to the rules.

"Hey Gary, how did 3 white dragons fit in that chimney?"

"They just did. Made for a great scene, didn't it?"

__________________
Don't mind me. I'm just releasing the insanity pressure from my headvalves.

spindles

OMG - why do all the good ones die so young?

I have my first edition AD&D books on the shelf behind me and the dice in one of the draws in my desk and those red 'basic' books are at mum and dad's place I think.

__________________
who hid my keyboard's PANIC button?

biznatch

Another relevant one from penny-arcade, entitled "bordering on the semi-tasteful":



R.I.P

__________________
Check it out: The Open Source/Freeware/Gratis Software Thread

Punk.of.Ages

Man, I had no idea this happened 'til now. I'm a few days late, but my groups meeting tonight, and we will be holding a moment of silence for this man.

Dude, without this guy I wouldn't have some of the best friends I have. We all got as close as we are mainly through D&D.

I've always played 3rd edition though. I'm pretty young. It had just come out when I started playing.

R.I.P to a great, great man.

__________________
"The fact is that censorship always defeats its own purpose, for it creates, in the end, the kind of society that is incapable of exercising real discretion..." - Henry Steel Commager

"Punk rock music is great music played by really bad, drunk musicians." -Fat Mike

Baraka_Guru

If you're as hardcore as you seem to be, you should do yourselves a favour and find a copy or two of some of the early-edition "D&D" manuals (such as the classic red ones). You won't believe how much the game has changed. It's far more complex now. Advanced Dungeons & Dragons it indeed is. It would be a treat to your group to see these wonderful books.

__________________
Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön

Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot

Nimetic

Sorta sad. We laughed at basic D&D so often, but still. There was something about the general vibe of that old system that worked.

It seems to me that the right thing to do would be to play Keep on the Borderlands "as intended", taking alignment seriously (roughly anyways) and aiming to reach the ultimate goal... level 3.

Hmm. Seems to me that "keep on the borderlands could be played online" eh (if slowly). Does anyone have a copy? I think I might have it.

spindles

How about this for NWN2:
http://nwvault.ign.com/View.php?view....Detail&id=129

I've played it (single player) - you get 2 or 3 henchmen, so it is not impossible - pretty close to what I remember of the mod from close to 20 years ago.

__________________
who hid my keyboard's PANIC button?

Punk.of.Ages

I actually own a couple AD&D books, and a couple of the guys in my group started on AD&D (they're a little older than me). Any earlier than that, though, I've never even seen.

I've looked (a little) into finding earlier books, but they're definitely not going to be an easy find.

Especially with 4th edition on its way in.

Perhaps I will drop a little time and effort into finding those. I'm sure it would be a treat to see how the game has evolved.

P.S. Everyone in my group was quite saddened to hear of Gary's death last night, and we had one of the best games we've ever had in his honor.

__________________
"The fact is that censorship always defeats its own purpose, for it creates, in the end, the kind of society that is incapable of exercising real discretion..." - Henry Steel Commager

"Punk rock music is great music played by really bad, drunk musicians." -Fat Mike

Baraka_Guru

I've played "Basic," "Intermeditate," and "Expert" D&D, 2nd Edition, and 3.5.

Trust me, the changes are astounding.

"Basic" would be a great throwback. Simple rules, fast gameplay. I should find a set for myself.

__________________
Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön

Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot

m0rpheus

I never really played D&D but I still do play a variety of RPGs (Rifts and other Palladium, White Wolf, etc). I mourn GG's death not because of D&D but because he helped to create an past-time that I love. Without him and D&D the RPGs I do like probably would have never existed.

__________________
"it never got weird enough for me." - Hunter S. Thompson

Nimetic

Ah. Neat. Though I've not tried NWN.

Sadly, my home PC is not up to the task. And none of my laptops have a dedicated graphics.

SSJTWIZTA

Oh mans thats...

::rolls die, waits on result::

Horrible!

__________________
First they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the communists and I did not speak out because I was not a communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist
Then they came for me And there was no one left to speak out for me.
-Pastor Martin Niemoller

Baraka_Guru

Yeah, your PC needs more XP.

__________________
Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön

Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot

Gabbyness

Wow, sad to see that he passed away.

Definitely a controversial character, since he started Satanism! Ha!

A lot of Mountain Dew and Pizza has been consumed because of D&D, cheers to him.

__________________
One, two, three, four, fiiiiiiiifth.

SERPENT7

I intend to start my kids out on the RED book one they get old enough.

But yeah, bummer he's gone. I never did make it to Gen Con to meet him. Too late ow, I guess.

Redlemon

Here's the hacker tribute out of MIT...

__________________
I can't read your signature. Sorry.

SSJTWIZTA

it couldnt have been more original?

a big half assed cloth dye.
what the hell?

heres a idea, take that same 20 sided dye. only this time jam pack the fucker with fire works, charges, and normal sized 20 sided dice.

you all see where im going with this, right?

__________________
First they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the communists and I did not speak out because I was not a communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist
Then they came for me And there was no one left to speak out for me.
-Pastor Martin Niemoller

DonnieBoy

While cleaning out my basement this past weekend I came across my AD&D 2nd edition books and monster manual. Man I miss Pen and Paper. Haven't played in years. I wonder if there are groups online? I'll have to look into that.