the final arbiter
Gary Gygax died today (CNN link). There was probably no greater influence on my learning than he. The first edition of the Dungeon Master’s Guide was geared to college-age kids and older; I was sixteen the first time I played. I and my friends couldn’t get enough. I still miss the thirty-hour marathons and mountains of pizza crust; playing for hours without even rolling a die; being a DM and watching one of your players hit twentieth level. Being a player and killing your first orc. Your first vampire. Your first demon. Your first dragon.
Gary Gygax – requiescat in pace – and say hi to the Cudgel for me.