Praise to the man! (Gary Gygax obituary)

[_Some Schmo]

As you use this thread to express your thankfulness and respect for this great man... Feel free to compare and contrast the two fantasists: Joseph Smith and Gray Gygax. Who has had a greater impact on the world and it's people? On your life?

I don't think there's any doubt who had a greater impact. The number of people developing and playing CRPG's alone certainly dwarfs (no pun intended) the influence Joseph Smith has had. Now if you had asked who had more of a negative impact... well, that's a different story.

I loved D&D as a kid. When Neverwinter Nights came out for the PC, I was in heaven. It combined two of my favorite things: D&D and computer gaming/development. For those not familiar, Neverwinter Nights was an attempt to try to do a faithful port of the pen & paper game to the PC. The software came with the game, of course, along with a Dungeon Master client, and an excellent, robust and really easy to use toolkit for making your own campaigns, one of the major attractions of the D&D concept. Some of the player-made modules that came out for it were just awesome. I made my own series, uploaded them to the Neverwinter Vault at ign's site and was treated to their Hall of Fame status, back in the day. Man, those were some good times.

So yep, I was saddened to see that Gary had passed on. I, for one, truly do appreciate his legacy.

[_bcspace]

The brass ball is a Liahona, an intelligent compass that will react for Lawfully Good aligned characters only. It uses limited telepathic abilities to give the direction of north to its user. It also works as a locate object spell once per day. It will answer one yes or no question for its user per week. It is worth 10,000 gold pieces.

Now here arises an interesting question. What should be the alignment of a TBM? My initial thinking has me rejecting Lawful Good in favor of Neutral Good. I shall ponder it some more.

I'm sure they're different from my original manuals but here is a description of D&D alignments....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alignment_%28Dungeons_%26_Dragons%29

I expect one would find fodder against my Neutral Good opinion in the phrase..."without regard for or against Lawful precepts such as rules or tradition", but I think I can manage it because I find myself easily avoiding conflict between Law and Good with my concept of absolutes.

[_asbestosman]

While I have never played D&D, I have spent countless hours on computer RPGs, especially the Final Fantasy series. I'm so addicted to RPGs that I'm actually starting to learn the rules for D&D so I can get in touch with the original, pure, and limitless source. My problem is that nobody I knew really played D&D even though we all played RPGs on the computer.

But then, I've spent two years dedicated to preaching the gospel. I have not yet done that for RPGs. I don't consider either a waste of time. At most they may make me lose a bit of sleep. I am that addicted to playing RPGs on my computer. Can't say I've ever been so addicted to the scriptures I stay up late, but I have been up late to read this board, so that almost counts.

I'm gonna need to find a good DM to get into the original. Lucky for me, a lot of my co-workers seem to be fans of the game. Maybe I'll have to see if they're up for teaching me during lunch or something.

[_bcspace]

I loved D&D as a kid.

I was introduced when my parents got me the "Keep on the Borderlands" starter module for Christmas. I still have all the World of Greyhawk maps and descriptions. One of my favorite modules (risking irreverent comparisons here) is "The Temple of Elemental Evil".

I wrote a module based on the setting of a tropical island. We played it but I don't think it's worthy of publication even if I could find it all again.

[_Infymus]

[_Sethbag]

Oh yeah! It was the World of Greyhawk that I had bought and read up on back in high school.

Here's the cover of the set that I bought:



I wonder if it's still around somewhere at my parents' house or something. That would roxxor!

[_William Schryver]

Gary Gygax obituary





As you use this thread to express your thankfulness and respect for this great man... Feel free to compare and contrast the two fantasists: Joseph Smith and Gray Gygax. Who has had a greater impact on the world and it's people? On your life?

As I stand before you today, I proudly declare that I have spent far more hours of my life playing Dungeons & Dragons than doing Mormon stuff (even when I was ostensibly doing church stuff, my mind was usually thinking about the game). It's been a wonderful experience, brothers and sisters. My life wouldn't have been the same without it and I probably wouldn't be here today. THIS is the tradition I am passing on to my children.

I always knew you were a freaking geek. I'll bet you don't look anywhere near as cool as your avatar. Ten bucks says you're a pocket-protector dweeb.

By the way, did Gary go out in a hail of gunfire? If not, I can't even consider voting for him. Sorry. Dweeb.

[_moksha]

There was no option to vote for both.

[_Some Schmo]

By the way, did Gary go out in a hail of gunfire? If not, I can't even consider voting for him. Sorry. Dweeb.

How on Earth does going "out in a hail of gunfire" relate to who had more of a long-term impact on society, or whether the thing he started was a complete waste of time or not? Does a person have to have pissed off several people to the point that an angry mob hunts him down and shoots him before you think he has an impact?

Did Freud go out in a hail of gunfire? How about Einstein? Or Newton? Michelangelo? Or do these guys also not qualify as people who have had a major impact on society? Was their work a complete waste of time? After all, where's the dramatic death?

Just what the hell are you talking about?

NRA member, are you?

[_bcspace]

Something is very wrong with this board. I posted this in another thread and it came out here....?