Gary Gygax, co-creator of D&D with Dave Arneson, passed away today at the age of 69. Born in 1938, he helped to create the hobby that so many of us still enjoy today, as well as the various works inspired by it. I still have my original three-book set of Dungeons & Dragons, along with some of those first plastic dice that have started to crumble in recent years.

Coverage of Mr. Gygax's passing has been remarkable, as I think the industry he worked with touched more lives than many would care to admit. I'm putting up FFN a day early as a meager tribute. I once got to talk with him at a convention, but the conversation was him asking where someone at our booth was, and me telling him that the person in question was in the bathroom.

I did get to see him in Milwaukee during the big D&D 3E announcement, which was pretty thrilling. I'd never seen the man in the flesh before and knew him mostly as the guy who put "EGG" in the middle of one of the maps in "Expedition to the Barrier Peaks" and did the "Up on a Soapbox" column for Dragon (back when it had staples!).

If nothing else, I'm glad he got to see his work flourish and spawn many children. I don't think MMOs would be what they are without those early books, misprints and all. Thank you, Gary Gygax, for you and your friends leading us to that fabled 10' by 10' room with an orc guarding a chest and helping us to find a little piece of glory, if only for an evening over pizza.

For a more complete overview of Mr. Gygax's career, Wikipedia has a pretty good summary.