A sad day

I learnt that Gary Gygax, the creator of Dungeons and Dragons passed away today. I didn't know him personally and I didn't have to to mourn his passing. He gave the world a precious gift: the ability to use our imagination and intelligence to problem-solve in a fantasy setting. Actually, that's a bit too dry so let me try again: he let us be someone else we wanted to be, just for a few hours.

It's one thing to watch TV, read a book or even play a computer game. It's quite another to sit around the table with friends and role-play, be someone else for a few hours in a setting far far away from our humdrum existence. Heck, if you didn't have friends, that's a pretty good place to start.

I played my first game of D&D (1ed!) when I was still in school, I guess in what North Americans would have called junior high. I still remember my very first character - a Lawful Good cleric. Our DM was a git and kept on Wiping the entire party every game. We were young and broke; we had one set of dice that we had to pass from person to person when it was their turn. And yes, the magic user was always the first to die regardless of where the character was in relation to the other party members. I feel for the player now, as playing a first-level magic user all the time was no fun. Eventually, life intervened and we stopped playing as we got streamed into different classes.

I guess I'm getting all misty-eyed because it was my generation that D&D made an impact with. As gawky, shy teenagers, those of us who would now be considered nerds or geeks were prime targets for the bullies in the school. Intelligence wasn't a valued commodity; popularity was. D&D let me and others of my generation use our gray matter in a way that was, for many of us, useful for the first time outside of the classroom.

Would I say that D&D made me the person I am? Certainly not. Hard work and perseverance got me here...but D&D definitely gave some truly excellent memories and great friends to boot.

Thank you, Mr. Gygax, for giving countless hours of joy to so many of us, for showing that imagination is powerful and for making our teenage years bearable. May you rest in peace, wherever you are.