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Ernest Gary Gygax (born July 27 1938 in Chicago, Illinois) is best known as the author of the well known fantasy role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons (D&D), co-created with Dave Arneson and co-published with Don Kaye in 1974 under the company Tactical Studies Rules. Although not alone in contributing to the origins of the industry, Gygax is generally considered to be the "father" of the modern role-playing hobby.

Biography

Gygax is the son of a Swiss immigrant father and an American mother. His gaming experiences began at the age of five and six with playing pinochle and chess as well as early developments of what is now considered to be live action role-playing together with Jim Rasch as referee/game master, John Rasch and Don Kaye as fellow participants. At about the same time Gary began educating himself in science fiction novels with Ray Bradbury's The Veldt in Bluebook and Robert E. Howard’s Conan the Conqueror.

"I've been reading fantasy since 1950." Gamespy interview with Gary Gygax Interview", interview by Allen Rausch (URL accessed on January 3, 2005)

It was in 1953 that Gary Gygax first started playing miniature war games with Don Kaye.

The game Gettysburg from the Avalon Hill company captured Gygax's attention. It was from the same company that he placed an order for the first blank hexagon mapping sheets that were available. He was also looking for new ways to generate random numbers, and used differently shaped dice (so-called platonic solids) to that end.

In 1966, the International Federation of Wargamers (IFW) was created by Gary Gygax and others."1966 * International Federation of Wargamers formed by Gary Gygax and other wargamers." The History of TSR, Wizards of the Coast (URL accessed on August 20, 2005)

In 1967, a 20-person gaming get-together was organized by Gary Gygax at his home including the basement sand table. This was later called "Gen Con 0" as it led to the start of the annual Gen Con gaming convention the following year, which is now the world's largest and longest-running annual hobby-game gathering.Gary Gygax, "LONG BIOGRAPHY of E(rnest) GARY GYGAX", revision 6-05, ©2005 Gen Con is also where Gary Gygax would meet Brian Blume and Dave Arneson. Brian Blume would later enter into TSR as partner with Don Kaye and Gary.

"I'm very fond of the Medieval period, the Dark Ages in particular. We started playing in the period because I had found appropriate miniatures. I started devising rules where what the plastic figure was wearing was what he had. If he had a shield and no armor, then he just has a shield. Shields and half-armor = half-armor rules; full-armor figure = full armor rules. I did rules for weapons as well."

Gygax and Jeff Perren wrote Chainmail, a miniatures wargame from which D&D was developed, in 1969.

Together with Don Kaye, Mike Reese and Leon Tucker, a military miniatures society would be created under the name Lake Geneva Tactical Studies Association (LGTSA) which at the time also met in Gary's basement.

Gygax and Kaye then founded the publishing company Tactical Studies Rules (TSR) and published the first version of D&D in 1974. For the spell systems, Gygax would be inspired by Jack Vance, but also draw upon such renowned fantasy authors as Robert E. Howard, L. Sprague de Camp and Fritz Leiber. The hand-assembled print run of 1000 copies sold out in nine months. In the same year, Gygax hired Tim Kask to help make the transition of The Strategic Review to the fantasy periodical today known as Dragon Magazine with Gygax as author and later as columnist.

After the death of Kaye in 1976, his widow sold her shares to Gygax. Gygax then owned a controlling share of the whole partnership Tactical Studies Rules, and created TSR Hobbies, Inc. He sold it soon after to Brian Blume and his father Kevin because of money problems. The Blume family owned roughly two-thirds of TSR Hobbies by late 1976.

Tactical Studies Rules published the two first printings of the original D&D and TSR Hobbies, Inc. went on with the game.

A few years later a new version of D&D was created, Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D) (1977–9). The Monster Manual would be the first rule book of the new system. The new rules were not compatible with D&D. As a result, the D&D and AD&D had distinct product lines and expansions.

Gary Gygax left TSR in 1985 during changes in TSR's management. Problems arose while Gary was preoccupied with making the CBS cartoon series Dungeons and Dragons.

"I was pretty much boxed out of the running of the company because the two guys, who between them had a controlling interest, thought they could run the company better than I could. I was set up because I could manage. In 1982 nobody on the West Coast would deal with TSR, but they had me start a new corporation called "Dungeons and Dragons Entertainment." It took a long time and a lot of hard work to get to be recognized as someone who was for real and not just a civilian, shall we say, in entertainment. Eventually, though, we got the cartoon show going (on CBS) and I had a number of other projects in the works. While I was out there, though, I heard that the company was in severe financial difficulties and one of the guys, the one I was partnered with, was shopping it on the street in New York. I came back and discovered a number of gross mismanagements in all areas of the company. The bank was foreclosing and we were a million and a half in debt. We eventually got that straightened out, but I kind of got one of my partners kicked out of office. (Kevin Blume, who was removed as TSR CEO in 1984 - ed.). Then my partners, in retribution for that, sold his shares to someone else (Lorraine Williams - ed.). I tried to block it in court, but in the ensuing legal struggle the judge ruled against me. I lost control of the company, and it was then at that point I just decided to sell out."

After leaving TSR Gary Gygax created Dangerous Journeys, an advanced RPG spanning multiple genres containing almost every rule that Gary could think of. He began work in 1995 on a major new RPG, originally intended for a computer game, but in 1999 released as Lejendary Adventure which some consider to be his best work to date. A key part of its design was to keep the gaming rules as simple as possible, as Gygax felt that role playing games were becoming too complex and discouraged new users.

He is now in semi-retirement, having almost suffered a heart attack after receiving incorrect medication to prevent further strokes after those on April 1 and May 4 2004. Although working hours declined gaming is still very much a part of Gary's life. Together with James M. Ward, creator of Metamorphosis Alpha and Gamma World, Thursday night is RPG night.

"I would like the world to remember me as the guy who really enjoyed playing games and sharing his knowledge and his fun pastimes with everybody else."

Personal

Gary Gygax married Gail Carpenter on August 15, 1987, which was the same day as his own parents' 50th anniversary. As of 2005, he is father to six children and seven grandchildren. The first five, Ernest G. Jr., Mary Elise, Heidi Jo, Cindy Lee and Lucion Paul are from his first marriage. His latest, through his current marriage, is Alexander Hugh Hamilton Gygax born on October 2, 1986. His latest grandson is Jonathan To (pronounced toe, his father being Chinese-Vietnamese).. Gygax currently resides in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin Gary describes his studio in his typical narrative fashion as,

"a small but sunny upper room—cluttered with books, magazines, papers, and who-knows-what else. Right now, pending the redecorating of that room, I am lodged in the downstairs dining room at a long table that holds two computers and a scanner, with the printer hiding to one side below it. The radio there in the studio was usually tuned to a classical music station, but the station was sold, programming changed, so now I work sans music, or now and then with a CD playing through the computer. While there are bookcases in the upper studio, elsewhere on the second floor, and on the first floor, the main repository of printed lore (other than that piled here and there) is my basement library which includes thousands of reference works, maps, magazines, and works of fiction."

Honorable Mention

From 1975 to 1994, Gary Gygax received several awards related to gaming:
  • Strategists Club's, "Outstanding Designer & Writer"—for creating D&D
  • Origin Game Convention's, "Adventure Gaming Hall of Fame"
  • Origins Award, "Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design Hall of Fame Honors" (2004)
  • Four time winner of Games Day's, "Best Games Inventor" (1979–82).

Gary Gygax was tied with J. R. R. Tolkien for #18 on "GameSpy's 30 Most Influential People in Gaming" (Gamespy Magazine, March 2002).

As of March 13, 2003, Gygax is listed under the entry Dungeons and Dragons in the Oxford English Dictionary.

A strain of bacteria has been named in honor of Gary Gygax, namely "Arthronema gygaxiana sp nov UTCC393"."Molecular and Morphological Characterization of Ten Polar and Near-Polar Strains within the Oscillatoriales (Cyanobacteria)", by Dale A. Casamatta, Jeffrey R. Johansen, Morgan L. Vis, and Sharon T. Broadwater, Journal of Phycology, 2005

Sync Magazine named Gary Gygax #1 on the list of "The 50 Biggest Nerds of All Time".Number 1: Gary Gyrax: "Cocreator of Dungeons & Dragons and father of role-playing games.
Defining nerd moment: With a last name that sounds like a barbarian warrior from space, is it any wonder this guy invented the 20-sided die? Between 1977 and 1979, Gygax released Advanced Dungeons & Dragons for advanced dorks, taking the cult phenomenon to new heights whilst giving himself a +5 salary of lordly might." Sync Magazine, December/January 2004/05

SFX Magazine listed him as #37 on the list of the "50 Greatest SF Pioneers".SFX Magazine March (#128) 2005

In Popular Culture

Gary Gygax appeared on a Futurama episode, "Anthology of Interest I" (aired in 2000), during which he rolled dice to decide on what greeting to give when introduced to Fry ("It's a... *roll* ...pleasure to meet you."). Later, he gives his "+1 mace" to Fry to fight off the robots of the future. The episode ends with Gary dungeon mastering a Dungeons & Dragons game with Fry, Al Gore, Nichelle Nichols, Stephen Hawking, and Deep Blue. His appearance alongside Al Gore on Futurama was something of an inside joke since Gore's wife, Tipper Gore, has been publicly critical of Dungeons & Dragons. The Gores' daughter writes for the show.

He had a cameo appearance in the April 13, 2004 strip of R. K. Milholland's on-line comic Something Positive. Gary is shown getting busted by the FBI for creating Dungeons & Dragons and causing "years and years of anti-social mayhem".

In an episode of Dexter's Laboratory (entitled "D&DeeDee"), Dexter attempts to play a super-powerful character named Gygax with a soul-stealing sword, but ends up with Hodo the Furry-Footed Burrower instead.

His name has twice been an answer in the board game Trivial Pursuit.

The now-defunct Washington D.C.-based art punk band Pitchblende named their final album, Gygax!, in his honor.

In the MMORPG version of Dungeons and Dragons, Dungeons & Dragons Online, Gygax serves as Dungeon Master for the "Delera's Tomb" quest chain.

Job Titles

  • 1970-73 – Editor-in-Chief, Guidon Games (publisher of Wargaming rules and wargames)
  • 1973-83 – Partner of TSR and then President of TSR Hobbies, Inc.
  • 1983-85 – President, DUNGEONS & DRAGONS Entertainment Corporation
Co-Producer, DUNGEONS & DRAGONS Animated Television Show
  • 1983-85 – Chairman of the Board of Directors and President (1985 only) of TSR, Inc.
  • 1986-88 – Chairman of the Board of Directors, New Infinities Productions, Inc.
  • 1988-94 – Creator/author under contract to Omega Helios Limited
  • 1995-... – Creator/author under contract to Trigee Enterprises Corporation
  • 1999-... – Partner, Hekaforge Productions

    • Role-Playing Games

    Boot Hill - role-playing elements in the Wild West, with Brian Blume, 1975

    Dungeons & Dragons

    Advanced Dungeons & Dragons

    • Rule books:
    • Supplements:
      • Unearthed Arcana
      • Oriental Adventures (with Dave Cook & Francois Froideval)
    • Accessories:
      • Dungeon Geomorphs (3 sets)
      • Outdoor Geomorphs
      • Monster & Treasure Assortments (3 sets)

        Dangerous Journeys

        • Mythus – (with Dave Newton), Game Designers Workshop, 1992
        • Mythus Magick – Book II of the MYTHUS Game (with Dave Newton), GDW, 1992
        • Epic of Ærth – Companion Volume to the MYTHUS Game, GDW, 1992
        • Necropolis – Adventure Scenario, GDW, 1993
        • Mythus Bestiary, Ærth Animalia – (with Dave & Michele Newton), GDW, 1993
        • Changeling – Weird Science Fantasy Role-Playing Game, published in part in Mythic Masters Magazine (see Periodicals)

        Lejendary Adventures

        • Rule books:
          • LEJENDARY RULES FOR ALL PLAYERS - Hekaforge Productions, 1999
          • LEJEND MASTER’S LORE - Hekaforge Productions, 2000
          • BEASTS OF LEJEND - Hekaforge Productions, 2000
        • World Setting sourcebooks:
          • LEJENDARY EARTH GAZETTEER - Part 1, Hekaforge Productions, 2002
          • Noble Kings & Dark Lands - Part 2, (with Chris Clark) Hekaforge Productions, 2003
          • The Mysterious Realms of Hazgar – Part 3, (with Chris Clark) Hekaforge Productions, 2005
        • Adventures:
          • Living the Lejend - Campaign Setting & Expansion for the LA Essentials Boxed Set, Troll Lord Games (2005)
          • Forlorn Corners - included serially as a part of the Author’s and Collector’s Editions of the three core rules noted above (1999-2000)
          • Hall of Many Panes – Module Boxed Set with D20 stats included, Troll Lord Games 2005
        • LEJENDARY ADVENTURE ESSENTIALS - Primer Boxed Set for the LA RPG, Troll Lord Games, 2005

        Castles & Crusades

        For Castles & Crusades, the Castle Zagyg series is a planned series of seven sourcebooks based on Gygax's original campaign. For copyright reasons they are not published under the name of Greyhawk.
        • Castle Zagyg, Vol. 1: Yggsburgh Troll Lord Games, 2005 (ISBN 1-931275-68-8)

        Generic d20 System

        (see also d20 System & Open Game License)
        • A Challenge of Arms - (Chris Clark with Gary Gygax) generic adventure module, Inner City Game Designs, 1999
        • Ritual of the Golden Eyes - (Chris Clark with Gary Gygax) generic adventure module, Inner City Game Designs, 2000
        • The Weyland Smith Catalog - ("Joke" Magic Items), short version, Hekaforge Productions, 1999
        • Gygaxian Fantasy Worlds Series from Troll Lord Games. Volumes IV, V, VI are edited by Gygax.
          • Volume I Gary Gygax’s The Canting Crew, explores the underworld of city life, "Gygaxian Fantasy Worlds, Volume II"
          • Volume II Gary Gygax’s World Builder, a collection of organized definitions, lists, tables and charts, (with Dan Cross) – 2003
          • Volume III Gary Gygax’s Living Fantasy, Everyday Life, – 2003
          • Volume IV Gary Gygax’s Book of Names by Malcolm Bowers
          • Volume V Gary Gygax’s Insidiae by Dan Cross 2004
          • Volume VI Gary Gygax’s Nation Builder, by Michael J. Varhola – 2005

        Non-RPG Games

        Rules for Miniatures/Table Top Battle Games

        Board Games

        • Alexander the Great (Ancient, the Battle of Arbela) – Guidon Games and reprinted by Avalon Hill
        • Alexander's Other Battles – Panzerfaust Publishing, 1972 – a Supplementary Kit For The Guidon Game Alexander the Great
        • Baku (WW II, Extension of The Avalon Hill Company’s Stalingrad board wargame), Panzerfaust Publications
        • Crusader (Medieval, Battle of Ascalon) – Panzerfaust Publications
        • Dunkirk (World War II) – Guidon Games
        • Little Big Horn (Western) – TSR Hobbies, Inc.

        Chess Variants

        • Another of Gary Gygax's creations was Dragon chess, a three-dimensional fantasy chess variant, published in Dragon Magazine #100 (August 1985). It is played on three 8x12 boards stacked on top of each other - the top board represents the sky, the middle is the ground, and the bottom is the underworld. The pieces are characters and monsters inspired by the Dungeons and Dragons setting: King, Mage, Paladin, Cleric, Dragon, Griffin, Oliphant, Hero, Thief, Elemental, Basilisk, Unicorn, Dwarf, Sylph and Warrior.
        • FidchellFidchell, The Chess Variant Pages, accessed August 19th, 2005 – Not to be confused with the historic board game of fidchell (various spellings) from Ireland.

        Literature

        Fantasy Novels

        • Greyhawk Adventures Series of Novels (from TSR, Inc., featuring Gord the Rogue)
          • Saga of Old City (1985)
          • Artifact of Evil (1986)

        • Gord the Rogue Adventures (from New Infinities Productions, Inc., also published in Italian)
          • Sea of Death (1987)
          • Night Arrant (1987) – a collection of short stories
          • City of Hawks (1987)
          • Come Endless Darkness (1988)
          • Dance of Demons (1988)

        • released under publisher Penguin/Roc
          • The Anubis Murders (1992)
          • The Samarkand Solution (1993)
          • Death in Delhi (1993)

        Misc Books & Short Stories

        • Sagard the Barbarian Books (HEROES CHALLENGE Gamebook Series, co-author Flint Dille (with assistance from Ernie Gygax) - from Archway/Pocket books):
        The Ice Dragon
        The Green Hydra
        The Crimson Sea
        The Fire Demon
        • Role-Playing Mastery - instructional book, Perigee/Putnam (trade paperback bestseller)
      • Master of the Game - sequel to Role-Playing Mastery from Perigee/Putnam
      • "At Moonset Blackcat Comes" (Fantasy short story featuring Gord the Rogue appearing in Dragon Magazine #100)
      • "Pay Tribute" (Science Fiction short story in The Fleet anthology)
      • "Battle off Deadstar" (Science Fiction short story in Fleet Breakthrough anthology)
      • "Celebration of Celene" (Fantasy short story published in Michael Moorcock’s Elric, Tales of the White Wolf anthology) - White Wolf, Inc., 1994
      • "Duty" (Fantasy short story in Excalibur, anthology) – Warner Books, 1995
      • "Get on Board the D Train" (Horror short story in Dante’s Disciples anthology) – White Wolf, Inc., 1996
      • Evening Odds" (Fantasy short story with Gord the Rogue sharing Michael Moorcock’s Eternal Champions universe) – White Wolf, Inc., 1997

      Periodicals

      • The Crusader – magazine, column on the creation of the D&D game beginning 2005
      • Dragon Magazine - author to 1985, and a columnist therein 1999 to 2004
      • Journeys Journal (GDW) - contributor in each of six issues published through 1993
      • Lejends (Total Reality Studios) – magazine, major contributor, 2001 to 2003
      • Mythic Masters (Trigee) - magazine, primary author of entire 64-page magazine for each of six issues published through 1994
      • The Strategic Review (Tactical Studies Rules) – newsletter, primary author of entire magazine for each of the initial four issues, and a major contributor to the balance of all issues until DRAGON Magazine came into print.
      • La Vivandiere (Palikar Publications) – defunct wargaming magazine, contributing author (1974), significant contributions include "Fantasy Wargaming and the Influence of J.R.R. Tolkien", in which he defends D&D's inclusion of non-Tolkien fantasy into the game.

      Bibliography

      External links

      1938 births | Living people | Dungeons & Dragons authors | American fantasy writers | Greyhawk authors | Role-playing game designers | Board game designers | Swiss-Americans

      Gary Gygax | Gary Gygax | Gary Gygax | Gary Gygax | Gary Gygax | Gary Gygax | Gary Gygax

     

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