Why I Heart D+D; RIP Gary Gygax

Well, Gary Gygax is dead. He's the guy who invented D+D back in the mid-70s. A nation and, indeed, a world of dorks mourns his passing, because it is because of him and him alone that we were able to enjoy the following in our youth:

• Sword, Frostbrand, +3/+6 vs. Fire-Using Creatures.
  
• Meteor Swarm, 9th Level Mage Spell.
  
• Blue dragons breathe lightning, black dragons breathe acid, green dragons breathe a cloud of deadly chlorine gas.
  
• The monk: a cool multifaceted character class. The bard: less so, but still memorable.
  
• Bag of holding.
  
• The Drow: evil ebon-hued elves of the Underdark.
  
• Demorgorgon: Demon Prince of the Abyss. Oh, also, Pit Fiends: Greatest of the Devils of the Hells (lawful evil.)
  

And so on.

Anyway, briefly, I will go on the record as a diehard defender and enjoyer of D+D. I started playing at about 11 and I'm still playing now (there were years off here and there, both when I started having sex and temporarily forgot about the 20-sided die and during those periods in which I wasn't able to find a group to game with.) Simply put, almost nothing is as much fun as a well-run and well-played game of D+D. It is a fact of science. With the new group here in SC, we also discovered that it has a huge payoff in that it's almost impossible to think about being in graduate school when you're busy slaughtering goblins.

Looking back, some of the best, happiest memories of my life involve D+D campaigns. The early years w/ my nerdy middle school and high school friends, rediscovering it at the Blitzhaus w/ my nerd-punk friends (and finding out that it was even more fun with alcohol and heavy metal involved), the amazing super-fun games in Portland, and the chips-and-soda campaign back in my mom's basement in Eugene while I was getting my MA. The fact that I consistently played D+D with my brother for more than fifteen years. All the critical hits, the treasure hordes, and the slayage.

Anyway, hopefully Gary's on the third layer of Elysium right now, swinging around a Holy Avenger and quaffing some mead.