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I read with sadness on a blog over at CNET that Gary Gygax, the man who invented the game that started modern role playing games - Dungeons and Dragons - died on Tuesday at the age of 69.

Now for those of you who didn't grow up in the AD&D ("Advanced Dungeons & Dragons") era, let me give you a little primer. It was a gaming system that basically brought a world similar to JRR Tolkien's Lord of the Rings to life. It allowed you to assume the persona of a character in that world - you could become a human, elf, dwarf, hobbit, etc. in that world, and then go "adventuring" inside of it. The world, or "milieu", you adventured in was created by a person called a "Dungeon Master" (DM). The DM created a basic framework of their world (or they bought one), and then randomness and chance was introduced (just like a real world) by the use of various dice - 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, and 20 sided dice were used. An experienced AD&D player was known by a nice collection of dice and a worn set of AD&D manuals used to play the game. In fact, I still have my original Player's Handbook, Monster Manual, and yes even the first edition Deities and Demigods (which was modified and then eventually removed from print because of pressure from the Christian right).

Yes, AD&D was the haven of the geeks, the awkward, the people who were probably not the most popular or who were often too smart for their own good. You had to be pretty smart to play the game, as it was fairly complex - and there was a sense of pride in being able to truly understand the game itself. I know in our group we prided ourselves in playing the game very "realistically" - let me explain.

Obviously this is a game that allows magic. There is a temptation to just go crazy and allow a ton of magic in your world - let everyone have anything and everything they want. Well, that would be the same as saying that everyone in the real world is rich beyond their wildest dreams - it just doesn't happen. So, we played our world in a way where magic was hard to come by. Some stuff was common - simple things - while other things were quite rare. You had to work for what you get. And it took a LONG time to build up your character - years. I had a ranger, Thorngrier, that I played almost every weekend for four years to get him to 17th level before I retired him. I still think of that character fondly, and remember adventures I had with him - and with my friends - and those are some of my best memories from my early (and awkward) teen years.

There were also controversies over AD&D back then, during the late 1970's and early 1980's. I was called a "devil worshipper" by a local church group in general and a pastor in particular (Chapel Hill - incidentally, the man who called me that, Bishop Earl Paulk, has come under his own scrutiny). There were rumours of kids getting lost in tunnels, etc. - all of which were urban legends. And, since I was an out-of-the-closet atheist anyway, it made it even worse - and me an even bigger target in the Bible Belt. Ahh, those were the fun days

So, I want to take a moment and remember E. Gary Gygax, and thank him for bringing Dungeons and Dragons to life. It was a huge part of my awkward pre-teen and teen years, from the Chainmail (that was the precursor to AD&D) days through AD&D, it was great - and I wouldn't have traded it for anything. It helped me expand my imagination, it taught me how to use my mind and visualize in ways I never thought possible, and it definitely enhanced my problem solving abilities immensly. I honestly think I became a better developer and engineer because of AD&D.

Thanks, Gary. I'll miss you.

Rock