So every once in awhile, a part of our past creeps up and sticks you in the gut to the point where you cannot ignore it.

Yesterday was one of those days. I see obits from celebrities pretty frequently, and sometimes it impacts me. I think of some role an actor played, or some book an author wrote or some world leader or another who I remember having an impact during their term. But its very rare that I see that news about someone who fundamentally shifted the course of my life in a dramatic way. Someone who, without their influence, my life would have followed an entirely different path.

Dave Arneson was such a person. I never met the man, or heard him speak, though he was present at conventions too numerous to count. But without his influence, I can honestly say that my life would be radically different. He, Gary Gygax (who also passed away not too long ago) and a few others were at the core group that created the original Dungeons & Dragons game. He and Gygax went on to publish more content in the genre than pretty much any other person, or even perhaps group of people, combined. Their contributions were, for lack of a better term, fundamental.

I think back now to when I first started playing… having first been introduced the concept overhearing my mother, father and their friends playing in the next room(1976, ’77) … to creating simulated adventures on big sheets of paper with my friend from across the street, Brett (1978) … to purchasing my very first books in the model shop near my home (’79  or ’80) to what led to many, many adventures through every edition that has been published since. I recently got in touch with one of my cousins on facebook when he responded to my tag that I was working on a dungeon for our latest gig, and he said he was now playing as well! He had just started playing two or so years ago, and was very excited about the 4th edition rules. He asked how long I had been playing, and I realized that it was before he was born. A little bit frightening, but at the same time, I think it reveals a core truth about the genre, what it offers, what it captures in our hearts and perhaps more importantly, our minds and imagination. I think, now that the bottle is uncorked, thanks to those OG (original gamers) founders, their legacy will forever last.

It was argued, not too long ago even, that the paper and dice versions of these games would pass once the computer versions were omnipresent. Evidence suggests, however, that this is not the case. I think the games that exist today are too… reverent of their roots to even try to supplant that which they were borne from. And frankly, I’m not sure its possible. Yes, sure… you can play games now with those same friends you sat around the table with, eating bad snack food and soda … even talking together in some shared voice channel… but I don’t think it will ever replace the experience of letting your imaginations all join up together, ruled by your wits and polygonal dice, your minds flying through the worlds your GM was creating for you.

As so, to this astonishing pair of humans… Dave Arneson and Gary Gygax, I tip my hat. You have enriched my life in ways I can scarcely name … and in ways I hope to pass on to my daughter. Thank you for sharing your vision… your passion. Rest in Peace.

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