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I recall, as a young boy, wishing that I could meet Gary Gygax. Now, you may not know that name; but, to me, the name "Gary Gygax" has always held some special meanings. You see, Gary Gygax created the most popular Role-Playing Game (RPG) ever: Dungeons & Dragons. As a young boy, I very much admired the man that had given me so many good times through his game.

Gygax was born in 1938. As a young boy, he was inspired by writers like Ray Bradbury and Robert E. Howard. He played miniature war games with friends, such as TSR co-founder Don Kaye. It was during the process of playing tabletop wargames that Gary and others who played with him began to expand those games, take them out of a historical setting and into a fantasy one, and to create storylines to go with those games. It was here, in this environment, that Dungeons and Dragons was born.

In 1971, Gary published Chainmail, which was a miniatures wargame set in a fantasy setting. The core rules of Chainmail made up much of what became Dungeons and Dragons. In 1976, Gary created TSR Hobbies, Inc from the company Tactical Studies Rules. In 1977, Advanced Dungeons and Dragons (AD&D) was created, with the Monster Manual being the first book to be published.

In 1985, Gary left TSR. There was controversy about this move, with each side blaming the other for mismanagement. Here is what Gary himself said about that situation:

"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 lost control of the company, and it was then at that point I just decided to sell out."

After leaving TSR, Gary moved on to developing other Roleplaying Games such as Dangerous Journeys. In 1999, he released Lejendary Adventure, a new Roleplaying Game, which some people believe to be Gary's best work.

In the 2000s, Gary returned to writing Dungeons and Dragons material, publishing several different supplements for third-party companies operating under the Open Gaming License. Gary also kept active on a variety of Roleplaying Game web sites, such as Dragonsfoot and Enworld.

Gary died March 4, 2008. He died of heart failure at home, in Lake Geneva, where he had lived most of his life.

Oh, and I did get to meet Gary Gygax. I met him in Wisconsin, at the final Milwaukee GenCon. I stepped outside to smoke a cigarette and there, in a Hawaiian shirt and pony tail, was Gary Gygax: the Father of D&D. We talked for about five minutes before I realized who he was. Once I did, I was completely in awe. I felt like a small boy again, looking up into the eyes of his hero.

It was one of the most memorable moments of my life.

Learn more about this author, John W. Paulus.
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