Ode to a level-30 genius

A letter to Gary Gygax 1938-2008

Ben Poggemiller, Staff

Dear Gary Gygax,

I was never directly affected by your work, but the ripples of your genius reach farther than merely being the co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons (D&D). You are number 18 on Gamespy’s “Top 30 Most Influential People in Gaming,” and that is not unmerited. Even though it was a tie, to share number 18 with J.R.R. Tolkien is high esteem. You made fantasy not passive but participatory and something to be shared. You made role-playing games cool before they became not cool again. You had a “science-fictiony” name, worthy of a nerd. Many of us wish we had an X in our names. Somehow “Poggemillerx” isn’t quite the same as “Gygax.”

With your inhabitable worlds, you influenced a generation that influenced my PC gaming. I couldn’t have played Diablo, Ultima Online, or Guild Wars without your pioneering. I was even fortunate enough to play Neverwinter Nights, which was based on third edition Dungeons & Dragons, dice rolls and all.

You might merit a blurb or a short article or perhaps nothing at all in the newspapers, but you deserve a biography. All I can offer is a tiny letter.

Many times I have thought of picking up the tabletop version of D&D and, many times, I have shied away. I have very few friends who would be interested, and after decades of inspired designers and expanding worlds, the rules always seem daunting. It continually seems harder and harder to be a beginner. It’s sad that it took your death to make me want to try again. I really will this time, I promise!

You were on Futurama once and you said, “Anyone wanna play Dungeons & Dragons for the next quadrillion years?” Maybe you will be.

Sincerely,

Ben Poggemiller