benoist

Level 5 Thaumaturgist







OD&D, AD&D, AS&SH

Posts: 346

Level 5 Thaumaturgist 40th Anniversary of OD&D. Anyone doing anything? Finarvyn likes this Quote Select Post

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"It is likely that today is the anniversary of the reveal of the Dungeons & Dragons role playing game in late January of 1974, the first Sunday when game designer Ernest Gary Gygax invited people to come to his house and play his and Dave Arneson's brand new game.



I always was curious and inquisitive as a child growing up between Normandy and the French Ardennes. My parents were very good to me, instilling in me a critical mind, spirit, a will to go out and be myself, answering my questions about all things, or pointing me in the right direction to find them out on my own. It'd be hard for me to say that the Dungeons & Dragons game taught me all those things. But surrounded as I was with the castles of Robert the Devil and Richard the Lionheart, inspired as I was by fantasy as well as the world around me, I think that my discovery of the game on that fateful week-end of November 1988 in Vendresse, France, where my cousin Carlos Sacré ran us through his version of the Village of Hommlet, had the effect of a lightning bolt on me, bringing all these elements into a whole that would define how I would shape both my imagination and personality from then on.



I owe it in no small part to Dungeons & Dragons to know what words like "eldritch" or "dweomer" or indeed "marmoreal" actually mean. Heck, I probably wouldn't speak English every day if it wasn't for deciphering the books on my own with an Harrap's dictionary as a young lad. I might not have plugged myself into Ancient History on the internet, might not have met Nerissa Montie at all. I might not have come to live here in Canada, nor met so many wonderful friends and played with them over the years. I wouldn't be where I am today, creating new content for those who love the game as I do, enjoying the partnership and friendship of one Ernest Gary Gygax Jr.



Today, I am celebrating, remembering the many games, the many laughs, the dice rolling, the role playing, as I work my way through our latest manuscript. This is a preview of what is to come, intended as an exclusive for those who attend the Gary Con Gaming Convention a few weeks from now, using some of the materials I once came up with in my advice to build the mega-dungeon, but retooled to work in concert with The Hobby Shop Dungeon and campaign, and expended upon in concert with my friend and writing partner.



This is a fitting way to celebrate I think, and I can't help thinking about Gary as I do so, typing away at his machine, as Ernie described to me more than once, giving birth to a framework that would soon allow millions to have fun and explore the realms of their own imaginations.



So, here's to you, Dungeons & Dragons. Happy birthday, old friend. To the many years of fun games that are now past, and to the future, many bright years yet to come."



Yep! I am working at the manuscript of a module preview for Gary Con, and reminiscing at the same time. Seemed fitting, looking both at the past, and looking forward to the future. Reposting this from facebook:"It is likely that today is the anniversary of the reveal of the Dungeons & Dragons role playing game in late January of 1974, the first Sunday when game designer Ernest Gary Gygax invited people to come to his house and play his and Dave Arneson's brand new game.I always was curious and inquisitive as a child growing up between Normandy and the French Ardennes. My parents were very good to me, instilling in me a critical mind, spirit, a will to go out and be myself, answering my questions about all things, or pointing me in the right direction to find them out on my own. It'd be hard for me to say that the Dungeons & Dragons game taught me all those things. But surrounded as I was with the castles of Robert the Devil and Richard the Lionheart, inspired as I was by fantasy as well as the world around me, I think that my discovery of the game on that fateful week-end of November 1988 in Vendresse, France, where my cousin Carlos Sacré ran us through his version of the Village of Hommlet, had the effect of a lightning bolt on me, bringing all these elements into a whole that would define how I would shape both my imagination and personality from then on.I owe it in no small part to Dungeons & Dragons to know what words like "eldritch" or "dweomer" or indeed "marmoreal" actually mean. Heck, I probably wouldn't speak English every day if it wasn't for deciphering the books on my own with an Harrap's dictionary as a young lad. I might not have plugged myself into Ancient History on the internet, might not have met Nerissa Montie at all. I might not have come to live here in Canada, nor met so many wonderful friends and played with them over the years. I wouldn't be where I am today, creating new content for those who love the game as I do, enjoying the partnership and friendship of one Ernest Gary Gygax Jr.Today, I am celebrating, remembering the many games, the many laughs, the dice rolling, the role playing, as I work my way through our latest manuscript. This is a preview of what is to come, intended as an exclusive for those who attend the Gary Con Gaming Convention a few weeks from now, using some of the materials I once came up with in my advice to build the mega-dungeon, but retooled to work in concert with The Hobby Shop Dungeon and campaign, and expended upon in concert with my friend and writing partner.This is a fitting way to celebrate I think, and I can't help thinking about Gary as I do so, typing away at his machine, as Ernie described to me more than once, giving birth to a framework that would soon allow millions to have fun and explore the realms of their own imaginations.So, here's to you, Dungeons & Dragons. Happy birthday, old friend. To the many years of fun games that are now past, and to the future, many bright years yet to come."