Topic: Dungeons & Dragons co-creator dies at 61

[toasty0]

Role-playing game known for odd dice became quintessential geek pastime
The Associated Press
updated 12:46 a.m. PT, Fri., April 10, 2009
MINNEAPOLIS - Dave Arneson, one of the co-creators of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy game and a pioneer of role-playing entertainment, died after a two-year battle with cancer, his family said Thursday. He was 61.

Arneson's daughter, Malia Weinhagen, said her father died peacefully Tuesday in hospice care in St. Paul.

Arneson and Gary Gygax developed Dungeons & Dragons in 1974 using medieval characters and mythical creatures. The game known for its oddly shaped dice became a hit, particularly among teenage boys. It eventually was turned into video games, books and movies. Gygax died in March 2008.

"The biggest thing about my dad's world is he wanted people to have fun in life," Weinhagen said. "I think we get distracted by the everyday things you have to do in life and we forget to enjoy life and have fun.

"But my dad never did," she said. "He just wanted people to have fun."

Dungeons & Dragons players create fictional characters and carry out their adventures with the help of complicated rules. The quintessential geek pastime, it spawned copycat games and later inspired a whole genre of computer games that's still growing in popularity.

"(Arneson) developed many of the fundamental ideas of role-playing: that each player controls just one hero, that heroes gain power through adventures, and that personality is as important as combat prowess," according to a statement from Wizards of the Coast, a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. that produces Dungeons & Dragons.

Blackmoor, a game Arneson was developing before D&D, was the "first-ever role-playing campaign and the prototype for all (role-playing game) campaigns since," the company said.


Arneson and Gygax were dedicated tabletop wargamers who recreated historical battles with painted miniature armies and fleets. They met in 1969 at a convention, and their first collaboration, along with Mike Carr, was a set of rules for sailing-ship battles called "Don't Give Up the Ship!"

In later years, Dave published other role-playing games and started his own game-publishing company and computer game company. He also taught classes in game design. He was inducted into the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts and Design Hall of Fame in 1984.

Weinhagen said her father enjoyed teaching game design at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Fla., in recent years, where he taught students to make a solid set of rules for their games.

"He said if you have a good foundation and a good set of rules, people would play the game again," Weinhagen said.

Arneson is survived by Weinhagen and two grandchildren.

More on Dungeons & Dragons


Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30147390/

[Just plain old Punisher]

Looks like someone forgot to cast resurrection.

[Nemesis]

Looks like someone forgot to cast resurrection.

My one cleric never was powerful enough to do that.  He didn't have the wisdom (9) to cast it even if he had the levels. 

[toasty0]

My favorite Player Character was a Ranger.

[Nemesis]

My favorite Player Character was a Ranger.

Mine was a multiclassed elf, F/Mu/Th (2nd Ed.) who definitely did not believe that "honesty is the best policy".  For years the other players were convinced he was a Bard.  Many times they were convinced his actions were about to get him killed and that THIS TIME he wouldn't pull a rabbit out of a hat because not only was he out of rabbits, but was also out of hats to pull them from, only to go "How the (censored) did he do that?".   During most of his career he had 1/2 the HPs of the other characters but flexibility and planning for contingencies gave him an edge.

He was allergic to Troglodyte stench (always failed his save on a 1). 

Was constantly suspected of stealing from the group (but never proven to have done so as he never did). 

Had a sword that could dominate him at will (until nearly the end of his career when he could finally resist it) but negotiated terms with it so that it told him what to do and let him decide how. 

Always came up with a "cunning plan".  Sometimes astounding the other players by being direct, other times by them not understanding the plan (due to omitted details) until it was complete.

Became very religious and (falsely) believed himself to be one of his gods chosen.

Accomplished things alone by misdirection and guile that the group as a whole couldn't do without causualites.

Was on the "most wanted" list of the Priests of Bane and Torm.  The priesthood of Torm had wrongly convicted him "in absentia".  The Banites actually had justice on their side, especially when he started killing any of their priests he ran across. 

Started his career as cowardly but gradually became heroic. 

Successfully blackmailed his co-adventurers when they tried to rewrite a deal that saved them after he accomplished his part. 

[toasty0]

Chaotic Neutral...

[Nemesis]

Chaotic Good.  At various times he came really close to slipping to Chaotic Neutral or Neutral Good but never quite slid either way.  His sword was Neutral Good (special purpose slay evil wizards).