GM's Day
Today is has a three-fold meaning to me. First and foremost, it is my daughter’s birthday! So, Happy Birthday Izzy! She brings special purpose to my life and makes every day exciting.
Today is also Game Master’s Day, where we celebrate all the hard work and dedication our own GM’s put into the game that provides us with so much entertainment and cherished memories.
Last, but not least, today is the anniversary of E. Gary Gygax’s death and his apotheosis into the pantheon of gaming deities, or at least hopefully passing on into whatever afterlife he subscribed to.
So today brings a mixture of life, death, and the fun I have traversing from the former to the latter. In a way it reminds me of my mortality and encourages me to do more while I can.
So today I plan and doing something with my daughter that has something to do with gaming. She loves boardgames and reading, so I might break out HeroQuest and let her move the pieces around the board fighting monsters (she LOVES the monsters!). We’ll probably break out some games on Wii and Playstation that she like and I plan on wrapping up by reading some fantasy themed children’s books to her before bedtime.
Gary Gygax
I’d like to do something in remembrance of old E.G.G, but I think it may have to wait for this weekend when I can get some guys together. I have an extreme dislike for Western (or at least American) practices of mourning. It always seems like an occasion to feel sorry for ourselves and wallow in self-pity. I instead like to celebrate. We should celebrate his life and contributions to the community.
While I cannot say I ever played a game with Gary, I had spoken with him at length at several GenCons (the last time being at the Troll Lord Games booth about Castles & Crusades). He was a very approachable person and I felt he was very genuine. He never turned away a fan that wanted to say a few words or take some pictures. I am glad to have shared some time with Gary.
So in honor of E. Gary Gygax I want to run the original Tomb of Horrors and try to slay as many characters as I can, taking a shot every encounter, trap, and monster death and three for every character death (and see how far we get).
In closing this article, I would like to thank my very first regular GM and best friend, Shawn Neal, for running me in some of the best damned Ravenloft campaigns, ever. I would also like to thank Mike Madden for being the DM I have sit under most in recent years, and working in everyone else’s schedule. Finally, I want to thank Zach Edwards for currently running a no apologies, kick-ass Age of Worms campaign with Pathfinder.
EDIT: I should note that Uncle Bear is hosting the memorial for Gary today.
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