Tonight’s Friday Night Nerd is special. As some of you may already know, Gary Gygax passed away this last March 4th. Gary Gygax was the co-creator of the Dungeons and Dragons tabletop roleplaying system, and considered by many to be the grandfather of all pen and paper roleplaying. As such, he was probably as close to “King Nerd” as anyone.

Although Gygax lost control of TSR (the company behind D&D) fairly quickly, his contributions to gaming and culture in general have left their mark. For me, he is probably responsible for more hours of quality entertainment than anyone other than Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek.

Fear not though, fellow nerds. Although Gary Gygax may have failed his saving throw vs. Death, we can be sure he is traveling the ethereal plane combating evil in another realm. That or he turned himself into a Lich with 8-12 hit dice, and is waiting for unwary adventurers in the lowest levels of a dungeon somewhere.

-Andy