Ernie Gygax Has Passed Away

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Ernest "Ernie" Gygax Jr., son of D&D co-creator Gary Gygax and an early playtester of Dungeons & Dragons, has passed away. The Gygax family confirmed the news via Gary Con's website today. Cause of death was not given, but Gygax had been hospitalized several times in recent years. Gygax is best known for the creation of Tenser, the first magic-user character, and whose name appears on several D&D spells used in current editions. Per Ernest's bio, some of his contributions to the games include multiattacks for fighters, different hit dice for different character classes, and Cone of Cold being a 5th level spell.

Gygax often appeared at gaming conventions, especially Gary Con, and also collaborated on various TTRPG projects. He was involved with a failed attempt to "resurrect" TSR and take over several IPs controlled by Wizards of the Coast, but it failed after litigation and eventual liquidation of assets. During that process, Gygax alienated many with questionable views and also his choice in business associates.

Our condolences to the Gygax family and their friends.

 
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Christian Hoffer
Christian Hoffer

Christian Hoffer

Christian Hoffer is a veteran tabletop journalist and Forever DM. His non-tabletop hobbies include Pokemon, Ohio sports, and building miniatures.
MGibster said:
I gotta think Ernie was sophisticated enough to understand Lanasa. Ernie wasn't stupid. I get that we tend to avoid speaking ill of the dead, but I think it's necessary to not forget the truth about someone's flaws even if it's someone we loved.
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I don't know Ernie personally, but I know a number who do and maintained friendships with him. So, I'm not sure I can easily square Ernie fully understanding Lanasa and the manipulation I suspect he was exerting, probably with Jeff Leason and the idea of the shop/museum as levers. And the reason I'm not sure is because to get TSR3, he really had to stick the knife in Jayson Elliot's back. I can more easily see a guy like Ernie being flattered and manipulated into doing that than plotting it on his own. And I have a hard time thinking the people who maintained friendships with Ernie would have done so if they thought Ernie the type of guy to mastermind something like that.
Again, that's just my take as an outside observer. I also wouldn't say Ernie was stupid, but he kind of is the nepo-baby archetype (in the gaming industry) that never really excels on his own hard work and talent after getting a head start. If I were to compare Luke and Ernie, I'd say Luke, as the baby, had enough distance from his father's shadow that he ended up having to develop better life and work skills (and he heads up a great convention), while Ernie, being old enough to work for TSR, never had to do so as his father's influence always drove his success in the company. His greatest achievements on his own seemed to be being a reasonably affable guy and running a lot of games that people enjoyed. Both of those would be good reasons and ways to remember him, both somewhat tarnished by getting involved with the TSR3 fiasco.
 

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Regardless of his worst actions and opinions I don't approve, somebody dying will never be good news. Nobody is perfect, let his good deeds be cherished and his bad ones be lessons for us to be better. Rest in peace and my condolences to Luke, Rob, and the rest of his family and friends.

Edit. Tenser is among my favorite parts of Greyhawk.<3
 
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ngenius said:
It is a sad coincidence that when an author passes away, their last works, suddenly gain high demand.
Anyway, I luckily purchased The Marmoreal Tomb, having missed the Kickstarter due to my poor finances.

There are only 5 copies left on the Troll Lord Games website as of now:
trolllord.com

The Marmoreal Tomb Campaign Starter – Troll Lord Games

trolllord.com trolllord.com
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I almost bought it awhile back but most reviews called were negative to okay at best.

Still kind of want it but can’t justify that cost. Oh well.
 

DarkCrisis said:
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Despite what you may think of him personally, I thought it worth mentioning that one of the first play testers and first born son of Gary Gygax has died. He helped contribute to the game we all now play and love (or love/hate). He is known for making and creating the iconic character "Tenser".

RIP
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Its sad we lose one of the old guard from the early days of D&D. It was reading about Tenser and the Circle of 8 that I got involved in D&D. Reading shorts by Jim Ward and others help me enjoy the game. Ernie was one of the first to play in those games. I sometimes wish that TSR stayed with Gary and his sons. They built TSR. I will always wonder if it had what great adventure modules that Gary and his sons would have put out. I read a list of adventures that Gary and others had come up with that never got printed. I always thought what if. Ernie aka Tenser you will be so missed. I pray you are with you Dad Gary and Jim Ward talking about some great adventures.
 



Ernie was flawed, as we all are in one way or another, but now isn't the time for that.

One thing I found fascinating about him: he lived for gaming. All he ever wanted to do, every waking hour of every day, is to play D&D and to share that experience with as many people as possible. Some people unfortunately took advantage of him living in this gaming bubble he built for himself, using his name and associating it with terrible things that - quite honestly - Ernie may not have been aware of, and that's not entirely his fault. He lived for gaming more than anyone I have ever seen, and I kind of respect him for that. Sometimes I wish I had as much love of the game as he did.

Only recently did he find joy in something that was not gaming, and that was his new wife Donna. Pretty sure her presence alone added a few years to his live, and I'm happy he was able to spend that extra time with someone who he loved and who loved him back.

I feel sad at Luke not making to his bedside in time... I've been in that situation, having to rush to a hospital and pray that I make it in time to say a proper goodbye to a family member, and I can't imagine how devastating it is to not make it.

Condolences to the family. I wish you all the best.
 

Hopefully he'll find the peace in death that so eluded him much of his life. Though, his marriage to Donna really seemed to bring him joy and contentment, so at least he had that over the last couple of years.

I only really met him properly once. It was in the late '90s, I had driven up to WI to attend the 10th anniversary of the Bristol Renaissance Faire. This was during the time that there was a gaming store in Lake Geneva owned by Margaret Weis and Don Perrin. So I also took a stack of novels with me after arranging to meet her at the store. Ernie was there, working the register. I bought my very first issue of Knights of the Dinner table from him.

I ran into him a couple of times at Gary Con, when it was still at The Lodge, this around the time of his apartment fire, so he was going through some things at the time. It was clear he was struggling and it made us sad.
 

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