So Gary apparently died earlier today. 🙁
I still have my set of First Edition books, and there is no way that I would ever part with them. I have a couple of 2nd and 3rd edition books, and I got the 3.5ed set as well, but at the core I am still a 1st edition player and those are the rules that I know by heart. I will be curious to see what they do with the upcoming 4th edition rules, though they have nothing to do with Gary.
I also have the Dangerous Journeys Mythus core rule book, which is a hard one to find because of the lawsuits.
It was because of Gary’s work that I was able to while away the hours when I was a teenager instead of getting into trouble out by the railroad tracks like some of my friends. I have many memories of my gaming that I have to thank Gary for.
A message from a friend of mine really needs to be posted here, as it has some interesting information about Gary as well:
I wonder how many of the TG folks even know who he is. Even the ones who play D&D. I sent him a Christmas card every year and got one back this year saying he was doing better and missed the “old days”. For me he was not just the guy who, along with Dave, came up with D&D. He was an old friend / acquaintance who I didn’t keep up with nearly as much as I should have.
Gary never was a big fan of healthy life styles so I’m not surprised he died youngish. Over weight and a BIG fan of junk food. I can remember him sitting at the end of the table in “The Dungeon” (a game store in Lake Geneva) when we were play testing D&D and his Blackmore campaign. He would have a few giant bags of Cheetos and or Fritos and a 12 pack of coke and by the end of the night they would all be gone and he would be bumming from the rest of us. He and Dave were great guys who really got the shaft by big business.
He will be missed.