Gary Gygax: The original dungeon master

The cover of the Dungeons & Dragons rules I bought in the mid '80s.

Source: https://www.retroist.com/p/dungeons-dragons-monster-cards-red-dragon

(May be subject to copyright)

You could take on the greatest adventure and, with the roll of the dice, defeat a terrible enemy, find a grand treasure, or die a cruel death.

That was the magic of “Dungeons and Dragons”, the original role-playing game that electrified nerds as far back as the ‘70s.

When I was in junior high in 1982, a group of friends of mine started playing “Dungeons and Dragons” at lunch time, as well as after school and weekends.

I too would get in on the fun a little bit later.

It was an interesting part of the ‘80s that came to mind when I saw it was Gary Gygax’s birthday today.

He, along with Dave Arneson, co-created “Dungeons and Dragons”, making him the original dungeon master.

Starting out
The first time I heard of “Dungeons and Dragons” was in junior high at St. Joseph’s School in Coaldale. It was Grade 7, so the last part of 1982 or the early part of 1983.

Some guys at school were playing at lunch hour, most notably Shawn Kingston and Joe Darveau. I recall Shawn had a scribbler, like one of those exercise books we used in school, where he wrote down everything. Joe was the dungeon master, and I can’t recall who else played.

I was interested and played for the first time when I went on a sleep over to Joe’s place. Shawn came over, and they showed me how to create a character. I recall rolling the dice, and based on what I got, chose to be a cleric. I thought that was a pretty cool name. Only later did I put together that a cleric was a holy man or a priest. That is likely one of the reasons I could not carry bladed weapons.

The next time I played, again it was at Joe’s on a weekend sleep over. However, I think I was staying at Shawn’s this time. My character was a thief, who had another unique characteristic – the strongest armour a thief could wear was leather.

Reality
Soon after that, I was in Lethbridge and bought a “Dungeons and Dragons” box, intending to play more, but then the reality of living on a farm set in.

I had no one to play with.

One of the attractions of video games, and computer games, was that I could play by myself. Ironiclly, one of my favourite games on the Intellivision was “Advanced Dungeons and Dragons”.

So after that, “Dungeons and Dragons” kind of passed me by. I also started getting into those aforementioned video games and computers, then going out with my friends, and so much more.

I did play one more time, on a Sunday afternoon, in Grade 11 or 12. After church, my Dad dropped me off at Mike Kozbial’s place in Coaldale, where he had written an adventure. Mike was a really creative guy, drawing cartoons, writing stories, playing guitar, and writing songs. When he wrote that adventure, he made some props including a mask that was being worn by one of the first things I encountered.

Yet, that would be the last time I played, and we both admitted it was not as much fun with just two people.

The devil you say?
It was like a scene out of “Footloose”, but instead of music it was a game. Those guys who played “Dungeons and Dragons” at lunch hour, were joined by a few more guys when we went to high school, including my neighbour and very good friend Mat.

They wanted to start a “Dungeons and Dragons” club in the community. When one of the ministers in tows caught wind of it, he wanted to have the game banned. It was the work of the devil, he claimed.

Even then, the guys pointed out that “Dungeons and Dragons” used J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” as source material. Tolkien was a Catholic priest who used as his source material – the Bible.

The guys, I do believe, were even interviewed by the local newspaper.

In the end, it was not worth the the hassle and, they too, had found other interests.

Still, the notion of censorship, especially based on ignorance and assumption, offended me then and offends me now.

Parting thoughts
The challenge I have had my entire life is that I am a dabbler, and that was especially the case when I was a child and teenager. Whether it was a microscope, electronics, model rockets, calligraphy, or a host of other things, I got into it then moved on when the next shiny toy appeared.

“Dungeons and Dragons” is yet another thing that I dabbled in. I got excited about it, even bought it, and even played it. Yet, I would move on to other things.

Over the years, I occasionally encountered the game here and there. When I was in university living in res, some of the guys I lived with, who all grew up together in Central Alberta, played it a couple times.

Then, of course, it was a part of “The Big Bang Theory”, and one of the hallmarks of nerd-dom.

A few years ago, I needed some work done on my house. The contractor came to give me an estimate. His named looked familiar, but I waited until the business was done.

Then I asked him if he was from Coaldale. At first he said no, but then added he lived there as a kid. His name was Mike Darveau. In fact, he was Joe’s younger brother, and someone who hung out with us when I did stay at their place for sleep overs.

That was Thanksgiving weekend, showing Mike’s dedication to his job and customers. When he came back the next week to set up, he said he had Thanksgiving dinner with his brother. Joe said hi, and they went down memory lane.

“We reminisced about old times – and the ‘Dungeons and Dragons’ club,” he said.