Talk:Gary Gygax

I spent many hours playing Ad&d some 20 odd years ago and enjoyed it. I had a group of friends in high school and after we jammed in our garage band we would play most the night in our adventures. It was good..creative fun. I still play rpg games today although on the computer and enjoy it. I am sure it all stems from my love of Ad&d oh so long ago. Thank you Gary and rest in peace.

A DM only rolls the dice because of the noise they make.

Please, could you find a source to this quote? On fr:, they wiped out this one because of no reference cited. Thx. Star Trek Man 15:17, 6 March 2008 (UTC)

No help, no joy. :-( Could it be in one of the AD&D book preface or in a D&D magazine? According to this discussion, its origin could be in 1984, in the Wisconsin state court system (it was legally decided that Dave Arneson was the father of FRPs). Please Help. Star Trek Man 10:10, 11 March 2008 (UTC)

"A DM only rolls the dice because of the noise they make." and "The secret we should never let the gamemasters know is that they don't need any rules." are both from Gary, writing personally online in the forum section for his failed mmorpg (I believe it was based on Lejendary Adventures). I know because I collected them. Unfortunately, it's going to be very difficult to verify this. I work in the game industry and have cited these quotes many times over the years since then. They're good, telling ones so I'm not surprised they've moved around. Cheers! 50.54.231.182 16:10, 13 September 2013 (UTC)

Just noted the Allen Varney attribution. Seems like the source alright. Gygax must have been quoting himself in his mmorpg forums a decade later. Wouldn't be the first time a writer did that. 50.54.231.182 21:47, 14 September 2013 (UTC)

Tim Kask has confirmed some of these quotes here: youtube / 24dJgoKm6dE?t=1612

I logged this quote decades ago when reading Gygax's posts in the forums on his website for the cancelled mmorpg he was working on ("Lejendary Adventure"). Perhaps the "Wayback Machine" could help with this source?97.113.75.87

Im not sure of being allowed to add this ones on wikiquote

• It really meant a lot to him to hear from people from over the years about how he helped them become a doctor, a lawyer, a policeman, what he gave them," Gygax said. "He really enjoyed that".
  • by the intermediary of his wife: The Associated Press: Dungeons & Dragons Co-Creator Dies at 69

• While it is possible to play a single game, unrelated to any other game events past or future, it is the campaign for which these rules are designed. It is relatively simple to set up a fantasy campaign, and better still, it will cost almost nothing. In fact you will not even need miniature figures, although their occasional employment is recommended for real spectacle when battles are fought. A quick glance at the Equipment section of this booklet will reveal just how little is required. The most extensive requirement is time. The campaign referee will have to have sufficient time to meet the demands of his players, he will have to devote a number of hours to laying out the maps of his "dungeons" and upper terrain before the affair begins.
  • in the preface of the Original Dungeons & Dragons, 1 November 1973, Tactical Studies Rules Editor Lake Geneva, Wisconsin

• One more thing: don’t spend too much time merely reading. The best part of this work is the play, so play and enjoy!
  • in a fan preface autograph of the Oriental Adventures game book [1]}}

Star Trek Man 16:13, 7 March 2008 (UTC)

In my opinion, they aren't the sort of snappy, memorable stuff that makes an ideal quote.--Poetlister 17:16, 7 March 2008 (UTC)

Though D&D and Fantasy RPGs are subjects I personally have very little interest in, and these might not be of the highest possible quality as general observations on life, for people who are interested in Gygax or his games they are probably good summations of some of his attitudes about things — though the one quote by his wife would be best as classified as a "Quote about" him rather than a quote of him. ~ Kalki 18:18, 7 March 2008 (UTC)

Unsourced

• A DM only rolls the dice because of the noise they make.

• Anyway, I am not a fearful person, don't suffer from angst, and game fans don't bother me in the least. Back in the early 80s when there was a lot of sensationalist press about D&D, and the rabid jerks were whipped up to a frenzy against the game thus, I used to get a lot of very nasty letters and phone calls from non-gamers, and even a few death threats.

• Send anyone claiming that their RPG activity is an art form my way, and I'll gladly stick a pin in their head and deflate it just to have the satisfaction of the popping sound that makes….One might play a game artfully, but that makes neither the game nor its play art.

• The secret we should never let the gamemasters know is that they don't need any rules.
  • Attributed to Gary Gygax by Allan Varney in a sidebar to a review of the Amber Diceless Roleplaying Game: "AMBER DICELESS ROLEPLAYING: Thoughts at Non-Random" in Dragon Magazine #182 (June 1992)