Gygaxian Scroll of Honor

Today, I finally received an email from Paul J. Stormberg, President of the Gygax Memorial Fund (looks like yesterday there was a hiccup with their mail server) saying that my Gygaxian Scroll of Honor was ready for download. Now the only thing left to do is print it (maybe after removing the red background?), frame it and hang it on the wall.

The rewards as a 7th Level Adventurer of Gygax includes, apart from this scroll, that my name would be on the Gygaxian Wall of Honor and also the maps & keys of Greysterne Castle that cover the Lands & Ruins as well as the following dungeon levels:

1. Warrens of the Rat King
2. Gates of the Goblin Chiefs
3. Temples of the Orc God
4. Mines of the Hobgoblins
5. Hunting Grounds of the Gnoll Pack
6. Lagoons of the Lizard King
   
   And, since I choose the Complete Castle Greysterne add-on, I get the entire 18-level dungeon!
   
   
7. Burrows of the Bugbear Chief
8. Halls of the Ogre Lord
9. Mind Maze of the Minotaurs
10. Tiers of the Troll Dens
11. Halls of the Hill Giant Chief
12. Glacial Crevasse of the Frost Giant Jarl
13. Forges of the Fire Giant King
14. Castellan of the Cloud Giants
15. Aerie of the Azure Dragons
16. Infernal Pits of the Dragon Queen
17. Sepulcher of the Vampire Lord
18. Necropolis of the Lich King

On 2024, I travelled to Lake Geneva all the way from URUGUAY for Gary Con XVI and the 50th anniversary of D&D. Hope to visit again to see this memorial!

Happy Birthday D&D from 330 Center Street

Today everyone who supported the Kickstarter of the "Gary Gygax Memorial Game Table for Dungeons & Dragons Fans by Gygax Memorial" received an update from Paul J. Stormberg, President of the Gygax Memorial Fund. In there we could read about a nice tidbit of D&D history: on February 18th, 1973 Dave Arneson met with Gary at 330 Center St., Lake Geneva, WI to show him his Blackmoor game.

Check the video Paul J. Stomberg made to celebrate that milestone:

We can read more about that date in the video description: "On this date in 1973 when Arneson met with Gary to show him Blackmoor and Dave Megarry's game, DUNGEON! In a letter to Dave Arneson, Gary Gygax says, "looking forward to seeing you around the 19th" and "I'm eagerly awaiting information on BLACKMOOR" and in another postcard from February 7th, 1974, Gary Gygax tells Dave Arneson, "Printer has D&D nearly done, so your copy should be in mail next week." Thus Dave would have likely received his copy around the same time as the game concept was originally demonstrated a year earlier, around the 18th of February. That ties the introduction of Blackmoor through the development of D&D to its release into a neat little 1 year time frame. So, happy birthday D&D!"

Knowing that the original manuscript of Castle Greyhawk from 1973, the original characters' cards and the dices, all of them invaluable pieces of D&D history, are being so lovingly kept and preserved is very refreshing and evocative. 

Gygax memorial fundraiser

There is a fundraiser going on for a Gygax memorial in Lake Geneva, WI. At the time of this post it is more than 75% funded and it will end on October 31st. Don't miss the chance to be part of history and contribute with whatever you can. I already did.

Follow the Kickstarter link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/617053430/gary-gygax-memorial-game-table-for-dungeons-and-dragons-fans

Had the chance to visit Lake Geneva on 2024 for Gary Con XVI and the 50th anniversary of Dungeons & Dragons, and I encourage every D&D fan to make that pilgrimage if you can.

Gary Gygax Memorial

Lake Geneva Public Library - Appendix N

Birthplace of D&D - 330 Center St

UPDATE (29/10/2025): The project is funded! 

Time to dust off this blog

I've been neglecting this blog for way too long. Almost a year and a half without posting! I guess it's because most of my online activity is now on G+.  

Let's recap what gaming-ralated events had happened since last post:

• +Drink Spin Run - An RPG Talk Show Podcast awesome t-shirt finally arrived. (Mar. 2017)
• Received +Diogo Nogueira 'Sharp Swords & Sinister Spells' RPG after the first one got lost in the way. (Feb. 2017)
• Got my Sons of Gygax t-shirt. (Feb. 2017)
• Received +Doug Kovacs Sketchbook. (Nov. 2016)
• Received a WayneCon t-shirt and swag from +Wayne Snyder. (Sep. 2016)
• Revamped my 1-on-1 PBeM-style Greyhawk 5e campaign on Rizzoma.com. It is set in the Phostwood forest after the occupation of Tenh by the Stonefist barbarians and the forces of Iuz. My only player leads a band of warriors that make guerrilla warfare against the invaders.(Aug. 2016-present)
• Received an AS&SH boxed set I bought from +Michael Curtis. (Aug. 2016)
• Received my copy of 'Null Singularity' by +Steven Bean. (Jan. 2016)
• Also received +Richard LeBlanc CC1 - Creature Compendium that I won on the OSR Christmas Giveaway. (Jan. 2016)
• Received Taylor Frank's zine 'Dungeon Lord: The Wayne Con' issue. (Dec. 2015)
• Received some 'It's Wizard Time!' stickers from +Wayne Snyder. (Nov. 2015)
• Ran D&D for my nephews! (Nov. 2015)
• +James MacGeorge send me a copy and a t-shirt of 'Black Sun Death Crawl'. (Late 2015)

Also I've been playing a lot of games on Mondays/Thursdays on Google+ hangouts. Mainly it's been DCC, but also Traveler, Delta Green, Maze Rats and Black Hack. On 'Wednesdays of OSR' I've ran another Greyhawk 5e campaign, this one set in the Yeomanry/Sea Princes area, play-tested +Craig Brasco's Above Snakes RPG and also played Torchbearer and Runequest 6.

I'll try to post more frequntly from now on.

Gygax magazine

Gygax magazine will be available on January 26th at 2pm EST.

http://gygaxmagazine.com/

My Submission to The Secret DM Gygax Contest

A slightly modified version of the "Shrine of the Rodent God", my OPDC 2009 entry, is my submission to The Secret DM's Gygax Contest. There's a chance of winning a complete set of 1st Edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons® Reprints so, if you didn't entered the contest, wish me luck!

You can download it here.

It's Contest Time!

Participate And Win The Super Secret Happy Birthday Gary Gygax Giveaway Bundle Extravapalooza!

Happy Gygax Day!

Just follow the link... :)

http://www.buildwithchrome.com/static/map#pos=1027254x631191&3d=true

Must have these books...

...and contribute to the:

Gygax heraldry

After posting about Barrowmaze II last Saturday, out of curiosity I went to check the first part of the megadungeon. I ended on artist Stefan Poag's blog where I found a piece of D&D art including the heraldry of the House of Gygax. From the cover of the original Barrowmaze:

I instantly remembered seeing it on the cover of the AD&D Dungeon Masters Guide, but where else?

After searching the web I came across a couple of very interesting posts on the subject by Jeff Rients: The Real Ring of Gaxx? and Gygax arms sighting. Do you know any other place you may find Gygax coat of arms?

Happy GMs' Day!

A quick post just to wish a happy GMs' Day to all my fellow Game Masters! ;-)

Thank you Gary!

The Legend Lives On!

Wizard of the Coast is going to reprint the 1st. Edition core books!

"In 1974, the world changed forever when Gary Gygax introduced the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. The legacy of his innovative ideas and the extensive reach of his powerful influence can be seen in virtually every facet of gaming today.

To help honor his work and his memory, we created limited-edition reprints of the original 1st Edition core rulebooks: the Monster Manual, Player's Handbook, andDungeon Master's Guide. These premium versions of the original AD&D rulebooks have been lovingly reprinted with the original art and content, but feature an attractive new cover design commemorating this re-release. Available in limited quantities as a hobby channel exclusive in North America.

Your purchase of this monumental book helps support the Gygax Memorial Fund—established to immortalize the "Father of Roleplaying Games" with a memorial statue in Lake Geneva, WI."

Product Catalog

The World’s Hardest Gary Gygax Quiz

Gabriel took the Hardest Gary Gygax Quiz in the World and got 40%!

You are a Gary Gygax Hero. You know much of Gary Gygax. You are probably the DM of your game group (but you might insist on being called 'referee').

Paladin Code: You completed this quiz without using Google.

Two years...

It's been two years now since Gary Gygax left us. I'll never forget what I felt that day, it was a mix of sadness and frustration. Sadness for the loss and a state of emptiness that comes along. And frustration because I never had the chance to meet him at a GenCon or other convention. The chance to have a picture taken with him or having some book autographed by him. That day I promised myself to some day visit Lake Geneva. It'll be a sort of pilgrimage to the origins of D&D. To finish this humble homage I found a phrase somewhere some time ago that I think abridges this day's feelings: "Gary, you're critically missed."

Photo by Alan De Smet