It’s just come to my attention that Dave Arneson, proper creator (though not figurehead) of Dungeons & Dragons passed away a couple of days ago.
I had the privilege to meet Dave and learn from him. I’m also good friends with his business partner. With his death, a true gaming god is gone.
For those not familiar with the history of D&D, here’s a brief recap:
Gary Gygax created Chainmail, a tabletop tactics game all about medieval battles where a player controlled an army of historically accurate units. Dave Arneson used Gygax’s Chainmail to create what would be the first ever role-playing game. Instead of running the game with armies, Arneson’s players controlled a single unit, their character. Arneson officially became the first dungeon master, allowing his players to take their lone character into battle, advancing in levels, discovering treasures and mysteries. At a tabletop gaming convention, Arneson showed his modified game to Gygax and the two decided to form a company and sell the game. Thus, TSR and D&D were born. Arneson also created the first module for D&D, Blackmore. So, basically, Dave Arneson created the first role-playing game and the first role-playing game module.
I don’t have any details of his death. I’m going to see about asking my friend for more information.
