Gary Gygax, 'Father of D&D,' Dies at 69:

Gary Gygax, one of the co-creators of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, died Tuesday morning at his home in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, according to Stephen Chenault, CEO of Troll Lord Games.

Gygax designed the original D&D game with Dave Arneson in 1974, and went on to create the Dangerous Journeys and Lejendary Adventure RPGs, as well as a number of board games. He also wrote several fantasy novels.

The influence of D&D is huge, even for someone like me who has only played AD&D twice in his entire life.

Penny Arcade made a comic dedicated to Mr. Gygax.