{"id":46972,"date":"2011-08-03T11:27:56","date_gmt":"2011-08-03T16:27:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/?p=46972"},"modified":"2011-08-03T11:27:56","modified_gmt":"2011-08-03T16:27:56","slug":"gygax-memorial-fund-at-gencon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/2011\/08\/03\/46972-gygax-memorial-fund-at-gencon\/","title":{"rendered":"Gygax Memorial Fund at GenCon"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>TORN Guest Blogger Ethan Gilsdorf<\/strong> writes: The extent to which the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons was inspired by Tolkien has been debated, but it\u2019s clear that D&D\u2019s co-founders Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson had read the trilogy. And it\u2019s more than clear that the ongoing success and appeal of Lord of the Rings fueled interest in D&D, as well as vice versa.<\/p>\n

This past week (July 27) would have been Gygax\u2019s 73rd birthday. Folks have been working to immortalize his legacy and the impact of D&D by building a memorial statue in Gygax\u2019s hometown of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. The next step is to raise money. This coming week at Gen Con in Indianapolis (the now massive gaming convention that Gygax founded), using the birthday as the impetus, the Gygax Memorial Fund<\/a> will be at booth #1541 (the Old School Renaissance Group) to accept donations to get this statue built. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Come by and give it up for Gary! Donor rewards include T-shirts with the Gygax Memorial logo; a book called \u201cCheers, Gary\u201c which selects the best of Gygax\u2019s correspondence with fans; and signed copies of Ethan Gilsdorf\u2019s Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks: An Epic Quest for Reality Among Role Players, Online Gamers, and Other Dwellers of Imaginary Realms<\/a>, his travel memoir investigation into fantasy and gaming subcultures. The authors will be in attendance at Gen Con to sign copies. <\/p>\n

Gary\u2019s widow, Gail Gygax, will also be on hand, sharing stories about Gygax and how he wanted to be remembered.<\/p>\n

Even if you can\u2019t make it to Gen Con, please pay tribute to Gary\u2019s birthday and the role D&D played in your life by posting news to your blogs, social networks, and communities that the Gygax Memorial Fund will be at Gen Con booth number #1541, and that folks can donate in memory of Gary at Gen Con, or directly on the Gygax Memorial Fund website<\/a>. Thanks for your support.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Ethan Gilsdorf is the author of the award-winning book Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks: An Epic Quest for Reality Among Role Players, Online Gamers, and Other Dwellers of Imaginary Realms, his travel memoir investigation into fantasy and gaming subcultures the Huffington Post called \u201cpart personal odyssey, part medieval mid-life crisis, and part wide-ranging survey of all things freaky and geeky,” National Public Radio described as “Lord of the Rings meets Jack Kerouac\u2019s On the Road” and Wired.com proclaimed, \u201cFor anyone who has ever spent time within imaginary realms, the book will speak volumes.\u201d Follow Ethan’s adventures at http:\/\/www.fantasyfreaksbook.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

TORN Guest Blogger Ethan Gilsdorf writes: The extent to which the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons was inspired…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[16,14],"tags":[997,1540,1234],"class_list":["post-46972","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-events-conventions","category-events","tag-ethan-gilsdorf","tag-gary-gygax","tag-gencon"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t