Ernest “Ernie” Gygax Jr., son of D&D co-creator Gary Gygax and an early playtester of Dungeons & Dragons, has passed away. The Gygax family confirmed the news via Gary Con’s website today. Cause of death was not given, but Gygax had been hospitalized several times in recent years. Gygax is best known for the creation of Tenser, the first magic-user character, and whose name appears on several D&D spells used in current editions. Per Ernest’s bio, some of his contributions to the games include multiattacks for fighters, different hit dice for different character classes, and Cone of Cold being a 5th level spell.
Gygax often appeared at gaming conventions, especially Gary Con, and also collaborated on various TTRPG projects. He was involved with a failed attempt to “resurrect” TSR and take over several IPs controlled by Wizards of the Coast, but it failed after litigation and eventual liquidation of assets.
Our condolences to the Gygax family and their friends.
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