Happy Gary Gygax Day!

27 July is Gary Gygax Day. Observed on Gygax's birthday, it is an opportunity for fans pay tribute to the father of the modern RPG.

Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone first met Gary Gygax when Games Workshop and TSR were just starting out. Gary Gygax happened to see one of the free copies of Owl & Weasel, Games Workshop's first magazine. Seeking outlets for his new game, he wrote to the budding entrepreneurs, and told them about his product. Intrigued, Livingstone and Jackson gave him a call and ordered six copies of Dungeons & Dragons. (They would have ordered more, but Gygax only had six copies to sell.)

Jackson and Livingstone thought they were negotiating with a new, successful and innovative games company, selling products all over the States. Gygax thought he was dealing with a top UK games distribution company. The truth was, it was one guy in his flat selling some stuff to a couple of other guys in their flat. As Livingstone put it to Gygax some years later, it was basically two role-players role-playing at being businessmen. 

Gary Gygax, Don Turnbull, Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson in 1979.

The three remained good friends until Gygax passed away in 2008. When Wizard Books republished Temple of Terror in 2004, Ian Livingstone wrote a new dedication for the book:

For Gary Gygax, the pioneer of fantasy role-playing games.

You can read more about Jackson and Livingstone's interactions with Gary Gygax in Dice Men: The Origin Story of Games Workshop.

Today, also marks six years since Nomad Games released Fighting Fantasy Legends on Steam. Right now you can buy the Fighting Fantasy - Collection Bundle (which includes Fighting Fantasy Legends and the Deathtrap Dungeon Trilogy) at a saving of 15%. To purchase this bundle, either click this link or the image below.

Fighting Fantasy maps by Aesoterik

Available to buy now from Aesoterik is a new map of north-western Allansia, and it comes in both black & white and colour versions.

Second Wave Fighting Fantasy Pre-orders are now open!

The latest wave of Fighting Fantasy miniatures is now available to pre-order from Blue Giant Studios/Atlantis Miniatures.

This wave of releases includes heroic characters like Chadda Darkmane, Yaztromo and Nicodemus, and villains such as Klash the Chaos Warrior, Lord Azzur, Baron Sukumvit and his brother Lord Carnuss, and the barbarian assassin Urzle Ironface.

Arion Games Comes of Age

Arion Games, publishers of Advanced Fighting Fantasy Second Edition, is 18 years old this month.

To celebrate this landmark birthday, Arion Games have put all of their PDFs available through DTRPG on sale at 40% off. But be warned - this discount will drop over the month, so get in there fast!

Fighting Fantasy Adventures - now live on Kickstarter!

Fighting Fantasy Adventures, the new co-operative card game by Martin Wallace, is now live on Kickstarter!

Fighting Fantasy Adventures’ gameplay will be powered by an elegant card-based system that gives the feel of a roleplaying game without the need for a games master. The rules are easy to pick up, with players rolling dice and levelling-up between adventures.

The first Fighting Fantasy Adventures game, referred to as Campaign One, will allow up to four players embark on five adventures based on four of Jackson and Livingstone’s original books - The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, Island of the Lizard King, Deathtrap Dungeon and The Forest of Doom - more to come” in the future.

You can pledge your support to the Kickstarter here.