Matt sez, "Ernie Gygax, son of Dungeons and Dragons creator Gary Gygax recently had a fire which destroyed his home. While he, his roommate and dog are fine all of his possessions including some very rare D&D and Gaming memorabilia was destroyed. Efforts are underway to help Ernie get back on his feet and help is always appreciated."

  • Nicky G

    I guess he missed his saving throw

  • http://twitter.com/therantguy therantguy

    I’m sorry, this is going to make me sound like a jerk…but I am tired of the pattern of “pseudo celebrity has life issue, community is supposed to run to their aid”. Like, did he not have insurance? If he couldn’t afford insurance then maybe he should have sold some of his rare gaming items to buy some. I am not being cruel (or trying to be cruel) but every day we get further and further away from being a society that values personal responsibility. He didn’t get a brain tumor or lose an arm in an accident. He decided that home insurance (not terribly expensive) wasn’t something he wanted to spend money on and it’s not my problem if that decision bites him in the rear end.

    • http://www.literateperversions.com Chris H

       I think I’ll upgrade you from jerk to platinum-coated asshole, especially when you got to the point about “personal responsibility,” which is usually just a more polite way of saying, “I got mine, fuck you.”

      • oasisob1

        It’s ‘therantguy’. What do you expect?

        • nitemayr

           Dennis Miller Level References? 

          I don’t want to get off on a rant here; but if someone in this day and age doesn’t want to invest in some simple to acquire “good hands guys” style insurance for their home, don’t expect me to react with much more than the indifference the king showed when London bridge was torched and even his favorite tea room was lost to the Thames.  This Middling nerd pseudo celebrity rolled his d20 and came up craps; this is no reason for us to all get together and sing kumbaia; it’s a teaching moment for all of thos basement dwellers clutching their Monster Manuals in one hand and a faintly damp tissue in the other.  It’s a lesson that says even though you have your comics in mylar bags and your original edition Star Wars Theatrical Cut VHS tapes where Han really did shoot first stored in the safest spot in Mom’s basement nook under the knitting stuff and behind the big velvet elvis that you should take out more than just the barest of insurance because as Chris Rock said it should really be call “in case shit happens” because it really does.

          That’s our show for tonight, check in with me next week when my guest will be Linda Tripp and I gnaw off her nose like a diseased ferret.  Good Night!

          • Finnagain

             To be fair, getting craps on a d20 is pretty epic.

          • oasisob1

            Truefans have it on laserdisc.

          • http://codeflow.org/ Florian Bösch

            Where I live (switzerland) the insurance on house/posessions is bundled up with the insurance on personal liability. You can skimp on it, it’s not mandatory, on the other hand, you’re coverd up to $100’000 in liability and up to $20’000 in loss of house/posessions for $150/year… (you pay a little more, you’re covered for more).

            So I guess in the US that insurance is expensive as hell, too.

          • nitemayr

            It’s not really; at most about 100-200 bucks a month.  I went out of my way to insure my comics and other geekology

      • Bottle Imp

        Wouldn’t a platinum coated asshole be easier to clean and thus less problematic than your garden variety puckered sphincter?

        • http://www.literateperversions.com Chris H

           I bow to your insight.

    • Chance Wheeler

       I kinda gotta go with you on this one. He isn’t a celebrity, he’s the son of one. I’m sorry he lost a lot of his possessions, but how does this make him different than any of the people who lose their stuff in house fires every day?

    • Chris Hogan

       Seriously man, there’s no call for that when the guy’s picking over the ashes of his life. If you don’t want to help simply don’t donate (quietly).

    • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1264432488 facebook-1264432488

      I’m kind of with you on this one only because my house burned down on January 17th and Boing Boing did not help me get back on my feet. ;) That said, I wish the man all the best. House fires suck.

    • glaborous_immolate

      Even if you have fire insurance the life disruption can be aawful to deal with financially.

      Also the effort is an auction. So someone can give a gaming item up and someone else will end up with one while helping. Its a consumerist approach.

    • glaborous_immolate

      “After conferring with emergency personnel to make sure everything was under control, the mysterious benefactor got back in his truck and left the scene. Unfortunately, Ernie’s insurance will cover only part of everything lost in the fire:
      Most of my cools things were destroyed. I’ll get money for my computer, and it will be replaced. My two first issues of Gygax magazine are burned, gone. My value of each item is so much, and that’s what I can get (from insurance). They depreciate the value, then give you half of that in cash. If you buy that item, you get the other half. If you buy something cheaper, you just get the difference in the cost.
      “

    • EvilSpirit

      It must be infuriating to see kindness directed at someone who is not you.

    • Adela Doiron

       Geeks are picky about which nepotism is preferable. Estate riding on the copyright of a deceased creator = evil. Estate riding on the fame of a deceased geek celebrity, oh he’s family lets lend a hand.

    • Michael Shostack

      To each their own. I had the pleasure of playing d&d with Ernie, Gary, Luke, and the rest of their friends every weekend in high school. I can honestly say that experience had a major influence on the course of my life.

      The are some of the most honest, kind hearted people I’ve ever met in my life and their family does not deserve any of the misfortune that has befallen it. Past or present.

      I will most certainly be doing what I can to help. People like that do not come along that often on this earth.

  • bobcorrigan

    If he wants my white-boxed set of the first D&D books, plus Greyhawk, Blackmoor, etc, plus few issues of Judges Guild, I’d be happy to send them along to him.  I’ll even throw in some dice.  As a father myself, I feel for the guy.

  • V

    As long as the crappy little plastic toy that was the original inspiration for the bullette is safe, we’re all good….

    http://www.stubbdog.com/stuff/wl/Gus/Bullette1.jpg