I first met Gary at the Troll Lord Games booth at Gen Con, 2001. It was during set up and Todd and I were busy putting up racks, stocking them with various books, hanging banners, getting the dice bowl ready, and other sundry actions required to unlock the power of a publisher's booth. During this rambling exercise of controlled chaos, the elderly gentleman came up to the booth and asked if we wanted to take a smoke break. He had a bit of a grin on his face, as if there was some joke or other I was not party to (there was, as he and Davis had already met and smoked on the dock space). I started to politely decline until my brain shifted into a higher gear and I realized who I was talking to. It was Gary of course. And that was the first time we met.
I always liked his sense of humor.
Months before that encounter Gary and TLG had signed contracts for several projects and had already launched a relationship that would span from that point to the moment he Crossed the Bar and somewhat after. We were both friends and colleagues and published a small treasure trove of books with one another.
When that relationship ended, we went on with our publishing endeavors, traveling on as before. But behind us, we left many stones unturned, projects of Gary’s half-finished or never started and not a little frustration at unfulfilled promises.
But yesterday is not today and today marks a wonderful day in the annals of game publishing. The return of Gary Gygax.
It is our honor, and privilege to announce that Troll Lord
Games will expand our work with the Estates of E. Gary Gygax and launch a host
of new publishing ventures with the Estates and Gary’s family. We have been
awarded the rights to publish the Gygaxian Fantasy World Series (sign up for the Kickstarter now) in its
entirety, The Hermit (pre-order now), the Kings of England Kings of France board game, Hall of
Many Panes and Castle Zagyg Yggsburgh including all 24 neighborhoods, Castle
Zagyg East Mark, Castle Zagyg the Manse (or Castle), Castle Zagyg Mouths of
Madness, and Castle Zagyg The Dungeons.
Personally, I cannot express the joy this brings me, both because we can at last fulfill promises made to Gary in January of 2008, but even more, that we can bring the wealth of creative content that Gary possessed to your table. Working with Gary was an amazing experience. His calm, his humor, his deep historical knowledge, an understanding of mathematics (he ran actuary tables for the insurance company he worked for) his love of fine cigars and whiskey, his love of food (particularly flavored with bacon grease), his sharp-witted puns, and his love of this community and above all else, games, was something that I wish we all could have enjoyed.
At the very least, we can enjoy the games and content he made.
I do want to take a moment and thank you all. Everyone who supported Yggsburgh and The Hermit in pre-orders and on Kickstarter. Thank you. And everyone who spread the word about those two projects. You were instrumental in making this happen. Thank you. And to the Estates and Family of Gary Gygax. Thank you for entrusting Troll Lord Games with your father's legacy. We will do it and you and the whole gaming community proud.
For more information join us today, January 29th, 1 PM CST on Twitch to chat it up OR visit the Gary Gygax page on our website.
The die is cast. Alea iact est.
It is time for another adventure.
Steve Chenault, Davis Chenault and all the Troll Lords
Peter Bradley, Charles Cumbow, Jason Vey, Zoe DeVos, Jeremy Farkas, Grace Carras
