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Author Topic: Another of the originals has passed on  (Read 2619 times)

Gronan of Simmerya

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Another of the originals has passed on
« on: June 09, 2016, 06:16:31 PM »
Pete Gaylord, the "Wizard of the Wood" and the first magic user in Blackmoor, died yesterday at age 73.
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Omega

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Another of the originals has passed on
« Reply #1 on: June 09, 2016, 06:28:01 PM »
Least a good long life.

Was he the first magic-user ever in D&D? If not. Who was?
« Last Edit: June 09, 2016, 06:33:24 PM by Omega »

Gronan of Simmerya

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Another of the originals has passed on
« Reply #2 on: June 09, 2016, 10:53:24 PM »
Yes, he was the very first ever.
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Justin Alexander
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Another of the originals has passed on
« Reply #3 on: June 10, 2016, 01:44:54 AM »
Metaphorically pouring out a healing potion in his honor. And I'll be quietly dedicating my next RPG session to him.
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chirine ba kal

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Another of the originals has passed on
« Reply #4 on: June 10, 2016, 01:53:16 AM »
Pete was also the guy who had his Roman army being battled by the Britons - Ken Fletcher, and Cliff Ollila - when Dave Arneson slipped Briton Druid Dave Megarry a phaser. The Druid promptly vaporized Pete's brand new war elephant, causing Pete to utter the age-old miniatures players' agonized war cry "And I just got it painted up!!!"

Pete was a great gamer, a fearsome opponent, and a friend. I'll miss him.

(Another one gone, folks. Ask your questions now, before it's too late.)

Spinachcat

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Another of the originals has passed on
« Reply #5 on: June 10, 2016, 04:09:26 AM »
Tell us some more Pete Gaylord stories!!

How did he get the "Wizard of the Wood" moniker?

chirine ba kal

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« Reply #6 on: June 11, 2016, 02:13:14 AM »
Quote from: Spinachcat;902923
Tell us some more Pete Gaylord stories!!

How did he get the "Wizard of the Wood" moniker?

He was The Wizard - the only one, at that time - and he lived in a house in the woods outside Blackmoor' town walls. Everybody kept referring to "the wizard in the woods", and it became his nickname.

Shemek hiTankolel

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Another of the originals has passed on
« Reply #7 on: June 11, 2016, 08:56:35 AM »
RIP, Ye Wizard.of the Wood.

Shemek.
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AsenRG

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Another of the originals has passed on
« Reply #8 on: June 11, 2016, 11:37:08 AM »
Quote from: Gronan of Simmerya;902841
Pete Gaylord, the "Wizard of the Wood" and the first magic user in Blackmoor, died yesterday at age 73.

May he rest in peace!
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Spinachcat

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« Reply #9 on: June 12, 2016, 11:32:35 PM »
Did Pete's playing of the "Wizard of the Wood" affect the development of the magic user class?

Did he create any spells that showed up in the D&D canon?

chirine ba kal

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Another of the originals has passed on
« Reply #10 on: June 13, 2016, 12:29:41 AM »
Quote from: Spinachcat;903296
Did Pete's playing of the "Wizard of the Wood" affect the development of the magic user class?

Did he create any spells that showed up in the D&D canon?

This actually came up today at the visitation; quite a few of his family are gamers, and were asking the same question.

Yes, he did affect the magic-user class; he basically created it, by being the first one out of the gate. Everybody sat around and said, "all right, if you are 'the wizard', what do wizards do?" Pete modeled himself on Radagast the Brown, and added in things as they became needed in the game.

Pete: "I throw a fireball."
Dave: "You do what?"
Pete: "I throw a fireball. It's what wizards do."
Dave: "Oh. Okay. Roll to see if you hit."

So, yes, some of his spells are still with us today. Fireballs. Staffs. Talking to animals. I'll have a look in the notes that I have; I think there's more in First Fantasy Campaign.

I wound up talking for some three solid hours about Pete and his gaming. Turned out my audience was his wife, his sisters, his kids, his nieces and nephews, and lots of friends and family. Every time I'd wind down, I'd get prompted by Dave Wesely or somebody "Hey! Remember the time..." and I'd be off again. It was both sad, and fun; I'll miss the guy.

Lux Aeterna.

Spinachcat

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Another of the originals has passed on
« Reply #11 on: June 13, 2016, 03:11:54 PM »
Sounds like a very cool sendoff. Thank you Chirine! I'm very happy you decided to hang out here in Mos Eisley!  

Your reminisces are always welcome and worth reading.

Gronan of Simmerya

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Another of the originals has passed on
« Reply #12 on: June 13, 2016, 10:47:46 PM »
Thanks for being there, Chirine.
You should go to GaryCon.  Period.

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chirine ba kal

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Another of the originals has passed on
« Reply #13 on: June 14, 2016, 01:47:16 AM »
Quote from: Spinachcat;903367
Sounds like a very cool sendoff. Thank you Chirine! I'm very happy you decided to hang out here in Mos Eisley!  

Your reminisces are always welcome and worth reading.

It was; we had the actual funeral today, and while there was a lot of sadness there was also a lot of happiness talking about the fun we had gaming.

You're welcome! I hope that I can give you a sense of what things were like in the rich bubbling stew of creativity has had here in the Twin Cities in the middle to late 1970s, and that I'm not boing people to tears... :)

chirine ba kal

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Another of the originals has passed on
« Reply #14 on: June 14, 2016, 01:50:19 AM »
Quote from: Gronan of Simmerya;903395
Thanks for being there, Chirine.

You're welcome. Dave Wesely did the eulogy, and got pretty choked up when he got to his saluting the former Marine. We all did, I think.

We all got invited to the house for lunch, and I was called upon to lighten the mood by telling more stories. So I did, and there was a lot of laughter like Pete would have wanted.