The head of Gary Con, Luke Gygax, has shared news of his recovery after undergoing shoulder surgery. The son of the late Gary Gygax and a key figure in the tabletop roleplaying community, Gygax noted that the operation was to repair a cartilage tear he sustained while skiing back in February.
Gygax posted on social media, wishing for a quick recovery and asking the community for motivation. He shared that he would be “out recovering for a few days and limited for a month before I can hopefully get back to exercising.” He noted the community would “need to workout for me, post and keep me motivated.” He later added an update, stating, “I made my system shock roll. I’m on the road to recovery now.” The phrase “system shock roll” is a reference to a mechanic in some older roleplaying games, suggesting a character must make a saving throw to avoid being knocked out by a massive blow.
Luke Gygax has a number of projects under his belt in the tabletop space. He is the founder of Gary Con, an annual convention held in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, that honours his father, Gary Gygax, who is widely regarded as the “father of roleplaying games.” The convention, which began in 2009, has grown into a significant event on the geek calendar, as noted by Geek Native’s (in need of an update) convention size graph.
Beyond the convention, Gygax has contributed to a number of tabletop game projects. He created the fantasy world of Okkorim, a setting inspired by his military service in Iraq and travels to Morocco. This setting is the backdrop for his Oculus of Senrahbah series, which are Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition adventures. Gygax also contributed as a guest writer for the Bardsung dungeon-crawling board game, which was funded on Kickstarter. In addition to these projects, he co-created the Strange & Grim RPG setting with Matt Everhart. He also runs his own publishing company, Gaxx Worx.
The Gygax family name is, of course, synonymous with the history of tabletop gaming. Less known, perhaps, are Luke Gygax’s other creative contributions, which include designing the Bullywug monster and the character Melf. Two official Dungeons & Dragons spells, Melf’s Acid Arrows and Melf’s Minute Meteors, are named after the character.
