Dungeons & Dragons' Co-Creators Have Their Own Miniatures

11/01/2021 03:01 pm EDT

The original creators of Dungeons & Dragons have their own miniatures. Mudpuppy Games is selling pewter miniatures of Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, the original creators of Dungeons & Dragons. The miniatures depict the two game designers as literal wizards, with Arneson holding a staff while Gygax holds a large tome and an orb. Painted versions of the miniatures appear on the cover of Game Wizards, a new book by Jon Peterson that details the early history of Dungeons & Dragons and TSR Inc. the game's original owner and publisher, which went on sale last month.

Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson collaborated to make the original Dungeons & Dragons back in 1974 after Arneson used the rules for Chainmail, a miniatures wargame with a fantasy setting, to develop Blackmoor, a campaign-style game in which players controlled individuals. After Arneson ran Blackmoor for Gygax and several others, the pair collaborated to develop the first set of rules for Dungeons & Dragons. Gygax and business partner Don Kaye founded TSR to publish Dungeons & Dragons, with Arneson joining and then leaving TSR within a year. While Arneson reached an agreement with TSR for royalties on all future D&D projects, Gygax later refused to pay Arneson royalties related to Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, a new version of the game that Gygax claimed heavily deviated from the version Arneson helped to design. Arneson filed multiple lawsuits against TSR, which were eventually settled with Gygax and Arneson agreeing to be credited as co-creators and Arneson receiving royalties on all D&D-related projects. Gygax was later pushed out of TSR in the 1980s, but continued to make roleplaying games until he died in 2008. Arneson would go on to work in computer game design as both a designer and teacher, but made a cameo appearance in the 2000 Dungeons & Dragons movie. Arneson died in 2009.

If you want to learn more about the history of Dungeons & Dragons, be sure to check out the new book Game Wizards, which is available in stores now. The miniatures of Gygax and Arneson are available for just $12.99 from Mudpuppy's website.

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