Gary Gygax’s son is building a new RPG with the rules of 5th ed. D&D

Luke Gygax, son of the late Gary Gygax — the co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons — is building his next tabletop role-playing game on the open-source version of 5th edition D&D. It is called “Called Strange & GrimThe first announced project is dieselpunk. Everyday Heroes’ third-party licensing platform. The crowdfunding campaign is scheduled to go live in October. Gygax’s friend, designer Matt Everhart, is co-developing the game with Gygax.

Everyday Heroes Evil Genius Productions’ first TTRPG was published in 2002. The company was founded by David Scott (a serial entrepreneur) and an author. Created with the help of game designer Jeff Grubb, it is the spiritual successor to d20 Modern, a spinoff of D&D first published in 2002. In June, a crowdfunding campaign raised nearly $400,000 The announcement of Gygax’s involvement was made just prior to Gen Con, the United States’ largest tabletop gaming convention.

Gygax describes the importance of a good interview in a Polygon interview Strange & GrimAs a place where science and magic are tempered with each other. This vibe is very similar to that of the U.S.A. of 1920s and 30s.

“Magic has become more accessible,” Gygax said. “So you’re seeing industrialization of magic. So besides high fantasy magic — like somebody who could cast spells or throw a lightning bolt from their hands — there’ll also be that magical science, that aethertech, which is essentially magical technology. So you might have a lightning-bolt gun that a craftsman is able to manufacture.”

“It’s kind of a mix of Hellboy meeting Indiana Jones and throwing in a layer of a little bit of a horror touch in there as well,” he added.

Additional to Strange & GrimGygax is well-known for his creation of Okkorim. This world has inspired many published adventures.

“Back in 2013, we hadn’t seen 5th edition yet,” Gygax said. “We weren’t in this beautiful renaissance of D&D, this explosion of D&D that we’re experiencing now. “I was searching for a way. Something to touch down and grab the attention gamers who have been around for quite some time.

Image: Carlos Martins/Gaxx Worx

“I wanted to take it away from a traditional European setting and think of a place that was more of a crossroads of cultures — sort of like a Bosphorus area in the real world — and give it a flavor that would be a little bit different,” he continued. “So I came up with [the]Okkorim’s world. And, you know, my wife is Moroccan and, don’t tell anybody, but Okkarim backwards is kind of like Morocco, right? She was open to it. [and used] my experience in Iraq, as well as visits to Morocco, to help inform some of the features that might be of interest.”

Gygax retired recently from the U.S. Army after serving 33 years. Since 2009 he’s also been responsible for hosting the annual Gary Con event in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, which is a celebration of the life and legacy of his father. Although the first Gary Con was informal in nature, it quickly grew to be a major part of the international gaming convention circuit.

“The amount of people who came and expressed to me how important my father was to them,” Gygax said, “[and to tell me how] even if they didn’t know him personally […] how transformational the game Dungeons & Dragons was and how, in a sense, he played a role in their development as well. He may not be a father, though Each and every oneHowever, they will remember him as an important figure that influenced their thinking and shaped who they were. So for that reason the people who come to Gary Con are very passionate.”

It’s that passion that has helped Gary Con to flourish, even in the face of an ongoing pandemic.

“People got outside of their comfort zone to make it happen,” Gygax said. “Well, you know what, I’ve never done a game on Zoom, or you know, Roll20 or [another virtual tabletop] but I’m going to try it because I want to celebrate Gary Con and I want this to happen. They did it, and it was truly amazing. So I think it helps show other conventions that you didn’t have to cancel. You could go virtual and it could work.”

The March 23rd 2023 Gary Con is the date for next Gary Con.