On 28 February 2025, after numerous health struggles and incidents, in the company of his sister and her family – Ernie Gygax passed away.1 Obituary of Ernest Gary Gygax Junior (Legacy.com) https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/name/ernest-gygax-obituary?id=57714235 Luke Gygax wrote a touching announcement on his Facebook page,2 Luke Gygax (Facebook, USA, 1 March 2025) <www.facebook.com> and has continued to share his personal feelings about the struggle of losing a father and an older brother, while being supported by a great community.
This is not about how the tragedy of Ernie’s death impacts me, or sharing memories I had about him. I didn’t know him. I feel a certain amount of empathy to those he left behind, and for that reason I encourage them not to read this post. This post isn’t about memories or feelings about Ernie Gygax.
Rather it’s about the heartless exploitation of the memory of his public presence now he’s dead, and how traditional “be polite” moderation methods fail in these situations.
And, it’s rough – I don’t wish dealing with it on anyone.
Ernie was named after his father (though his father went by Gary), and loved the game his father created – Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. He loved it so much he continued to run games of it his entire life, and loved to tell people about his contributions to the early versions of it – especially the iconic Tenser. He never had a writing credit, some of the artifacts are a little depricating to Ernie’s contributions,3Jim Holloway (art), Paul J. Stormberg (writing) Original Holloway Artwork TSR Autographs 1983 (The Collector’s Trove, USA) https://www.thecollectorstrove.com/arc-ernie-gygax/ebay-auction-55/4862192 and after his father was pushed out of TSR Inc he never really got to work on anything other than a children’s book4 Ernie Gygax, Simon Todd (illustrations) & Nerisa Montie (editor) Sammi-Zowa Versus the Dueling Dragons (Self-published, 1 January 2014) and one ill fated Kickstarter.5 Ernest Gary Gygax Jr Ernest Gary Gygax Jr’s Marmoreal Tomb Campaign Starter (Kickstarter, USA, 31 July 2015) https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1709227718/ernest-gary-gygax-jrs-marmoreal-tomb-campaign-star/
All this is fine. There is no reality in which it was reasonable to expect anything more of Ernie than an ordinary life well lived.
But, the combination of Ernie’s name and his desire to relive his glory years as a young man in the Dungeon Hobby Shop made him susceptible to exploitation by various people. The combination of his father’s politics,6 C.J. Cairamella D&D Creator Gary Gygax’s FBI Records Make Him Sound Like a Badass (Reason, 15 June 2017) https://reason.com/2017/06/15/dd-creator-gary-gygaxs-fbi-records-make/
Ben Riggs D&D Co-Creator Gary Gygax was Sexist. Talking About it is Key to Preserving his Legacy. (7 July 2024) https://www.writerbenriggs.com/blog/4h8ich5klfw83ehgcxamqko6u1yrg7 and his never really leaving the area he grew up in as it turned into a conservative stronghold,7 Wisconsin’s 1st Congressional District (Wikipedia, USA) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wisconsin%27s_1st_congressional_district made it easy for him to never challenge biases even as his confidence in them grew.8 Ernie Gygax sharing David Weber’s rant that guests matter more than people they might harm (Facebook, USA, 18 May 2018) <www.facebook.com>
Ernie Gygax sharing Frank Menter’s rant that refers to minor disclaimers as “Character Assassination” (Facebook, USA, 29 December 2024) <www.facebook.com>
Now, I want to stress – not everyone who partnered with Ernie did so exploitatively. As objectionable as I find his business partner Benoit Poire, everything I have seen points to a genuine affection, a willingness to go above and beyond to help Ernie, and genuine grief at his loss.9 Benoist Poire (X Inc, USA, 4 March 2025) https://x.com/BenoistPoire/status/1896587770212286869
And of course, there are plenty of people who simply expressed their sympathies to Ernie’s loved ones because they genuinely felt sorry for them. No agenda beyond empathy and humanity.
Others… not so much – and they were largely unified by three rallying points.
- A Gizmodo article which is pretty nice but does focus significantly on the events Ernie did later in life with nuTSR and GiantLands in relatively straight forward and fact approaching terms;10 James Whitbrook Ernie Gygax Jr., Who Helped Shape Early D&D, Has Died (Gizmodo, USA, 28 February 2025) https://gizmodo.com/ernie-gygax-jr-dead-tsr-games-dnd-gary-gygax-2000570230 and
- A comment on r/osr by the key moderator to insist that Ernie was “not one of us” specifically because of racism;11 Amp108 comment (1 March 2025) on Very sad news today. We lost Ernie. Super nice guy who could sit down and DM 12 hour game sessions. One of us. A true gamer. Sending prayers to his family and friends. (Reddit, USA, 28 February 2025) https://www.reddit.com/r/osr/comments/1j0c24s/comment/mfbb8gl/?context=3 and
- Comments on an “Ancient Dungeons & Dragons Players” group (an explicitly political group, fyi) which (apparently) claimed Ernie was a key writer on SFNG.
There were a handful of negative comments etc to, but by and large they didn’t get a huge amount of traction – in no small part because most people recognize that Ernie being dead means he can do no further harm and read no mean comments.
To be clear on two things:
- Ernie was not a substantial contributor to Star Frontiers: New Genesis (“SFNG“) as a text.12 Kim Wincen Star Frontiers: New Genesis (Unreleased Beta) (6 October 2024) https://blog.wincenworks.com/2024/10/06/star-frontiers-new-genesis-unreleased-beta/ However given the various things he did on behalf of nuTSR, setting the record straight to the fact is essentially a zero sum game to many people (myself included); and
- I don’t think there’s any value in trying to portray him as a monster, though I also respect people he hurt might find it cathartic to do so. People who are healing are frequently messy. Ernie was just a guy going with the flow when he thought it was beneficial to be out of pocket – the real value is in recognizing this is what people do and finding ways to stop them.
The reactionaries who rallied though…
Justin LaNasa
I have a whole work in progress series of posts on this saga, but suffice to say Ernie was both kind of screwed over by, and was the ultimate enabler of Justin LaNasa and his nuTSR crew. This has led to the harshest backlash against Ernie, all the while Justin just brags.
He doesn’t have anything personal to say about Ernie. No stories to share, no regrets he couldn’t do more for him (and there was, so, so much more Justin could have done) – only photos to brag that he was associated with Ernie.



He spent way more effort trying to weaponize the grieving against critics of Ernie’s (who were, by extension, critics of Justin) than he ever did on talking about Ernie. 13Justin LaNasa as Dungeon Hobby Shop (Facebook, USA, 1 March 2025) <www.facebook.com>

Now it is not necessary to be a brilliant eulogist, but in times like these – people show you who they are and what their priorities are. Justin’s is self-promotion and revenge against people who pointed out he was a terrible person.
And for this part, I need to talk about liability through inaction.
A key point of dispute here has been people citing a particular entry from the disavowed draft of SFNG – the bit the explicitly advocates that racism is part of the game, and harmful racial stereotypes are correct.
Some commentors like Tenkar and Don Semora were quick to rush in to clarify that Ernie never really participated in the SFNG, those words were almost certainly written by Dave Johnson (and if not him, Justin LaNasa – all this assuming you believe the draft is real, which I do).14 Tenkar’s Tavern Did Ernie Gygax have anything to do with the SFNG game? (YouTube, USA, 3 March 2025) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxhuHGi-5G4
Wizard Tower Games Did Ernie Gygax have anything to do with the SFNG game? (YouTube, USA, 3 March 2025) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfOrBY1xi6k
But, that doesn’t exonerate Ernie. He is, after all the figure that allowed them to get any steam with their claim they were doing a Star Frontiers reboot, the main factor in them getting any notice of the notion that “TSR is back” and was 50% of the “original contributors” they had involved with nuTSR (the other one is Duck, a much less noticeable figure who mostly worked in the store itself rather than created products for publication).
More importantly – Ernie never disavowed nuTSR. Nor the blatant transphobia, homophobia, etc that appeared on the Dungeon Hobby Shop Museum page.15 Dungeon Hobby Shop Museum claims they’re not bigoted, they just want to spread the “Drag Queens Are Groomers” hate (Facebook, 30 June 2022) <www.facebook.com>
Dungeon Hobby Shop Museum posts photos of Justin LaNasa at Ernie’s wedding (Facebook, 9 September 2024) <www.facebook.com> He occasionally made weird condescending statements about how the trans person at his table was okay with him misgendering them, etc. He never really apologized for the time he referred to Native Americans as being like corporate raiders, he just sort of mumbled through he didn’t intend to offend.16 Ernie Gygax’s statement on the backlash to his interivew (Facebook, 28 June 2021) <www.facebook.com>
He bolted himself to the enterprise, and continued to insist that he was hopeful that it’d eventually result in some glory. When it all went down in flames, he still invited Justin to his games, and still invited him to his wedding.
He regularly let people like Stephen Dinehart and Justin LaNasa claim he was involved in things, only occasionally correcting them in limited areas (like his Greyhawk Facebook group) and never to the wider public.
By linking himself to the enterprise, lending his name to it, letting his colleagues pitch him as involved (including the absurd “Ernie Gygax Approved” stamp), he allowed himself be the face and the figurehead for the enterprise, and thus become publicly (though not legally) responsible for all that it did, good and bad. There wasn’t much good.
Michael K. Hovermale
Yet, somehow all this above pales in comparison to the antics of one Michael Keen Hovermale – the man everyone wanted to believe was duped by nuTSR,17 Kim Wincen NuTSR’s recruitment drive and the Fall of Michael (12 January 2023) https://blog.wincenworks.com/2023/01/12/nutsrs-recruitment-drive-and-the-fall-of-michael/ but more and more seems like he was committed to trying to help them progress their villainy unimpeded by bad press.
After leaving nuTSR, he briefly partnered with Donald Semora but ended up leaving due to, according to Don, an unwillingness to just commit to doing anything. Later Tim Kask would be personally offended that Michael took credit for things like securing him as talent (he wanted to work with Don already).
This led Michael to partner up with ClownfishTV, a very generic hate-focused drama channel that supported nuTSR in the early days then dropped the topic when it became clear that they were actually the bad guys and it’d be bad to remain linked to them. Apparently though, they liked Michael and brought him on to interview Mark Kern, aka Grummz, aka Firefall Bus Loser,18 C. Custer The rise and fall of Mark Kern: how one man may have doomed Firefall and The9 (UPDATED) (TechInAsia, Singapore, 30 December 2013) https://www.techinasia.com/firefall-mark-kern-sacked-the9-story aka Em-8er scam guy,19 McDizzle Gaming The Crowdfunding Scam Of Em8er – The Definative Edition – Part 1 (YouTube, USA, 2 September 2024) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFVhqOdwYP8 aka Gamergate 2 guy,20 Dead Domain The Lies of Mark Kern and “Gamergate 2” – Stream Highlights (YouTube, USA, 8 April 2024) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzrA_GMbXWo aka Fuckwit.21 Upper Eschelon We Need to Talk about GRUMMZ – Accountability in Gaming (YouTube, USA, 12 September 2024) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4J7iXWacos

And yeah, it was less popular than the video where he and Kneon (owner of Clownfish TV) shit themselves about how modern gaming is too progressive for them to have fun while begging insecure men to give them money.
More recently he got to appear in a conversation with Robert J. Kuntz, where he tried to reframe nuTSR getting banned from Gencon as “the Internet bleeding into real life”.22 Keon, Michael K. Hovermale & Robert J. Kuntz on on D/REZZED: A Clownfish TV Podcast Dungeons, Dragons, Diversity with Robert J. Kuntz | D/REZZED Podcast (YouTube, USA, 17 January 2025) https://youtu.be/GvcZIA8vkA4?si=tP6HwLq8fsDaokM4&t=3568 at 59:26 He is absolutely unrepentant about what he did for nuTSR and happy to once again be a sock-puppet for bigots if it gets him the attention and the validation that craves.
Mostly though, he’s kind of left to twist in the wind and beg to be included in things – his main project is one of those “everything” type role-playing games which he promises will be great, has been working on since 2022, and “testing” since 2023.23 Kneon @Kneon (X, USA, 7 August 2023) https://x.com/Kneon/status/1688333757323804672 It’s hard to nail down specifics though since, well they have a tendency to delete tweets about it (which is always a bad sign).24 Grendel12 @CaptGreybear13 (X, USA, 19 February 2023) https://x.com/CaptGraybeard13/status/1627079550147641344
Basically they’re reinventing the wheel, learning as they go, and almost certainly going to crowdfund it through IndieGogo.25 Clownfish Studios on IndieGogo (IndieGogo, USA) https://www.indiegogo.com/individuals/19511730
It’s probably also worth mentioning that when Michael was supposed to be on SFNG, it seems he actually outsourced all the work to his son – who is definitely not old enough to be an old school gamer or game design expert.26 Confirmed in documents that were later recalled from the TSR Bankruptcy.
So what’s he been doing since Ernie died? Fucking spamming the shit out of anyone on the right-wing who is jumping on the backlash and insisting he was a friend to Ernie. That is, he can be a “I knew him personally” character reference.27 X search for posts with “Ernie” from Michael K. Hovermale @GPaperArchitect (X, USA) https://x.com/search?q=from%3Agpaperarchitect%20ernie&src=typed_query&f=live ๐ธ ๐ธ
Notably, Michael never used his platform, pathetic as it is, to say:
- Encourage people to support the GoFundMe to help Ernie escape his medical bills28 Dave Conant Ernie “The Barbarian” Gygax Needs Aide (GoFundme, USA, 12 October 2023) https://www.gofundme.com/f/ernie-the-barbarian-gygax-needs-aide
- Encourage people to support the GoFundMe to help Ernie get a defibrillator29 Dave Conant Help Earnie Get a Life-Saving Defibrillator (GoFundMe, USA, 12 February 2025) https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-ernie-get-a-lifesaving-defibrillator
- Talk about Ernie’s generosity to Robert, a friend who Ernie sets aside a whole day every year to ensure he gets to play D&D unimpeded by his disability
- Humanise Ernie generally and share stories about him outside of disasters
- Express empathy to Ernie’s siblings and wider family
- Express empathy to Ernie’s widow
Just as we can see Justin didn’t care about Ernie as a person, just a vector to self-promotion and revenge, Michael sees him as a vector to credibility and an audience in the online reactionary world.
To accomplish this, he’s happy to start by abusing people who point out Ernie’s culpability while buddying up to the ones who know what Ernie did – and love it. After that this was pointed out,30 Kim Wincen Wincenworks in TSR – The Full & Glorious History of NuTSR (EN World, UK, 3 March 2025) https://www.enworld.org/threads/the-full-glorious-history-of-nutsr.684697/post-9603632 Michael would then try to cover by starting to engage with Ernie’s memory in the absolute minimal way possible.31 Michael K Hovermale @GPaperArchitect (X, USA) https://x.com/GPaperArchitect ๐ธ
Other reactionaries
While Michael is the vulture who is most visible to me, he is certainly not the only one who is trying to exploit this. He is, in fact, pretty much typical of them.
- No interest in helping Ernie when he was alive; and
- Weird fascism-friendly politics; and
- Preoccupation with trying to police how other people had fun
This Hat2 guy on GamerGate era hate subreddit KotakuInAction,32 Julia Alexander Reddit employee saves GamerGate subreddit, KotakuInAction, after founder closes it (Polygon, USA, 14 July 2018) https://www.polygon.com/2018/7/13/17568556/kotakuinaction-reddit-mod-shut-down-administrator no history of ever mentioning Ernie before he claims he has personal investment and is deeply upset at the Gizmodo article. 33TheHat2 Ernie Gygax has passed away. Gizmodo goes for one last swipe. in KotakuInAction (Reddit, USA, 1 March 2025) Also has not moved on since GamergGate and really thinks we need to be more pedantic about who we call fascist because you somehow can’t possibly be two things at once.34 TheHat2 comment on If you disagree with them, you are defending nazis on GGdiscussion (Reddit, USA, 26 February 2025) https://www.reddit.com/r/GGdiscussion/comments/1iyfx9g/comment/meuctwi/?context=3
Mark Kern is deeply upset that someone pointed that he felt it was despicable people didn’t love Ernie unconditionally.35 Mark Kern @Grummz (X, USA, 1 March 2025) https://x.com/Grummz/status/1895635453497557310 ๐ธ His only other mention of Ernie being this incoherent claim that Ernie was going to be specifically excluded from ORC.36 Mark Kern @Grummz (X, USA, 30 January 2023) https://x.com/Grummz/status/1619719403196809216 ๐ธ (Again, Ernie wasn’t really a writer/creator).
There are also many and numerous other people on platforms like X, Reddit, etc who are engaging in the same sort of nonsense – expressing their admiration or kinship for Ernie the first time purely to attack people who were uncomfortable with the worst elements of Ernie. They are, by and large, the biggest threat to Ernie’s memory as they refuse to let this simply be a footnote and want it to be a saga no matter how much it hurts the people who loved Ernie.
This is where allying with people who see others as things gets you.
EN World
The most insidious instance of this has been on EN World. There is a specific thread dedicated to the passing of Ernie, linked to no the front page which provides the most unhelpful summary possible.37 Christian Hoffer Ernie Gygax Has Passed Away (EN World, UK, 28 February 2025) https://www.enworld.org/threads/ernie-gygax-has-passed-away.712080/
Gygax often appeared at gaming conventions, especially Gary Con, and also collaborated on various TTRPG projects. He was involved with a failed attempt to “resurrect” TSR and take over several IPs controlled by Wizards of the Coast, but it failed after litigation and eventual liquidation of assets. During that process, Gygax alienated many with questionable views and also his choice in business associates.
This is an odd way to say that Ernie partnered with people who engaged in blatant, virulent racism, transphobia, misogyny, harassment techniques and constant disrespect to creators in the TTRPG space. It is, essentially, the coward’s version of the Gizmodo write up. The first reply features a statement from Garycon (aka Ernie’s family) and nuTSR grifter Mick McArt as though they are equal obituaries.38 DarkCrisis in Ernie Gygax Has Passed Away, above (1 March 2025) https://www.enworld.org/threads/ernie-gygax-has-passed-away.712080/post-9601805
For obvious reasons, this did not go over well with people who are or love people in the various groups that nuTSR actively targeted for hate – but for the most part they avoided putting these feelings in the obituary thread and put them into the thread where people (including moderators at EN World) had mocked the idea of sympathy for Ernie.
Morrus and the other moderators, who are presumably aliens from outer space, insisted this could not be okay because the thread was already full of negativity about Ernie (that happens when you align with bigotry) but we must be kind, not righteous – under threat of being smited with Morrus’s righteous fury regardless of how unkind Ernie’s community had been to you.39 Morrus in TSR – The Full & Glorious History of NuTSR (EN World, UK, 3 March 2025) https://www.enworld.org/threads/the-full-glorious-history-of-nutsr.684697/post-9603280
Michael K. Hovermale dropped in specifically to tell off people.40Michael K Hovermale (GraphPaper Architect) in TSR – The Full & Glorious History of NuTSR (EN World, UK, 3 March 2025) https://www.enworld.org/threads/the-full-glorious-history-of-nutsr.684697/post-9603288 No consequences.
Grandine pointed out that Ernie did actual harm, and that part of the social contract is if you want to be remembered kindly – you have to be kind in life.41Grandine in TSR – The Full & Glorious History of NuTSR (EN World, UK, 3 March 2025) https://www.enworld.org/threads/the-full-glorious-history-of-nutsr.684697/post-9603280 Banned/Suspended.42 Morrus in TSR – The Full & Glorious History of NuTSR (EN World, UK, 3 March 2025) https://www.enworld.org/threads/the-full-glorious-history-of-nutsr.684697/post-9603294
Cole1312 pointed out they are extremely uncomfortable with Michael K. Hovermale having a platform to continue to use the event to rally up for the oppressors.43 Cole1312 in TSR – The Full & Glorious History of NuTSR (EN World, UK, 3 March 2025) https://www.enworld.org/threads/the-full-glorious-history-of-nutsr.684697/post-9604981 Banned/Suspended.44 Morrus in TSR – The Full & Glorious History of NuTSR (EN World, UK, 5 March 2025) https://www.enworld.org/threads/the-full-glorious-history-of-nutsr.684697/post-9604989
Yours truly writing an extensive explanation about how it wasn’t kind or a display of decorum to insist no bad talk about Ernie anywhere, insisting on pretending that events simply didn’t happen – but that scum like Hovermale were absolutely exploiting the situation.45Kim Wincen (Wincenworks) in TSR – The Full & Glorious History of NuTSR (EN World, UK, 3 March 2025) https://www.enworld.org/threads/the-full-glorious-history-of-nutsr.684697/post-9603632 Warning and blocked from the thread. Didn’t warrant a smug comment.
Guy who joined the thread just to insult Cole1312 and likened caring about oppressed people to being a culture warrior?46Dire Bare in TSR – The Full & Glorious History of NuTSR (EN World, UK, 5 March 2025) https://www.enworld.org/threads/the-full-glorious-history-of-nutsr.684697/post-9604988 Warning, maybe blocked from the thread.47 Morrus in TSR – The Full & Glorious History of NuTSR (EN World, UK, 5 March 2025) https://www.enworld.org/threads/the-full-glorious-history-of-nutsr.684697/post-9604995
Random guy who joined the thread just to claim Ernie never contributed to nuTSR’s (like The Cult of Abaddon didn’t happen) writing, and continued to want to litigate what involvement meant – no consequences.48Mistwell in TSR – The Full & Glorious History of NuTSR (EN World, UK, 5 March 2025) https://www.enworld.org/threads/the-full-glorious-history-of-nutsr.684697/post-9604549
Morrus would then announce there’s a moratorium until further notice and, everyone must “be kind”.49 Morrus in TSR – The Full & Glorious History of NuTSR (EN World, UK, 5 March 2025) https://www.enworld.org/threads/the-full-glorious-history-of-nutsr.684697/post-9605013 I am of the opinion that refraining from speaking the unpleasant truth due to threat of silence and censure isn’t kindness, it’s just being bullied – and in this case furthering the oppression of people Ernie harmed.
He would then also show up to admit he hadn’t paid attention to what was going on since 2023 and so would appreciate it if someone could give him links to do updates. 50Morrus in TSR – The Full & Glorious History of NuTSR (EN World, UK, 8 March 2025) https://www.enworld.org/threads/the-full-glorious-history-of-nutsr.684697/post-9606612 So yeah, he had no idea what he was ruling on or what “be kind” meant but was very happy to make smug comments as he dished out righteous punishment. This is where “never question a moderator” gets you.
Importantly – there is no indication the Gygax family think Ernie can’t be criticised, Luke’s statement even jokes that was a good brother “…most of the time.”51 Luke Gygax, above n 2 Historically they (much to the chagrin of reactionary grognards) have been very understanding of people’s response to Gary’s out of pocket statements. As someone with family who I love but also know support various reactionary politicians, I sympathize and respect their stance.
This isn’t a thing anyone actually expects, and its a topic that has been discussed in moderation and community circles that inventing rules about politeness and higher standards for oppressed groups is a way you perpetuate oppression and give the oppressors freedom to move.
Conclusion
It sucks when someone we know is terrible. I know that personally. There are people I love dearly who I can barely manage a phone call with due to their tendency to pivot into terrible things – that I love them doesn’t excuse what they say, or make life any better for the people they hate.
Documenting the antics of departed who engaged in supporting fraud and bigotry in their twilight years also isn’t great. If you learn about James M. Ward via his Wikipedia,52 James M. Ward (Wikipedia, USA) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_M._Ward how you’ll learn about his final work is my quite critical write up on GiantLands.53 Kim Wincen GiantLands (2022) (Wincenworks, NZ, 20 March 2024) https://blog.wincenworks.com/2024/03/30/giantlands-2021/ My feelings on that are complicated, but reality persists.
The kind thing to is to extend grace to everyone emotionally impacted by it, that means:
- The family and loved ones of the deceased; and
- People who had been hurt by the deceased and are now having an emotional moment; and
- People who were not connected but are affected due to a similar tragedy.
You should be aware for, and harshly deal with:
- People who are trying usurp ownership of the deceased so they can use their status against marginalized people; and
- People who are actively trying to or recklessly harming the people impacted.
Because those are ultimately the people who hurt the grieving. The graverobbers who are determined to drag out the corpse and use it as weapon, who make it impossible to mention the deceased in public without a culture war and attempt to conscript the bereaved in.54 Andrew Girdwood Gary Gygax’s daughter calls her father “sexist” in resposne to recent D&D row (GeekNative, USA, 26 November 2024) https://www.geeknative.com/169877/gary-gygaxs-daughter-calls-her-father-sexist-in-response-to-recent-dd-row/
And yes, as someone who’s been moderating online communities for over 20 years I am aware that this stuff is never easy, often complicated and often requires you to put up with substantial challenges in being compassionate to emotional people whether you want to or not.
Character is who you are when you have choices.
Ernie’s dead. He remains dead. We must let him rest.

I hope that the memories of him bring comfort to those who loved him, that they are processed and fade quickly for those who hated him, and that they serve as a warning why you should never give up on growing as a person or partner with people who clearly have.
- 1Obituary of Ernest Gary Gygax Junior (Legacy.com) https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/name/ernest-gygax-obituary?id=57714235
- 2Luke Gygax (Facebook, USA, 1 March 2025) <www.facebook.com>
- 3Jim Holloway (art), Paul J. Stormberg (writing) Original Holloway Artwork TSR Autographs 1983 (The Collector’s Trove, USA) https://www.thecollectorstrove.com/arc-ernie-gygax/ebay-auction-55/4862192
- 4Ernie Gygax, Simon Todd (illustrations) & Nerisa Montie (editor) Sammi-Zowa Versus the Dueling Dragons (Self-published, 1 January 2014)
- 5Ernest Gary Gygax Jr Ernest Gary Gygax Jr’s Marmoreal Tomb Campaign Starter (Kickstarter, USA, 31 July 2015) https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1709227718/ernest-gary-gygax-jrs-marmoreal-tomb-campaign-star/
- 6C.J. Cairamella D&D Creator Gary Gygax’s FBI Records Make Him Sound Like a Badass (Reason, 15 June 2017) https://reason.com/2017/06/15/dd-creator-gary-gygaxs-fbi-records-make/
Ben Riggs D&D Co-Creator Gary Gygax was Sexist. Talking About it is Key to Preserving his Legacy. (7 July 2024) https://www.writerbenriggs.com/blog/4h8ich5klfw83ehgcxamqko6u1yrg7 - 7Wisconsin’s 1st Congressional District (Wikipedia, USA) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wisconsin%27s_1st_congressional_district
- 8Ernie Gygax sharing David Weber’s rant that guests matter more than people they might harm (Facebook, USA, 18 May 2018) <www.facebook.com>
Ernie Gygax sharing Frank Menter’s rant that refers to minor disclaimers as “Character Assassination” (Facebook, USA, 29 December 2024) <www.facebook.com> - 9Benoist Poire (X Inc, USA, 4 March 2025) https://x.com/BenoistPoire/status/1896587770212286869
- 10James Whitbrook Ernie Gygax Jr., Who Helped Shape Early D&D, Has Died (Gizmodo, USA, 28 February 2025) https://gizmodo.com/ernie-gygax-jr-dead-tsr-games-dnd-gary-gygax-2000570230
- 11Amp108 comment (1 March 2025) on Very sad news today. We lost Ernie. Super nice guy who could sit down and DM 12 hour game sessions. One of us. A true gamer. Sending prayers to his family and friends. (Reddit, USA, 28 February 2025) https://www.reddit.com/r/osr/comments/1j0c24s/comment/mfbb8gl/?context=3
- 12Kim Wincen Star Frontiers: New Genesis (Unreleased Beta) (6 October 2024) https://blog.wincenworks.com/2024/10/06/star-frontiers-new-genesis-unreleased-beta/
- 13Justin LaNasa as Dungeon Hobby Shop (Facebook, USA, 1 March 2025) <www.facebook.com>
- 14Tenkar’s Tavern Did Ernie Gygax have anything to do with the SFNG game? (YouTube, USA, 3 March 2025) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxhuHGi-5G4
Wizard Tower Games Did Ernie Gygax have anything to do with the SFNG game? (YouTube, USA, 3 March 2025) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfOrBY1xi6k - 15Dungeon Hobby Shop Museum claims they’re not bigoted, they just want to spread the “Drag Queens Are Groomers” hate (Facebook, 30 June 2022) <www.facebook.com>
Dungeon Hobby Shop Museum posts photos of Justin LaNasa at Ernie’s wedding (Facebook, 9 September 2024) <www.facebook.com> - 16Ernie Gygax’s statement on the backlash to his interivew (Facebook, 28 June 2021) <www.facebook.com>
- 17Kim Wincen NuTSR’s recruitment drive and the Fall of Michael (12 January 2023) https://blog.wincenworks.com/2023/01/12/nutsrs-recruitment-drive-and-the-fall-of-michael/
- 18C. Custer The rise and fall of Mark Kern: how one man may have doomed Firefall and The9 (UPDATED) (TechInAsia, Singapore, 30 December 2013) https://www.techinasia.com/firefall-mark-kern-sacked-the9-story
- 19McDizzle Gaming The Crowdfunding Scam Of Em8er – The Definative Edition – Part 1 (YouTube, USA, 2 September 2024) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFVhqOdwYP8
- 20Dead Domain The Lies of Mark Kern and “Gamergate 2” – Stream Highlights (YouTube, USA, 8 April 2024) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzrA_GMbXWo
- 21Upper Eschelon We Need to Talk about GRUMMZ – Accountability in Gaming (YouTube, USA, 12 September 2024) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4J7iXWacos
- 22Keon, Michael K. Hovermale & Robert J. Kuntz on on D/REZZED: A Clownfish TV Podcast Dungeons, Dragons, Diversity with Robert J. Kuntz | D/REZZED Podcast (YouTube, USA, 17 January 2025) https://youtu.be/GvcZIA8vkA4?si=tP6HwLq8fsDaokM4&t=3568 at 59:26
- 23Kneon @Kneon (X, USA, 7 August 2023) https://x.com/Kneon/status/1688333757323804672
- 24Grendel12 @CaptGreybear13 (X, USA, 19 February 2023) https://x.com/CaptGraybeard13/status/1627079550147641344
- 25Clownfish Studios on IndieGogo (IndieGogo, USA) https://www.indiegogo.com/individuals/19511730
- 26Confirmed in documents that were later recalled from the TSR Bankruptcy.
- 27X search for posts with “Ernie” from Michael K. Hovermale @GPaperArchitect (X, USA) https://x.com/search?q=from%3Agpaperarchitect%20ernie&src=typed_query&f=live ๐ธ ๐ธ
- 28Dave Conant Ernie “The Barbarian” Gygax Needs Aide (GoFundme, USA, 12 October 2023) https://www.gofundme.com/f/ernie-the-barbarian-gygax-needs-aide
- 29Dave Conant Help Earnie Get a Life-Saving Defibrillator (GoFundMe, USA, 12 February 2025) https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-ernie-get-a-lifesaving-defibrillator
- 30Kim Wincen Wincenworks in TSR – The Full & Glorious History of NuTSR (EN World, UK, 3 March 2025) https://www.enworld.org/threads/the-full-glorious-history-of-nutsr.684697/post-9603632
- 31Michael K Hovermale @GPaperArchitect (X, USA) https://x.com/GPaperArchitect ๐ธ
- 32Julia Alexander Reddit employee saves GamerGate subreddit, KotakuInAction, after founder closes it (Polygon, USA, 14 July 2018) https://www.polygon.com/2018/7/13/17568556/kotakuinaction-reddit-mod-shut-down-administrator
- 33TheHat2 Ernie Gygax has passed away. Gizmodo goes for one last swipe. in KotakuInAction (Reddit, USA, 1 March 2025)
- 34TheHat2 comment on If you disagree with them, you are defending nazis on GGdiscussion (Reddit, USA, 26 February 2025) https://www.reddit.com/r/GGdiscussion/comments/1iyfx9g/comment/meuctwi/?context=3
- 35Mark Kern @Grummz (X, USA, 1 March 2025) https://x.com/Grummz/status/1895635453497557310 ๐ธ
- 36Mark Kern @Grummz (X, USA, 30 January 2023) https://x.com/Grummz/status/1619719403196809216 ๐ธ
- 37Christian Hoffer Ernie Gygax Has Passed Away (EN World, UK, 28 February 2025) https://www.enworld.org/threads/ernie-gygax-has-passed-away.712080/
- 38DarkCrisis in Ernie Gygax Has Passed Away, above (1 March 2025) https://www.enworld.org/threads/ernie-gygax-has-passed-away.712080/post-9601805
- 39Morrus in TSR – The Full & Glorious History of NuTSR (EN World, UK, 3 March 2025) https://www.enworld.org/threads/the-full-glorious-history-of-nutsr.684697/post-9603280
- 40Michael K Hovermale (GraphPaper Architect) in TSR – The Full & Glorious History of NuTSR (EN World, UK, 3 March 2025) https://www.enworld.org/threads/the-full-glorious-history-of-nutsr.684697/post-9603288
- 41Grandine in TSR – The Full & Glorious History of NuTSR (EN World, UK, 3 March 2025) https://www.enworld.org/threads/the-full-glorious-history-of-nutsr.684697/post-9603280
- 42Morrus in TSR – The Full & Glorious History of NuTSR (EN World, UK, 3 March 2025) https://www.enworld.org/threads/the-full-glorious-history-of-nutsr.684697/post-9603294
- 43Cole1312 in TSR – The Full & Glorious History of NuTSR (EN World, UK, 3 March 2025) https://www.enworld.org/threads/the-full-glorious-history-of-nutsr.684697/post-9604981
- 44Morrus in TSR – The Full & Glorious History of NuTSR (EN World, UK, 5 March 2025) https://www.enworld.org/threads/the-full-glorious-history-of-nutsr.684697/post-9604989
- 45Kim Wincen (Wincenworks) in TSR – The Full & Glorious History of NuTSR (EN World, UK, 3 March 2025) https://www.enworld.org/threads/the-full-glorious-history-of-nutsr.684697/post-9603632
- 46Dire Bare in TSR – The Full & Glorious History of NuTSR (EN World, UK, 5 March 2025) https://www.enworld.org/threads/the-full-glorious-history-of-nutsr.684697/post-9604988
- 47Morrus in TSR – The Full & Glorious History of NuTSR (EN World, UK, 5 March 2025) https://www.enworld.org/threads/the-full-glorious-history-of-nutsr.684697/post-9604995
- 48Mistwell in TSR – The Full & Glorious History of NuTSR (EN World, UK, 5 March 2025) https://www.enworld.org/threads/the-full-glorious-history-of-nutsr.684697/post-9604549
- 49Morrus in TSR – The Full & Glorious History of NuTSR (EN World, UK, 5 March 2025) https://www.enworld.org/threads/the-full-glorious-history-of-nutsr.684697/post-9605013
- 50Morrus in TSR – The Full & Glorious History of NuTSR (EN World, UK, 8 March 2025) https://www.enworld.org/threads/the-full-glorious-history-of-nutsr.684697/post-9606612
- 51Luke Gygax, above n 2
- 52James M. Ward (Wikipedia, USA) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_M._Ward
- 53Kim Wincen GiantLands (2022) (Wincenworks, NZ, 20 March 2024) https://blog.wincenworks.com/2024/03/30/giantlands-2021/
- 54Andrew Girdwood Gary Gygax’s daughter calls her father “sexist” in resposne to recent D&D row (GeekNative, USA, 26 November 2024) https://www.geeknative.com/169877/gary-gygaxs-daughter-calls-her-father-sexist-in-response-to-recent-dd-row/