He ran out of hit points

Gary Gygax, the creator of Dungeons & Dragons, died yesterday at the age of 69. Not only was he a pioneer of tabletop role-playing games, but he single-handedly saved the graph paper and little velvet pouch industries in the 70's. You see, people needed something to carry their multi-sided dice in, and if you're the type who's inclined to play a game with your buddies in which you pretend to slay dragons and find treasure, then you're more likely than not going to want a velvet pouch for that purpose.

I'll admit it right here and now: I played D&D and I had a velvet pouch.
I think I actually had a second-hand velvet dice pouch though, as my brother had one first, and when he moved up to a fancier model he bequeathed to me his old one. This velvet pouch, perhaps inevitably, ultimately gave up the D&D lifestyle and was used solely for the purpose of concealing and transporting weed and it's related machinations.



But I'll never forget the magic of the "Monster Manual" and it's companion, the "Fiend Folio." These were coveted tomes amongst my set, despite the fact that we all found the illustrations in them to be horrendous. You got a couple of these books, start playing for something to do in 8th period study hall, and before you know it you're holed up in the basement drawing maps and painting little pewter miniatures of your character. Such was life before girls became interesting.