Dungeons & Dragons Co-Developer Arneson Passes Away

Dave Arneson, who along with Gary Gygax co-developed the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, passed away in his sleep this week.

Arneson Tuesday passed away from cancer at age 61 while in hospice care in St. Paul, according to the Pioneer Press.

The game was very popular, especially with college and high-school students. It is still available in printed form for face-to-face game as was its original intent, but has since been turned into PC games and even a movie.

Gygax passed away in March of 2008.

Dungeons & Dragons is often associated with geeks who have become the butt of jokes. The news satire site The Onion wrote in 1997 that Microsoft's Bill Gates gave himself a dexterity of 18 and a charisma of 20 out of a maximum of 18, and included a mock character sheet of Gates.

Arneson created the fantasy setting for Dungeons & Dragons in 1974 in the basement of his parents' home in St. Paul in the 1970s. He is credited with being the first to use a fantasy setting for a role-playing game, with Gygax later adding the rules and charts to make it a game.

Arneson and Gygax latter had a falling out, with Gygax taking over the development of the Dungeons & Dragons franchise. Arneson sued the company that took over the game for royalties. The suit was settled out-of-court.

Arneson's family, in a statement sent to gamers, wrote, "Shortly after 11 p.m. on Tuesday, April 7th, Dave Arneson passed away. He was comfortable and with family at the time and his passing was peaceful.

"The Arneson family would like to thank everyone for their support over the last few days, and for the support the entire community has shown Dave over the years."