R.I.P.Dave Arneson

David Lance Arneson (October 1, 1947 – April 7, 2009) was the man who popularized role playing games(RPGs), using archetypal devices such as adventuring in "dungeons", and co-created the first published game in this genre, Dungeons & Dragons (D&D), with Gary Gygax in the early 1970s.
He was a University of Minnesota alumnus and commenced work on wargaming and role-playing while at Coffman Union.He kept a relatively low profile in later years, by which time his reputation had been established as an "unsung legend" in the early development of RPGs.
In 1984 Arneson was inducted into the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts and Design's Hall of Fame and in 1999 was named by Pyramid magazine as one of The Millennium's Most Influential Persons, "at least in the realm of adventure gaming".

David Arneson may not be as readily familiar as Mr. Gygax was but all of us who enjoy role-playing games owe Mr. Arneson a lot for leading the way.

Arneson died shortly after 11 pm CST, on April 7, 2009, according to an email statement released by his family.