Dungeons & Dragons Co-Creator Dead at 69

Wizards of the Coast tries to mend fences after divisive fourth edition

(NEWSER) - Nerds of the world, grab your d20s, because Dungeons and Dragons needs you. Wizards of the Coast is relaunching its original roleplaying game, and in a bid to win over disaffected fans, it plans to post the rules online for public play-testing, the New York Times reports. D&D has always been a player-crafted experience, with "dungeon masters" inventing scenarios for their friends to navigate, one Wizards exec explains. "We want to take that idea to the next level and say, 'Help us craft the rules.'" More»

(NEWSER) - Dungeons & Dragons co-creator Dave Arneson died Wednesday after a long battle with cancer. His D&D collaborator, Gary Gygax, died in March 2008. Though the two engaged in much legal wrangling over their property, they resolved their dispute in the 1980s. Arneson, who enjoyed a second career as an educator, was 61, Matt Blum of Wired writes in an appreciation of the roleplaying-game pioneer. More»

Died from complications from a recent stroke

(NEWSER) - Maurice Sendak, author/illustrator of the beloved Where the Wild Things Are, has died at age 83, reports the New York Times . The cause was complications from a recent stroke, says his editor. The Times offers a glowing profile of Sendak and the many books he was known for penning and illustrating, which were "roundly praised, intermittently censored, and occasionally eaten," writes Margalit Fox. She notes that his "lifelong melancholia"—the result, in part, of a long string of childhood illnesses, being raised in the shadow of the Holocaust, and the homosexuality he hid from his parents—made its way into his books. More»

British children's author wrote more than 100 books on rural life

(NEWSER) - Dick King-Smith, the British children's author who created one of filmdom's favorite pigs, has died at the age of 88. The writer passed away peacefully at his long-time home in rural England, the Guardian reports. King-Smith, a World War II vet, spent 20 years as a farmer before turning to teaching and, in his 50s, writing. Most of his more than 100 books drew on his knowledge of farms and animals. His best-known work, The Sheep-Pig, was adapted into the 1995 hit movie Babe. More»

Sasha Grey and friends embrace their inner geeks

(NEWSER) - What might make Dungeons & Dragons more appealing to people not particularly interested in role-playing games? How about adding porn stars, a stripper, and Sasha Grey? Everyone stays clothed and the conversation stays fairly G-rated—there's one double entendre about sucking—as the Escapist, an online gaming magazine, infiltrates a regular game. To watch, click here . More»