One of the great things about being in the Greyhawk or even D&D community for so long is you occasionally get to meet your idols. The great artists and authors of our shared hobby have left a wonderful legacy in this game, and yet it is never easy when one of them passes away. Today is one of these tragic days. Word has it the legendary
Leomund himself,
Len Lakofka died this day. There is scant details right now, but recently he was a regular on
Twitch streams with
Anna Meyer, Jay Scott and myself, and we know his health wasn't the greatest. He would come on early, charm us all with his blunt wit and anecdotes of
TSR days past, discuss the
Lendore Isles (with his
Darlene map in the background), occasionally host a contest and then as quickly as he appeared, he would be off until next time. I am deeply saddened that he will not be with the community any longer. We will always have his
Dragon articles, especially my favorites the
Suloise gods series which I am forever honored to have heard his stories on how they were developed. We will also have the L-series modules (
Secret of Bone Hill, Assassins Knot), his work with the fansite
Dragonsfoot and more.
My condolences go out to his family. Thank you Len for your work, your time and your friendship with the Greyhawk community.
Well said and thanks, Mike.
ReplyDeleteGodspeed and thank you, Len
Jim (seguilia)
RIP! I never owned or even played the L-series modules, but his Dragon magazine articles on the Suel pantheon were a big influence on me back in the day.
ReplyDeleteThanks for that nice link to his Wikipedia page, too.
Its a hard loss, considering these people built D&D, an Greyhawk. We all grow old.
ReplyDeleteI suppose his Liasons Dangereuses diplomacy zine which would eventually become a container for his D&D gaming (source: http://www.whiningkentpigs.com/DW/kent/l.htm) will be a valid source of information on Leonards greyhawk gaming.
Great tribute, old friend. I remember finding my first issue of Dragon Magazine at Venture shortly after we started playing D&D together in the mid 80’s. It had an article about Wee Jas and Jascar. I was enthralled. Len will be missed, but not forgotten. He left us a wealth of inspiration and entertainment.
ReplyDeleteValkaun
Thanks Mikes for passing along this sad bit of news. Len, a giant in the community, he will surely be missed.
ReplyDeleteGM the DM
Aka The Dark Lord Galen
I am glad that we all got to know Len the last two years; it has been a true honor and privilege.
ReplyDeleteWhat can I say? Len was a character, and we loved him for it.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I certainly cannot say I knew him, I'm very pleased to have "met" him, if only briefly.
He was an underappreciated talent. How many people have ever contributed to something that changed so many lives for the better.
God's speed Len. We will miss you.