Now is your chance to be a part of DnD history.
The Backstory
On a fall day in 1972, Dave Arneson drove from his home in Minneapolis to visit his friend Gary Gygax at his home in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Together the friends began working on what would eventually become known as the world-famous Dungeons & Dragons. Creative energy bounced from the walls at 330 Center Street, and with friends stopping by for days-long playing sessions, it became known as a gaming mecca of its time.
In 2005, my husband and I fell in love with this house and bought it to serve as our family's getaway retreat. Soon after, I began to notice people occasionally stopping to take pictures outside. When I received a call looking to film a documentary at the house, I knew we had stumbled upon a treasure. Everything has been a whirlwind since. I went from not knowing much about Dungeons & Dragons to it becoming a big part of our lives. Having the opportunity to make someone's day (or month or year!) with a tour of the house or a game with their friends has been incredibly fun!
The Vision
Our vision is for 330 Center Street to become a place of pilgrimage for DnD players from around the globe. We picture a house restored to its glory days, welcoming visitors for tours, a game with friends, or a charity livestream. In front of the house a dragon statue or fountain stands guard where dice can be blessed and homage paid to the founders of the DnD legacy.
Already the home of Gary Con, Lake Geneva continues to see the growth and development of creative enterprises poised to make the picturesque town the premier destination for RPG and fantasy experiences. We see a visit to the birthplace of role-playing games as an essential element of this journey and are excited to be a part of this movement.
The Quest
At over 100 years old, this house is in dire need of repairs to keep it safe and functional for all who visit.
To make our vision for the house a reality, we need to:
- Vanquish two large trees whose roots have invaded the plumbing and foundation
- Summon a new main sewer line
- Give our players immunity to Cold Damage with a new heating system
- Level up the roof and gutters
- Cast the spell “Scrape and Paint”
- Conjure a ramp for adventurers in wheelchairs
Every little bit helps to preserve this house and make it a place DnD fans can experience for years to come.
Money raised beyond repair costs will be used to commission a dragon statue or fountain to be placed in front of the house.
Back this campaign with a general donation or check out the perks for different donation levels to help us complete this quest for generations of gamers to come!
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Paul Stormberg's Experience Playing at the Birthplace of DnD
March 2019
"I was running a new level of Greyhawk Castle this year at Gary Con, specifically, the 330 Center St. Gaming at Gary's event. As I arrived to set up for gaming there was a film crew who had showed up and some D&D celebrities were posing here and there for photos. They went into the cellar doorwell and took some shots and, then, went into the basement through the house to film and interview. We tried to chip away at the icy sidewalks in time for the players to arrive but it was too loud. We tried to be quiet but the floor creaked. We tried to set up our tables and chairs for the game but occasionally bumped the floor. "Quiet on set!", would be shouted from the basement each time.
A couple of gamers showed up early; I knew them from previous conventions. They helped me bring in tables and chairs without being asked. We whispered as we negotiated doorways and corners and tried quietly to unfold tables and chairs.
When we were done, I waved them upstairs, where the entire Gygax family once slept. Where Gary would tell his bedtime stories, of General Ruko and Captain Erniezawa to his boys. We stood in the small space, quietly, and I told them in a hushed voice how I believed the house was a living thing, that when I ran games on the sand table in the basement and D&D on the dining room table and Gary's old friends had come to play at his house for the 40th anniversary of D&D, it was alive. Shouts of victory, groans of defeat, boisterous but amicable arguments over rules, and bouts of raucous laughter flowed through the vents like life-blood, it's beating heart the games being played. How happy I thought the house was. How flush it was with the joy of gaming coursing through it after all these years.
We stood quietly and were about to leave but then I told them my favorite story of Gary, the one that always makes me tear up. It is the ultimate testament to a man who cherished gamers of all walks of life, as if they were his own flesh and blood, for they were. The story gets to the point where it realy chokes me up and my voice cracks a little. We all tear up a bit and agree that this place is special and that Gary Con is special and that we all feel a little closer to Gary here.
Soon, the film crew left but the gamers remained. We started a little late because of the interruption but none of them complained (well Ed did a little but I chided him for it and he relented). I started the game, a descent into Greyhawk Castle to a level rarely visited due to its inaccessibility, an ice level penned by Rob Kuntz 44 years ago. As the ice turned from obsidian to indigo, sapphire to turquiose, white to crystal, I described how their breath hung in the air, chillblains crept into their fingers, and crystal fractal patterns formed at each footfall. The world around them was an alien ice kingdom. Cold was sinking into their bones as they ventured deeper into the frozen realm.
Outside, freezing wind and icy rain pelted the house, encased it in its grip. I noticed the players increasingly hugged their arms, rubbed their hands unconsciously, leaned forward and pushed their hands between thier knees to keep warm. When I had them shaking in their boots in the great ice hall and the frost-breathing ice-caryatids surrounded them, they started pulling on their coats. I was shivering.
In a narrowly won battle with the ice people of this weird glacial underworld, the group secured a massive treasure horde of diamonds and escaped. Truly, a great adventure was had by all. One of my best adventures at 330 Center St. But I was still shivering when they left.
I checked the digital thermostat and it was blank. I squeezed down the narrow steps to the basement and found the furnace had shut off. I flipped the circuit breaker on and the house slowly began to leave the ice world it created. Had the house just helped me run Greyhawk Castle? Had Gary?
I talked to the owners who graciously allow Legends of Wargaming to play games there each year. They said that the furnace had never shut-off like that. Amazed, we agreed that this place was special. Gary Con was special. Gary was special."
