D&D co-creator’s son just launched a fantasy shoe line as part of his lifestyle brand for gamers

For many, one of the great joys of the tabletop hobby is the accessorising. Custom, handmade dice, trays, character sheet holders, miniatures, horns (and tails), drinking mugs, and other accoutrements fill the Etsy shops and convention stalls of Dungeons & Dragons-adjacent creators. But what about shoes? It turns out the answer to your fantasy footwear needs might come from none other than the son of Gary Gygax.

Lucion "Luke" Gygax, son of D&D’s co-creator and a tabletop figure in his own right, recently announced the addition of a line of shoes featuring fantasy-inspired art to his G20 lifestyle brand. The two available models come as hi-top or lo-top trainers in the 20th-century basketball shoe style with black or white trim. If you’ve seen a pair of Converse shoes, you know what to expect.

Emblazoned on the side of the Firewalker model is a red dragon illustrated by Tyler “Hos” Hostettler and clawing its way across a flaming gradient. The Elf and Eye model features artwork by Erol Otus, known for his work on TSR’s earliest D&D releases including the cover of Deities & Demigods’ initial publication. His shoe portrays a figure in sleek black armour battling against a many-eyed creature that is most certainly legally distinct from Wizards of the Coast’s Beholder.

If you’re wondering why Gygax’s less problematic son and shoeware are being mentioned in the same sentence, Luke is pivoting slightly away from pure game design to create G20 as a way to sell designer apparel within his already existing Gaxxworx company. The shoes join t-shirts, hats and materials for Luke’s original tabletop setting Okkorim - he was apparently inspired by his tours of the Middle East in the U.S. Army. As it turns out, there’s a bit of a familial connection with shoes.

“Before my dad made it big with D&D, he was a shoe repairman, basically a cobbler like a character in a fairy tale. My father was a rebel who blazed his own path throughout his life,” Gygax said in a press release. “I honour his memory, and the impact he made on the world by launching the G20 lifestyle brand today. The fantasy shoe line honours him as a cobbler as well as his love of gaming and our community.”

Luke’s Firewalker and Elf and Eye shoes are apparently the first in a planned collection of apparel that will “feature artists that embody both old school and modern styles” from diverse backgrounds and disciplines. It’s worth noting that this son of Gary Gygax is not the same one who notoriously attempted to revive TSR Games in 2021 (despite the business still very much existing) and then courted public disaster by making transphobic and racist statements on a livestream. As far as we can tell, Luke is just a veteran with dreams of creating “the premier lifestyle brand for gamers”.