Tuesday, June 08, 2010

Dungeons & Dragons tries to lure back players



From cnn [excerpt], Wizards of the Coast, the current publishers of D&D, recognized that some of the 24 million people who used to play the game left, not because they didn't want to play, but because their lifestyles changed and they didn't have the time anymore -- so they have created a new rules system to address those concerns and bring back their former fans.

The new "D&D Encounters" provides all the materials needed to run a D&D game, but in a relatively short period of time. The goal, said brand director Liz Schuh, is to get those former gamers rolling the dice again.

"We wanted to try and create experiences to fit in their current time frames," Schuh said. "It is also an opportunity to learn the new rules system."

"Encounters" has premade characters and a premade adventure provided to the game's referee and storyteller, the Dungeon Master. Maps, tokens, game pieces and player aids, such as bonus cards, are all included.

The adventure is spread out over 12 weeks, but it only takes about two hours to play each week's encounter. Mark Watkins, a Dungeon Master for the "Encounters" game at Ravens Nest store in Marietta, Georgia, said the new version is simple and timely.

Read the rest here

4 comments:

Octopunk said...

I am so there.

Octopunk said...

To be fair, the old D&D Monster Manuals have provided a lot of fun reading in recent years, as each monster's short entry is perfect for the bathroom.

But those rules! Each entry starts out "this monster lives in caves and eats dwarves" but then gets to "on 3d12 the treasure types will be A, J, and Q. Move rate is 4" and 5'// respectively."

No wonder nobody has time for it.

50PageMcGee said...

totally thought this read "dungeons and dragons tries to lure *black* players" and i steeled myself for something appaling.

Budd said...

I read that as lure black players at first. hahahaha.
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