Dungeons and Dragons Game Day Next Weekend

Thanks to Wizards.com for the information on next week's Worldwide D&D Game Day, celebrating the game's 30th Anniversary. "Saturday, October 16, 2004, participating game stores will present two adventures well stocked with hapless monsters to slay. Bring some friends to adventure with or meet some new gaming buddies at the event. The mini adventure, Lair or the Mad Alchemist, provides a great introduction to D&D, while The Forgotten Forge offers the thrill of a full-scale adventure set in the exciting new world of Eberron." If you're interested, here's a handy list of participating stores.

Comments

D&D

[DrunkenTerror]

D&D, like all form of recreation, appeal to some people and not to others. I've played D&D with people who went on to become scientists, graphics designers, special forces soldiers, animal trainers, writers, musicians, security experts, & ministers, among other things.

I've played with punk rockers, fundamental Christians, hippies, bookworms, anarchists, stoners, jocks, Wiccans, conformists, non-conformists, assholes, Bhuddists, & Joe-Sixpack kinds of guys & girls.

At its best it can be like live improvisational theater, a source of plesant memories among friends for years to come, and a way to build social ties among groups of people who might normally hang out with each other.

Sure, you can make the stereotypical jokes about the insecure, pimply-faced nerds who kill thier parents in the night in order to gain some "magic treasure", but in my experience, a large majority of D&D players are down-to-earth "normal" folks, who enjoy engaging their imaginations with some creative fantasy from time to time. Kinda like reading a book, only more immersive.

Worldwide

[Repton]

Hmm, I notice that "worldwide" means "North America, South America and Europe" ... :-/

It's much less than that.

[Onan]

In my modest experience, roleplaying is essentially a mental sport, and is good and bad in they ways other sports are.

You're exercising your abilities in an artificial context, for the sheer joy of doing so. The rules are silly, and arbitrary, and not the real point. Neither one of them is "real", neither one has any significance outside the game, but they can be diverting pastimes.

And, most importantly: people who dress up in special clothes for either one are unforgivable dorks who must be severely ostracized.

Re:Oh sweet irony

[travail_jgd]

WotC's stores could have really helped push RPGs toward the mainstream. They had great locations, yuppie-friendly decor, large floorplans, etc.

Instead, they put all the RPGs in the back corner, which was sometimes out of view of the entrance. In the early days, computer games (and computers to play them on!) had more shelf space than WotC's own products. Pretty much everyone I knew said the stores were thought up by designers who "just didn't get it".

The closure of WotC's stores (combined with dropping all other games a couple years earlier) probably set gaming back 5-10 years. A lot of stores either closed or stopped carrying RPGs because of WotC.

No Lake Geneva?

[Lord_Dweomer]

I'm really kind of shocked not to see the "Game Guild" listed. Its located in Lake Geneva, WI and is the hometown of the Gygax family. I used to game with them up there in highschool and it was a blast, even managed to get my name in a book as playtester.

Does anybody happen to know if that store is still around? I know they fell on some hard times, but it would be an absolute shame if the creators of D&D lost their local game store. Thanks a lot WoTC.

Re:D&D Obession is Fascinating

[Silburn_Luke]

My anecdotal evidence is that all of the members of my regular gaming group come from stable families (or, these days, are looking after stable families) and are pretty much middle of the road when it comes to self-esteem; some above the average, some below.

We could well be weirdly 'normal' for roleplaying geeks of course. That's the beauty of anecdote...

Regards
Luke