Give the gift of D&D

[CharlesRyan]

Last week, poet, playwright, and filmmaker Sherman Alexie came to WotC and gave a talk entitled “How D&D Saved My Life.” In it, he discussed (with great humor—turns out he also gets gigs as a standup comedian) growing up on a reservation in the grip of crushing poverty, broken families, alcoholism, and despair. In that context he discovered D&D, which awoke in him the creativity, sense of wonder, and desire to seek out and succeed in higher education and a more hopeful life.

I happened to be thinking about that when I was in Starbucks the other day. They have a donation basket there, where you can leave toys and games to be donated to needy children. Starbucks isn’t unique in this, of course—my wife works at the fire department, which also collects toys and gifts for less fortunate children.

The two ideas connect. What could be a better gift for a child with limited horizons than D&D, a game that inspires wonder, creativity, intellectual curiosity, and empowerment? At the very least, D&D isn’t just a toy that's fun for a few months—it’s a hobby that can engage a young person for years. By any definition, a great donation to a needy kid—and this year, D&D comes in a new, easy-to-start (and easy-to-give) form: the Basic Game.

I’ve purchased two copies of the Basic Game for these programs. If you find yourself inclined to donate to programs like this, I encourage you to consider the Basic Game for your donation. You might give a kid a type of lasting joy and inspiration that no toy fire engine or Barbie doll ever could, and bolster the ranks of fellow D&D players while you’re at it.

(A caveat: I’m the Brand Manager for D&D, so it might be easy to suspect that my motives are less than pure. Sure, I want to sell D&D products, but the Basic Game, with its low price point and high cost of goods, isn’t a big money maker for us—I’m not going rake in a bunch of cash by convincing a few gamers to give away a few copies. And yes, I want to see D&D grow, but frankly, getting kids too poor to buy toys into the game isn’t the path to riches either. Mostly, I just want to expose people to the enriching qualities of the roleplaying hobby. And do a little good along the way.)

 

[Veritas]

Maybe it's just because of having lived through the major anti-D&D days of the 80's, with all the D&D=Satan sentiment from a lot of religious groups, but I'd truly be interested if these games would end up going to children or would end up being sidelined as too "controversial"... sort of like putting a toy gun in the donation box.

I think it's a great idea, myself, passing on D&D to kids as an outlet for creativity and as an inspiration for them (I know it was that way for me too), but I'm curious if the people running these charity drives will really see it that way.

 

[johnsemlak]

I have just ordered two Basic Games myself, and planing on giving one to a young student of mine. I already gave my old 3.0 books to another.

 

[Tav_Behemoth]

This is a great idea, whose power might be enhanced by donating core books to public libraries -- so that kids who get into the game with the Basic Set have a free pathway for moving deeper into the hobby.

EDIT: The D&D/FR novels are certainly popular at my local public libraries - it'd be cool if kids who were checking these out could also check out a PHB and start making their own heroes!

 

[diaglo]

i've been doing it for years.

and not just during the holidays.

check the WotC OoP message board forum. i donated my extra copies of B2 Keep on the Borderlands to needy gamers. (well gamers who had never played nor seen the classic before).

i agree the only way to get gamers to play the game is to expose them to it.

of course, i found out one of them converted it to the newer editions.. but oh well... at least his group is still playing it... my hope is he will eventually see the light and want to play the older editions.

 

[tonym]

That is a GREAT idea! Makes perfect sense to me.
Thanks for posting.


Tony M

 

[D+1]

Maybe it's just because of having lived through the major anti-D&D days of the 80's, with all the D&D=Satan sentiment from a lot of religious groups, but I'd truly be interested if these games would end up going to children or would end up being sidelined as too "controversial"... sort of like putting a toy gun in the donation box.

Somewhat apt, but hardly a fair comparison. How about assuming the best rather than the worst? A toy gun is a HIGHLY politicized item. D&D on the other hand is directly attributed to advancing the computer gaming industry to where it is today, as well as motion picture inspirational material, resurgence of fantasy novels, etc.

D&D has faced the stupidity of its accusers and won a CRUSHING victory over them by becoming an even greater force in our culture than we would have even dreamed at the time. Saying "D&D is evil" these days would be like saying "Cartoon Network is evil". It may be true but nobody intelligent will take the remark seriously. Make the donation first and then let them decide how silly they want to be. My estimation is that they are likely to accept and distribute such a gift without a moments second thought. Parents have no concern about dragons, magic, and the like or Yu-gi-oh, Pokemon and other games/cartoons would have died a quick, controversial death.

 

[Belen]

Charles,

I agree with you. I already bought a copy and placed it in a Toys for Tots bin.

Dave

 

[madelf]

Parents have no concern about dragons, magic, and the like or Yu-gi-oh, Pokemon and other games/cartoons would have died a quick, controversial death.

That depends on the parents.
I actually have relatives who have told their children to stay clear of my wife and I... because we are into that "satanic D&D game." They belong to a church responsible for more charity drives than most.

Although it's true that many people are bright enough to know better these days, there are still religious fundamentalists who are wearing blinders to logic. Many of these people still believe that D&D is evil, and in many cases they are the same basically good hearted (if misguided) folks who are doing these charities. So I don't think the D&D game getting pulled out of the donation pile is all that wild a notion.

I'd say if someone wants to donate D&D (or another rpg), it's a great idea. But it might be wise know a little bit about the group you're donating it to.

 

[Impeesa]

I'd say if someone wants to donate D&D (or another rpg), it's a great idea. But it might be wise know a little bit about the group you're donating it to.

http://www.childsplaycharity.org/

There's one that (I'm guessing) won't turn down games of any sort.

--Impeesa--