What's Happening In D&D At PAX Prime?

PAX Prime is coming. It's a gaming convention in Seattle, and the one that WotC currently uses for panels or announcements rather than Gen Con (which is used for gaming). The convention takes place August 28-31. Here's what you can expect to see from Wizards of the Coast (who will also have a booth in the Exhibitors Hall from Friday through Monday).

• Acquisitions, Inc (Fri 8.30pm; Benaroya Hall) -- Armed with the latest monster-slaying technology, the heroes of Acquisitions Incorporated undertake a perilous journey into a demon-infested Underdark. Dare to descend with Jim Darkmagic, Omin Dran, Binwin Bronzebottom, and Viari as they search for a legendary dark elf swordsman who, in his quest to put an end to the machinations of the demon lords, has lost his mind. Can the dual wands of Jim Darkmagic overcome the twin scimitars of Drizzt Do’Urden and rescue him from the brink of madness?
• Sword Coast Legends (Sat 1pm, Wyvern Theater) -- You’ve played the Sword Coast Legends demo but there’s still more to see! The SCL team will show off the campaign building tools and share what they’ve got coming in the Rage of Demons DLC later this year.
• Building the Best Worlds in Game (Sunday 11.30am, Seagate Theater) -- Between Magic: the Gathering and Dungeons and Dragons, Wizards of the Coast has built world after world, year after year. What are the secrets to the process? How can you build your own worlds? Our panel of experts bridging the two games offer advice, and then answer your questions.
• Ask a Dungeon Master (Monday 10.30am; Sasquatch Theatre) -- Dungeon Mastering is an art and the skills and perspective are as unique as the story being told. Join Dungeon Master extraordinaire, Chris Perkins, to discuss tips, tricks, rules and whether it's kosher to kill a halfling in the first session. All levels of Dungeon Masters welcome from seasoned grognards to those interested in taking up the mantle.
• Design-a-Dungeon (Monday, 3pm; Wyvern Theatre) -- There are a lot of elements that go into making a satisfying dungeon adventure. We're going to throw all that out the window and crowdsource the whole shebang. After an hour, we'll have created an outline for an awesome adventure - or a complete farce.
• There's also a bunch of gaming going on. Harried in Hillsfar runs every hour, and Shackles of Blood runs every 4 hours.

Harried in Hillsfar

In the village of Elventree, near the oppressive city of Hillsfar, a recent string of strange occurrences has the locals on edge. The factions have gathered here on the borders of the forest of Cormanthor to determine what’s happening. Is this the machinations of Hillsfar, or something more?

This is an introductory adventure given in 1 hour mini-missions. Perfect for playing your first game of D&D.

Shackles of Blood

The Red Plumes have increased patrols in the region surrounding Hillsfar, and a string of disappearances has followed in their wake. Naturally, this has roused the suspicion of the factions. Join your factions and find out the truth behind the missing farmers.

Be among the first to play this 4-hour adventure in its regional preview!

[video=youtube;KipPMgbpKzk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KipPMgbpKzk[/video]
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[EthanSental]

I think the order for my bucket list of Cons would be:
1. Origins
2. PAX Prime
3. Gen Con

Is the San Diego Comic con or whatever it's called now, have much RPG or comics?

Of course DragonCon here in my back yard of Atlanta is nice Con but I have a difficult time just getting away from work long enough to go.

 

[Alphastream]

"Currently uses for panels or announcements"

I see this year it's panels.

That isn't likely to change anytime soon. D&D is moving away from many splatbooks and lots of add-ons to a different model where D&D is very lean and story-focused. We already know what is being released for Out of the Abyss and the Demons/Underdark storyline - an adventure, organized play adventures, novels, minis, and the Sword Coast guide. The rest is the other properties (Neverwinter MMO expansion, new Sword Coast game, etc.). Storylines come out roughly every 6 months, with many of them being leaner than that on the tabletop side (Sword Coast is the first real "splatbook" 5E has seen). It is a very different model. Many of the auxiliary products (minis, spell cards, etc.) are advertised and announced through other partners.

I'm not saying it has to be that way, but that's the new approach. Given the well-documented problems with the RPG hobby's usual model, a change is probably a good thing for D&D. At the very least, it might point to a successful model.

 

[Henry]

GenCon is like a friggen expedition to another continent practically for me, coming from Los Angeles. It's 1,814 miles. For scale, that's almost the exact distance it is from here to Mexico City, and not far from Central America. And since Indianapolis is not a major hub airport, the cost of flights is much higher as well.

Conversely, I feel the same way about Seattle. Being in South Carolina, Seattle is a minimum 9 hour, 2-stop plane ride, and rather expensive on their hotel fees, whereas Indy is a 12 hour car ride for me, and I'm told within a day's travel for 2/3rds of the 48 states. I'd love to go to a Paizocon one day, but It's just way too expensive of a proposition. However, this is really first I've heard PAX mentioned as a strong tabletop venue -- I've always associated it only tangentially with tabletop games ever since the Penny Arcade podcasts six years ago, and hadn't realized they were making this huge of an impact there. I can only hope it keeps growing!

 

[Lanefan]

For those of us not in the US midwest, GenCon is at least 1, if not two, planes. Seattle is a major hub. I can get to seattle for about $300 round trip... GenCon? over $700. Plus, GenCon, I'd have to book many months in advance. Seattle is an order of magnitude larger a city, and has a higher capacity. Pax is a large blip on Seattle's accomodations scene; GenCon almost totally consumes Indy's.

Well duh, when PAX caps its badge count and GenCon does not.

I live very close to Seattle, relative to Indianapolis, but I'd still rather go to GenCon than PAX if for no other reason than I know that once I've got my accommodation figured out I can always get a badge for the Con itself. PAX, in case you haven't checked, is sold out; meaning I couldn't go even if I wanted to.

(in fairness to Seattle, I suspect it's the limitations of the convention centre itself rather than hotel availability which leads to the badge cap; in Indy the convention centre can handle way more attendees than the local hotels can)

Lan-"I still don't see PAX as somewhere to go for RPGs"-efan

 

[DEFCON 1]

However, this is really first I've heard PAX mentioned as a strong tabletop venue -- I've always associated it only tangentially with tabletop games ever since the Penny Arcade podcasts six years ago, and hadn't realized they were making this huge of an impact there. I can only hope it keeps growing!

Can't speak on PAX Prime, but I can say that the tabletop area of PAX East has actually been getting slightly smaller each year, both in size and in scope. Last year especially... they took a huge swathe of the main con floor that would have ordinarily been for the PC gaming area and devoted it to the PAX arena for video game championships and such. Which meant the PC gaming area got pushed into the tabletop wing of the con floor, taking up about a quarter of it. Which ordinarily would have sucked... but then again WotC (through Dragon Rampart Games) stopped running D&D two years ago and thus the huge section of the con floor they would have used could get absorbed by the PC gaming.

If you wanted to play D&D at PAX East these past two years... it was run by volunteers from Twenty Sided Store in Brooklyn, and was held on six small tables in a 15' x 15' booth space. We did run mostly continuously all weekend, but even still-- that's like 42 total players per slot over about 8 or 9 slots. So you're only talking at most about 350 players total for D&D all weekend. Any other tabletop gaming was in Games On Demand and the demo tables of the various design companies (not counting your own personal gaming you could do from the lending library.)

 

[TDarien]

But they've announced what they're working on for the year. Out of the Abyss and Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide.

After Out of the Abyss is out everywhere, they'll announce the spring 2016 adventure path (they'll probably give it a couple of weeks to not cut into the current release's spotlight time). So there's really not much for them to talk about at Gen Con or PAX. I'm sure there'll be goodies and surprises for booth visitors or event attendees, but they're not really going to dedicate a panel to Q&A over what's in the SCAG, you know?

Well, Jeremy Crawford, in an interview at GenCon, hinted at the project after Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide. He's really excited about it. I have a hunch that this mystery product is NOT next storyline adventure.

 

[Nutation]

I think the order for my bucket list of Cons would be:
Is the San Diego Comic con or whatever it's called now, have much RPG or comics?

Comic-con still has comics; the movies and TV haven't completely taken over.
D&D Adventurers League and Pathfinder PFS had 8 tables this year. That's fewer than in the past because of a late administrative change. Comic-con gets mostly walk-ins looking for something different to do, so it's primarily introductory adventures.

 

[Trickster Spirit]

Well, Jeremy Crawford, in an interview at GenCon, hinted at the project after Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide. He's really excited about it. I have a hunch that this mystery product is NOT next storyline adventure.

Absolutely, I'm looking forward to the same product - however, if they announce it at PAX, it'll be a surprise announcement made during the actual convention, not something they announce ahead of time!

If they don't announce it, it just means it's likely not coming out before the spring 2016 adventure path. I'm not expecting them to announce details about that before Out of the Abyss is officially out, so if this mystery project will be released with spring 2016's storyline the same way the SCAG is being released with Rage of Demons, they might not be ready to talk about it until they announce details about the whole spring lineup.

That, or it won't be out until summer or fall 2016 and it's just too early to announce it.

 

[Tyranthraxus]

Never having been to a PAx, our Pax PAX AUS is coming up in late Oct/November. Im one of 9 dm's who will be running ALeague there. Am Looking forward, to it, I run it locally here in Perth but Melbourne is a different kettle of fish. No idea what sort space we will get .

 

[Alphastream]

I think this article is the best so far at capturing the new approach and why they believe they can pull back from directly financing and supporting organized play at the major conventions (Winter Fantasy for D&D, Origins, Gen Con, PAX).