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Enchanted Trinkets Complete--a hardcover book containing over 500 magic items for your D&D games!

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mobius" data-source="post: 394692" data-attributes="member: 6124">Changing perception about a fringe hobby to widen its popularity will never be cheap, and will never be quick.  An ad campaign is going to have to realize this up front.  It may be a money loser for a couple of years, only to bring in folks by the droves in the next decade after that.  Companies, however, don't think in decades, but in quarters - not enough time for any great idea to get in and germinate in the public consciousness.  This, to me, is the failure of smaller companies when they examine TV.  Big companies got that way  because they had the moxie to tie a good product to a good campaign and to ride it to fruition rather than kill it on the vine.Making a commercial for D&D could be absurdly cheap.  WotC, really, is selling the enjoyment of our own imaginations, so all the commercial would have to do is *suggest* things rather than show them so that the viewer uses his or her imagination to fill in the gaps.On the word of mouth and networking issue, my advice is this:Pretend that the stigma doesn't exist.  This means speaking in public about the game, speaking in mixed groups, speaking on the street, speaking at the dinner table and speaking at parties.  Do not pointedly offer, for example, that you are a role-player but when someone asks what you do for fun, list it along with all the other stuff you enjoy.  When a normal person starts rattling off gaming in their list of hobbies and is willing to talk about it eruditely and without prejudice, the attitude alone will attract people.My ex-wife, a distinct non-gamer, tried Harn with me one night precisely because I was open and unashamed when talking about it.  She felt badly stigmatizing me without having played and I made it seem so much more accessible than the stereotypes paint it to be - so she gave it a whirl.  She will never game on a regular basis, mind you, but my attitude won her over undoubtedly.</blockquote>

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