Dungeons & Dragons announces Gen Con plans, including a takeover of 6-story building

Dungeons & Dragons has announced some preliminary plans for Gen Con, the largest board game convention in North America. Wizards of the Coast has announced some of its Gen Con plans, which includes a live performance of their Dungeon Masters show, a live concert, and a "short-play" experience. The events will take place at the Indiana Repertory Theater, a six-story building in the heart of downtown Indianapolis that's being taken over by D&D and turned into a "D&D Tower," which Wizards describes as "six D&D-ified floors and adventures galore."

Wizards has made a conscious effort to increase their presence at Gen Con in recent years, including several panel announcements. Earlier this year, D&D head Dan Ayoub confirmed that they'd use Gen Con as the future home for annual announcements related to the Dungeons & Dragons game, with a timeline for future releases given each summer. It's expected that a fall 2026 book will be announced at Gen Con.

The schedule, as announced includes the following:

Dungeon Masters Live Play​

Saturday, August 1st

7:00 pm – 10:30 pm

Come roll with us—live! See Dungeon Masters live as official D&D storytelling takes the stage for an unforgettable night.

Watch Jasmine Bhullar guide the Dungeon Masters party through an epic journey packed with thrills, chills, chaos, and surprises. All proceeds from this event will go towards the Extra Life Children’s Miracle Network. Enjoy the adventure while supporting a great cause.

Dungeon Dare: Web of the Red Wizards​

Thursday, July 30th
10:00 am – 11:00 am
Descend into the Underdark and get caught in the twisted machinations of the Red Wizards! A deadly short-play experience drops your party into a fight for survival, where danger is guaranteed, but so are the rewards.

The upcoming Deadfall adventure and new season of Dungeon Masters inspire this short-play experience. Dungeon Dare gives you everything you need to jump right into playing, including pre-built level 3 characters.

The Puppy Roll III: LIVE​

Saturday, August 1st

10:30 am – 2:30 pm

Paws will roll! The Puppy Roll returns to Gen Con with an all-star cast to take the stage. Led by Puppy Roll creator and Doggie Master Anjali Bhimani.

These all-stars will be playing as their pets to raise funds and awareness for animal welfare and rescue efforts through Petco Love. This adventure through the magical land of Doggo promises chaos, comedy, and plenty of heart. Attendees will also have the chance to donate for exclusive prizes and experiences on Tiltify.

Dungeon Masters: The Music of David Arkenstone​

Saturday, August 1st

5:00 pm – 6:00 pm

David Arkenstone joins us to show the power of immersive D&D storytelling through music in this special live concert event. Join the 5X Grammy-nominated composer as he and a live orchestra perform the Dungeon Masters soundtrack.

Created to bring Dungeons & Dragons adventures to life at the table, this music captures the scale, wonder, and drama of the game in a whole new way. All proceeds from the concert will be donated to the Extra Life Children’s Miracle Network.

 

[SothFan]

No guts if they don't turn the whole thing into a LARP.

Why else would you need an entire building, off-site?

How is it even part of the concention if it is somewhere not connected to the venue. Are they trying to steal attendees this late? Competition would have worked better announcing it before people bought tickets to the main event and scheduled around it.

 

[bedir than]

Why else would you need an entire building, off-site?

How is it even part of the concention if it is somewhere not connected to the venue. Are they trying to steal attendees this late? Competition would have worked better announcing it before people bought tickets to the main event and scheduled around it.

It is not unusual at conventions of this size for participating companies to have large displays and events outside of the official con grounds.
You see it at Pax and the largest ComiCons too.
Heck at South by Southwest the official sites and periphery grew so much it's basically an entire neighborhood for a month.

 

[Audiomancer]

Why else would you need an entire building, off-site?

How is it even part of the concention if it is somewhere not connected to the venue. Are they trying to steal attendees this late? Competition would have worked better announcing it before people bought tickets to the main event and scheduled around it.

The building in question looks to be about a block and a half away from the convention center, so it’s reasonably close by. I’m pretty sure there have been GenCon-related events at Lucas Oil Stadium, which is the same distance away.

(Disclaimer For Context: I used to attend comic-cons at the Indiana Convention Center, so I have a general knowledge of the neighborhood. But I was never there during GenCon.)

 

[LordBP]

The building in question looks to be about a block and a half away from the convention center, so it’s reasonably close by. I’m pretty sure there have been GenCon-related events at Lucas Oil Stadium, which is the same distance away.

(Disclaimer For Context: I used to attend comic-cons at the Indiana Convention Center, so I have a general knowledge of the neighborhood. But I was never there during GenCon.)

Last year, the Lucas Oil Stadium had the entire floor covered with game tables and the game library (games to check out and play). The area between the Convention Center and the Stadium were covered with food trucks and areas to eat.

There were also a lot of other things in the basement (believe the dungeon was there) and in various rooms (appeared to be card games to me, but I may have been wrong).

Also, nearly every hotel around the Convention Center had events/games/talks in them.

It's worth going to if you haven't been to one, but I would suggest to show up at opening on Thursday and have a detailed plan of what you want to see/play/buy as the crowd on Friday/Saturday was pretty crazy (several old timers were complaining that Friday was the new Saturday and they were going to start coming on Thursday).

 

[Selas]

Last year, the Lucas Oil Stadium had the entire floor covered with game tables and the game library (games to check out and play).

Same thing this year; Baldman Games will be again at Lucas Oil Stadium from what my schedule says.

 

[LordBP]

One more thing that I just thought of while looking at the GenCon site.

The maps that they have online and printed (last year sample) are all upside down. North is towards the bottom, so make sure you realize that and don't end up wasting time walking in the wrong direction to find something.