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Rocket your D&D 5E and Level Up: Advanced 5E games into space! Alpha Star Magazine Is Launching... Right Now!

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Remathilis" data-source="post: 2140933" data-attributes="member: 7635">I actually think D&D is moving on the right track, all things said. Few if any of the students I work with don't know what the D&D brand is, even if all they know of it is "its some nerd game." So brand recognition is actually doing well. <Aside: I bought a pack of the Revenge of the Sith Minis, and inside was an ad for the D&D minis game. That might attract some fresh players>What needs to be done?1.) Aim for an older base. The D&D brand is OLDER. Most common perception places it as a "niche of teenagers and college students" Thats fine. But market it to 20 somethings also. Show that the base is not white, male star-trek geeks but also professionals, women, diverse ethnic groups, and something that doesn't require you to be a nerd to do. 2.) Use the current pop culture: D&D lost two golden oppertunities to cash in: the LotR craze and the Harry Potter craze. This put fantasy in the limelight and D&D wasn't there to cash in by screaming "LIVE the LEGEND!" Loosing the LotR liscence to Decipher was a brutal blow for that. 3.) Use the Minis game as your gateway drug. Kids buy the minis. The rules are simple and fast paced. Then, move toward the middle ground: a single hard-bound tome that tells you how to role-play with your minis. Stats? They are on the cards. The tome teaches basics (groupwork, advancement, treasure, GM skills.) The big boys can then buy the core books which allow for great customization of character, monster, and world.) The tier looks like this....1.) BASIC: Minis game. (Gotta catch em all)2.) ADVANCED: Gaming Guide3.) EXPERT: Core Books.4.) Eberron. The core books are bland by design. Good for expert GMs who want to cherry-pick and add their own flavor, bad for newer DMs who want to get a feel for the game. I suggest a "real" setting to take the role of Greyhawks semi-retirement. While Realms has a fan-base and some definite product exposure (BG, IWD, NWN), Eberron is the new poster child and ties into...5.) BLITZ them at the opening of D&D ONLINE: Mass media the D&D:O to hell. Free demos, ads in EGM, CGW, and Maxim. Then, have lots of minis and core stuff ready with the tag: "Want to play offline?" or such, and boom! we've got lots of fans online willing to move to the books to continue their adventures off-line with their friends.6.) Make a functional E-Tools: A cheap, easy to use, and fully customizable DM tool (3.5 compatable) would appeal as a go between for the Book and D&D:O game. Just make it useable and easy, don't go for fancy. 7.) Release D&D the movie 2 ONLY IF its good enough to make people WANT to see it. The first was bad PR. If you need to, make an animated one like Scourge of Worlds or something. 8.) WAL-MART. Sell the minis and the Advanced book at Walmart, TRU, Target, and whereever toys are sold. This should get some more involved and increase exposure.9.) USE HASBRO: No D&D Monopoly? Or D&D RISK? No D&D action figures for the first movie? What about hand-held games? Expand into Hasbro's turf. Make the relationship two-way.10.) DON'T alienate you fanbase: THe hardest is making sure you don't piss off the people who have been your bread and butter for decades. Don't dumb it down, don't sell it to "extreme" hype. Make the game sophisticated yet excessible and you will get kids who WANT to try it.</blockquote>

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