No WotC At Gen Con This Year?

It looks like Wizards of the Coast will not be attending Gen Con this year. They've just posted a list of the conventions they'll be attending in 2016, and noted their intention to support conventions that they don't normally get to attend. "Gen Con is not on this list because we are changing things up to support more conventions and locations. Even though the Dungeons & Dragons team won’t be there we know our friends at Baldman Games will be hosting plenty of D&D adventures. It’s safe to say there will be ample opportunity to play Dungeons & Dragons during Gen Con. We’re excited to head to some new conventions this year and meet folks who don’t have the opportunity to travel to Indianapolis."

​

The list of conventions WotC will be attending is Winter Fantasy (February, Fort Wayne, IN), Gary Con (March, Lake Geneva, WI), PAX East (April, Boston MA), Origins (June, Columbus OH), and PAX Prime (August, Seattle WA).

Chris Perkins will be hosting another Acquisitions Inc event at PAX East, and Origins will be the "D&D tabletop gaming event of the year" with sneak peeks and a return of the D&D Open. PAX Prime will have the highest concentration of D&D staff present.

Read more about their convention plans here.

 

[skerritthegreen]

Do you know where? And do you think it will be less noisy??

I'll let BMG make their announcements since I don't want to speak for them. I think it will be less noisy, but like pretty much every space at Gen Con, I don't think it will be perfect.

 

[spongebob1138]

I'll let BMG make their announcements since I don't want to speak for them. I think it will be less noisy, but like pretty much every space at Gen Con, I don't think it will be perfect.

Thanks. I don't expect it to be perfectly quiet, but some reduction in noise would be welcome. It didn't help last year that my DM was soft-spoken, and was eating a giant sandwich during the game . Plus, I have ADHD...

 

[DM Howard]

You know BMG also runs all of the games for WOTC at Origins as well, right?

Then shut my mouth!

I had heard that WotC was running it themselves. But I can be wrong! Thanks for the clarification.

 

[skerritthegreen]

BMG runs the games for Winter Fantasy, Origins, and Gen Con. WOTC has decided this year to only send staff in an official capacity to WF and Origins. That won't change a lot for the average player as far as their games, but it likely means more seminars, guest DMs and the like for WF and Origins.

 

[Mistwell]

I didn't expect WOTC to be at Gen Con, as they had said last year it wasn't their focus anymore. Truth be told, it doesn't bother me. I had a terrible time trying to play D&D at Gen Con last year: it was noisy as hell, and I could hardly make out what my DM and other players were trying to say. I'm not even going to try and play any D&D at Gen Con this year, not unless the situation with the room/crowd was going to be different (which I'm sure it won't be).

The best d&d at Gencon is homebrew games in hotel lobbies with fellow ENworlders who schedule games here in the Gencon threads.

If you really want an amazing game, message Piratecat about a month before the con and politely ask if he has any seats left in any games he's running.

 

[jayoungr]

In 2014, WOTC had they had their own play area and small display of books with the debut of 5.0. I have to say I was underwhelmed. I saw some drow actors, a few cool statues, and access to some of the authors. For the unveiling of their new product I thought it would be much bigger.

Did you miss the big "party tent" in the area outside the convention center, where the food trucks line up? They were giving out cardboard Tiamat masks, etc. I didn't spend a lot of time there, but I got the feeling that was where a lot of the action was in 2014.

 

[Umbran]

If you really want an amazing game, message Piratecat about a month before the con and politely ask if he has any seats left in any games he's running.

Though, he might be more focused on Timewatch than D&D. Not that anyone lucky enough to play with him will mind

 

[The_Baldman]

Thanks. I don't expect it to be perfectly quiet, but some reduction in noise would be welcome. It didn't help last year that my DM was soft-spoken, and was eating a giant sandwich during the game . Plus, I have ADHD...

I (BMG) have requested a move from last year as noise was a reoccurring complaint (and problem) last year. I had no idea the moving of our space, plus the air-walls coming down, was going to increase the noise to the level it was this past year. The space caused a lot of issues this year and it is the first thing on my list I've been addressing this year.

Odds are we will end up in one of the large ballrooms in an attached hotel. Our own space with our own noise.

Also yes we also own Winter Fantasy (one awesome show where you can play as much, if not more, D&D then at Gen Con or Origins for a fraction of the cost and way cheaper beer) and run Origins (which is going to be huge this year - so much cool stuff going down there).

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Still haven't made it to the North Market yet...

With our plans to go to Origins this year and not Gen Con, I’m pretty excited about this news. Origins is closer for me and cheaper. As much as Gen Con is an amazing experience, logistically Origins makes more sense.

and Origins as a medium-sized party with amazing food (NORTH. MARKET!!!) and a just enough of everything I love, with space and time to enjoy it.

 

[thzero]

Haha. Limit budget, whatever. It says a lot that they won't be there.