Pokémon to WoW to D&D: Gabe's Journey

[Asmor]

Pokémon to WoW to D&D: Gabe's Journey

I think it was the new 4th edition rules combined with where I was in my tabletop journey that made D&D really appeal to me. The tabletop journey I mentioned is actually sort of interesting. I've been thinking about why I was sort of primed for D&D and if you trace it back through the news posts you can see that it starts with Pokemon of all things.

The artist of Penny Arcade, Gabe, gives his account of how he got into D&D. The short answer is:

Pokémon (video game) -> Pokémon (CCG) -> World of Warcraft (CCG) -> WoW Raid Decks (CCG/RPG hybrid) -> D&D.

An interesting vector, I think. At the very least, it's conclusive proof that there exists at least one person who got into D&D at least in part because of World of Warcraft, so there's some flame for that fire.

http://www.penny-arcade.com/2009/02/18/new-dd-podcast/

 

[czak]

The more fans of the hobby the better, no matter what edition they are playing or how they got there.


I find his comments here Penny Arcade! - The Susurrous Sandwich and http://penny-arcade.com/2009/1/23/
interesting. I like being able to go to the community to find 'extra' stuff like maps, character sheets and campaign stuff. There is a ton of really great community created stuff for the dungeon (and then pathfinder) adventure paths out there.

 

[Asmor]

Incidentally, if anyone wants to see Gabe's dice-chuckerification in comic form, read the storyline starting here:

Penny Arcade! - Cloaked In Twilight

It's quite good.

 

[darjr]

Very interesting path. It makes me wonder even more why there isn't a 'raid deck' or dungeon deck for magic.

I've run raid decks for my boys and have had a lot of fun.

 

[Asmor]

Very interesting path. It makes me wonder even more why there isn't a 'raid deck' or dungeon deck for magic.

I've run raid decks for my boys and have had a lot of fun.

That's actually a good question. Storywise, there would have been a couple good opportunities for it... Notably, Yawgmoth/Phyrexia would make a great "raid deck" since it took the orchestrated efforts of many planeswalkers to defeat the Phyrexian menace.

 

[Badwe]

For some reason, even with a story like Yawgmoth/Phyrexia, the concept of a "Raid Deck" for magic doesn't click with me. Which makes me quite sad because I'd really rather not invest in WoW TCG even though I enjoyed the raid decks thoroughly when playing with some of my actual computer WoW guildmates.

I think the only thing keeping wow from being responsible for more people getting into D&D is that they were already into it. An old coworker of mine once said "The only reason I played MMOs was to pass the time between D&D sessions". That being said, I'm sure a lot of people diving into 4th ed are noticing some general and vague similarities with wow. However, I'd say it has less to do with the flavoring of the setting, and more to do with Blizzard's 11 million player behemoth pushing their extremely effective design philosophy into the spotlight. That philosophy being: cut the crap, keep what's fun, and the best ideas should be the most shamelessly stolen. In fact, I'd say those are maxims DMs have been peddling for years.

The idea of a modular adventure style game is something many have tried to create. Boardgames like descent and tomb are evidence of this. It seems the WoW TCG just created the most successful version of it (next to D&D, of course).

 

[Asmor]

cut the crap, keep what's fun, and the best ideas should be the most shamelessly stolen.

Devoid of context, it's hard to tell that wasn't originally written as DMing advice. I've seen that exact set of advice countless times in the past with respect to DMing.

 

[Charwoman Gene]

Gabe is not the artist, Gabe is a character.

Mike is the artist, he broke his dice-hymen while being recorded as Jim darkmagic in the FIRST podcast.

Yes, Gabe and Tycho are not far removed from mike and jerry, but still.

 

[Asmor]

Gabe is not the artist, Gabe is a character.

Mike is the artist, he broke his dice-hymen while being recorded as Jim darkmagic in the FIRST podcast.

Yes, Gabe and Tycho are not far removed from mike and jerry, but still.

I always thought those were just their internet handles. They post on their blog by those names. Just like how I go by Asmor online.

 

[Badkarmaboy]

Dice-hymen? Sweet jeebus that was funny.

PA is awesome as are the guys who create it/run the site. Finer human beings I have not met.

Gabe is not the artist, Gabe is a character.

Mike is the artist, he broke his dice-hymen while being recorded as Jim darkmagic in the FIRST podcast.

Yes, Gabe and Tycho are not far removed from mike and jerry, but still.