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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mistwell" data-source="post: 6650005" data-attributes="member: 2525">I raised this in another thread but it's really a tangent.I noticed when playing the Adventurer's League at a local game store that it gets some random drop-in players who happen to be in the store playing other games like Magic the Gathering and board games.  People see us and say "Hey, how can I try that?" and they can just pick up a pregen character and start playing for two hours. If they like it they might come back next week, maybe get interested in making their own character and buying the PHB from the store...or not. But, it's the same sort of dynamic as a board game for that player.And Mearls has said he likes the board game model, and the expansion model for those board games that succeed.So what if WOTC came out with a series relatively inexpensive boxed RPG games, with rules based on the Basic D&D rules and then a small sheet of variations from those rules for the particular genre of that game.  It would also include a stack of pre-gens (no character creation rules needed), a set of 5 or so 2-hour adventures, a map (or several), and some cardboard chits.So for example:Star Frontiers - space-themed tweaks to the Basic D&D rules, along with 5 space adventures which each take 2 hours to play, and a stack of space-themed pre-gen characters.Boot Hill - Western tweaks for the Basic D&D rules, along with 5 western adventures which each take 2 hours to play, and a stack of western-themed pre-gen characters.Gamma World - post acoplyticTop Secret - modern (or cold war era) spy gameRavenloft - Horror (perhaps 1920s era)Modern Fantasy - similar to d20 ModernEtc.The goal here is not for it to be a campaign-based game.  In fact it would say that on the cover.  The goal is for it to be a single 2-hour game, intended for you to pick up a pre-gen and start playing right away.  You don't need the character for another game.  It's the convention game model, or the party game model.  You walk into a game store, sit down and start playing, like a board game.  The rules are familiar because they are based on D&D, and the genre tweaks will be short and easily understood.  So for example you might use a wounds system (from the DMG) for a western game, and less armor is available, and some weapons/equipment might replicate some spells, but that's about the only major changes.  The sort of changes you could have on a single sheet or a couple of sheets, like some board game rules.I know I'd be up for a two hour game of any of those.And if any of those took off and were really successful, WOTC could publish an expansion game for it.  Maybe more pre-gens that have different classes, and more adventures.  Or an inexpensive pack of 5 more 2-hour adventures. Perhaps even campaign rules and additional levels, if it really seemed to take off.  But they don't have to - the game will be self-contained.I know WOTC experimented a bit with this sort of idea during 4e with Gamma World.  I heard it was a great game, but I never got a chance to play, and I don't know if it sold well or not.Could this work? Would people buy it? Would they play it?</blockquote>

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