What's Happening In D&D At PAX Prime?

PAX Prime is coming. It's a gaming convention in Seattle, and the one that WotC currently uses for panels or announcements rather than Gen Con (which is used for gaming). The convention takes place August 28-31. Here's what you can expect to see from Wizards of the Coast (who will also have a booth in the Exhibitors Hall from Friday through Monday).

• Acquisitions, Inc (Fri 8.30pm; Benaroya Hall) -- Armed with the latest monster-slaying technology, the heroes of Acquisitions Incorporated undertake a perilous journey into a demon-infested Underdark. Dare to descend with Jim Darkmagic, Omin Dran, Binwin Bronzebottom, and Viari as they search for a legendary dark elf swordsman who, in his quest to put an end to the machinations of the demon lords, has lost his mind. Can the dual wands of Jim Darkmagic overcome the twin scimitars of Drizzt Do’Urden and rescue him from the brink of madness?
• Sword Coast Legends (Sat 1pm, Wyvern Theater) -- You’ve played the Sword Coast Legends demo but there’s still more to see! The SCL team will show off the campaign building tools and share what they’ve got coming in the Rage of Demons DLC later this year.
• Building the Best Worlds in Game (Sunday 11.30am, Seagate Theater) -- Between Magic: the Gathering and Dungeons and Dragons, Wizards of the Coast has built world after world, year after year. What are the secrets to the process? How can you build your own worlds? Our panel of experts bridging the two games offer advice, and then answer your questions.
• Ask a Dungeon Master (Monday 10.30am; Sasquatch Theatre) -- Dungeon Mastering is an art and the skills and perspective are as unique as the story being told. Join Dungeon Master extraordinaire, Chris Perkins, to discuss tips, tricks, rules and whether it's kosher to kill a halfling in the first session. All levels of Dungeon Masters welcome from seasoned grognards to those interested in taking up the mantle.
• Design-a-Dungeon (Monday, 3pm; Wyvern Theatre) -- There are a lot of elements that go into making a satisfying dungeon adventure. We're going to throw all that out the window and crowdsource the whole shebang. After an hour, we'll have created an outline for an awesome adventure - or a complete farce.
• There's also a bunch of gaming going on. Harried in Hillsfar runs every hour, and Shackles of Blood runs every 4 hours.

Harried in Hillsfar

In the village of Elventree, near the oppressive city of Hillsfar, a recent string of strange occurrences has the locals on edge. The factions have gathered here on the borders of the forest of Cormanthor to determine what’s happening. Is this the machinations of Hillsfar, or something more?

This is an introductory adventure given in 1 hour mini-missions. Perfect for playing your first game of D&D.

Shackles of Blood

The Red Plumes have increased patrols in the region surrounding Hillsfar, and a string of disappearances has followed in their wake. Naturally, this has roused the suspicion of the factions. Join your factions and find out the truth behind the missing farmers.

Be among the first to play this 4-hour adventure in its regional preview!

[video=youtube;KipPMgbpKzk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KipPMgbpKzk[/video]
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[Alphastream]

I think thats also true of Pax Aus too. If we hadnt investigated running some 5th ed and AL in particular, Im not sure there would be any D&D happening there either.

I really appreciate volunteers like you picking up the slack. It is very good for the attendees that they can see tabletop RPGs, especially the one with the most obvious brand - which is the one most likely to draw them into our hobby. But, it saddens me that in the '90s we had better support from the parent company than we do now. I get it that costs are higher, but there could still be support and guidance and advertising. At a minimum, space could be secured, an organizer can receive compensation, etc. The way it was, basically.

 

[Tyranthraxus]

I can safely say Ive come from a point of never expecting any Company support at Cons. Ive never been to a Con, or a Pax of any sort. I have attended some gaming conventions in Melbourne (East of Where I am) but they never had any publisher support either really. My Whole gaming life as circled around home games and shop games. So I feel by never attended one of the big cons Ive not really missed much.

The only compensation I believe im getting is getting my original 3 day pass I bought refunded so I get in for free.

 

[werecorpse]

So is Pax Prime over?
was there any news from WOTC about anything to do with 5e from Pax Prime?
if so what was it?

 

[Tyranthraxus]

Yeah we get a lot of excited to go posts on twitter and the facebooks and even in here, but then rarely any feedback/online reviews.

 

[Alphastream]

No big announcements were to be expected. Volunteers ran tabletop in a nearby hotel. Members of WotC's D&D team came by and signed books and hung out with fans. Acquisitions, Inc. ran and was inspirational to many, as always. D&D's Sword Coast game had a very cool booth and tons of people checked out the video game. It continues to get very good reviews and the set could possibly have done a lot of good, helping many video gamers think of D&D even if they didn't know about the tabletop game or play area. Several seminars on design and dungeon mastering and the like were given during the convention by D&D staff.

Magic had a huge showing. If you haven't seen the pictures, check out the enormous and super-cool statue they had outside of the convention Annex. All three floors of the building were devoted to Magic.

 

[qstor]

This link has a different top 10 convention centers in the US. DC is 3rd on another one. But I don't see DC getting a major game convention anything soon.

http://www.businessreviewusa.com/leadership/3679/Top-Ten-US-Convention-Centers

 

[Lanefan]

This link has a different top 10 convention centers in the US. DC is 3rd on another one. But I don't see DC getting a major game convention anything soon.

http://www.businessreviewusa.com/leadership/3679/Top-Ten-US-Convention-Centers

Interesting article as far as it goes...but it only deals with the actual convention facilities themselves, which for our purposes is just the tip of the iceberg.

A true ranking of convention centres would also take into account some more variables:

- how many hotel rooms are connected to or part of the facility
- how many hotel rooms are within a 1/2-mile walk of the facility
- what's around the facility - is it right downtown (e.g. Seattle, Indy) or somewhat removed from downtown (e.g. Vegas, Orlando)
- what's around the facility - are attendees stuck with convention-centre food and drink or is there a good selection of restaurants and pubs within walking distance
- does the city have reliable frequent 24/7 public transit/subway/light rail and if so how many outlying hotel rooms does this bring into play
- costs and availability of parking near or at the facility for those in outliying hotels and-or who live close enough to commute
- how easy or hard (or costly) is it to get to the facility and-or the major hotels from the nearest big airport
- if the event is too big for, or outgrows, the actual facility what expansion options are there (e.g. space in nearby hotels etc.)
- what's the weather like at different times of year (e.g. Chicago in winter holds no appeal, nor does Vegas in summer)
- probably some other things I haven't thought of yet

Lan-"or they could just move GenCon around every year, like they do with the Super Bowl"-efan

 

[Tyranthraxus]

I was in Vegas in June ( thats summer for you guys right?) It didnt seem particuarly hot and I wasnt staying on the Strip. This was back in June 2014 was it a particuarly mild summer that year?

 

[Gansk]

June in Los Angeles (not far from Las Vegas) has been very mild the past few years - the real summer is July through September, with occasional heat waves in October.