Friday, August 16, 2013

D&D at gen Con 2013 (news, events, and panels)

D&D AT GEN CON INDY 2013
 
A Night with D&D
Kicking off the show with a bang, the official Sundering launch party took place last night, filled with plenty of announcements and product reveals. Travelers from across Faerûn were invited to spend the evening in Baldur’s Gate at this one-of-a-kind event where guests mingled with D&D designers, authors, and other industry luminaries while enjoying food, drinks, music, adventure and more. New reveals at an invite-only press reception beforehand included:
 
Lords of Waterdeep Announced for iPad
Highlighting digital offerings recently released as well as upcoming partnerships, Laura Tommervik, Brand Manager, Dungeons & Dragons, also revealed the franchises’ first iPad game - Lords of Waterdeep!  The award-winning and critically acclaimed board game from Wizards of the Coast will make its digital debut in a high-quality, faithful adaptation from Playdek Games. Designed for 2-5 players, the game will offer offline play against others or computer opponents or online asynchronously or in real time.
 
D&D KRE-O Figures Unveiled
The first KRE-O Dungeons & Dragons figures were unveiled! Recently announced at Comic-Con International last month, the new line of D&D themed building sets from Hasbro will launch in January 2014.
 
D&D Next Playtest Dated
Mike Mearls, Senior Manager, Dungeons & Dragons R&D, provided a hotly-anticipated update of the status of D&D Next, the latest installment of game play rules for D&D. Fans worldwide have been helping to create this new set of rules by participating in playtests and sharing results with the D&D developers. Mearls today announced the final packet distribution, thus concluding the D&D Next Playtest. Mearls also announced, to resounding applause and loud cheers, the highly-awaited launch timeframe for D&D Next.
 
The Sundering
Acclaimed New York Times best-selling author R.A. Salvatore took the stage for an in-depth discussion on the Sundering, an event that will reshape the face of the popular Forgotten Realms setting in the Dungeons & Dragons universe.        
 
In addition, an overview of activities taking place this weekend includes:
 
D&D Gaming Hall Activities (All Weekend)
 
Encounters Launch Event Weekend – Murder in Baldur’s Gate
A brand new season of Encounters launches at Gen Con with Murder in Baldur’s Gate, which sends heroes catapulting into the events of the upcoming D&D Encounters 
season.
 
D&D Next All-Access Adventure Pass
Players can reserve a private table and enjoy D&D Next all weekend long as they play through up to four adventures debuting at the show.  Each table will have an assigned Dungeon Master, and participants will receive limited edition Gen Con exclusives.
 
Lords of Waterdeep: Scoundrels of Skullport
Explore the seedy underbelly of Waterdeep in Skullport or explore the twisted dungeon corridors of Undermountain in Scoundrels of Skullport, an expansion to the Lords of Waterdeep board game launching on August 20.
 
Show Activities
 
Panels
 
D&D Digital: Past, Present, and Future (Friday; 2–4 PM)
D&D’s future is brighter than ever and jam-packed with awesome new digital offerings across multiple platforms. Find out what’s in store for D&D in the present and future.
A Chat with R.A. Salvatore (Friday 4–6 PM)
Sit down and chat with New York Times bestselling author R.A. Salvatore to discuss Drizzt, the Forgotten Realms, past work, and The Sundering.
 
Q&A with R&D (Saturday 2–4 PM; Sunday 10 AM–12 PM)
Do you have questions about D&D Next, DMing, and all things D&D? Well, we have answers. Join Mike Mearls and members of the Dungeons & Dragons team to ask questions about the current state of the game, and where it’s going.
 
The Fate of the Forgotten Realms (Saturday 4 – 6 PM)
Join novelists R.A. Salvatore, Ed Greenwood, Troy Denning, Erin Evans, and Richard Lee Byers to discuss the Sundering, and the great stories still to be told.