Gnomes and half-orcs are back, baby.
So are bards, barbarians, druids and sorcerers.
This week sees the release of Player’s Handbook 2 for the Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition game, so it’s fitting that the semiannual Worldwide D&D Game Day event planned for March 21 is designed to show off the new product — which reintroduces some of D&D’s classic races and classes, revised and updated for the game’s newest incarnation.
Other new classes include the avenger, invoker, shaman and warden; additional races include the deva, goliath and shifter. Some of these options appeared in 3rd Edition rules supplements.
East Valley stores participating include: Gamer’s Inn, 1232 E. Southern Ave., Mesa; Game Daze, 6555 E. Southern Ave., Mesa; Pop Culture Paradise, 707 S. Forest Ave., Suite A, Tempe; and The Game Depot, 3136 S. McClintock Dr., No. 11, Tempe. You can find more hosting sites at the official event page.
From Wizards of the Coast: Prepare yourself (and your friends) to join D&D fans all around the world on March 21st for Worldwide D&D Game Day: Player’s Handbook 2. Everything you need to play will be on-hand, so it’s a great chance for new players, as well as veterans, to band together and find some adventure.
Come try out the new races (such as the gnome) and the new classes (like the invoker and barbarian) while you battle wicked fiends and thwart dark plots. No matter if you’re new to the game or a 4th Edition veteran; we’ll have everything you need to embark on an all-new adventure.
The adventure, entitled One Dark Night in Weeping Briar, runs in 2-3 hours and includes five pregenerated 11th-level characters. The characters are:
* Ilvarra, drow avenger
* Markaria, tiefling invoker
* Roswyn, gnome bard
* Squeaks, warforged barbarian
* Balasar, dragonborn paladin (uses material from the upcoming Divine Power product)
In addition to the adventure, there’s a trivia activity sheet. Test your knowledge of our 4th Edition releases since the game’s launch.
Here is some more info from the official Web site about this event and upcoming game days:
Celebrating the “Twos”
On D&D’s 30th anniversary year in 2004, we began Worldwide D&D Game Day as a celebration of the Dungeons & Dragons game, designed to get folks out into the community and meet up with other D&D players to celebrate the game we all know and love. It was a great success, and we kept it going annually thereafter. At Game Day, players show up and participate in a ready-to-run adventure that comes with pre-generated characters — the players need only bring a desire to slay monsters and accomplish heroic deeds (and a set of dice, if they don’t want to share). Last year, we decided to add a “launch party” element to Worldwide D&D Game Day, holding it on the weekend of the release of the 4th Edition core rulebooks. We had record numbers of people come out to give the new game a try (a first for many of them). A Game Day on a major rulebook’s release weekend was a natural fit for the event, and organizers asked us to hold these events more often. This year, we deliver on that request, as we’ll have Worldwide D&D Game Days for each of the “Twos”: Player’s Handbook 2, Monster Manual 2, and Dungeon Master’s Guide 2. As this article is released, the first of the three Game Days — for Player’s Handbook 2 — is in a matter of days.
Player’s Handbook 2 Game Day: March 21
The first of the three Game Days arrives on release weekend for Player’s Handbook 2. For this event, we’re focusing specifically on the characters. We have four characters that use options from the new book (a gnome bard, a warforged warden, a tiefling invoker, and a drow avenger), and one character (a dragonborn paladin) that gives you an exclusive sneak peek at some new options from Divine Power (due out this July). The characters also scrape the edges of paragon tier, embarking on an 11th-level, 3-hour adventure called One Dark Night in Weeping Briar. Not only is it a chance to try out a new character option, but if you haven’t tried paragon-tier play, this is a great way to jump in with the short adventure! Also included as a bonus activity for this Game Day: A trivia sheet designed to test your knowledge of the 4th Edition products that have been released since the launch of the new game last summer.
Monster Manual 2 Game Day: May 23
Take a month to catch your breath, and then come on back to join us for the release of Monster Manual 2 in May! While the format remains the same as the previous Game Day, this time the monsters are the stars, showing off some of the bad guys your D&D party can expect to face from Monster Manual 2. One iconic D&D monster makes his return to the game through the 5th-level adventure Journey through the Silver Caves. Be one of the first to beat down some new baddies when you come to play in this event!
Dungeon Master’s Guide 2 Game Day: September 19
Spend your summer trying out the 4th Edition Eberron campaign setting or hit up one of the big conventions (like Origins, Gen Con Indy, or PAX), and then get ready for the final Game Day in the trilogy. This time, we’re trying something really different to celebrate Dungeon Master’s Guide 2. We’re going to let you contribute to the adventure! The Game Day kit for the DMG 2 event contains material to let groups design their own encounters and swap DMs to play each other’s adventures. This is the perfect opportunity to take a stab at designing your first encounter, as we provide a step-by-step guide for your group to use the resources provided to challenge other players at the event. We’re really excited about this new format, and this summer, we’ll have more details on how this event will be a Game Day to remember.
See also:
Former D&D designer launches Dungeonaday.com
A first look at Level Up, the new D&D RPG magazine
Putting the Advanced back in Dungeons & Dragons
D&D Game Day 2008: Try out the new D&D game, get free stuff
D&D Game Day 2007: Real men hunt orcs with dice, not mice
