Get Paid To Play D&D, Dimension 20 In NYC, Hasbro On Social Media Outrage - TTRPG News 4/10/2024

We’re closing in on the end of another week, so that means it’s time for StartPlaying’s tabletop RPG news! In addition to bringing you new TTRPGs to try (like with our special Fallout event) we at StartPlaying round up the biggest news stories of the hobby and industry. This week is a testament to the absolute growth of TTRPGs on the industry side. A well-known YouTuber made a website for paid playtesting of TTRPG content, Dimension 20 beat Taylor Swift ticket prices for a live show, and Hasbro worked to downplay past mistakes in favor of future potential. Let’s get into it. 

Get Paid To Play Dungeons & Dragons And Other Games

Youtuber Trekiros put out a major confession this week: he didn’t playtest anything from his award-winning, best-selling book Home Field Advantage. In fact, many TTRPG designers he spoke to don’t playtest their monsters, crafting rules, or even full-on campaigns. The industry just doesn’t have the money for it, unlike video games that pour millions into a single product. To fix this problem, Trekiros started Questcheck, a website where designers can post their games for playtesting and anyone can sign up to give their feedback. Payment for playtesting can come in the form of discount codes, free PDFs of the game, or even money. 

Dimension 20 Announces Live Show At Madison Square Garden, Tickets Go Past $2k

Dimension 20 announced Gauntlet at the Garden, a live actual play event taking place in Madison Square Garden. Yes, the 20,000 seat NYC stadium where the Knicks play and musicians dream of performing. On January 25, 2025, Brennan Lee Mulligan will GM a return to the Unsleeping City. Joining him will be Emily Axford, Ally Beardsley, Brian Murphy, Zac Oyama, Siobhan Thompson, and Lou Wilson.

General tickets go on sale this Friday, but special platinum tickets went up on Wednesday under Ticketmaster’s dynamic pricing algorithm. While customers who logged in during the first hour of sales found expected prices like $79-$200, that number jumped wildly later in the day. Pop culture analyst Liz Duff shared a video on Twitter with prices ranging from $715 to over $2,300 for normal seats. The video reignited discussions about Ticketmaster’s practices and how they differ from Dimension 20’s often anti-capitalist sentiments. 

Hasbro CEO Wants Multimedia Future, Chalks OGL Fiasco To Social Media Outrage

CEO of Hasbro Chris Cocks is doing the interview rounds as part of D&D’s 50th anniversary. In one such chat with WBUR, he revealed a new tactic when speaking about the OGL mess of early 2023. 

“I think social media is wonderful,” he says. “It's a very powerful marketing vehicle for us. It's a great way for us to connect with our fans and connect with influencers. But you also have to take a really broad sampling of players’ opinions. If you look at the net satisfaction or any kind of loyalty or satisfaction ratings, they generally are up.” 

While he does admit the company makes mistakes and references decisions that were “quickly walked back”, his language is very focused on current community satisfaction. He mentions deals with creators and small publishers. And when it comes to dissatisfaction, “At the end of the day, we try to think about things not just around who's posting online or who's posting videos associated with the brands, but also who's just playing them around kitchen tables or in game stores around the world.”

Moving on, he emphasizes the importance of both Hollywood and video games. As we saw last week with the $1 billion investment in video games. 

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That brings this week’s stories to a close. Come join us for Fallout! And if you play this week, may your dice be kind.