Starting Wednesday March 17 and every Wednesday after that, a new in-store weekly play program begins with D&D Encounters. This is the first D&D program that Wizards has designed specifically for weekly play. And since it's on Wednesday nights, it stays away from busy weekends and coincides nicely with comic book day.
An ongoing mini-campaign.D&D Encounters is set up with an ongoing narrative element, played as a mini-campaign lasting a few months. Each mini-campaign is also known as a season of play; after one season finishes, the next one begins the very next week, without interruption. The season is divided up into 3 chapters; each chapter is composed of a few sessions of play.
One encounter per week.Fitting D&D Encounters into a busy schedule is made much easier with its one encounter per week sessions. You can get the encounter done within 1-2 hours, making it easy to finish at a reasonable hour and keeping the DM's prep time minimal each week.
Earn Renown Points for accomplishments.At the conclusion of each session, you earn Renown Points for different types of accomplishments made in game - defeating encounters, hitting milestones, doing something spectacular during a game session, etc. As you accumulate those points, you'll earn rewards cards that can be used in-game for your current and future D&D Encounters characters. Some rewards are easy to get, and can be obtained after only a few sessions of play; others might take a while to qualify for. The first reward is the Delver reward, and it's given to you on the session you've earned it. The other two rewards (Explorer and Adventurer) are awarded at the end of the season based on those that qualify for them by earning a certain higher total of points.
DMs get rewards too!In addition to the player rewards in the D&D Encounters kit, there are also special rewards for the DMs, consisting of valuable game aides and other cool specially-made, not-available-for-sale items. Each new season will bring a different DM reward in the kit.
Each season takes you to new D&D worlds.Every D&D Encounters season is a self-contained mini-campaign, giving you an ongoing story in a different D&D setting each time. Short enough to keep you from making a long-term campaign commitment but long enough to give you a sense of growth and accomplishment, the length of each season will last approximately 3-4 months. The seasonal nature of D&D Encounters also means you'll be able to sample new game content and different worlds a few times every year. The first season of D&D Encounters is set in the Forgotten Realms, where you'll be uncovering the secrets of Halaster's Lost Apprentice in one of the most infamous dungeons of all, Undermountain! And in season two, journey to the blasted lands of Athas as you play in a mini-campaign preview of the Dark Sun campaign setting!
D&D Encounters: UndermountainHalaster's Lost Apprentice: A lost passageway on the upper level of the most infamous dungeon in Faerun has recently been uncovered. When a patron hires a band of adventurers to brave the dangers of Undermountain, a search is on to uncover secrets of an apprentice of the dungeon's lost creator - Halaster. Bring a 1st-level character or use a pre-generated character. Characters this season can be exported to the Living Forgotten Realms campaign at the conclusion of the mini-campaign!
Season Length: 12 sessions (3 chapters of 4 sessions each)
Season Dates: March 17 - June 2 (Wednesdays)
