Dungeons & Dragons has been around since the 80s, but it’s arguably never been more wildly popular than it is today. The rise in popularity that the game has received is in no small part thanks to Stranger Things, Critical Role and the newly released Dungeon & Dragons film that have taken a game that was previously reserved for only the darkest and dankest of basements and brought it into the light.
But with the surge in popularity comes a rise in new players wanting to learn how to play the game, perhaps for the first time. If we’re being honest, it’s a daunting game to try and get into as an adult for the first time.
In the 80s, when the game was first finding its feet, the Basic Set came complete with a solo choose-your-own-adventure to help introduce new players to the basic rules. However, this system never really found its footing and was soon forgotten about as future generations of the game were released – until today.
Wizards of the Coast has created a new version of this fabled learn-to-play adventure titled Before the Storm, which eager players can play straight from their browser. Players can choose from five character options: human, paladin, hill dwarf cleric, lightfoot halfling rogue, high elf wizard, or wood elf fighter and adventure through a short story that introduces many of the rules of 5th edition Dungeons & Dragons.
At the end of the campaign, players will find themselves at the start point of the latest Dungeons & Dragons Starter Set, Dragons of Stormwreck Isle, with each of the characters players played corresponding to one of the Starter Sets pre-generated characters.
This new addition to the world of Dungeons & Dragons is part of a significant push by Wizards of the Coast to make the game less intimidating for newcomers who haven’t grown up playing Dungeons & Dragons before they could even walk but would very much like to get into the game.
If you want to try out Before the Storm, you can follow the link here. Now if you’ll excuse us, we have Dragons to slay… Emails… I mean emails to respond to.
