Over the weekend, someone had contacted us regarding a group of students in need of supplies to kick off a Dungeons & Dragons club at their high school and the group had gotten harassed online when posting about it. I shared the word to all of you Game Knights, and like the valiant heroes you are, they received an astonishing amount of support from players near and far. The love, support, and willingness to contribute was awe-inspiring and truly incredible. The stories told about other’s experiences playing D&D when they were in school and how it helped them in their life brought a smile to my face and filled me with hope each time. I wanted to see that same spark of hope and compassion turn into a blazing fire. And now with help from you, we can.
Get out your d20, and get ready to Support the Squire!
Dungeons & Dragons has had a profound impact on the lives of its players over the years, regardless of whether they played it only in their youth, or still play it to this day. There are countless people out there that can say that D&D helped them socialize, learn new skills, improve their writing or gave them more confidence. To an outsider, this may seem ridiculous, but to those who have played it is a story often heard time and time again. To us, that is a beautiful thing. We all go through hard times, especially when growing up, and being able to have an outlet to not only tackle difficult emotions and discover yourself, but also be able to do so in a fun, social way is a wonderful thing that should be available to those who want to at least try it out.
That being said, the stereotyping and stigma surrounding Dungeons & Dragons as well as it’s players still lives on to this day, scaring away those who wish to learn more about it. Young novice players are especially vulnerable to being driven away by this, not wanting to be mocked by their peers. This coupled with the cost of buying official publications of the core books, getting dice, finding adventures to run, etc. makes getting into the game a rather daunting task for a young newcomer. Especially for those in areas where the notion of playing games like D&D is foolishly mocked by people or have no sort of local community of roleplayers.
This, however, has been changing, with veteran players setting up clubs and groups at schools for students to get together and play tabletop RPGs, and we want to support and encourage that effort.
From here forward, 5% of our profits will be set aside to be used to get materials for youth groups and clubs that play D&D (or any other tabletop games for that matter). Whether that be dice, core books, folding tables or whatever else is needed. For we, the D20 Collective, want to give back keep tabletop gaming alive and thriving for years to come.
That will be our promise to you. For we are the Collective, and supporting the growth of the community is what we strive to do.
If you have a group that needs dice, rulebooks, etc, feel free to fill out the following form so we can help you get the die rolling.
4 comments
Daphne
How honorable a goal!! I’m very impressed by your magnanimity. I only started playing about 3 years ago with my husband our two sons and daughter, a few of their friends, my grandson, and now one of my friends—loving it!
Paula Hanlon
Okay, this will definitely hint at my age (not telling, sometime between 16 and 160!) A friend of my mom’s gave me a gasp Dungeons and Dragons basic starter set for my 11th birthday. It contained a rule book, a set of dice and rolling cup, a teeny DM’s guide, and a basic (read: first time player!). At that time it was almost impossible to find actual humans who knew anything about D&D, let alone played it. He helped me make my first character, build a teeny module for me, and I WAS HOOKED. I found more players by when I was in high school but I was the only female anyone had ever met who played. Later on, when the game became equated with nefarious things because you were allowed to be anyone or anything and could do whatever you thought would be great for the character’s mission and personality. YOU’RE IN BED WITH EVIL!!! Now, many many moons later, I’ve loved that there are more players, different modules from everywhere and everywhen imaginable, and some cool dice to use in them. ROCK ON KIDS, ROLL THE DICE AND TAKE THE RISKS!
From, a player who still has the same character from high school and loves the crap outta her!
Nina Kowalski
As a teacher, and long time player of DnD, this is awesome to see! It is so hard to get started when starting new clubs because you’re missing those small essential items to get you going! It’s so awesome to see the support and love going towards our youth! Tabletop games can be overlooked so often as just being “fun distractions” when they are really so much more, and teach great fundamental concepts like reading, math, social skills, and coping skills as well! So excited to back and support this project!
John Sheehan
Thank you so much for championing this. I know as well as you do that it’s the young whippersnappers that are going to keep this hobby alive. I see it as my duty as an old fart gamer to introduce them to a lifelong hobby. It’s good to know we have allies.