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Lucca Comics & Games 2024 Reveals More D&D Celebration Plans

Ahead of Lucca Comics & Games 2024 taking place in a week and a half, organizers revealed everything they're doing for Dungeons & Dragons

Organizers for Lucca Comics & Games 2024 have revealed their full plans to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Dungeons & Dragons during the event. The event is set to run from October 30 until November 3, and during those five days, they have a number of activities and other items planned for you to visit and take part in. We have the full rundown of everything they revealed this week for you here.

Gateway to Adventure: 50 Years of D&D Art

To celebrate the golden anniversary of Dungeons & Dragons, Lucca Comics & Games has organized, in a location incredibly rich in history – the Chiesa dei Servi – an unprecedented and truly unique exhibition on D&D: "Gateway to Adventure: 50 Years of D&D Art". The Koder Collection will be exhibited, consisting of works of art, D&D memorabilia, and original masterpieces by Larry Elmore, Jeff Easley, Clyde Caldwell, Keith Parkinson, Brom, and Todd Lockwood.

The exhibition "Gateway to Adventure: 50 Years of D&D Art", which will open on Saturday, October 26 at 5pm CET., has been curated by Jon Peterson and Jessica Lee Patterson. Peterson is one of the game's leading historians and author of Dungeons & Dragons – Art & Arcana and the extraordinary collection of rare documents, The Making of Original Dungeons & Dragons 1970-1977. Jessica Lee Patterson is an art historian who has been working on cataloging the Koder collection since 2022. It will be the largest exhibition in the world dedicated to D&D.

Additionally, among the masterpieces present in the collection include a selection of the original artwork of the most iconic manuals from AD&D's (Advanced Dungeons & Dragons) 1st edition to the present day. Also shown will be the first variant D&D manual cover ever created by John Blanche for the English edition of Dungeons & Dragons, which was once published in the United Kingdom by Games Workshop. The extraordinary spaces of the Chiesa dei Servi will be redesigned to accommodate an editorial and artistic journey that will also leave room for the visitor's experience. Some special games of Dungeons & Dragons will also be played on a table located in the transept of the Chiesa dei Servi. This special table will host games with VIP players from 4-7pm from October 31 to November 2. In addition, for all five days of the event, the table will be available in three daily slots where the public can (upon reservation) participate in game sessions conducted by exceptional Dungeon Masters, including Luke Gygax and Jeremy Crawford.

The Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson Dungeon

The celebrations in Lucca for the 50th anniversary of the most famous role-playing game in the world will also see the unfolding of a truly unique and unprecedented event in the world: the definitive naming by the municipal administration of Lucca of the underground of the San Paolino bastion to Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, the creators of Dungeons & Dragons back in 1974. The naming ceremony will take place on Wednesday, October 30, and will see the presence, in addition to the city authorities, of Luke Gygax, son of Gary Gygax.

D&D's 50th anniversary was, therefore, the perfect opportunity for the role-playing game to leave a permanent mark in the city, with the dedication of an iconic place to the two authors of the equally iconic RPG. This has been an epic undertaking for Lucca Comics & Games, a project that required more than ten years of work, which achieved the unique result of seeing a public company succeed in naming a place in the city after two game designers. This legacy will remain in the hearts of not only the city and its inhabitants but also those of Dungeons & Dragons fans. We are certain that the Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson Dungeon will become a destination for D&D pilgrims and a meeting place for the community of the most famous role-playing game in the world.

The Art & Game Design of Dungeons & Dragons

Dungeons & Dragons, however, is gaming, collecting, and art. Two artists whose traits have profoundly influenced the game will be present at the festival to explore the artistic evolution of the role-playing game over the years: Tyler Jacobson and Erol Otus. Probably the most representative artist of 5e, Jacobson is the author of the covers of the new basic manuals (Player's Handbook, Dungeon Master's Guide, and Monster Manual) and many others. Otus' art, on the other hand, has made the first editions of both D&D and Advanced Dungeons & Dragons iconic, and he recently produced cover images for the Old School Essentials manuals. Tyler Jacobson and Erol Otus will be present at the Artist Alley in the Carducci pavilion. The Lucca public will also be able to meet Erol Otus at the Mondiversi stand in the Carducci pavilion, where he will sign copies.

There will certainly be no shortage of Italian artists who have lent their art to D&D. During the meeting "The art of D&D speaks Italian," moderated by Christian "Zoltar" Bellomo, which will be held on the Grog Live Show stage of the Carducci pavilion and live on Twitch on October 31 at 2:30 pm, we will see the intervention of artists of the caliber of Katerina Ladon, Francesca Baerald, Michele Giorgi, Marco Bernardini, Domenico Cava, and Andrea Piparo. Guest of Honor at Lucca Games 2007, Troy Denning, one of the most prolific and famous D&D writers, will return to Lucca to meet fans and D&D lovers. Known as the author who gave life and substance to the "Dark Sun" setting for AD&D, illustrated by Gerald Brom, and as one of the three founding fathers of the Performance Area of Lucca Comics & Games, Denning will meet the fans in Lucca and hold a seminar/workshop in which he will reveal all the secrets of the art of World Building.

For the first time at Lucca Comics & Games, the festival audience will be able to meet Alex Kammer, the director of the famous American gaming event GameHoleCon, Game Designer and Dungeon Master. Kammer will be present at the festival to share his passion for Dungeons & Dragons with the entire role-playing game community and to reveal the tricks on how to build a D&D adventure. After a ten-year wait, Jeremy Crawford, lead rules designer of Dungeons & Dragons and lead designer of the new 2024 Player's Handbook, returns to Lucca Comics & Games, where he will illustrate the present and future of D&D to the Lucca public.

In addition to making himself available for some D&D sessions with the public at the Chiesa dei Servi, as previously announced, Jeremy Crawford will also be the host of some panels. These will focus on the game design of the new 2024 edition of Dungeons & Dragons, on his personal history as a game designer and will hold a masterclass on role-playing game design. Luke Gygax, son of Gary Gygax, will also be the host of debates and meetings on the Grog Live Show stage (Carducci pavilion) and will take the opportunity to discuss the legacy of his father and the moments spent together in the name of Dungeons & Dragons.

D&D Played

But Dungeons & Dragons is a game and to be fully appreciated it must be played, whether in first person or following as a spectator the exciting adventures of other passionate players. It is no coincidence that Wizards of the Coast has awarded Lucca Comics & Games has been awarded the title of Premium Organiser of the famous Adventurers League of Dungeons & Dragons. A title so far assigned to only four other organizing entities around the world. It will be possible to play the original adventure, created for the occasion by Lucca Comics & Games together with its historic partners, The Agency and Kraken APS, on Saturday, November 2, during the Adventurers League Epic from 1-8pm from the Pinturicchio room. The adventure will subsequently be made available on the Dungeon Masters Guild website.

Also, in the Pinturicchio room, on Sunday, November 3, from 1-8pm, it will be possible to participate in a very special D&D session in multi-edition and multi-table format. There will be many opportunities to try D&D firsthand. The Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson Dungeon it will be open throughout the festival to play Dungeons & Dragons. Content creators such as InnTale, Dr. Morgan, D20 Nation, and Wikirole will be present. Stefan Pokorny, entrepreneur and creator of Dwarven Forge (the most famous modular terrain system for miniatures) will also be attending the festival. He will be present with his sales stand, and available for games with fans at the Miniature Island in the Carducci Pavilion.

But the gaming activities related to Dungeons & Dragons do not end here. Francesco Lancia, accompanied by new and unpublished guests, will be the star of a new event with Dungeons & Deejay Lucca Comics & Games Special Edition, which last year was an incredible success, filling the Teatro del Giglio with enthusiasts and onlookers. Francesco Lancia is already hosting a new edition of the Twitch format RPG Night Live (created in 2019 by Lucca Comics & Games). In which a new adventure set in Lucca is played with exceptional guests such as Barbascura X, Camihawke, CKibe, Claudio Di Biagio, Sabaku, and Zoltar. The final will be played live from the Auditorium San Francesco in Lucca, on October 31st, at 7:30 pm. Finally, Dungeons & Dragons will also be the focal point of the new Lucca Games Café, with three tables curated by The Agency and Kraken APS to play all editions of D&D, from the white box to 5e.

"In the Dragon's Den," the RAI special on D&D

Rai Cultura and Rai4 are also celebrating the 50th anniversary, a milestone in the fantasy imagination, with a special episode of the magazine Wonderland: "In the Dragon's Den – 50 Years of Dungeons & Dragons."

Written by Andrea Fornasiero and directed by Giuseppe Bucchi, the special, in the form of a 50-minute documentary, is structured on a double register and a double story. At the centre of the narration is the history of Dungeons & Dragons: from its genesis, in 1974, by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, to the latest versions and the success of the videogame derived from the game, Baldur's Gate III. The theme will be developed by several interviewees: the writer Vanni Santoni, with an approach both as an enthusiast and as a theoretician of role-playing games; the historical game designers Frank Mentzer and Zeb Cook; the translator Spartaco Albertarelli, as a witness to the diffusion of D&D in Italy in the 80s; the writer Simone Laudiero, among the authors of Brancalonia, an Italian variant of the game; the fantasy cartographer Francesca Baerald and the screenwriter of Baldur's Gate III, Lawrence Schick. Also, from the Wonderland archives, an interview with the game designer of the fifth edition of the game, Jeremy Crawford, was conducted at Lucca Comics & Games in 2014.

This Wonderland special also wants to demonstrate the essence of the game itself. The various sections are thus framed by scenes from a Dungeons & Dragons game played in a Rai studio. The actor Emiliano Coltorti took on the role of master and at his table sat the writers Giada Pavesi and Christian Hill, the storyboard artist Gabriele Derosas and the designer and colourist Valentina "Banjiolin" Napolitano. In the Dragon's Den will be previewed during the 2024 edition of Lucca Comics & Games, Friday,  November 1 at 7pm at the Cinema Centrale. The special will then be broadcast on Rai4 on Monday, November 4, and immediately available on RaiPlay.

LEGO and D&D

Even the LEGO Group couldn't help but celebrate the 50th anniversary of Dungeons & Dragons! For the occasion, fans of D&D and the most famous bricks in the world will be able to meet Lucas Bolt, aka BoltBuilds, the designer of LEGO Ideas Dungeons & Dragons: Tale of the Red Dragon. This will take place on Saturday, November 2, from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm in Piazza San Romano, at the first LEGO Certified Store pop-up in partnership with Percassi. The store will have a size of 90 square meters and will offer enthusiasts a complete assortment of bricks, including new releases, LEGO sets dedicated to the gaming world, and LEGO Certified Store exclusives.

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