Rolling for Initiative is a weekly column by Scott Thorne, PhD, owner of Castle Perilous Games & Books in Carbondale, Illinois.  This week, Thorne explains Free RPG Day.

In an era in which PDF role playing supplements outnumber print ones and a time in which as many computer screens sit on tables as do open books, it is nice to have an event celebrating the print role playing game.   

This year’s Free RPG Day takes play June 18th, roughly a month and a half after the much more widely known Free Comic Book Day.  Sponsored and organized by Impressions Advertising and Marketing, FRPGD opened for retailer registration this week.  Retailers may sign up with the purchase of one bundle of promotional materials, which containing materials from over 20 different publishers, including WotC and Paizo.  

For those not familiar with Free RPG Day (and it surprises me how many stores aren’t), the annual event started in 2007 after some in the RPG industry, primarily Aldo Ghiozzi, looked at the success of Free Comic Book Day and wondered if the RPG industry could achieve similar success by giving away free rule sets and adventures one day a year, with the caveat to the publishers that these had to be new materials, not stuff they wanted to clear out of the warehouse and a similar caveat to retailers that the items included were to go free to any customer asking for one.  It has become more important to emphasize the free aspect of the materials as the event has continued, as some of the modules provided, sell now for $25 and up on eBay and other sources.  As the current agreement states:

“By checking this box, I agree to abide by the spirit of Free RPG Day by giving away at least one of the kit items of my choosing to any patron (or single grouped family) walking into the store and asking for one on the day of the event. I also agree not to sell any of the items in the kit (online or over-the-counter) nor require any in-store purchase to obtain an item from the kit; whether on the day of the event or any other day.”

Ghiozzi’s company, Impressions Advertising and Marketing, handles the solicitation and distribution of all FRPGD materials.  Unlike Free Comic Book Day, which sets essentially no limits on how many of a title a store can order, Impressions limits the number of each item available to stores by selling them in kits, with 15 items included from a Platinum Sponsor (WotC and Paizo Publishing, this year), 10 from a Gold Sponsor (Green Ronin, White Wolf and Fantasy Flight Games), five from a Silver (Chessex, Eden Studios, Goodman Games and Q-Workshop), 3-4 from a Bronze (Exile Game Studios, Pinnacle, Skirmisher, Stone Tablet and Troll Lords) and a number of single sample items from other publishers.  Retailers may order a maximum of four packs and must have a business location to which to send the materials, no residential addresses or PO boxes accepted, as another purpose of the event is to drive customers into brick and mortar stores. The reason for the limit on the number of packs available is twofold.  First, most of the RPG materials supplied are 8-½” by 11” with a heavy cardstock cover, the same quality a customer would find  purchasing them off the rack, making them comparatively expensive.  This leads into the second reason.  Many of the participants are small companies, using Free RPG Day as a method to create wider awareness of their product line. While it would certainly be a good idea for them especially to include more copies of their offering, they simply don’t feel they can afford it.

Free RPG Day kits sold out last year and a check of the Free RPG Day website shows that over 30 stores have already signed up in the few days since registration opened.  That’s not many compared to FCBD, but given the comparative size of the market and the decline in RPG sales the past couple of years, so much interest that quickly bodes well for another filled up event.

The opinions expressed in this column are solely  those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff of ICv2.com.