Gold

The World Goblins & Gold Role Playing Game Championship is only a few short weeks away. The perennial second-place American team has undergone an upheaval: their longtime team leader, Jonathan Drake, has suffered a tragic gaming-related accident. Maverick player and loose cannon Richard Wright takes the reigns and tries to wrestle his new team into shape before the competition, while despondent Jonathan battles his personal demons. Meanwhile, the World Champion British team, led by the crafty Oliver Crane and sultry Martha Thistlethwait, prepare for the Championship by enlisting a gaming legend as their new coach. As the two factions battle internal and external strife, another threat rears its head: despite a fervent European following, in the U.S., Goblins & Gold is on the decline. Fewer and fewer players are picking up the dice in pursuit of this proud but aging sport, opting instead for Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games and the seductive simplicity of console gaming. Can Richard whip his new team into shape in time for the championships? Will Crane's Britons continue to dominate? And, if G&G loses its audience, will it all even matter in the end?