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Dungeons & Dragonsexploded in popularity in the mid-to-late 2010s and early 2020s. People began streaming their games for fans to watch and interact with. Dungeons & Dragons also held a prominent role in the Netflix Original, Stranger Things, which introduced the roleplaying game to an entirely new audience.
However, Dungeons & Dragons isn’t a brand-new game. It’s actually been around for a while, often hailed as the first true roleplaying game. Its influence is extensive and most tabletop roleplaying games take inspiration from it in one way or another. It has even had an impact on real-world events, becoming an odd but interesting facet of cultural history.
There is a brief mention of suicide in The Moral Panic Over Dungeons & Dragons section of this article.
The Original Publish Date
Dungeons & Dragons wascreated by Ernest Gary Gygax and David Arneson. The two of them brainstormed its creation from 1970-1976.
The first rulebook was created in 1973, sitting at 50 pages. To properly publish Dungeons & Dragons, Gygax worked with Don Kaye to create the game publishing company, Tactical Studies Rules.
After the company’s founding,Dungeons & Dragons was finally published in 1974. Later, Gygax and others were pushed out of the company. After Gygax’s departure, a set of poor decisions caused Tactical Studies Rules to spiral, losing profits.
The moral panic of the 1980s certainly didn’t aid in the profitability of its main product and, later, the company andDungeons & Dragons was bought out by a much larger game publisher.
The Moral Panic Over Dungeons & Dragons
Although there wasn’t much hubbub or panic regarding Dungeons & Dragons when it was published,the moral panic of the 1980s viewed the roleplaying game in an entirely different light.
The BBC traces the origins of the moral panic over Dungeons & Dragonsto one 16-year-old, James Dallas Egbert III.
Hispublicized disappearance and death sparked an outrage over Dungeons & Dragons, which was falsely attributed to be the cause of his mental health issues.
This fear mixed with grief sustained and furtherstrengthened the belief that Dungeons & Dragons degraded moralityand led young adults to their deaths.
Christian and mainstream media outlets led campaigns against Dungeons & Dragons, claiming it was evil, teaching and encouraging the practice of taboo topics and vile acts.
This fear became pervasive enough that the American Association of Suicidology, the US Center for Disease Control, and the Health and Welfare of Canada allhad to perform studies on whether or not suicide rates were actually linked to Dungeons & Dragons(though, clearly, nothing came of said studies).
Of course,this fear and prejudice against Dungeons & Dragons has faded with time. Now the game is not only acceptable, but it’s feasible for a charismatic and funny group of people tomake their livings off their games!
Who Owns Dungeons & Dragons Now?
Currently,Wizards of the Coast - a Hasbro, Inc. company owns Dungeons & Dragons. It purchased both Tactical Studies Rules and Five Rings Publishing Group for $25 Million in 1997.
This acquisition was, unsurprisingly, made after the moral panic over Dungeons & Dragons finally began to peter out and be forgotten.
As an extension of purchasing Tactical Studies Rules, Wizards of the Coast obtained the Dungeons & Dragons franchise. Since then, it has heavily capitalized on it, publishing new editions, expansions, manuals, materials, websites, andnew adventure guides.
How Many Editions Are There?
Although it may come as a surprise to some, courtesy of the revisions and the inclusion of the original publication,there are eight different Dungeons & Dragons editions. Out of all eight,Dungeons & Dragons 3.5e and Dungeons & Dragons 5e are the most popularand beloved versions.
If you’re going to start playing Dungeons & Dragons, you will likely begin with 5e, given that it has the most material and is the most readily available version.
