We are launching t-shirts with motifs from the Dungeons & Dragons universe. D&D is one of the most influential brands in role-playing and fantasy that lives on in popular culture, even though interest in pen-and-paper role-playing may have cooled in comparison to the 80s and 90s.
What is Dungeons & Dragons?
D&D is a role-playing game that gives players the ability to create and play characters that are unique for each game round. The player chooses personalities, skills, and abilities using the D&D rules. The game leader then creates a fantasy world with challenges and adventures.
- The first D&D role-playing game was released in 1974 and was created by Americans Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson.
- The role-playing game has since been released in several different versions and has sold more than 30 million copies worldwide. - In the 90s in Sweden, role-playing and the Swedish role-playing game "Dragons and Demons" in particular were seen with suspicious eyes from society at large. Role-playing was confused and connected with devil worship, among other things, and was believed to be dangerous for children to engage in.
- The longest continuous D&D game has been running for over 40 years. The record is held by the American Robert Wardaugh, where at least 500 unique characters participated.
- Dungeons & Dragons was the first to introduce the "Dungeon Master", a player who acts as a narrator and controls the action of the game.
Dungeons and Dragons in popular culture
TV and Film
D&D has a central place in the Netflix series Stranger Things, which has taken the world by storm and led to a huge surge in the game's popularity. The show's main characters get together every day after school and play D&D in a fictional role-playing world that eventually merges with reality.
In the comedy series The Big Bang Theory, there are several episodes with references to D&D.
Youtube
D&D is very popular on Youtube. There are channels with 100,000s of subscribers where you can watch others play Dungeons and Dragons. One of the most popular channels "Critical Role" consists of a group of professional voice actors who play D&D together and live stream their adventures.
Computer game
Dungeons and Dragons has inspired a variety of computer and board games. Including Baldur's Gate, Everquest, and Neverwinter Nights and Lords of Waterdeep and more. In practice, it is impossible to look at a computer game in the role-playing genre without finding similarities or influences of Dungeons & Dragons. Dungeons and Dragons is still a popular brand that most people are familiar with even though they have never played the role-playing game themselves. We hope you enjoy our latest addition!
