What is D&D and why does it continue to remain popular through social media, the gaming world and recently, the film industry?

D&D stands for Dungeons and Dragons and was created by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson in 1974. Gygax and Arneson had the idea to create D&D from miniature wargames of the time, specifically ‘Chainmail’ from 1971. They combined the miniature wargames with rules Chainmail.

But what is Dungeons & Dragons? It is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game where 4 to 5 players come together to create fictional characters to embark on adventures in a shared world, guided by a Dungeon Master. The players use many different dice to explore the game.

Jack Lawlor, aged 22, an avid D&D player, now a Dungeon Master, has been playing the game since he was twelve years old and is coming up to his tenth anniversary playing the game.

“What makes me stay in love with the game is how fluid the play system is. You can shape your world as much as you want to and no matter how many times you play it, you always have a new experience and a new world to play at. It’s something that’s ever changing and evolves with the group you play with,” said Lawlor.

A Dungeon Master’s (DM) job is to narrate the adventure to the players, control the monsters everyone fights during combat, and to roleplay any nonplayer characters (NPCs) that are vital to the roleplay narratives storyline. These are just some of the roles that a Dungeon Master will take up during the game.

Players of the game will pick from many different classes. Some of the most popular of these are, Orc, Barbarian, Bard, Cleric, Rouge and many more. These classes aren’t just for fun; they also decide the players strength and various skills throughout the game.

For example, the Barbarian class is known to excel in combat, with a main focus on Strength and their ability to withstand damage in the game.

D&D shot to popularity with the show Stranger Things on Netflix. The show showcases the ‘expert’ edition of D&D which was released in 1983 and remained popular until the next edition was released in 2003, which introduced the iconic dice, D20. The version that is played now, and the most ‘mainstream’, is the 5th edition released in 2014.

Wizards of the Coast, a sub company of Hasbro, saw a revenue increase of $1.17 billion by October 2024. This was after the release of the game Baldur’s Gate 3, which was made by Larian Studios and released in 2023. This game was a massive success and brought even more people into the world of D&D.

“I got into D&D when I was around 17 and have been playing it since. But Baldur’s Gate 3 has become one of my favourite games. It does a brilliant job of showing off how fun it is, and how complicated the rules are sometimes. That game, in my opinion, has done so much to move D&D from a ‘geeky’ game to mainstream,” said Lee McGowan-Gartlan.

“My advice is to jump in and just play D&D. It’s such a fun imaginative game, where everyone is welcome, no matter the age,” said Finn Parry.

People continue to play Dungeons & Dragons for the sense of community it creates the different age groups who play, and the love of all things creative. It’s a game where you can be as crazy with your imagination. The only limitation is your dice rolls.