Licensing[edit]
Early in the game's history, TSR took no action against small publishers' production
of D&D compatible material, and even licensed Judges Guild to produce D&D materials for several
years, such as City State of the Invincible Overlord.[144] This attitude changed in the mid-1980s when
TSR took legal action to try to prevent others from publishing compatible material. This angered
many fans and led to resentment by the other gaming companies.[76] Although TSR took legal action
against several publishers in an attempt to restrict third-party usage, it never brought any court
cases to completion, instead settling out of court in every instance.[145] TSR itself ran afoul of
intellectual property law in several cases.[146]
With the launch of Dungeons & Dragons's 3rd Edition, Wizards of the Coast made the d20 System
available under the Open Game License (OGL) and d20 System trademark license. Under these
licenses, authors were free to use the d20 System when writing games and game supplements.
[147]
The OGL has allowed a wide range of unofficial commercial derivative work based on
the mechanics of Dungeons and Dragons to be produced since 2000;[148] it is credited with increasing
the market share of d20 products[149] and leading to a "boom in the RPG industry in the early 2000s".
[150]
With the release of the fourth edition, Wizards of the Coast introduced its Game System License,
which represented a significant restriction compared to the very open policies embodied by the OGL.
In part as a response to this, some publishers (such as Paizo Publishing with its Pathfinder
Roleplaying Game) who previously produced materials in support of the D&D product line, decided
to continue supporting the 3rd Edition rules, thereby competing directly with Wizards of the Coast.
Others, such as Kenzer & Company, returned to the practice of publishing unlicensed supplements
and arguing that copyright law does not allow Wizards of the Coast to restrict third-party usage. [151]
During the 2000s, there has been a trend towards reviving and recreating older editions of D&D,
known as the Old School Revival. This in turn inspired the creation of "retro-clones", games which
more closely recreate the original rule sets, using material placed under the OGL along with non-
copyrightable mechanical aspects of the older rules to create a new presentation of the games.
Version 5.1 of the System Reference Document, released in
2023
Alongside the publication of the 5th Edition, Wizards of the Coast established a two-pronged
licensing approach. The core of the 5th Edition rules have been made available under the OGL,
while publishers and independent creators have also been given the opportunity to create licensed
materials directly for Dungeons & Dragons and associated properties like the Forgotten Realms
under a program called the DM's Guild.[152] The DM's Guild does not function under the OGL, but
uses a community agreement intended to foster liberal cooperation among content creators. [152]
Wizards of the Coast has started to release 5th Edition products that tie into other intellectual
properties—such as Magic: The Gathering with the Guildmasters' Guide to Ravnica (2018)
and Mythic Odysseys of Theros (2020) source books.[153][154] Two 5th Edition starter box sets based on
TV shows, Stranger Things and Rick and Morty, were released in 2019.[155][156] Source books based
on Dungeons & Dragons live play series have also been released: Acquisitions Incorporated (2019)
and Explorer's Guide to Wildemount (2020).[157]
Between November and December 2022, there was reported speculation that Wizards was planning
on discontinuing the OGL for Dungeons & Dragons based on unconfirmed leaks.[158][159][160][161] In
response to the speculation, Wizards stated in November 2022: "We will continue to support the
thousands of creators making third-party D&D content with the release of One D&D in
2024."[160] Limited details on the update to the OGL, including the addition of revenue reporting and
required royalties, were released by Wizards in December 2022.[162][163][161] Linda Codega, for Io9 in
January 2023, reported on the details from a leaked full copy of the OGL 1.1 including updated
terms such as no longer authorizing use of the OGL1.0.[164] Codega highlighted that "if the original
license is in fact no longer viable, every single licensed publisher will be affected by the new
agreement. [...] The main takeaway from the leaked OGL 1.1 draft document is that WotC is keeping
power close at hand".[164] A week after the leak, Wizards issued a response which walked back
several changes to the OGL; this response did not contain the updated OGL. [165][166][167] The Motley
Fool highlighted that "Hasbro pulled an abrupt volte-face and had its subsidiary D&D Beyond publish
a mea culpa on its website".[168] On January 27, 2023, following feedback received during the open
comment period for the draft OGL1.2, Wizards of the Coast announced that the System Reference
Document 5.1 (SRD 5.1) would be released under an irrevocable Creative Commons license (CC-
BY-4.0) effective immediately and Wizards would no longer pursue deauthorizing the OGL1.0a. [169][170]
[171]
Reception[edit]
Eric Goldberg reviewed Dungeons & Dragons in Ares Magazine #1 (March 1980), rating it a 6 out of
9, and commented that "Dungeons and Dragons is an impressive achievement based on the
concept alone, and also must be credited with cementing the marriage between the fantasy genre
and gaming."[172] Eric Goldberg again reviewed Dungeons & Dragons in Ares Magazine #3 and
commented that "D&D is the FRP game played most often in most places."[173] In the 1980 book The
Complete Book of Wargames, game designer Jon Freeman asked, "What can be said about a
phenomenon? Aside from Tactics II and possibly PanzerBlitz (the first modern tactical wargame),
this is the most significant war game since H.G. Wells." However, Freeman did have significant
issues with the game, pointing out, "On the other hand, beginning characters are without exception
dull, virtually powerless, and so fragile" which was not encouraging for "newcomers." He also called
the magic system "stupid" feeling that many of the spells were "redundant" and "the effects of the
majority are hopelessly vague." He found essential elements such as saving throws, hit points, and
experience points "undefined or poorly explained; the ratio of substance to "holes" compares
unfavorably with the head of a tennis racquet." He also noted the rules were "presented in the most
illiterate display of poor grammar, misspellings, and typographical errors in professional wargaming."
Despite all these issues, Freeman concluded "As it was given birth, it is fascinating but misshapen;
in its best incarnations, it's perhaps the most exciting and attractive specimen alive." [174]
The game had more than three million players around the world by 1981, [175] and copies of the rules
were selling at a rate of about 750,000 per year by 1984.[176] Beginning with a French language
edition in 1982, Dungeons & Dragons has been translated into many languages beyond the original
English.[71][73] By 1992, the game had been translated into 14 languages and sold over 2 million copies
in 44 countries worldwide.[177] By 2004, consumers had spent more than $1 billion on Dungeons &
Dragons products and the game had been played by more than 20 million people.[178] As many as six
million people played the game in 2007.[105]
David M. Ewalt, in his book Of Dice and Men (2013), praised that the game allows for a personal
fantastical experience and stated that "even though it's make-believe, the catharsis is real." [179] Scott
Taylor for Black Gate in 2013 rated Dungeons & Dragons as #1 in the top ten role-playing games of
all time, saying "The grand-daddy of all games, D&D just keeps on going, and although there might
always be 'edition wars' between players, that just says that it effectively stays within the
consciousness of multiple generations of players as a relevant piece of entertainment." [180]
Later editions would lead to inevitable comparisons between the game series. Griffin McElroy,
for Polygon in 2014, wrote: "The game has shifted in the past four decades, bouncing between
different rules sets, philosophies and methods of play. Role-playing, character customization and
real-life improvisational storytelling has always been at the game's core, but how those ideas are
interpreted by the game system has changed drastically edition-to-edition".[181] Dieter Bohn, for The
Verge in 2014, wrote: "Every few years there's been a new version of D&D that tries to address the
shortcomings of the previous version and also make itself more palatable to its age. [...] The third
edition got a reputation (which it didn't necessarily deserve) for being too complex and rules-focused.
The fourth edition got a reputation (which it didn't necessarily deserve) for being too focused on
miniatures and grids, too mechanical. Meanwhile, the company that owns D&D had released a
bunch of its old material for free as a service to fans, and some of that was built up into a competing
game called Pathfinder. Pathfinder ultimately became more popular, by some metrics,
than D&D itself". Bohn highlighted that the 5th Edition was "designed for one purpose: to
bring D&D back to its roots and win back everybody who left during the edition wars". [182] Henry
Glasheen, for SLUG Magazine in 2015, highlighted that after jumping ship during the 4th Edition era
he was drawn back to Dungeons & Dragons with 5th Edition[183] and he considers it "the new gold
standard for D20-based tabletop RPGs".[184] Glasheen wrote "Fifth Edition is a compelling reason to
get excited about D&D again" and "while some will welcome the simplicity, I fully expect that plenty
of people will stick to whatever system suits them best. However, this edition is easily my favorite,
ranking even higher than D&D 3.5, my first love in D&D".[183]
Curtis D. Carbonell, in the 2019 book Dread Trident: Tabletop Role-Playing Games and the Modern
Fantastic, wrote: "Negative association with earlier niche 'nerd' culture have reversed. 5e has
become inclusive in its reach of players, after years of focusing on a white, male demographic. [...]
At its simplest, the game system now encourages different types of persons to form a party not just
to combat evil [...] but to engage in any number of adventure scenarios". [185]: 82–83 Christian Hoffer,
for ComicBook.com in 2022, highlighted the continuing fan debate on Dungeons &
Dragons and Pathfinder's current editions which centers on Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition's
market dominance. Hoffer wrote, "the reality is that Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition is likely the
most popular tabletop roleplaying game ever made, even more so than previous editions of the
games. 5E has brought millions of new players to tabletop roleplaying games. Many of those newer
players have never heard of other roleplaying games, even popular ones like Vampire: The
Masquerade or Cyberpunk or Pathfinder. [...] Many content creators and publishers see 5E as their
main path to survival and relevance even if it's not their preferred gaming system". [186] In December
2023, James Whitbrook of Gizmodo highlighted "D&D's continued social influence" with the release
of related media such as the film Honor Among Thieves, the Dungeons & Dragons:
Adventures FAST channel, and the video game Baldur's Gate 3 with the video game's "blockbuster
success" credited "for a 40% increase in Wizards of the Coast's earnings over 2022". [187] However,
Whitbrook opined that not even these successes "could save Dungeons & Dragons from the greed
of its owners" with the OGL controversy and major layoffs by Hasbro bookending "what should've
been one of the greatest years for Dungeons & Dragons the game has ever seen—more popular
than ever, more accessible than ever, more culturally relevant than ever—and in doing so
transformed it into a golden era sullied with dark marks, overshadowed by grim caveats, a reflection
that those with the most power in these spaces never really take the lessons they espoused to learn
from their mistakes".[187]
Acclaim[edit]
The various editions of Dungeons & Dragons have won many Origins Awards, including All Time
Best Roleplaying Rules of 1977, Best Roleplaying Rules of 1989, Best Roleplaying Game of
2000 and Best Role Playing Game and Best Role Playing Supplement of 2014 for the flagship
editions of the game.[188] Both Dungeons & Dragons and Advanced Dungeons & Dragons are Origins
Hall of Fame Games inductees as they were deemed sufficiently distinct to merit separate inclusion
on different occasions.[189][190] The independent Games magazine placed Dungeons & Dragons on
their Games 100 list from 1980 through 1983, then entered the game into the magazine's Hall of
Fame in 1984.[191][192] Games magazine included Dungeons & Dragons in their "Top 100 Games of
1980", saying "The more players, the merrier."[193] Advanced Dungeons & Dragons was ranked 2nd in
the 1996 reader poll of Arcane magazine to determine the 50 most popular roleplaying games of all
time.[194] Dungeons & Dragons was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame in 2016 and into
the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame in 2017.[195][196]
Legacy and influence[edit]
Dungeons & Dragons was the first modern role-playing game and it established many of the
conventions that have dominated the genre.[197] Particularly notable are the use of dice as a game
mechanic, character record sheets, use of numerical attributes, and gamemaster-centered group
dynamics.[198] Within months of Dungeons & Dragons's release, new role-playing game writers and
publishers began releasing their own role-playing games, with most of these being in the fantasy
genre. Some of the earliest other role-playing games inspired by D&D include Tunnels &
Trolls (1975),[199] Empire of the Petal Throne (1975), and Chivalry & Sorcery (1976).[200] The game's
commercial success was a factor that led to lawsuits regarding distribution of royalties between
original creators Gygax and Arneson.[201][202] Gygax later became embroiled in a political struggle for
control of TSR which culminated in a court battle and Gygax's decision to sell his ownership interest
in the company in 1985.[203]
The role-playing movement initiated by D&D would lead to release of the science fiction
game Traveller (1977), the fantasy game RuneQuest (1978), and subsequent game systems such
as Chaosium's Call of Cthulhu (1981), Champions (1982), GURPS (1986),[204] and Vampire: The
Masquerade (1991).[76][205] Dungeons & Dragons and the games it influenced fed back into the genre's
origin – miniatures wargames – with combat strategy games like Warhammer Fantasy Battles.
[206]
D&D also had a large impact on modern video games.[207]
Director Jon Favreau credits Dungeons & Dragons with giving him "... a really strong background in
imagination, storytelling, understanding how to create tone and a sense of balance." [208] ND
Stevenson and the crew of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power were strongly influenced
by Dungeons & Dragons, with Stevenson calling it basically a D&D campaign, with Adora, Glimmer,
and Bow falling into "specific classes in D&D".[209]
History of criticism[edit]
Main article: Dungeons & Dragons controversies
At various times in its history, Dungeons & Dragons has received negative publicity, in particular
from some Christian groups, for alleged promotion of such practices as devil worship, witchcraft,
suicide, and murder, and for the presence of naked breasts in drawings of female humanoids in the
original AD&D manuals (mainly monsters such as harpies, succubi, etc.).[22][210] These controversies
led TSR to remove many potentially controversial references and artwork when releasing the 2nd
Edition of AD&D.[94] Many of these references, including the use of the names "devils" and "demons",
were reintroduced in the 3rd edition.[211] The moral panic over the game led to problems for fans
of D&D who faced social ostracism, unfair treatment, and false association with the occult
and Satanism, regardless of an individual fan's actual religious affiliation and beliefs. [8][212] However,
the controversy was also beneficial in evoking the Streisand Effect by giving the game widespread
notoriety that significantly increased sales in the early 1980s in defiance of the moral panic.[213]
Dungeons & Dragons has been the subject of rumors regarding players having difficulty separating
fantasy from reality, even leading to psychotic episodes.[8][214] The most notable of these was the saga
of James Dallas Egbert III,[215] the facts of which were fictionalized in the novel Mazes and
Monsters and later made into a TV movie in 1982 starring Tom Hanks.[210][216] William Dear, the private
investigator hired by the Egbert family to find their son when he went missing at college, wrote a
book titled The Dungeon Master refuting any connection with D&D and Egbert's personal issues.
The game was blamed for some of the actions of Chris Pritchard, who was convicted in 1990 of
murdering his stepfather. Research by various psychologists,[217] starting with Armando Simon, has
concluded that no harmful effects are related to the playing of D&D.[218] Dungeons & Dragons has
also been cited as encouraging people to socialize weekly or biweekly,[219] teaching problem solving
skills, which can be beneficial in adult life, and teaching positive moral decisions. [220]
D&D has been compared unfavorably to other role-playing games of its time. Writing for Slate in
2008, Erik Sofge makes unfavorable comparisons between the violent incentives of D&D and the
more versatile role-playing experience of GURPS. He claims that "for decades, gamers have argued
that since D&D came first, its lame, morally repulsive experience system can be forgiven. But the
damage is still being done: New generations of players are introduced to RPGs as little more than a
collective fantasy of massacre."[221] This criticism generated backlash from D&D fans. Writing for Ars
Technica, Ben Kuchera responded that Sofge had experienced a "small-minded Dungeon
Master who only wanted to kill things", and that better game experiences are possible. [222]
In 2020, Polygon reported that "the D&D team announced that it would be making changes to
portions of its 5th edition product line that fans have called out for being insensitive". [223] Sebastian
Modak, for The Washington Post, reported that the tabletop community has widely approved these
changes. Modak wrote that "in its statement addressing mistakes around portrayals of different
peoples in the D&D universe, Wizards of the Coast highlighted its recent efforts in bringing in more
diverse voices to craft the new D&D source books coming out in 2021. [...] These conversations—
around depictions of race and alleged treatment of employees of marginalized backgrounds and
identities—have encouraged players to seek out other tabletop roleplaying experiences". [224] Matthew
Gault, for Wired, reported positively on the roundtable discussions Wizards of the Coast has hosted
with fans and community leaders on diversity and inclusion. However, Gault also highlighted that
other efforts, such as revisions to old material and the release of new material, have been less great
and at times minimal. Gault wrote, "WotC appears to be trying to change things, but it keeps
stumbling, and it's often the fans who pick up the pieces. [...] WotC is trying to make changes, but it
often feels like lip service. [...] The loudest voices criticizing D&D right now are doing it out of love.
They don't want to see it destroyed, they want it to change with the times". [225] However, in 2022,
academic Christopher Ferguson stated that the game "was not associated with
greater ethnocentrism (one facet of racism) attitudes" after he conducted a survey study of 308
adults (38.2% non-White, and 17% Dungeons and Dragons players). Ferguson concluded that
Wizards of the Coast may be responding to a moral panic similar to that surrounding Satanism in the
1990s.[226]
In January 2023, ICv2 commented that the leaked OGL has several controversial parts including
prohibiting "commercial publication for virtual tabletop platforms" and that while it "grants ownership
of the OGL works to their creator" it also "gives WotC the perpetual, irrevocable right to use their
works in any way it sees fit without payment".[227] In the days following the leak, IGN,[228] Vice,[229] The
Guardian,[230] Financial Times[231] CNBC,[232] and many other industry focused outlets reported on
negative reactions from both fans and professional content creators. [227][233]
[234]
ComicBook.com reported that it had "spoken with over 20 small to mid-sized creators who have
said that in-progress projects set to be published under the OGL have been placed on hold due to"
the terms in the leak.[235] Many designers had also reported considering switching role-playing game
systems entirely.[235] Starburst commented that "historically when the owners of Dungeons and
Dragons attempt to restrict what people can do with the game, it leads to a boom in other tabletop
roleplaying games. This is happening right now".[236] Both Kobold Press and MCDM Productions
announced upcoming new tabletop RPG systems with both stating their respective systems would
be open games.[236][237][238] Paizo also announced a new Open RPG Creative License (ORC), a system-
agnostic license, as a direct response to the report
