Critical Role and Beyond: How Online Communities Help D&D’s Popularity
Dungeons and Dragons (D&D for short) is a tabletop role-playing game created in the 1970s by Gary
Gygax and Dave Arneson, it has been part of the game history for 40 years but has gained a significant
following and popularity in recent years, thanks to its increasing media coverage and the increasing
number of online games that interested groups can follow such as Critical Role.
More about the Critical Role group and their campaigns
This is an American web series in which a group of professional voice actors play the game that is the
subject of this article, which is then streamed on various sites (Twitch, YouTube).
Regular players:
Matthew Mercer – Dungeon Master/DM (game leader)
• Laura Bailey
• Ashley Johnson
• Marisha Rey
• Travis Willingham
• Sam Riegel
• Liam O'Brien
• Taliesin Jaffe
The first campaign began in March 2015, but the band was already playing in each other's homes in
2012, away from the cameras and spectators.
This cross-platform entertainment sensation now attracts more than half a million viewers a week,
and the seven popular voice actors, led by game master Matthew Mercer, are now playing their third
campaign.
The first campaign followed the story of an ongoing campaign from March 2015 until October 2017.
The campaign consisted of a total of 115 episodes.
The second campaign started on January 11, 2018, and lasted until June 3, 2021, overcoming the
difficulties caused by covid, with 143 episodes. Here the viewer can learn about the plot by following
a small group called Mighty Nein.
The third campaign started on October 21, 2021, and new episodes are constantly coming out. The
new adventurer company is called Bells Hells.
The group plays a significant role in attracting fresh players and displaying opportunities for tabletop
role-playing games. This is because their show has a huge follower base, with over one million
followers on Twitch and over two million subscribers on YouTube. This success led to the creation of
new D&D content, such as Explorer's Guide to Wildemount, co-written by the group.
Media presence
According to a report by market research firm NPD Group, sales of D&D products grew by 33% in
2020 and the numbers have been creeping up ever since. This increase is due to the limitation of
pastimes during quarantine and the spread of board games.
Another interesting fact is that the #dungeonsanddragons hashtag has more than nine million posts
on Instagram, which is just another indication of the game's popularity on social media.
One of the most crucial factors in D&D's renaissance is its growing presence in popular media. Series
like Stranger Things and Big Bang Theory helped the game go mainstream, showing a group of friends
playing D&D. Other novelties include the D&D film Honor among thieves, which depicts the
adventures of characters set in the game world, and The Legend of Vox Machina, a series created by
Critical Role and currently running on Amazon Prime with two seasons, which shows the events of
their first campaign using animation methods.
Another key factor in the popularity of the game is the proliferation of online gaming platforms.
Roll20 [https://roll20.net/] and Owlbear Rodeo [https://www.owlbear.rodeo/] are platforms that
allow players to connect virtually and play online.
Owlbear Rodeo app in use
Socialize through the game:
One of the biggest advantages of online D&D is that players are not limited by distance, they can
easily make friends from various parts of the world and join large communities. The game gives lovers
of creativity and role-playing games the opportunity to immerse themselves in a fantasy-type world
and relax with their own unique characters, despite the difficulties of the real world.
Unfortunately, this game is also not free from prejudices and negative stereotypes. Players, especially
in the early days of D&D, often found themselves in awkward situations as the game itself became
blurred with occultism and satanism. In addition, the players themselves have been stereotyped by
society as socially excluded individuals who have difficulty building human relationships, when they
are the opposite.
D&D helps people from diverse backgrounds and interests find each other and through the game
they can better understand each other and the social differences that separate them. By experiencing
the experiences of different characters and the consequences of different choices within roleplay,
they gain a great understanding of each other's values and improve their empathic skills.
Other genres!
Fundamentally fantasy-based, D&D has evolved into many other branches to provide each fandom
with different stories, themes, and styles to watch or play.
For vampire lovers, I recommend the LA by Night web series, which is based on the Vampire: The
Masquerade Rules.
For those who would rather relive their childhood stories in a slightly horror style, the plot of
Neverafter, brought to life by the players of Dimension 20, is the perfect choice.
For those who prefer sci-fi and or pure horror I would recommend the Mothership Rules by Tuesday
Knight Games or Alien RPG Free League, which can be mixed up very well to paint a space horror
story for your players. [Inspired by Ashley Johnson's One Shot – The Nautilus Ark: A Johnson Corp
Odyssey]
D&D Facts:
• Today, more than fifty million people play Dungeons & Dragons, and fans of the game consume 4.3
billion minutes of D&D-related media.
• Since the release of this board game, it has been at the top of the lists.
• The country where D&D is most famous is none other than Canada.
• In Europe, fan numbers increased by 65% in one year.
• Thanks to Discord and other online social apps, it is now easy to play with people, even people
from the other side of the world.
Let us get to know D&D!
Dungeons & Dragons is a board and role-playing game where the main elements are storytelling and
imagination, thus it bears a great resemblance to childhood pseudo-games. The game itself uses
polyhedral cubes with different side numbers and these are indicated in the rules in the following
ways: d4, d6, d8, d10, d12 and d20.
The rules of the game are based on ability checks, attack rolls and saving throws.
Imagine your character swinging his sword to wound the dragon.
Or someone from the party tries to swim across a troubled river.
A character is trying to avoid completely damaging a fireball.
The outcome of events in the game is usually determined by the throw of the 20-sided throwing
body.
How to play? (simply)
1. The Dungeon Master or DM, the game's controller, describes the environment to players. They tell
the players about where they are and what is happening around them and with them.
2. Then the players describe what they want to do. It can be a simple thing, such as opening a door
and walking into another room. The DM can choose that this is not an obstacle for the player, but
they can also choose that the door is locked and the room contains a death trap, or they can create
some other difficulty for the character, who must then roll the dice at the DM's request to determine
the outcome of each action.
3. DM describes the results of the adventurers' actions, which often lead to another decision point,
thus maintaining the flow of the story.
If you are interested in learning more about this game mechanism, visit the D&DBeyond website.
https://www.dndbeyond.com/
Summation
In summary, the image of Dungeons and Dragons has undergone significant changes in recent
decades. Gaming was once a socially unacceptable hobby for the excluded, but today it is widely
accepted and loved, and even a way to connect with others and build social relationships.
D&D's growing presence in popular culture and the game's inclusive nature towards players from
diverse backgrounds and personalities have all contributed to the change in perception.
The game itself has become a preferred way to develop various valuable skills, further increasing its
social acceptance, and it is unlikely that its growing popularity will end anytime soon, as more
content is created every year and the community continues to grow.
