D&D: The Da Vinci Code Meets Gangs Of New York And Then Some
The latest storyline for Dungeons and Dragons is teasing out more details, as well we learn some fairly astounding news about the state of the game. D&D is growing fast, and that’s pretty fascinating. So come for the teasers, stay for the numbers. And get more clues.
First things first, recently a columnist from the Seattle Times had a chance to visit Wizards of the Coast and talk with them about the state of the game, including teasing out a few details about the latest storyline. We’ve linked the original article, which is pretty fascinating–there’s a lot of detail in there about the shape of D&D, and it’s a pretty good intro if you know someone who has no idea what D&D is.
These guys, for instance…
But more fascinating is the data we get from the article. We learned that D&D is experiencing incredible growth:
D&D […] had a 44 percent sales growth over 2016, and the most number of players in its history — 12 million to 15 million in North America alone.
What’s more, their efforts to make Dungeons and Dragons more inclusive are paying off. WotC has made special effort with 5th edition to include more diverse representation of women and people of color, and women playing D&D now make up about 40% of the player population. That’s huge. And it shows why representation matters, not just from a social perspective, but a financial one as well. Representation seems to make for better all around products while encouraging more people to get involved.
Hard data aside, the other big reveal in this article is the description for the latest storyline, which is mirrored in the article title here. The Da Vinci Code meets Gangs of New York, which seems to fit the current theories that it’ll involve thieves’ guilds (and the Xanathar in particular) and take place somewhere in Undermountain.
With #NoStoneUnturned trending, and the twitter account @ImmortalFortress transmitting strange clues and sending players scouring the internet and the real world for clues. Speaking of which, a mysterious clue gathering website has appeared. It seems to be collecting what clues have been found, and a hub for questing folk to visit to try and figure out what to search next. This next week will be a busy one for you internet detectives.
So whether you’re tuning in for the Stream of Many Eyes, or here to see what else lurks in Dungeons and Dragons future… there’s lots of exciting stuff coming soon. And that’s not even mentioning the newest book, Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes.
Happy adventuring!
