Dungeons & Dragons and the Gothic

This is the original art that was on the cover of the 1st edition of Dungeons and Dragons with the box set. The art depicted is very representative of what the game was at the time; a harkening to simpler times, with forces of good and evil working against each other. Adventures in Dungeons and Dragons at the time were, many times, fighting beasts and monsters of all different shapes and sizes with magic of different moral standings.

Pictured is current cover art from the most recent (5th) edition of the Dungeons & Dragons rulebook. In terms of atmosphere, it is very similar  to many of the Gothic tropes we have studied, but perhaps with a bit more magic. A dark and looming figure of evil emerges from the gloom to attack the small and unassuming hero. The monsters pictured are a part of the world that these heroes live in; a disruption to their everyday lives and the balance of good and evil. The cover art serves not only as a tonal indicator for the tome of monsters and creatures that the reader is about…

With a game that is meant for use by diverse groups of people, how do Gothic aesthetics make their way into play? With a game that tends to be mostly narration and dialogue, most of the atmospheric setting falls to the prowess and knowledge of the Dungeon Master (essentially narrator) and players. Small props and miniatures can be used to help physicalize actions and efforts (mostly for battles and interactions that rely on the amount of space between players and monsters), but for the most part, play is oral. Similarly to the "dark and stormy night" trope of a setting at the start of many…

Since the 80s, Dungeons and Dragons has dropped and then burgeoned in popularity. Today, Critical Role is an immensely popular actual play group that records and posts their campaigns on YouTube. Episodes are serially released and publically available, having grown from a few friends playing a game at home together to a crew with a following of 2.5 million. Critical Role in particular is known for their evocative imagery and storytelling (as well as the occasional costume); players sit at an atmospheric but plain table and transport their watchers and listeners to new worlds with voice…

Along with Critical Role, Dimesion 20 is a halmark of the flimed actual play TTRPG world. Wheras Critical Role focuses more on the minutae of playing the game, Dimension 20 employs visual artistery and imagery to enhance the oral storytelling. In this picture, a miniature set helps to reinforce the established world-building. Character art is also often used to the same effect, and the elements of oral storytelling and visual and atmospheric aids come together to create a cohesive and distinctly Gothic adjacent setting for the stories to take place in. 

Though Dungeons and Dragons can be enhanced digitally through filming artistry and artwork, and immersive through playing with smaller groups in person, Dimension 20 has recently proven that even captivating a room full of 20,000 people with oral and Gothically-rooted story and playing Dungeons and Dragons is possible. With nothing but themselves, a few visuals of character art, and some pyrotechnics, they kept a packed Madison Square Garden on their toes and with attention raptured. This is due, in large part, to many of the evocative tropes of the Gothic being used, twisted, and reformed…