Dungeon Dudes Content On D&D Beyond

 D&D Beyond's sale to Wizards of the Coast a few years ago seemed like it would be a mixed blessing.

On one hand, the possibility of uniting the physical and digital purchase of books was raised - in practice we've really seen this instead as bundles that are, admittedly, at a discounted price, but not the hope of "buy the book, get the digital version free" that some of would have loved to see.

But it also signaled a direction that some have warned about, which would be the narrowing of D&D into only its official releases. D&D Beyond initially had only a little non-WotC-produced content thanks to the inclusion of Matt Mercer's Blood Hunter class, but that seemed like a bit of a one-off.

Last year (earlier this year? What is time?) the company surprised everyone by announcing that Tal'dorei Campaign Setting Reborn, which is published by Darrington Press, Critical Role's publishing wing, would be added to the service as well.

This was a big deal, but I think I, and I imagine a lot of other D&D players, assumed that this was kind of a special, privileged thing for Critical Role in particular because of its profound success and role in evangelizing D&D - many credit it, along with Stranger Things, with the vast popularity of 5th Edition. (For me it was Penny Arcade's Acquisitions Incorporated games at PAX that got me curious - and it was my players in my first campaign that turned me on to Critical Role.)

But now they're putting the Dungeon Dudes' stuff up there.

The Dungeon Dudes I primarily know for their YouTube channel, where Monty Martin and Kelly McLaughlin talk various D&D topics, and generally have a fun and affable vibe. But they also publish D&D books, and their adventure, Dungeons of Drakkenheim, is getting published on D&D Beyond.

The potential here is huge.

See, I think that because D&D Beyond is such a useful tool, it's very popular to use - I don't even have a physical character sheet for the Wizard I'm currently playing. And I've seen in the various silly memes about D&D on social media that the inclusion of the Blood Hunter on the service has sort of allowed it to slip in as almost a core class (not quite as ubiquitous, but it's part of the conversation.)

I genuinely believe that by including something on D&D Beyond, Wizards of the Coast is signaling to the vast player base - not all of whom are constantly watching obscure YouTube channels, browsing the DM's Guild, or hanging out in game stores - that "this here is real D&D stuff."

It's easy to imagine a world where the money people at Hasbro insist that D&D Beyond only push WotC-created content to ensure a full vertical integration and shut out independent creators as publishers.

But despite the recognizability of D&D as a brand, the game really thrives on being a broad community with lots of contributors. This game is just better when more people are tinkering with it, more people are contributing to it. And there's no way to monopolize it without cutting off the game's own air supply.

Now, do I trust Hasbro to fully open the gates and let D&D thrive? Maybe not.

In an ideal world, whatever company owns D&D would see it as something of a position of stewardship - something to safeguard and provide as a public good in the same way that broadcast networks used to provide news services (to see how that broke down, watch the movie Network, one of the greatest satires of all time).

This is actually something of a step in that direction.