This year has been a busy time for Dungeons & Dragons, from the release of the 2024 rulebooks updating 5th Edition, to the 50th anniversary milestone. Nothing could better capture so much joy, adventure, and creativity over the span of five decades than Dungeons & Dragons: Art & Arcana’s 50th anniversary release.
Originally released in 2018, Michael Witwer, Kyle Newman, Sam Witwer, and Jon Peterson’s goal with Art & Arcana was to gather the history of Dungeons & Dragons and compile it into a visual journey bound inside a book.
From the inception of the game in the 1970s to the massive explosion in popularity at the end of the 2010s, fans and newcomers alike have had the opportunity to see the evolution of a game that has left an immeasurable impact on fantasy, gaming, and imaginative play.
Key Details
- Creator: Wizards of the Coast
- Publisher: Ten Speed / Penguin Random House
- Authors: Michael Witwer, Kyle Newman, Sam Witwer, and Jon Peterson
- Price: $50 on the Penguin Random House website
- Copy Provided for Review: Yes
Appreciation As A Younger D&D Player
I have mentioned before in reviews and D&D writing that I am fairly new to the game. I started playing in the late 2010s after falling in love with The Adventure Zone: Balance podcast by the McElroy Family.
However, a podcast is an unconventional introduction to the vast and complex worlds that have existed since before I was born. To say that diving into D&D was intimidating would be an understatement.
While you can pick up a 5th Edition sourcebook and get an understanding of the game as it is today, there is so much culture, detail, and intricacy interwoven in modern modules that only exists due to the historical legacy built over every iteration of the game.
Art & Arcana is the guide to navigating that history and gives a breathtaking look at how the adventures of today were born from an idea conceived decades ago.
An Appreciate of Change
We can all admit that D&D as it was originally imagined had a few issues. We can also all accept that those issues persisted up into modern editions, and some even exist today.
Fantasy has always had a level of gatekeeping. D&D as I knew it growing up was only for the best and more hardcore nerds. It was also “just for boys”. Or, “just for the white kids who could actually afford the sourcebooks”. Looking at the original ideas from 1st Edition, the inclusion and even the scope of the world were limited to the viewpoints of just a few people with very specific experiences in life.
However, as you flip through Art & Arcana, something magical happens – you have the chance to see a massive world expand in real-time. As more people took an interest in the game and added to it with their own experiences and views of the genre, limited perspectives widened, stereotypes were tested, and concepts challenged.
One of D&D’s greatest achievements at its 50th Anniversary mark is how this game originally played by a very limited demographic, has exploded to include and represent a vast array of people.
The message today isn’t: Let’s go on a fantasy adventure. It is: Anyone can go on a fantasy adventure.
Even in the past few years since Art & Arcana was published, D&D creators have made new steps to include more diverse characters, better storylines with culturally inspired material, and better depictions of classes and races that were once, frankly, pretty barbaric and insensitive.
I love that the evolution of this process has been captured in the pages of this book, and it is a testament to the importance many minds have when building worlds. The more perspective you have, the more rich and detailed the worlds can become.
A Portable Museum
Art & Arcana is a portable museum that any D&D fan should invest in. While most other volumes for the game are designed to supplement adventures or build out the worlds that make up campaigns, this book is designed to expand our understanding of the creative processes behind those resources.
If you are a history buff, you will be delighted with scans from original sourcebooks, have the chance to pour over some of the very first maps, and be bewildered by the hand-written notations of D&D’s creators.
Readers will also get to see the evolution of these original concepts via artwork, process breakdowns, and timelines. It is a concise, understandable, and delightful breakdown of the worlds iconic creatures, locations, and rules.
Final Score – 8/10
For many of us playing D&D today, Art & Arcana might be the only way to truly see how the game has evolved into what we currently know it to be. The 50th Anniversary Edition is a stunning volume to add to your library or to have out at game nights to go over with friends.
However, there is a good chance many Dungeons & Dragons enthusiasts already own the 2018 version of Art & Arcana. While there are six new fold-out sections and a special cover, this might not be enough to invest in a second copy.
However, if you have yet to pick one up, I would highly recommend this version of Dungeons & Dragons: Art & Arcana, and can’t say enough about how amazing it is to see so much history for such a beloved game in one spot.
**Bonus Action was provided a sample copy of Dungeons & Dragons: Art & Arcana for the purpose of this review.**
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