Being somewhat housebound at the moment, I took the opportunity to catch up with some reading this weekend, although in the case of this particular book, actually reading and enjoying it all over again…

Art & Arcana is another in a series of collectible coffee-table books celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game (in 2024 I believe, although the book itself was first published back in 2018), and in purely graphic terms, it’s without question absolutely stunning…

To say this is a visual tour de force of the seminal RPG is understating things just a tad, because as well as all the gorgeous fantasy imagery, this fully illustrated history of the game takes a deep dive into the evolution of the artwork, from the relatively simple sketches in the original core books to the dazzling colours and splendour of all its modern incarnations and paraphernalia. It looks at the covers, the sketches, the toys, the merchandise, the adverts, the magazines, the miniatures, the offshoots, and even has a cursory glance at the Wizards of the Coast take-over, as well as looking at the RPG artform itself when it made various fumbling efforts to transition onto home computers. Over and above all of that however, it focuses primarily on the fantastic artwork, which is why this is such a joy even if you just flick through it: pages and pages of back-to-back full-colour and double-spread images, creative dungeon maps, fold-outs, a veritable mountain of D&D eye-candy, as well as various asides to modern ‘geek culture’…

Opening with the original edition of the game and a broad introduction, the book quickly moves onto Advanced Dungeons & Dragons and its associated supplements, with a small aside covering the disappearance of James Dallas Egbert III too — he was the student who disappeared for about a month in August 1979 amidst rumours that he’d somehow been ‘devoured’ by the game, mixing fantasy with reality, etc. This proved to be a tough time for TSR who continued for several years both riding the wave of additional publicity and over-reaching with its expansion into foreign markets, including the cartoon TV series, computer games, and toy merchandising.

It was almost 10 years later when the heyday of AD&D 2nd Edition really began as the 90s got underway, but unfortunately success also came with its own share of headaches. Diversification and the introduction of myriad different worlds and planes / dimensions would eventually prove their undoing — with so many different sourcebooks and an emphasis on playing the game whichever way consumers wanted to, TSR found itself both fighting for market share and at war with its own success: there was too much choice, and consumers couldn’t and wouldn’t keep up.

Thankfully and in hindsight, this diversification has brought us an array of fantasy fiction and incredible campaign worlds / universes to explore today, all under the same D&D banner. And while it’s easy to look back and be grateful, this all happened alongside the release of the Magic: The Gathering collectible card game (CCG) and various other popular RPGs, it’s clear that TSR were having to try even harder to bring new and younger fans to its doors with various starter and introductory sets…

1997 saw Wizards of the Coast take over the company and bring some much needed stability for a short while, but it would also introduce some of the biggest changes to the game with the launch of the 3rd edition at the turn of the century, and while no longer marketed as Advanced D&D, the visual overhaul proved refreshing: it was no secret Wizards already had some of the very best fantasy artists working for them through Magic: The Gathering, so it didn’t take long.

D&D Art and Arcana explores all of this really well, and goes on to cover subsequent developments, and the continued push to try and move the game and its consumers towards playing D&D as a miniatures-based combat game of sorts. This led to a consumer backlash, because neither v3.5 (2003) or 4th edition D&D (2008) proved particularly popular, and reading between the lines I don’t think the authors were that impressed by the exaggerated size of the weaponry and the god-like powers available to players with the release of these editions of the game, either!

It’s with the launch of the D&D boardgames and the development of D&D 5th Edition where this book shines even brighter, embracing a decade of visual revolution, gorgeous fantasy worlds, a refreshed and revitalised RPG system, and more importantly the Forgotten Realms universe that would ultimately prove to be at the core of the new edition.

The book finishes shortly after the launch of the DM’s Guild and D&D Beyond in 2017, but at this point it has already comprehensively explored the whys and wherefores of trying to bring the D&D RPG onto home computers. Indeed, to read this you could easily surmise that D&D pretty much kickstarted the continuing evolution and development of modern GUIs (Graphical User Interface) in computer and graphic adventure games as they increasingly tried (and failed) to recreate the feel of a genuine tabletop experience. There’s many that would argue that’s more of an evolution of computer and videogames in general rather than D&D itself, however, and although it certainly wasn’t the only RPG that could lay claims on that front, it is still most likely the first and foremost.

In closing, I can’t help but mention Art & Arcana endeavours to be even more comprehensive with various interwoven ephemera and one-off historical notes littered throughout its pages… The ‘Arteology’ bits for example, explore and expand on the historical background behind various pieces of art, the ‘Deadliest Dungeons’ provide additional imagery from some of the more infamous dungeons, the ‘Sundry Lore’ features try to explain certain aspects of the game’s history, and the ‘Evilution’ callouts —probably my favourite— showcase how some of the most iconic monsters have changed appearance through generations of artists.

I can’t really say enough nice things about this beautiful book, but if you’re a fan of gorgeous artwork and RPG history, I highly recommend this. All-told, it’s an eye-watering photographic feast of fantasy gorgeousness, and currently under £30 in some retail channels, which is a genuine bargain!

— Alex Bardy, 17Aug26