Rystefn
Explorer
Horror is probably the only genre that has been hit harder than Sci-fi on the general public only seeing the aesthetics and thinking the aesthetic is the genre. If you look at horror as something invoking not just fear, but a particular type of fear, then D&D almost couldn't be worse at it. If you look at horror as something invoking any actual fear at all, then it's still pretty terrible at it, and always has been. Sure, people might be concerned that their character could die, but I've never seen or heard of a person actually sitting at a table, playing D&D, and actually feeling the emotion of fear for real like a well done film, nook, or whatever can make them do.
But if you want the aesthetic? D&D has you more than covered. What D&D does very well is put scary looking monsters in front of people. It can invoke horror tropes left and right. It can have all the vampires and zombies and blobs and serial killers and anything else of that nature you could ever want. It can have dim lighting and cloudy nights and blood splashed everywhere with the best of them. D&D can pull on those aesthetics all day, every day, and never suffer for it. If that's the aesthetic you want, and it's the aesthetic lots of people want, D&D can serve you endless helpings right out of the box. Leaning into that is not difficult, and it's not surprising that if you combine it with something at all resembling competent adventure design, you're going to get a popular book.
But if you want the aesthetic? D&D has you more than covered. What D&D does very well is put scary looking monsters in front of people. It can invoke horror tropes left and right. It can have all the vampires and zombies and blobs and serial killers and anything else of that nature you could ever want. It can have dim lighting and cloudy nights and blood splashed everywhere with the best of them. D&D can pull on those aesthetics all day, every day, and never suffer for it. If that's the aesthetic you want, and it's the aesthetic lots of people want, D&D can serve you endless helpings right out of the box. Leaning into that is not difficult, and it's not surprising that if you combine it with something at all resembling competent adventure design, you're going to get a popular book.