From Forgotten Realms to Red Steel: Here's That Full D&D Setting Sales Chart

Whether this will end a thousand internet arguments or fuel another thousand, Ben Riggs, author of Slaying the Dragon: A Secret History of Dungeons and Dragons, has finally published the combined chart of cumulative sales for every AD&D setting from 1979 to 1999.

Forgotten Realms, Greyhawk, Oriental Adventures, and Dragonlance lead the pack. The least selling setting was Red Steel in 1994. There was a clear decline in sales of all settings from 1989 onwards, so that's not necessary a comment on quality. Planescape, certainly a cult favourite, sold surprisingly few copies.

Slaying the Dragon - Macmillan

The secret and untold story of how TSR, the company that created Dungeons & Dragons, was driven into ruin by disastrous management decisions, then ...

read.macmillan.com

In order, the best-selling settings were:

1. Forgotten Realms
2. Greyhawk
3. Oriental Adventures
4. Dragonlance
5. Ravenloft
6. Dark Sun
7. Spelljammer
8. Lankhmar
9. Al-Qadim
10. Planescape
11. Birthright
12. Maztica
13. Karameikos
14. Red Steel

These stats were compiled as part of his research into his book, Slaying the Dragon: A Secret History of Dungeons and Dragons, which you should totally buy.

Slaying the Dragon - Macmillan

The secret and untold story of how TSR, the company that created Dungeons & Dragons, was driven into ruin by disastrous management decisions, then ...

read.macmillan.com

Let's dive into some individual sales charts! Note, these are for the primary setting product, not for additional adventures, supplements, etc.

 

[sevenbastard]

I am assuming that mid 90s bump in Lankhmar is the orange box starter set?

Underrated in my opinion. But probably didn't sell well as I picked up one about 10 years ago for cheap still shrink-wraped.

 

[Erdric Dragin]

Does this mean we'll finally get a remastered and culturally appropriate Kara-Tur setting again?

Or will WotC chicken out as usual?

 

[Pauper]

Does this mean we'll finally get a remastered and culturally appropriate Kara-Tur setting again?

Not sure why this would be a priority, when Legend of the Five Rings exists.

As unimpressed as I am personally with Spelljammer as a setting, seeing how popular it was in its original release, plus that there is very little out there, even today, that resembles it (maybe Space: 1899?) goes a long way to explaining why WotC would bring the setting back.

--
Pauper

 

[Hussar]

I would think that the primary reason that spelljammer is getting the nod is because unlike other settings, there doesn’t seem to be this group of gate keeping super fans who will scream from the mountaintops about how every little change is ruining the setting, DnD is dead and anyone who disagrees isn’t really a fan

In other words SJmmer doesn’t have this mass of toxic fans.

 

[SakanaSensei]

I would think that the primary reason that spelljammer is getting the nod is because unlike other settings, there doesn’t seem to be this group of gate keeping super fans who will scream from the mountaintops about how every little change is ruining the setting, DnD is dead and anyone who disagrees isn’t really a fan

In other words SJmmer doesn’t have this mass of toxic fans.

Idk man, have you SEEN the number of comments about how WotC changing the Phlogiston and Crystal Spheres into things that functionally work the same way but have different names is ABSOLUTELY RUINING THE SETTING HOW DARE YOU?

 

[ENWorldUser]

Any records of overseas sales?
Basic Set (Mentzer) was incredibly popular outside of the USA. It was the only D&D book we could buy in my city outside of specialist RPG stores.
In my own country there were zero distributor returns due to very large shipping costs. Unsold books were heavily discounted. (According to 1 local source who sold D&D in the mid to late 90's)

 

[ENWorldUser]

The setting sales don't surprise me at all.
Anything revised included WSE's that put the original buyers off.
Red Steel was the 3rd iteration of that area after X series plain Savage Coast, and peaked with the popular Princess Ark series in Dragon Mag.
BECMI/RC Mystara fans didn't follow through to the Karameikos boxed set and Red Steel as a whole.
Do you have the RC sales? The Basic Set new peak in 91 looks like it was the Black version.

 

[Hussar]

Idk man, have you SEEN the number of comments about how WotC changing the Phlogiston and Crystal Spheres into things that functionally work the same way but have different names is ABSOLUTELY RUINING THE SETTING HOW DARE YOU?

No. To be honest, I actually haven't. Other than a couple of minor cries, I've hardly seen any resistance to the new Spelljammer. But, maybe I'm just not looking in the right places.

But, compared to the absolute freakout when WotC tried to change the Planes in 4e? Yeah, not even close.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

Playmobil Dragonlance conf... oh, wait, wrong threat!

Now I wonder if the new title for OA should be something like "Isekai Adventures", or "Isekai & Xuanhuan". Let's rembember today manga is being sold better than superheroes comics, in the Western market itself.

Red Steel/Savage Coast could enjoy a second oportunity in the future, or at least some spiritual succesor as Spelljammer spin-off. But here the game designers would need a lot of work about the mutations and superpowers. But also it could work as a first step for a new edition of Gamma World. Lots of things from this could be recycled and retold for a rebooted version of Red Steel. And fantasy+pirates is a popular subgenre now thanks Jack Parrow and company.

I imagine Hollow World as an artificial demiplane created by gods as a mixture of "theme park + museum" and a "backup in the space-time continium" to avoid paradoxes by possible chronomancers and time-travelers.

Dragonlance needs the option of alternate timelines to allow fandom more creative freedom to write their fanart stories.

 

[Mezuka]

I'm wondering if Riggs got numbers for other games like Star Frontiers, Boot Hill, Gamma World, Gang Busters and Top Secret. Would be interesting to see how they fared against D&D settings.