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.

 

[Henadic Theologian]

In all seriousness (IMHO of course):

1. Greyhawk's #2, eh? I wonder why there's so little interest in bringing it out now--the fans just aged out?

2. OA is #3. I know there are all the concerns about cultural appropriation, but seems like Hasbro (unlike indie developers) has enough money to hire enough people with cultural competence in Japan (or at least enough to satisfy American activists?) to pull off a pseudo-Japanese setting at least. I do wonder if concerns about the portrayal of fantasy-China (Shou Lung in the old setting?) might slip into a Sino-American kerfluffle with someone taking something out of context and the Chinese government actually getting offended and starting an international incident. (Same problem with al-Qadim, only more so. And Maztica, plus it was never that popular.)

3. I guess Lankhmar doesn't have the modern fanbase, but I'm curious to see if there are real attempts at urban fantasy. I guess they have the rights to Waterdeep.

4. I'm surprised nobody tried to bring back Planescape--I'm guessing the actual 17th-century slang and piercings and spiky hair look too 90s? Maybe that's exactly what will sell it in a few years when 90s nostalgia gets going.

5. Birthright--no way they're bringing that back. Genetically determined powers and kingdoms are going to sound way too white nationalist (yes, I know this is perfectly normal premodern thinking around the world historically, I'm talking about the way it's going to come off).

6. Spelljammer probably had (as other people said) enough of an obscure fanbase to not start flame wars and little enough material they could give it their own stamp.

7. Why don't they bring back Dark Sun? The Brom pics (Brom did as much for our view of Dark Sun as DiTerlizzi did for Planescape, and they both played a huge role in creating my view at least of the setting and giving it a unified artistic vision) look too Frazetta-y and toxically masculine? You could easily make muscular nonbinary and female warriors too. I'm guessing psionics were so divisive they figured it wasn't a good bet.

1. Greyhawk had a complete monopoly for a long time years so it's numbers were misleading.

2. WotC has tons of cultural consultants, including 3 or 4 East Asian writers on Radiant Citadel (it has a fantasy Thailand, China, and Japan, maybe one other), and several South Asian (Indian), writers on the book too, and Middle Eastern (Persian). Plus the crew who worked on Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty. In fact I susect the only reason Kamigawa didn't get a D&D book is because something is planned for Kara Tur. Btw OA is a MITHIRIL BESTSELLER, and Kara Tur is PLATINIUM BESTSELLER, so the setting is as popular as ever.

3. Urban Fantasy they have Waterdeep, Baldur's Gate, Ravnica, Radiant Citadel, and probably next year Sigil.

4. The Planescape lingo and attidude was annoying,but Planescape Torment was glorious.

5. Silly

6. They don't give a crap about fan out cries or rage as long as they keep o. making tons of money, they only care when things fall apart.

7. Psionics isn't solved. The rest I'm not even touching.

 

[SakanaSensei]

Your understating how fundlemental the charges to the setting are, it now blurs the line between Spelljammer and Planescape to nearly none existent. I like the change, but mostly because I hate trying to spell Phligizon, blasted word, Astral Plane I can spell just fine.

I understand the differences just fine, on an intellectual level. But my players are going to see “fly to the edges of this system, transfer to the fantasy hyperspace equivalent, maybe see some stuff go down then pop back out into your destination.”

Basically, the whole thing reeks of distinction without a difference because play experience isn’t going to change much if at all. And discussion spaces around this game in particular seem to be lousy with distinctions without differences.

 

[Jer]

7. Why don't they bring back Dark Sun?

They did. Up until Ravenloft it was the only non-FR TSR setting that Wizards had done an updated book for (unless you count Gamma World I guess) - except it was for 4e so I assume many folks have forgotten it existed.

(Updated book because of course Star Drive and Star Frontiers both got a kinda-sorta update with d20 Future, but not a full setting update).

 

[Henadic Theologian]

I understand the differences just fine, on an intellectual level. But my players are going to see “fly to the edges of this system, transfer to the fantasy hyperspace equivalent, maybe see some stuff go down then pop back out into your destination.”

Basically, the whole thing reeks of distinction without a difference because play experience isn’t going to change much if at all. And discussion spaces around this game in particular seem to be lousy with distinctions without differences.

When your players get lost in the Astral Plane and their Spelljammer ends up in Hell your players will care about the difference.

 

[CleverNickName]

LOL! Out on the socials, there's a bit envy/competition. "Well, we don't know the whole story about setting X, if only they had included (modules, setting guides, etc.), we'd get the true story about my (obvious pet setting.)"

Agreed, and I'm no exception (Mystara is my pet favorite). I'm not really driven by competition or envy, though. I'm being propelled along by pure curiosity.

 

[Hussar]

It was a much shorter section and not the focus of the book. Dragonlance adventures was designed to sell a setting. OA was a rules supplement with an example setting but it’s included so TSR considered it a setting book.

That’s a fairly fair way of looking at it.

After all, most people who bought DL Adventures were likely already setting fans. The modules and the novels preceded DLA by some time.

OA otoh had no such lead up. It was presented more or less as a complete product in and of itself. The OA modules and other stuff all came out afterwards.

They have an almost opposite history.

 

[darjr]

Seeing TSR luminaries posting in Bens threads is rather cool.

 

[Jer]

When your players get lost in the Astral Plane and their Spelljammer ends up in Hell your players will care about the difference.

And they will thank you for it.

Come on - the visual of a Spelljammer flying through space and into Hell is just too good. I think that I now either have a campaign concept or a metal album cover in my head that I'm going to need to figure out what to do with...

 

[SakanaSensei]

And they will thank you for it.

Come on - the visual of a Spelljammer flying through space and into Hell is just too good. I think that I now either have a campaign concept or a metal album cover in my head that I'm going to need to figure out what to do with...

I'm with you on "that sounds super cool, so why would there be complaints?"

But I also take some issue with the "you're totally wrong, this is a big difference that you can't see because you don't know enough and you'll be sorry, you'll see!" tone of the original message, here. Like, why do we have to be so confrontational over something so minor?

And if you don't want to have your players deal with Outer Plane stuff while using the Astral as a go-between, just... don't? It's really not hard.

 

[Reynard]

And they will thank you for it.

Come on - the visual of a Spelljammer flying through space and into Hell is just too good. I think that I now either have a campaign concept or a metal album cover in my head that I'm going to need to figure out what to do with...

The into to BG3 has entered the chat...