D&D 5E Is Dragons of Stormwreck Isle Based on the 80s D&D Cartoon?

We've known about the new starter set for D&D, Dragons of Stormwreck Isle, for some time, but we've known precious little about the boxed set.

The folks over at comic book.com have a theory, though -- they posit that the adventure is based on the 1980s Dungeons & Dragon cartoon. Looking closely at the cover art (which is very blurry) it looks a lot like Hank the ranger with his energy bow, and Diana the acrobat leaping over the dragon's lightning breath, while the one piece of interior art we can see features somebody with a glowing shield -- the signature magic item of Eric the cavalier in the cartoon.

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But that's not the only clue! WotC has been teasing the cartoon in various social media posts over the last couple of weeks, as has D&D Beyond.

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The cartoon ran in the 1980s and featured a group of children who found themselves in the magic world of Dungeons & Dragons, and were granted magical items by the mysterious Dungeon Master. Those children became Hank the ranger, Eric the cavalier, Diana the acrobat, Presto the magician, Shelia the thief, and Bobby the barbarian. The show also featured Uni the unicorn, plus the Dungeon Master, the villain Venger, and, of course Tiamat the 5-headed dragon.

A couple of years ago, a Brazilian car commercial featured a live action version of the D&D cartoon heroes.

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[Jer]

Not only can it be that, but it could be even less than that.

It could just entirely be Gen-X nostalgia baiting.

I think many folks my age are in disbelief that that's all it could be because the marketing world mostly seems to skip over us in the nostalgia baiting game, going right from baiting Boomers to baiting Millennials. But that could be all it is - a way to market some things to us olds with money that we'll buy. I mean, have I looked at the D&D cartoon blanket that they have out there and thought "I should buy that"? Yes - yes I have. Despite having no need for another fleece blanket. I'm only slightly ashamed to admit it.

 

[Rikka66]

I think many folks my age are in disbelief that that's all it could be because the marketing world mostly seems to skip over us in the nostalgia baiting game, going right from baiting Boomers to baiting Millennials. But that could be all it is - a way to market some things to us olds with money that we'll buy. I mean, have I looked at the D&D cartoon blanket that they have out there and thought "I should buy that"? Yes - yes I have. Despite having no need for another fleece blanket. I'm only slightly ashamed to admit it.

Not sure I agree with your first point. 80's nostalgia was in vogue for quite a while. It feels like it's less about Gen-X and more about them rushing through the 90's nostalgia fad.

I think there's something to it, maybe even as far as a Netflix reboot. I get surprised pretty often to discover they have some cartoon that's on it's fourth season now I didn't know existed. But a Halloween mask and a social media post with a picture of Dungeon Master....I don't consider that slam dunk evidence that they are all in Eric the Cavalier as the next Optimus Prime.

 

[bedir than]

I'm fairly certain that D&D/Hasbro have a pretty good, concrete contract with Paramount Pictures

Netflix has the Magic the Gathering show. The two known D&D series were being shopped at last word.
eOne is one of the producers behind ABC's (Disney) Grey's Anatomy.
There isn't a distribution partner that eOne doesn't have a relationship with.

 

[Undrave]

Netflix has the Magic the Gathering show. The two known D&D series were being shopped at last word.
eOne is one of the producers behind ABC's (Disney) Grey's Anatomy.
There isn't a distribution partner that eOne doesn't have a relationship with.

There's an M:TG show???

 

[bedir than]

There's an M:TG show???

Netflix's Magic: The Gathering - What We Know So Far

Magic: The Gathering is joining its fellow trading card games in getting its very own animated Netflix series, and this is what we know so far.

www.looper.com

 

[Rikka66]

There's an M:TG show???

In development. Last major news they lost the previous producers (Russo Brothers, so that had to sting) but have Brandon Routh cast as a main character. Supposed to come out this year.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

It is not only nostalgy, but also parents and uncles who want to share their favorite memories from their childhood to the next generation.

There is a project of a M.TG show, but they are in the phase of comingsoon.

Theorically a new D&D cartoon should be in Paramount, but also we see new cartoons of Transformers in Netflix.

And we can't ask because you can bet for the NDA.

Hasbro could recover old and totally forgotten franchises, because these allow higher risks to test, and after to be translated to other IP.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I looked this game up hoping for Shadows of Mystara, and got this instead... not my forte.

View attachment 155274

The look is 80s but the gameplay is modern, and very bog-standard.

 

[Parmandur]

I'm fairly certain that D&D/Hasbro have a pretty good, concrete contract with Paramount Pictures, and I doubt either party is interested in changing that. Streaming is always possible, but it'd go to Paramount+.



Eh, maybe. Thing is a matter of tone to me. The box, and images, look mostly like standard 5E "slay the monster" fare. The tv show is... much less violent? Like there's violence, but it's a bit more PG than PG-13 like most D&D is. And the adventure itself, plus the image of the dragons fighting, looks more like generic D&D like Phandelver than the cartoon. If Venger was on the cover I'd be more inclined to agree, but this doesn't seem like more than an homage to me.

The other stuff just seems like easy branding for the D&D social media and merchandise team to leverage. I'm surprised they weren't using it years ago (and they kind of were).

As @bedir than points out, Hasbro and WotC have been somewhat fluid about production partners. I think they didn't previously because they weren't doing anything with the property. Now, that seems to be changing

 

[Parmandur]

There's an M:TG show???

Yeah, Hasbro is working towards Magic being a big multimedia crossover phenomenon, too.