D&D 5E Who are the famous characters of D&D

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I'm old enough that I think of the iconic characters from the back of 1E's Rogues Gallery, many of whom were also name-checked in the PHB or DMG, or in later products.

I also think that Meepo and Ashardalon from the 3E era are NPCs that have stood the test of time.

 

[DarkCrisis]

Most of the big names from Faerun. Even after 4E killed 90% of them

 

[plisnithus8]

I’m not sure what you mean by standing the test if time, but I don’t think Meepo or Ashardalon have much name recognition at all.

 

[TheLibrarian]

Gonna date myself with this one, but Mordenkainen and The Circle of the 8.

 

[Henadic Theologian]

A twist on the question: who gets name-checked in the Core books?

Name escapes me at the moment, but the Tomb of Horrors demilich gets brought up multiple times.

Obould the Super-Orc gets a sidebar to himself.

Strand, all over the place.

The Demon Lords and Devil Princes get enumerated (a Hell AP sooner or latter seems likely).

Farideh was qouted in the PHB. Some other characters too. Maybe I'll check later to see what others were.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I’m not sure what you mean by standing the test if time, but I don’t think Meepo or Ashardalon have much name recognition at all.

No?

He was first name-checked in 2000 in the Sunless Citadel, and then repeatedly throughout the original 3E adventure path before being the final enemy in Bastion of Broken Souls in 2002. He has since shown up in the 3E Draconomicon, the 3E Tome of Magic, I believe in 4E and in Tales from the Yawning Portal and Fizban's in 5E, 21 years after his first appearance. And, of course, he got his own board game.

A lot of the "iconic" characters mentioned in this thread have had a lot less of a presence in the game's lore.

But I think @Benjamin Olson is right that a lot of this is individual bubbles, based on the eras one started or played in and which content they consumed. Very little stuff tends to break out of that. I know almost no FR characters, for instance, outside Elminster and Drizzt and even of the Heroes of the Lance, the only ones I could name with a gun to my head are Tasslehoff and Soth. Likewise, I think only a handful of the Circle of Eight are easily remembered by non-Greyhawk partisans. Strahd is probably better known than almost any other D&D characters.

The characters who break through one's own bubble are probably the only ones who should count as truly famous ones.

 

[Henadic Theologian]

Good call on Demogorgon and Vecna! (Fun test to see which fandom someone is coming in from: is it Demogorgon or the Demogorgon?)

I think Raistlin vs Drizzt is an 80s vs 90s thing.

I now want a novel called Raistlin vs Drizzt.

But honestly Drizzt has still been selling a naughty word load of novels every years, tens of millions of copies of drizzt novels have been sold.

But that is nothing compared to the size of the Drizzt fandom if the John Wick writer gets to make the Drizzt tv series he's been working on writing for.

 

[Blue Orange]

I now want a novel called Raistlin vs Drizzt.

But honestly Drizzt has still been selling a naughty word load of novels every years, tens of millions of copies of drizzt novels have been sold.

But that is nothing compared to the size of the Drizzt fandom if the John Wick writer gets to make the Drizzt tv series he's been working on writing for.

I mean, Raistlin killed all the gods. You'd have to find some way to depower him. Drizzt is probably much more popular at this point.

 

[havard]

Page 5 of the thread and noone mentioned Aleena and Bargle yet?

-Havard

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Drizzt is probably much more popular at this point.

I would like to see sales numbers over time. I would be shocked if both Raistlin and Drizzt were anywhere near as popular as they were even 20 years go, much less 30.