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

[thalmin]

So quickly everyone has forgotten Meepo!
Unfortunately, most of the Names don't really have Faces, unless tied to a very specific piece of art. Their physical descriptions aren't that distinguishable.
Images of Drizz't (or at least one of his many PC clones), Lord Soth, Strahd, Tiamat, Lolth, and Demogorgon are pretty recognizable. For the older crowd we can maybe add Dungeonmaster and the other characters from the cartoon series, along with Morley the Wizard (the D&D trademark who also showed up in some early TV commercials). Of course, one of the most recognizable characters of D&D was neither a PC nor NPC: Gary Gygax!

 

[Mirtek]

In essence, who could make the jump from the latter list to the former. I mean, even among comic book fans the names Star Lord, Gamora, Drax, Groot, and Rocket weren't especially well known, but now they are household names like Captain America or Thor.

Who among the D&D crowd would be poised to make a leap towards mainstream?

I think that's a huge exageration. People might know "that tree guy" and "that racoon", but attaching groot and rocket to them is already beyond them. Half avengers audience likely couldn't name Hawkeye or even that iron man is Tony stark, he's just iron man

 

[iserith]

So quickly everyone has forgotten Meepo!

Haha! I recently ran a 5e conversion of Sunless Citadel for a group online. (Some are fine posters on enworld.) They all played the iconic characters, too: Krusk, Mialee, Jozan, Tordek, Alhandra, and Lidda. When they first encountered Meepo, they tried to kill him and I was so happy because I didn't want him to be a big deal in the adventure. (Never liked him.) But every single time they attacked, they missed. I swear I am cursed. Since then - and perhaps just to annoy me - they have converted him to the worship of Bahamut and he's become a member of the party. Damn the bad luck!

Some art one of the players did after an epic battle in that adventure:
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Courtesy Highscore Kid Blog
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[akr71]

What, no love for Gord the Rogue?

I have Lord Soth tattooed on my upper right arm, but that doesn't qualify him for stardom, I just thought the artwork was cool.


Sorry, I don't have a pic of the actual tat (that I'm willing to share).

You're list has too many villains in my opinion. You need heroes to sell posters and kids bed sheets and lunchboxes. I can't imagine there are many kids wanting a lunchbox with Lolth or Demogorgon on it - maybe Tiamat (my kids would). While I know of Drizzt & Eliminster, I have never read the books. The Heroes of the Lance are the most recognizable in that list to me.

I am sure there will be no end of merchandising by Hasbro and Warner Brothers if the Forgotten Realms movie ever actually happens. Then the Drizzt haters can latch onto something else.

 

[Remathilis]

I'd have included the cartoon kids, but WotC doesn't own the rights to them.

As someone said, heroes are in short supply because PCs are usually the Heroes. You pretty much have to go to the novels and games for that. Villains are in much larger supply. In both cases, there aren't that many that have instant recognition it seems.

 

[hawkeyefan]

Venger and the Dungeon Master!

Honestly, it probably really boils down to Drizzt and Elminster and their supporting casts, and maybe Raistlin and the other Dragonlance characters.

 

[Sacrosanct]

Outside of RPG gamers, I don't think there are any. About the closest thing people might recognize are Hank, Eric, Bobby, Shiela, Diana, and Presto. But not by name, only by image.

 

[hawkeyefan]

Outside of RPG gamers, I don't think there are any. About the closest thing people might recognize are Hank, Eric, Bobby, Shiela, Diana, and Presto. But not by name, only by image.

You forgot Uni!!!

 

[Eejit]

You forgot Uni!!!

"Mmmmwweehhhhhh!!"

"Oh no! Uni's in trouble!" [as always]

 

[DEFCON 1]

Character branding won't happen until a movie or television series that is successful gets released. Then at that point, those characters in the tv or movie will become the "D&D characters" the general public will know about.