9/17/23
There have been 3 big things on the @dndwizards Instagram recently. One is that they are promoting tabletop material related to the new video game Baldur’s Gate 3. There are premade character sheets based on game characters, which could be a lot of fun for those who enjoy D&D and Baldur’s Gate 3. Another common theme is that there is a back-to-school sale (40% off! Until Sunday!). This makes sense, as many players (especially for newer editions) are in high school and college. The third is that they are releasing a new campaign soon, so there is a lot of promotional material and preview stuff (like art) for it.
The Facebook page was quite similar in composition, but with the addition of some more links to content (which makes sense because the post format is different than Instagram). There were also some fairly recent posts about additions/revisions to the game, and content for Spelljammer (the D&D space setting). But there was much of the same with posts about the back to school sale, Baldur’s Gate 3 (AKA D&D the video game), and The Shattered Obelisk (new campaign). They also notably used a meme to advertise their sale (see bottom image) which is a way to connect with the target demographic for the dale (younger people). There are more parts of the Facebook page (events, videos, etc.) that I will look at next week, as well as perhaps starting to look at comments on their feed.
9/24/23
The Facebook page has updated their profile picture with a skeleton (presumably to be festive for the approaching holiday). There have been many images promoting the minis for the new campaign, featuring Mindflayers. Notably, on the release announcement for the Shattered Obelisk, someone commented that they always liked the alternative cover art. The alternative cover is in a much different style, but given that at least some viewers like it, it seems that Dungeons and Dragons has made it for previous products, and continues to do so.
I looked at two posts on the Instagram page for comments, and they were quite different in energy. The first post was a reel discussing why people like Mindflayers (tentacle-faced, amoral, brain eating humanoid creatures) so much. They discussed character design and the concept of the Mindflayer as factors. However, the overwhelming majority of the commenters agreed that the reason is “they’re hot”. The other post was about the making of Baldur’s Gate 3. The comments on this post were primarily complaints about the company’s practices and the features they choose to include in their content.
10/1/23
The Instagram page had more about Mindflayers this week, as well as an addition to the Monster Compendium that was released. There were also more posts about the Baldur’s Gate 3 character sheets available on the site. Something new this week was the release of a Dungeons and Dragons DLC for Minecraft, which is exciting news for those who like both. There was also a post asking people to talk about their favorite parts of playing D&D. They ask for this to help with the development of new content. Asking what people like allows them to determine what is working and important to people and improve from there.
The Facebook again has similar content. The comments about the new Minecraft DLC were mostly positive, with a couple of questions and complaints. According to one commenter, the addition did not work well for multiplayer (which, as they pointed out, seems a little silly for something based around a collaborative game). I also checked the shop part of the Facebook page. There were a number of interesting items, and the one I looked at specifically was One Grung Above. I thought it was a mini, but it was online content, and proceeds from sales are directed to Extra Life, a charity for children’s healthcare.
10/8/23
The two most interesting topics on the Facebook page this week were about Planescape, the most recently released setting, and a new Unearthed Arcana playtest. The Unearthed Arcana content is the beta content and rules for Dungeons and Dragons. There were far more posts about Planescape, and the various species, places, and worldbuilding features within the setting. The screenshotted post about how magic works is just one example of several similar posts on the page.
The Instagram page had several posts about Planescape, and after looking through the comments, it seems the overall response has not been great. There were some who expressed excitement, but there were many complaints about the lack of physical content (it was only released digitally) or expressions of concern based on the way other new settings were handled.
10/15/23
This week, the Dungeons and Dragons Facebook page was almost entirely full of Planescape posts. They were announcing minis (which answers the question of a commenter in one of the previous weeks), and just highlighting specific parts of the new content. There was also a meme in there (one I as a player found quite funny and accurate). There’s typically at least one during the week, and I’m surprised there aren’t more because of how much D&D players love memes.
On the Instagram, there were much of the same posts, with some different images of minis, more Planescape, and so on (so much Planescape). There was one reel that caught my attention, about how the D&D Multiverse would be more prevalent in the 2024 rulebooks, a decision inspired by Planescape, which was being written at the same time as the rulebooks. There was a very long and thoughtful comment on it about the increase of the use of different planes in D&D and how it made it more difficult for homebrew DMs.
10/22/23
On the D&D Instagram this week, there were more Planescape minis and content about the new setting. However, there were also some other posts about new products. There was a post advertising upcoming Pride dice, which makes sense considering how many queer people play Dungeons and Dragons. There is a Book of Many Things and Deck of Many Things set available to pre order. The set is based on the popular magic item, the Deck of Many Things. Additionally, there is a new supplemental content set that seems to be a little horror themed, probably in the spirit of Halloween.
On the Facebook page, it was much the same. However, I decided this week to check through the Mentions. There were some gaming/business pages that mentioned the new Planescape setting, but also businesses with their own products like gaming dice. The Mentions page also had mentions from personal pages, so there were a few posts about people’s regular D&D enjoyment.
10/29/23
This week on the Dungeons & Dragons Instagram, there was an announcement that the Deck of Many Things physical release would be delayed due to manufacturing issues. However, no new date was given which many people asked about. There was a fun post joking about the new Taylor Swift album 1989 (Taylor’s version) which was the year the 2nd Edition of Dungeons & Dragons was released. There is also a sale which ends on Halloween for spooky themed items.
On the Facebook page, there were mostly posts that were the same as the Instagram. Mostly about the Deck of Many Things. They also updated their profile picture to have the cards in the background. Some other posts included posts about monster emojis available on some devices, and a charity event for high needs classrooms.
11/5/23
This week on the Dungeons and Dragons Instagram, there was still a lot of posting about the Book of Many Things content, despite the delayed release of the physical edition. There was also a post about t-shirts being sold in support of Extra Life. One set of posts I found interesting was a stat block reveal for a character in the Book of Many Things. There were two posts about it; the first had the block blurred out, and stated that it would be revealed on the X (Twitter) account first. The block was shared on Instagram not too long after.
There was more content in support of the Extra Life charity event on the Facebook page. Additionally, there was a post about a Book of Many Things character that received a lot of attention in the likes comments. People were very interested in this character, both out of fear of her abilities and because they find her appealing.
11/12/23
This week on the Dungeons and Dragons Instagram page, they announced that Baldur’s Gate 3 won Game of the Year in the Golden Joystick Awards, and that Neil Newbon won Best Supporting Performer for his role as Astarion, a character in the game. There were also a number of posts about the Deck of Many Things content. Many were posts directing to the Instagram Shop or the website, but there were also some Reels about the Deck.
The Facebook page had an announcement about the core rulebooks update. The rulebooks are being updated for 2024, and in the comments there were discussions about what might be new. So far the only information other than there will be new core rulebooks next year. However, the commenters also expressed concern over having to buy the new rulebooks, especially considering the price.
11/19/23
On the Dungeons and Dragons Instagram page, there were a lot of reels about Baldur’s Gate 3. There were also many continued posts about the Deck of Many Things. In the comments of a post about the Deck, someone was wondering about the delayed physical release, because of the continued extensive advertising. There was also a post on the story promoting a DnD cooking show called Heroes’ Feast, which is on a channel called DnD Adventures, which has several series going on.
On the Facebook page, I found more comments speculating and observing about the physical release of the Deck of Many Things. There were also some interesting posts about Baldur’s Gate 3, which went into more detail about the awards it was nominated for. It was nominated for 8 awards, which is the highest number of any game this year, and only one other game in the lineup was nominated for that many.
12/5/24
Wrap Up Video:
