The cultural effect of Stranger things it is undeniable. When it first aired, interest in the TTRPG Dungeons & Dragons greatly increased due to the main characters playing. What’s absurd to me is that the show still continues to spark interest in this game once only played by the nerdiest among us.
For example, the Role tabletop virtual platform saw a 285% increase in interest. D&D as the first part of season 4 aired on May 17th. Before season 4, D&D made up half of their arcades created and increased up to 80% after season 4 aired and has seen a 130% increase in people playing D&D. These are crazy numbers, and of course, being a newer virtual system it could be attributed in part to new users, but of course only new users would not contribute entirely to those numbers, especially with the speed at which they have increased. It will be interesting to see if these numbers increase again in the wake of Part 2 of Season 4.
To help new players get into the game, Role has announced an unofficial integration with D&D Beyond coming later this month, in addition to the launch of its initial D&D adventure. Founder Elle Dwight has this to say:
This season of Stranger Things had an influence on pop culture, as we saw when Kate Bush was pushed to number one recently. The show had a big effect on this RPG vertical. We are so excited to see a spike in interest in D&D and it is fortuitous that it coincides with the launch of new Role features specifically designed to make us the simplest platform on which to start your next D&D campaign.
You can check out the image below to take a look at what the integration will look like. I really enjoy using D&D Beyond for my character sheets, so I hope Role is able to achieve the same ease of use that I am used to with D&D Beyond. Regardless, this is an exciting time for players old and new alike looking for more people to play with.
by Anna Williams
Source: Geek Tyrant
