Dungeons & Dragons in other media

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The Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) fantasy role playing game has been adapted into many related products, including magazines, films and video games.

In 1975, TSR began publishing The Strategic Review. At the time, role playing games were still seen as a subgenre of the wargaming industry, and the magazine was designed not only to support D&D and TSR's other games, but also to cover wargaming in general. In short order, however, the popularity and growth of D&D made it clear that the game had not only separated itself from its wargaming origins, but had launched an entirely new industry unto itself. The following year, after only seven issues, TSR cancelled The Strategic Review and replaced it in 1976 with The Dragon (later Dragon Magazine). Although Dragon Magazine was originally designed to support the role playing industry in general, it has always been primarily a house organ for TSR's games with a particular focus on D&D. Most of the magazine's articles provide supplementary material for the game, including new races, classes, spells, traps, monsters, skills, and rules. Other articles will provide tips and suggestions for players and DMs. The magazine has also published a number of well known, gamer oriented comic strips over the years, including Wormy, SnarfQuest, Yamara, Knights of the Dinner Table, Nodwick, Dork Tower, and The Order of the Stick. Between 1983 and 1985, TSR's UK branch published Imagine Magazine. It featured similar content to Dragon, focusing on D&D and Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D). Imagine featured a monthly series of articles about a new campaign world, Pelinore, which were later continued in the non TSR magazine Game Master. Some material that originated in Imagine was eventually incorporated into Unearthed Arcana. In 1986, TSR launched a new magazine to complement Dragon. Dungeon Adventures, published bimonthly, published nothing but adventure modules for Dungeon Masters. While Dungeon now publishes other kinds of material as well, Dungeons & Dragons adventures remain its main focus. While many other magazines have partially or fully devoted themselves to supporting D&D, Dragon and Dungeon remain the only two official publications for the game. In 2002, Wizards of the Coast licensed the two magazines to Paizo Publishing. Publication of both magazines then ceased in September 2007 as the owning company opted for an online model, citing a downturn in the market for low circulation specialty and hobby magazines. In total, there were 359 Dragon issues and 150 Dungeon issues released in print. The final 3rd Edition issue of Dragon was #362, and the final 3rd Edition issue of Dungeon was #153. The online version of the magazines are up to issue #408 and #201 respectively as of April 2012.

An animated television series, titled Dungeons & Dragons, was produced in 1983. The cartoon was based upon the concept of a small group of young adults and children who get transported to a D&D based fantasy realm by riding a magical roller coaster. When they arrive, they are given potent magical weapons and must survive against the chromatic dragon Tiamat and a power hungry nemesis called Venger. They are assisted in each episode by a gnome like creature called Dungeon Master and a baby unicorn named Uni. In 2003, a computer animated motion picture entitled Scourge of Worlds: A Dungeons & Dragons Adventure was produced for DVD, featuring the iconic characters (Regdar, Mialee, and Lidda) created for the 3rd Edition. This is an interactive movie that asks viewers to decide what actions the heroes should take at crucial points in the story, allowing hundreds of different story telling combinations. A special edition was released later that included even more choices, two additional endings, the making of the Scourge of Worlds, and the original (linear) version of film. The official Dragonlance Chronicles animated film, Dragonlance: Dragons of Autumn Twilight was released straight to video in January 2008. The film stars the voices of Michael Rosenbaum as Tanis, Kiefer Sutherland as Raistlin, Lucy Lawless as Goldmoon, and Michelle Trachtenberg as Tika.

A live action film, titled Dungeons & Dragons, was released in 2000 to largely negative critical reception. Dungeons & Dragons: Wrath of the Dragon God, a made for TV sequel, was first aired on the Sci Fi Channel on October 8, 2005, receiving better critical reception, and was released on February 7, 2006 on DVD. This sequel is also known by the alternate title Dungeons & Dragons 2: The Elemental Might. A third film, Dungeons & Dragons: The Book of Vile Darkness, was released in 2012. In 2013, Warner Bros. acquired rights to make a film based on Dungeons & Dragons, using a script written by David Leslie Johnson. Hasbro and its subsidiary Wizards of the Coast then sued Sweetpea Entertainment, producer of the first three D&D films, over its movie deal with Warner claiming that the film rights (TV and feature) have expired. In 2015, Warner Brothers reached a settlement with Hasbro's Allspark Pictures and Sweetpea Entertainment over rights and a new film was in the works. As a result of the settlement, Hasbro transferred rights to Paramount Pictures by 2017. Chris McKay was originally brought in to direct the film, but was replaced by Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley. Chris Pine and Hugh Grant were cast in the film. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves was released in March 2023. By January 2022, Hasbro's eOne was developing a live action D&D series with Rawson Marshall Thurber writing and directing the pilot. By January 2023, Paramount+ gave this series an eight episode, straight to series order. It will be co produced by eOne and Paramount Pictures with Thurber directing the first episode.

By October 2022, Hasbro's eOne began to develop a documentary on Dungeons & Dragons to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the game in 2024. Joe Manganiello and Kyle Newman will co direct; Manganiello will also produce along with Nick Manganiello, Anthony Savini and Cecily Tyler. The documentary will feature more than 400 hours of archived, never before seen Dungeons & Dragons footage from the game's creation in the early 1970s, and interviews with celebrity fans of the game. The first book of the Dungeon Academy series, Dungeon Academy: No Humans Allowed by author Madeleine Roux and artist Tim Probert, was released in Fall 2021 and is set in the Forgotten Realms. Two other series began in 2022: an untitled Dungeons & Dragons graphic novel series by author Molly Ostertag and artist Xanthe Bouma and the Dungeons & Dragons: HarperChapters series. Also during the 1980s, one page "mini comics" appeared as advertisements in both Marvel and DC publications, always ending with the line "To Be Continued "

After the release of the 3rd Edition, KenzerCo, better known for the popular gaming comic Knights of the Dinner Table, secured the licensing rights to produce official D&D comics. Using the license, they produced a number of different mini series. One notable mini series for this comic line entitled Tempest's Gate was authored by Sean Smith. It featured memorable iconic characters of D&D such as Zed Kraken, a powerful and influential magus. In 2002, Iron Hammer Graphics published the single issue comic Vecna: Hand of the Revenent. In 2005, the license passed to Devil's Due Productions. Starting in June of that year, Devil's Due began releasing official adaptations of D&D tie in novels, starting with Salvatore's Dark Elf Trilogy. As webcomics grew, many D&D inspired comics were created with some of them even going as far as publishing physical books. Amongst the more popular ones are Rich Burlew's The Order of the Stick and Tarol Hunts's Goblins. The game has also been seen in several FoxTrot comic strips over the years played by Jason and his best friend Marcus.

In 2010, IDW Publishing started publishing an ongoing Dungeons & Dragons comic based on the 4th Edition core setting which finished in February 2012. In 2011, they also released a limited series based on the Dark Sun campaign setting, as well as another series, Forgotten Realms: The Legend of Drizzt: Neverwinter Tales, written by R. A. Salvatore and based on his famous D&D character, Drizzt Do'Urden. starting with Legends of Baldur's Gate (2014) — Jim Zub "has had a hand in nearly every D&D comic since" this limited series was published. This series has five sequel limited series: Shadows of the Vampire (2016), Frost Giant's Fury (2017), Evil at Baldur's Gate (2018), and Mindbreaker (2021). Two additional limited series have also been published: A Darkened Wish (2019) and At the Spine of the World (2020). In 2020, author B. Dave Walters was the Dungeon Master for A Darkened Wish, an official actual play web series, which was based on the comic; it ran for 30 episodes and ended in 2021. In August 2018, a crossover comic with the adult animated sitcom Rick and Morty was published by IDW and Oni Press. The series titled Rick and Morty vs. Dungeons & Dragons is co written by Jim Zub and Patrick Rothfuss, and drawn by Troy Little. A four issue sequel, Rick and Morty vs. Dungeons & Dragons: Chapter II: Painscape, written by Jim Zub and Sarah Stern with art by Troy Little was published in 2019. A five issue crossover comic with the television series Stranger Things was published by IDW and Dark Horse Comics on November 4, 2020.

From 1983 to 1984, LJN produced a line of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons action figures. The Official Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Coloring Album was published in 1979 by Troubador Press and TSR, written by Gary Gygax and illustrated by Greg Irons. It was both a coloring book and a mini adventure module.

The first official soundtrack to Dungeons & Dragons was produced when Wizards of the Coast teamed up with Midnight Syndicate, producing the 24 track album Dungeons & Dragons. The album was released on August 12, 2003, and received positive reviews from both the gaming and music community.

Wizards of the Coast has created, produced and sponsored multiple web series featuring Dungeons & Dragons. These shows have typically aired on the official Dungeons & Dragons Twitch and YouTube channels. Some have been adapted into podcasts. Types of shows include actual play series, event livestreams, and talk shows. In November 2023, Hasbro's Entertainment One launched the Dungeons & Dragons Adventures FAST channel, available on platforms such as Amazon Freevee and Plex, which features new actual play web series, reruns of the animated Dungeons & Dragons series, and reruns of other Dungeons & Dragons web series.