{"product_id":"dungeons-dragons-art-arcana-special-edition-boxed-book-ephemera-set-isbn-9780399582752","title":"Dungeons \u0026 Dragons Art \u0026 Arcana [Special Edition, Boxed Book \u0026 Ephemera Set]","description":"\u003cb\u003eA deluxe, special edition package containing art prints, ephemera, and the illustrated guide to the history and evolution of the beloved role-playing game as told through the paintings, sketches, and illustrations behind its creation, growth, and continued popularity.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFINALIST FOR THE HUGO AWARD • FINALIST FOR THE LOCUS AWARD • NOMINATED FOR THE DIANA JONES AWARD\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e From one of the most iconic game brands in the world, this official  DUNGEONS \u0026amp; DRAGONS illustrated history provides an unprecedented  look at the visual evolution of the brand, showing its continued  influence on the worlds of pop culture and fantasy. Inside the book,  you’ll find more than seven hundred pieces of artwork—from each edition  of the core role-playing books, supplements, and adventures; as well as  Forgotten Realms and Dragonlance novels; decades of \u003ci\u003eDragon\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eDungeon\u003c\/i\u003e magazines;  and classic advertisements and merchandise; plus never-before-seen  sketches, large-format canvases, rare photographs, one-of-a-kind drafts,  and more from the now-famous designers and artists associated with  DUNGEONS \u0026amp; DRAGONS. The superstar author team gained unparalleled  access to the archives of Wizards of the Coast \u003ci\u003eand\u003c\/i\u003e the personal  collections of top collectors, as well as the designers and  illustrators who created the distinctive characters, concepts, and  visuals that have defined fantasy art and gameplay for generations. This  is the most comprehensive collection of D\u0026amp;D imagery ever assembled, making this the ultimate collectible for the game's millions of fans around the world.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eContained inside a clamshell featuring original illustrations by superstar D\u0026amp;D artist Hydro74, this special edition includes 10 high-quality prints of classic DUNGEONS\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u0026amp;\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003eDRAGONS\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003eartwork, as well as a pamphlet-sized, unpublished original version of the game’s most infamous adventure module and deathtrap \u003ci\u003eTomb of Horrors\u003c\/i\u003e, written by DUNGEONS \u0026amp; DRAGONS co-creator Gary Gygax.“This  tome invites the reader through every stage of the evolution of this  wonderful game, engaging with incredible art, enlightening photos, and  insightful anecdotes that both inform and inspire. Whether you got to  experience the birth of DUNGEONS \u0026amp; DRAGONS and want to relive that  origin spark, or are new to the community and would love to adventure  through the visual chronicle of its past, present, and future... I  cannot recommend this book enough.” \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Matthew Mercer, Dungeon Master of \u003ci\u003eCritical Role\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e“This  is the most comprehensive, mind-blowing visual history ever created  about DUNGEONS \u0026amp; DRAGONS. Beyond the iconic artwork featured on  nearly every page, the book actually serves as a complete history of the  entire D\u0026amp;D universe. Both fans of the game and newcomers will be  completely blown away by the countless hours of research and passion put  into this book. There’s truly nothing else out there like it.” \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Adam F. Goldberg, creator of \u003ci\u003eThe Goldbergs\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e“This is the definitive collection of DUNGEONS \u0026amp; DRAGONS\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003eartwork  we’ve been waiting for all of our lives! The images contained in this  book will instantly transport you back to your childhood, and conjure up  memories of long forgotten adventures shared with old friends around  the gaming table. This tome is an essential addition to every  lifelong D\u0026amp;D fan's home library. Buy a copy right now—or make me a  saving throw versus Death Magic!” \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Ernie Cline, author of \u003ci\u003eReady Player One\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e“DUNGEONS \u0026amp; DRAGONS\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003ehas  shaped the imaginations of millions around the world since its  conception. This visual exploration delving into where it all began is  a must-read for both dedicated veterans and new enthusiasts alike. A  passionate homage from the biggest fans in the industry!” \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Maude Garrett, TV, radio, and online host and founder of \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eGeek Bomb\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“I  grew up during the early days of DUNGEONS \u0026amp; DRAGONS, and it’s been  decades since I’ve seen the wonders that enthralled me during that  magical time. At last, familiar treasures from the depths of the vault  are here. They can make you cry depending on how deep you went. This is  an incredible tome of power.\" \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—John Romero, co-creator of \u003ci\u003eDOOM\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e“This  is a time machine. Poring over these images forty years after I first  held the Basic Set in my hands, I’m overwhelmed by the same ineffable  feelings I had back in 1977.  DUNGEONS \u0026amp; DRAGONS unlocked something  in my twelve year old brain—an exhilarating sense of possibility—that  set my future course as a game designer and writer. This book inspires  me all over again\" \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Amy Hennig, creator of the\u003ci\u003e \u003ci\u003eUncharted \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/i\u003eseries\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“This  fascinating deep dive into the world of DUNGEONS \u0026amp; DRAGONS will  thrill both the connoisseur of role-playing games, as well as anyone  interested in visual histories. I found so much information to inspire  daydreams for months. I can’t wait to add this to my library of all  things geeky.”\u003cb\u003e \u003cbr\u003e—Deborah Ann Woll, actor and D\u0026amp;D enthusiast\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"This  tome of awesomeness [...] You can only begin to imagine the amounts of  hours that this team of top notch authors poured into this. They gained  unparalleled access to the archives of Wizards of the Coast and the  personal collection of some of the top collectors. Needless to say this  book will detail and illustrate the long and wonderful journey of  Dungeons and Dragons from its humble beginnings to the cult status it  obtained to this day. This has never been achieved in a book before  making it the must-have D\u0026amp;D collectible.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e —Fabienne Payet, \u003ci\u003eOutright Geekery\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e“In  the early 1980s, I spent lots of time working and gaming  with D\u0026amp;D co-creator Gary Gygax during his ‘lost Los Angeles period;’  I went on to work closely with TSR until its end. For me, this is more  than a book.  It’s a time machine back to a fantastic, fabulous time  when anything was possible. For anyone who wants to understand the pure  magic of \u003ci\u003eD\u0026amp;D \u003c\/i\u003eand where it came from, get this book at all costs.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e —Flint Dille, Screenwriter\/Game Designer \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Can’t  give a higher recommendation than the highest for this amazing book!  I’ve seen the preview and I was blown away page after Page! GET THIS  BOOK!\"   \u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e—Stefan Pokorny, Founder and CEO of Dwarven Forge\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“This  book is an exotic, magical, and fun trip into the world  of DUNGEONS  \u0026amp; DRAGONS whether you’ve ever held a twelve-sided die or  not.” \u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—James Gunn, writer-director of the \u003ci\u003eGuardians of the Galaxy \u003c\/i\u003emovie series\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003eMICHAEL WITWER is the author of the critically acclaimed \u003ci\u003eEmpire of Imagination: Gary Gygax and the Birth of Dungeons \u0026amp; Dragons\u003c\/i\u003e, a GeekDad Best Book of 2015. Michael is widely considered an expert on \u003ci\u003eD\u0026amp;D\u003c\/i\u003e history and has spoken on the topic at Google as part of its\u003ci\u003e Google Talks \u003c\/i\u003eseries, on NPR's \u003ci\u003eAll Things Considered\u003c\/i\u003e, as well as at major book and gaming conventions such as the Boston Book Festival, Gen Con, and Origins.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eKYLE NEWMAN is a writer\/director whose directorial work includes \u003ci\u003eFanboys \u003c\/i\u003ewritten by Ernie Cline, starring Kristen Bell and Seth Rogen; \u003ci\u003eBarely Lethal\u003c\/i\u003e, starring Samuel L. Jackson, Hailee Steinfeld, and Jessica Alba; and music videos for artists including Lana Del Rey and Taylor Swift. Newman also produced the critically acclaimed documentary \u003ci\u003eRaiders: The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made\u003c\/i\u003e. His clients include Microsoft, Interscope Records, Starz, Coca Cola, \u003ci\u003eEntertainment Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e, and Lucasfilm.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJON PETERSON is a widely recognized authority on the history of games. His book \u003ci\u003ePlaying at the World\u003c\/i\u003e was called \"the first serious history of the development of \u003ci\u003eDungeons \u0026amp; Dragons\u003c\/i\u003e\" by \u003ci\u003eThe Village Voice\u003c\/i\u003e. He has contributed to academic anthologies on games including \u003ci\u003eZones of Control \u003c\/i\u003eand the forthcoming \u003ci\u003eRole-playing Game Studies: Transmedia Foundations\u003c\/i\u003e. Jon also writes for gaming and geek culture websites including BoingBoing, the Escapist, and GamaSutra, as well as his popular RPG history blog, playingattheworld.blogspot.com.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSAM WITWER is an actor whose work includes leading roles in the SyFy series \u003ci\u003eBeing Human\u003c\/i\u003e, for which he was nominated for a Gemini Award, and the \u003ci\u003eStar Wars Saga\u003c\/i\u003e, where he brings various characters to life in video games, film, and television—including an Emmy-nominated performance as the voice of Darth Maul. He has also been featured on \u003ci\u003eOnce Upon a Time\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eSmallville\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eBattlestar Galactica\u003c\/i\u003e, Stephen King’s \u003ci\u003eThe Mist\u003c\/i\u003e, and\u003ci\u003e Dexter\u003c\/i\u003e. He has been an avid \u003ci\u003eDungeons \u0026amp; Dragons\u003c\/i\u003e player since age 11.\u003cb\u003eFrom the INTRODUCTION\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIf it's true that we live in an era when it is “chic to be geek,” then Dungeons \u0026amp; Dragons is just about the coolest thing out there. It was, it is, and it always will be the game of the geeks, but its fandom is no longer so neatly contained. Once an esoteric diversion known only to a small but passionate group of wargamers, the game and the foundational concepts that it brought forth became among the most influential phenomena of the Information Age. The reason? The game’s earliest adopters happened to share an interest in other “geeky” things like computers, electronics, digital technologies, visual effects, filmmaking, performing arts, and beyond. These geeks grew up to develop the social and business infrastructure of the twenty-first century using concepts they had once learned on poorly lit tabletops set in dining rooms and basements. Dungeons \u0026amp; Dragons, according to \u003ci\u003eWired \u003c\/i\u003eeditor Adam Rogers, “allowed geeks to venture out of our dungeons, blinking against the light, just in time to create the present age of electronic miracles.” It is indeed chic to be geek, and the prophesy has finally been fulfilled: the geek shall inherit the Earth (and the parallel D\u0026amp;D world of Oerth).\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eToday, if you are one of the millions of subscribers to an MMO (massively multiplayer online game)such as \u003ci\u003eWorld of Warcraft\u003c\/i\u003e; a tourist in the exotic worlds of a computer role-playing franchise such as \u003ci\u003eFinal Fantasy \u003c\/i\u003eor \u003ci\u003eThe Elder Scrolls\u003c\/i\u003e; a virtual marksman in any first-person-shooter video game; a lover of modern fantasy television, films, or literature such as \u003ci\u003eGame of Thrones\u003c\/i\u003e; or even anyone who has ever “leveled up” in a game or rewards program, then you have Dungeons \u0026amp; Dragons to thank. Simply put, D\u0026amp;D has either directly or indirectly influenced them all. John Romero, co-creatorof the seminal first-person-shooter \u003ci\u003eDoom\u003c\/i\u003e, attributes his success to D\u0026amp;D, calling it “the most influential game,” adding that “the gaming concepts put forth by D\u0026amp;D inspired the earliest groups of gamers and computer programmers, and set into motion a revolution of creative and technical innovation.” The numbers of actors and directors who credit the game with providing them inspiration is immense, from Vin Diesel and Stephen Colbert to Rainn Wilson and the late Robin Williams. Celebrated director Jon Favreau suggested the game gave him “a really strong background in imagination, storytelling,understanding how to create tone and a sense of balance.” National Book Award–winner Ta-Nehisi Coates agrees, suggesting the game helped introduce him to “the powers of imagination.” All this is to say, the story of D\u0026amp;D is as important now as it has ever been, and with the recent success of 5th edition and an array of D\u0026amp;D-inspired blockbuster books, shows, and films surfacing, from \u003ci\u003eReady Player One\u003c\/i\u003e to \u003ci\u003eStranger Things\u003c\/i\u003e, its history will become increasingly visible and relevant.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNothing conveys the story of D\u0026amp;D better than its visuals. At a time when fantasy and science fiction were, at best, fringe diversions, D\u0026amp;D was creating a culture of do-it-yourself fantasy world-building through its immersive narrative environments, given life by its ever-evolving illustrations and artwork. It depicted monsters, magic, swords, and sorcery in a way that taught fans a visual vocabulary of the unreal, fixing in the minds of a whole generation how to picture the fantastic. The relationship between Dungeons \u0026amp; Dragons and its artwork goes beyond symbiosis, but to outright reliance—one simply couldn’t exist without the other. The art informed the game, and the game informed the art. Beginning as amateur, homebrew sketches used to illustrate to the initiated simple concepts such as maps and the physical appearance of monsters, characters, and weapons, the art of D\u0026amp;D rapidly became an essential teaching tool as the game reached wider audiences less familiar with some of its fundamental concepts. The illustrations quickly had to become instructional in nature, helping players to not only conceptualize the landscapes, inhabitants, and equipment of the imagined world, but even how to use them in the context of the game. Soon the game and its fandom demanded even greater levels of sophistication—ful lcolor artwork with higher and higher levels of character andcomposition. This movement gave way to a wave of master artists who eventually developed the most important and influential fantasy art from the late 1970s to today—a collection simply unsurpassed in the fantasy genre.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe book you are holding is the dynamic story of this incredible game as told through its incomparable imagery, as well as the story of the visuals themselves. It is a carefully curated selection of art, advertising, and ephemera that we feel best represents D\u0026amp;D’s incredible forty-plus-year journey—a visual archive that tells a remarkable story of evolution, innovation, turmoil, perseverance, and ultimately triumph. While we expect that much of the enclosed imagery will be at least remotely familiar to D\u0026amp;D aficionados, the collection that follows includes numerous one-of-a-kind rarities, many of which have never been released to the public. We truly hope that you enjoy what you read and see, and that you as readers might approach this piece the same way we did—with unadulterated passion and a taste for adventure. After all, this is an adventure module of sorts, one that is intended for you personally, just as it has been for each of us. “So enjoy, and may the dice be good to you!”","brand":"Ten Speed Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46301482254565,"sku":"NP9780399582752","price":125.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780399582752.jpg?v=1767725772","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/dungeons-dragons-art-arcana-special-edition-boxed-book-ephemera-set-isbn-9780399582752","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}