Dungeons & Dragons has attracted several of the greatest storytellers of all time to the Forgotten Realms, and at Gen Con, Wizards of the Coast announced a new product line called D&D Icons to bring together creators to develop new stories for the tabletop franchise. True Blood actor Joe Manganiello has a long history with the franchise, and he serves as chief creative officer for the D&D Icons line. Speaking to GameSpot’s Jessica Cogswell at Gen Con, Manganiello explained how he wants D&D Icons to continue the legacy of the game’s co-creator, Gary Gygax.
“I was asked one year ago today by [Head of Dungeons & Dragons] Dan Ayoub, ‘What would you do if you had…’ I brought up the possibility of there being this line within D&D, and he said, ‘Okay, who would you want to work with?’ I said, ‘Margaret [Weis] and Tracy [Hickman] to re-establish Dragonlance would be number one.’ The idea that Gary Gygax got pushed out of the world that he created back in 1985 never sat right with me, and always made me sad,” Manganiello said, referring to how Gygax was ousted from his company, Tactical Studies Rules Inc., in the ’80s.
“Even with the 3rd Edition, he and Dave Arneson were brought out on stage, and they really weren’t allowed back in to re-establish their worlds or any of the work that they did. I know that Luke [Gygax] had just acquired a lot of Castle Greyhawk maps and unpublished maps from his father. I know that his father had wished that Luke would be able to continue his work after he passed away, and Luke was about to publish them all independently. I thought, ‘What a great opportunity to pay respect to Gary as the Stan Lee of role-playing.’ I am about appeasing ancestors or ghosts. Even after they’re gone, I feel like they still hang around. I thought that there would be a lot of people who would be welcomed back to the gaming table if Gary’s work was continued by Luke.”
Alongside Gygax, Weis, and Hickman, D&D Icons also includes celebrated author R.A. Salvatore, who is resurrecting the fan-favorite character Drizzt Do’Urden from The Legend of Drizzt series. Manganiello is developing his own setting called Death Saves, Weis and Hickman are working on a new volume in the Dragonlance tabletop RPG, and Gygax is producing a Greyhawk project based on unfinished work and notes left behind by his late father.
Elsewhere in Dungeons & Dragons, the TTRPG continues to grow with new initiatives and crossovers. World of Warcraft is coming to the tabletop game and there’s speculation that Blizzard’s MMORPG could also host the IP, Universes Beyond is coming to D&D, and Manganiello hinted that modern-day settings could come to the Icons program, eventually.
