INDIANAPOLIS, Aug. 1, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- Today at the Gen Con Indy 2024 gaming convention,
the Postal Service celebrated 50 years of DUNGEONS & DRAGONS by
releasing a sheet of 20 new stamps now available nationwide.
In a video on the Postal Service's Facebook page, USPS Senior
Vice President of Finance and Strategy Luke
Grossmann said, "It seems fitting that these D&D stamps
will soon travel the world. We hope you will find them a worthy
tribute to DUNGEONS & DRAGONS' lore, and that they add a
fantastical element to your cards, letters and other mailings."
Lisa Bobb-Semple, USPS director
of stamp services, said DUNGEONS & DRAGONS has changed the
perception of what tabletop gaming looks like.
"With this in mind, we wanted to innovate the way we reveal this
stamp and create an immersive experience with the fans to connect
with the magic of the game at Gen Con," she said. "The Postal
Service timed the release of the stamp with the game's 50th
anniversary and we hope fans see them as a welcome sign that this
deeply cherished game can be appreciated by the masses on stamps.
We are very excited to have the DUNGEONS & DRAGONS stamp in our
collection, starting today."
On hand at the Gen Con Indy 2024 gaming convention were
Greg Breeding, an art director for
USPS who designed the stamps; Chris
Perkins, DUNGEONS & DRAGONS creative director;
Jeremy Crawford, DUNGEONS &
DRAGONS game director; and Josh
Herman, head of art at DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS, where they
unveiled the stamps and signed autographs for fans.
Fifty years ago, DUNGEONS & DRAGONS brought a bold new type
of game to American tabletops, one in which players collaborate by
telling an open-ended story guided by books, dice and their own
imaginations. By inviting participants to imagine themselves as
wizards, warriors and other adventurers in exciting and treacherous
fantasy worlds, DUNGEONS & DRAGONS — known worldwide by the
familiar abbreviation "D&D" — opened doors to whole new
universes of creativity for generations of players.
Now enjoyed by millions worldwide, DUNGEONS & DRAGONS grew
out of a small subculture of gaming clubs in the 1960s and 1970s
whose members played tabletop simulations of historical battles
with miniature figures. By the late 1960s, as fantasy fiction was
gaining in popularity, imaginative settings with wizards,
sword-wielding warriors, dragons and monsters offered a desirable
alternative to reenacting more realistic battles.
Since its earliest days, the rules of DUNGEONS & DRAGONS
have continually evolved, with each new edition drawing on
playtesting, player feedback and the changing tastes of a growing
community. Along the way, countless writers, designers and artists
have left their mark on the game. Most D&D players have a
favorite edition they associate with specific rules and artwork,
usually corresponding with a particular time in their lives, and
some players pay homage to the game's formative years by returning
to older editions. In 2020, many new gamers discovered DUNGEONS
& DRAGONS and other roleplaying games while forced to stay home
during the COVID-19 pandemic, which also hastened the trend of
gaming groups meeting online. Friends refused to let a global
pandemic hinder their shared adventures by using digital tools such
as D&D Beyond to facilitate online play.
As DUNGEONS & DRAGONS celebrates its 50th anniversary in
2024, players around the world are sure to reflect on its cultural
impact. Game concepts and mechanics that originated with DUNGEONS
& DRAGONS have deeply influenced the development of video games
from the 1970s to the present. References to D&D have appeared
in a wide range of television shows and movies. Fans enjoyed the
2023 feature film "Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves,"
and recent years have seen the rise of "actual play," in which
podcasters and social media figures play tabletop D&D games for
online audiences. D&D is estimated to have brought more than 64
million people to the gaming table in the past half-century, and
the increasing diversity of its players is reflected in the most
recent books, art and gaming materials.
Many filmmakers, actors, authors, entrepreneurs, scholars,
video-game developers and other influential figures have been quick
to praise the formative role of DUNGEONS & DRAGONS in their
lives. Educators and therapists are also enthusiastic about the
benefits of D&D, finding that the collaborative nature of
roleplaying games supports young people with social and emotional
learning, inspires them to think creatively, and helps them hone
their problem-solving and conflict-resolution skills. Because of
its long history, the game also builds bridges across generations,
as parents introduce D&D to their children — or, in some cases,
experience it with their children for the first time.
From its Midwestern roots as a niche pastime, DUNGEONS &
DRAGONS has grown into a global phenomenon, forever changing our
understanding of how stories are told and what games have the
potential to be.
The pane of 20 DUNGEONS & DRAGONS stamps features 10
different designs that highlight characters, creatures, and
encounters familiar to players of D&D:
- A bronze dragon wearing a necklace glances down at a blue
plesiosaur.
- The five-headed Tiamat, queen of evil dragons, who has been
featured in D&D materials since the 1970s.
- A lone figure lost in a maze, perhaps the victim of a
ten-minute "maze" spell.
- A blue-robed figure casts a "magic missile" spell.
- The archlich Acererak raises an army of the dead. Acererak has
appeared in D&D materials since 1978.
- Drizzt Do'Urden, the heroic drow ranger, stands against a
wintry backdrop. Drizzt is known for breaking from an evil cult in
the Underdark in favor of heroism and friendship on the
surface.
- A warrior with his back to the viewer fights a massive red
dragon in a detail from an illustration that appeared on the box
cover of the popular 1983 D&D Basic Set, often known simply as
the "Red Box." This illustration has since become one of the most
recognizable pieces of art in the history of the game.
- A character holds a pan of toxic green dragon's blood over her
head, preparing to bathe in it in the hope of gaining magical
powers.
- A death knight rides a nightmare, backed by an army of the
undead and a sinister, flame-shrouded castle.
- A purple worm, a fearsome creature that burrows through the
earth and leaves massive tunnels in its wake, rises from the ground
and coils, its teeth on display.
On the left side of the pane, the selvage features a detail of
an illustration showing a party of adventurers encountering a
massive green dragon amid a gold-strewn ruin. The illustration
previously appeared on the box cover of the D&D Starter
Set.
Below the illustration is a photograph of a gold 20-sided die
above the DUNGEONS & DRAGONS logo with its distinctive
ampersand formed from a fire-breathing dragon. Below the logo is a
detail of a hand-drawn map of a typical "dungeon," a network of
caverns where D&D players might encounter monsters, traps, and
treasure.
"D&D" appears in a lower corner of each stamp, with
"USA" and "FOREVER" in smaller
type on two lines alongside it.
The DUNGEONS & DRAGONS pane of 20 stamps are issued as
Forever stamps. Forever stamps will always be equal in value to the
current First-Class Mail 1‑ounce price. News of the DUNGEONS &
DRAGONS stamps are being shared with the
hashtag #DandDStamps.
Postal Products
Customers may purchase stamps and other philatelic products
through the Postal Store at usps.com/shopstamps,
by calling 844-737-7826, by mail through USA Philatelic or at Post Office locations
nationwide. For officially licensed stamp products, shop the
USPS Officially Licensed Collection on Amazon. Additional
information on stamps, First Day of Issue Ceremonies and stamp
inspired products can be found at StampsForever.com.
Please Note: The United States Postal Service is an
independent federal establishment, mandated to be self-financing
and to serve every American community through the affordable,
reliable and secure delivery of mail and packages to 167 million
addresses six and often seven days a week. Overseen by a bipartisan
Board of Governors, the Postal Service is implementing a
10-year transformation plan, Delivering for America,
to modernize the postal network, restore long-term financial
sustainability, dramatically improve service across all mail and
shipping categories, and maintain the organization as one of
America's most valued and trusted brands.
The Postal Service generally receives no tax dollars for
operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and
services to fund its operations.
For USPS media resources, including broadcast-quality video and
audio and photo stills, visit the USPS Newsroom. Follow us
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Postal Service, visit usps.com and
facts.usps.com.
DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, the dragon ampersand, and The
World's Greatest Role-Playing Game are © and ™ Wizards of the Coast
LLC in the United States and other
countries. All rights reserved.
National contact: James
McKean
jim.mckean@usps.gov
usps.com/news
Local contact: Susan Wright
susan.w.wright@usps.gov
usps.com/news
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SOURCE U.S. Postal Service