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Article Summary
- Actual play podcast Dungeons and Daddies has completed its first crowdfunder, raising over $3.1 million USD on BackerKit.
- The campaign is focused on a new D&D 5E-compatible supplement called Dungeons and Daddies: Not a BDSM Sourcebook.
- The book expands the podcast’s premise, with players taking on the role of real-world dads trapped in a high fantasy realm.
- The supplement includes tongue-in-cheek character options, with 5 classes, 8 subclasses and 30 magic items.
Actual-play comedy podcast Dungeons and Daddies has officially joined the ranks of some of the biggest tabletop RPG crowdfunders of the past year, with its new Dungeons and Daddies: Not a BDSM Sourcebook wrapping up its campaign with over $3.1 million USD in funding on BackerKit.
The D&D 5E compatible supplement expands on the podcast’s premise, in which four everyday dads get pulled into a fantasy world on a quest to rescue their kids from evil. The new book – which is the first ever TTRPG supplement produced by the Dungeons and Daddies team – introduces a complete setting guide, along with new tongue-in-cheek classes, spells, magic items and rules inspired by the series.
Below, we take a closer look at this record-breaking blend of dungeons, dragons and dad jokes.
What is the Dungeons and Daddies podcast?
Dungeons and Daddies is an award-winning actual-play D&D comedy podcast that first launched in January 2019 under Freddie Wong’s RocketJump banner. The cast is made up of Anthony Burch (who has served primarily as DM), along with Matt Arnold, Will Campos, Beth May and Wong himself. The show leans hard into improvisation and character comedy over rules mastery, and over the years has developed a massive following, supported primarily by a large Patreon community.
To date, the show has consisted of four seasons: Season 1 is about four dads from our world who are flung into a land of high fantasy and magic in a quest to rescue their lost sons. Season 2 is about the dads’ grandkids who are tasked with fixing the world their elders have thrown out of balance. Season 3 is about a bowling team fighting the forces of darkness in suburban 1950s America. Season 4 is a sci-fi space opera about four grandpas who take to the stars to save their grandkids and the universe itself.
What is Dungeons and Daddies: Not a BDSM Sourcebook about?
The book bills itself as a road trip through the strange world first introduced in Season 1 of the podcast. It is designed to be compatible with D&D 5E and includes:
- Daddy Magic: Over 30 new spells, including options like Skip Therapy and Speak Japanese.
- Dad-flavored classes: Five new classes, including Hippie Dad, Business Dad and Gamer Dad.
- New subclasses: Eight new options, including Garden Witch, Math Witch and Prosecutor.
- Exotic locales: A gazetteer covering fictional stops like Ballsdeep, Roqueporte and Meth Bay, plus visits to the iconic Bull-E-Wugs restaurant chain.
- Custom vehicles: Rules for personalizing your own combat-ready 2013 minivan.
- Dad Fact tables: Ten tables of prompts for fleshing out your character’s backstory.
- New gear: Dozens of mundane and magical items, from cell phones to the Deck of Daddy Things.
- New feats: Abilities inspired by the show’s dads, including Blade Landing and Hand Sense.
What else is available besides the Dungeons and Daddies sourcebook?
Like most other major TTRPG crowdfunders, the BackerKit includes a number of additional accessories beyond the sourcebook:
- Dice sets: Four sets created by FanRoll, one apiece for series characters Darryl Wilson, Glenn Close, Henry Oak and Ron Stampler.
- Card decks: The Deck of Daddy Things and the brand-new Deck of Teen’y Things, available as physical decks or print-and-play PDFs.
- Dungeons & Daddies Poster: Signed copies reserved for the top deluxe tier.
- Roll20 VTT Module: A digital conversion for playing the sourcebook online.
- Miniatures: Physical minis and STL files for printing all four dads plus their minivan.
- Reference Cards: A quick-reference deck covering spells, items and enemies.
- Battlemap Pack: Physical and digital battlemaps for use at the table.
- Daddy Master Screen: A GM screen with reference materials, random tables and DM tips.
- Bull E. Wug’s Kid’s Menu Game Mat: A themed play mat tied to the sourcebook’s fast-food chain.
- Fanny Pack Dice Bag: A wearable dice bag styled after the campaign’s fanny-pack joke.
- Isekai’d Dice Tray: A dice tray themed around the book’s Isekai premise.
- Alternate dust jackets: A choice of SFW cover art, with the top tier including all four versions.
- Enamel pin sets: Three options based on iconic characters and moments from the podcast’s first season.
- Dad Joke Tokens and a Daddy Master Coin: Small accessories for rewarding groan-worthy jokes and settling high-stakes GM calls.
- Deluxe Game Box: The collector’s box housing the full top-tier bundle.
- Honda Odyssey bumper sticker: An exclusive extra reserved for the highest deluxe tier, which also included a signed book and poster.
Final Thoughts
Raising over $3.1 million USD, Dungeons and Daddies: Not a BDSM Sourcebook lands as one of the biggest TTRPG crowdfunders of the past year, surpassed only by recent releases like Legends of Avantris: Neon Odyssey and the Dungeon Crawl Carl TTRPG.
It’s another notable sign of just how far actual plays have come as a force in the hobby. It’s also worth noting this marks Dungeons and Daddies’ first official crowdfunding campaign, and given the response, it’s hard to imagine it’ll be the last.
The BackerKit has officially ended, but you can learn more on the Dungeons and Daddies website. Below is also a teaser trailer, which spoofs an iconic D&D commercial from the 1980s.