Nerd culture rules the world of entertainment.

The biggest movies are based on comic books, the biggest TV show in recent years was a fantasy saga involving dragons, the biggest-selling intellectual properties are video games, and one of the biggest stage blockbusters of late has been a play about a bunch of wizards.

And as nerd culture has slowly been embraced by the mainstream, one of the nerdiest bastions of nerd-dom has finally arrived with it — Dungeons & Dragons.

Despite satanic panics and being seen as "the least cool thing ever", the role-playing game has endured for almost 50 years, and is now more popular than ever before.

Create your backstory

Dungeons & Dragons, or D&D, began its long trek to success in the early 70s as the brainchild of Americans Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson.

Dungeons & Dragons creator Gary Gygax. ( Wikipedia Commons: Alan de Smet )

It's an imagination-driven tabletop game of swords and sorcery that doesn't require a board or anything more elaborate than a piece of paper and some dice.

Players sit around a table, create characters and role-play their activities, rolling dice to see whether they accomplish tasks or fight battles successfully, all of which is overseen by a 'dungeon master', or DM, who is part-storyteller, part-referee.

In the 80s, the game became a target for church groups and conservative organisations, who argued baselessly that D&D was a satanic ritual or witchcraft in disguise, and tried to link the hobby to suicides and murders.

Joseph Musso from Las Vegas, who hosts the D&D podcast AllD20, said he began playing in the 90s and felt like he had to play in secret.

"[People] would think we were summoning demons and such nonsense," he said.

Dungeons & Dragons stirred up a 'satanic panic' in the early 1980s. ( Creative Commons )

But as D&D endured the controversies, it found itself vying for the attention of an audience swept up by the rise of video games.

While maintaining decent sales, the game remained a niche enterprise, stereotypically confirmed to a basement for only the nerdiest of nerds, as one player told the ABC "My impression of D&D growing up in the 2000s was it was the least cool thing ever".

But in the past five years, like a sleeping dragon, D&D has awoken and taken flight.

A dragon asleep on a pile of coins

Jackson Heenan works at Melbourne gaming store Mind Games and gaming accessory company Campaign Coins, as well as running role-playing game nights called Gamezilla at a Melbourne restaurant.

He said he's "relatively new" to D&D, but even in his 10 years of playing and DM-ing he's witnessed a rapid growth in its popularity, citing the internet as a key factor.

Players in the middle of a Dungeons & Dragons session. ( Supplied: Wikipedia Commons )

"It's easier to get online and talk to people and get games together, and there are services that let you sign up and play games online using a digital tabletop," Mr Heenan said.

The internet has also birthed an entertainment sub-industry around D&D and is further evidence of its growth, he said.

Stephen Colbert is a fan. ( Wikipedia Commons: Montclair Film Festival )

Using YouTube, livestreaming platforms like Twitch, and podcasts, players broadcast their regular D&D sessions to huge audiences.

The most popular of these is video series Critical Role, which stars a group of award-winning voice actors.

Its first episode alone has had more than 10.7 million views on YouTube, while a Kickstarter campaign to turn their adventures into an animated series raised more than $6 million in its first day before going on to accumulate more than $15 million.

Appearances of D&D in pop culture, such as on TV shows like Stranger Things, Community, Rick & Morty, and The Big Bang Theory, as well as its championing by celebrity fans such as Vin Diesel and Stephen Colbert has also increased awareness of the game.

"We have people [coming into the store saying] 'I don't know what this is. Can you tell me what it is?'," Mr Heenan said.

"It's just so [easy] to jump online, see what it is, and then walk into a store, pick something up and start playing.

"Nerd culture is more mainstream, but it's also less 'nerdy' than what people think it is."

The resurgence in D&D coincided with the release in 2014 of a new edition of the game's Player's Handbook by makers Wizards of the Coast, which made it easier for new players to get on board.

The Player's Handbook is the D&D bible, with millions of copies sold worldwide each year. ( Supplied: Wizards of the Coast )

A 2016 tweet from a Wizards of the Coast employee revealed that in just two years the new edition of the Player's Handbook had outsold the lifetime sales of all three previous editions of the handbook.

It's also estimated that the online playing platform Roll20 has more than three million users, of which 60 per cent are playing the latest edition of D&D.

A world of adventure for everyone

The ABC spoke to a number of D&D players from around the world, many of whom agreed the new edition of the rules made it much easier for new players.

Many also cited the game's affordability as a key drawcard.

Alex Rogers from Maryland said the official material could be expensive but was not necessary.

"You can learn and reference a lot of material online," Mr Rogers said.

"You don't have to have the $57 for a Player's Handbook to play; you don't have to have dice or character sheets even, if you have a phone and use apps."

Gray Wilson from Lismore, NSW, agreed, saying he began playing more than 20 years ago "with a bunch of friends who had all got sick of how expensive the Pub had become to hang out at".

All you need is dice: D&D is popular with income-poor college/uni students because it's an inexpensive hobby. ( Wikipedia Commons )

Boston's Liz Krupa said "girls playing D&D has helped boost its popularity".

"I don't look like the stereotypical picture of a D&D player that pops into mind," Ms Krupa said.

"I think it clearly communicates the accurate message that D&D isn't just a nerdy boys' club full of people who don't wear deodorant.

"Of course the game isn't 50/50 and I still play with a lot of men, but the game certainly seems much more gender-diverse than it's ever been."

Deanna Dickerson from Ohio agreed, saying she felt "it was almost unheard of for there to be a female player" when she began playing in 1998 while at high school.

"The D&D community was largely comprised of socially inept men playing in basements or the occasional comic book store," Ms Dickerson said.

"It was considered odd to be part of the community and non-gamers tended to ostracise those who played.

"It's no longer an oddity to be a female playing D&D, which is a nice change. The community has grown to be very inclusive. Families get their kids involved."