Ed Greenwood, the mastermind behind the iconic D&D setting Forgotten Realms, recently expressed his amazement—and bemusement—upon learning that someone has earned a PhD focused entirely on the lore of the fantasy world he created. The setting, which has become a cornerstone of both tabletop and video games, clearly inspired serious academic study.
“I was told that somebody had a doctorate in Realms lore obtained from an official university,” Greenwood shared during a recent appearance on the Slandered Gaming podcast. “And I said, ‘Really? And when you impaneled the experts for defending the doctorate, why didn’t you phone me?’”
According to Greenwood, the university had actually reached out to the publishers of D&D, only to be told—much to everyone’s surprise—that Greenwood had passed away. Greenwood, who reunited with David Gaider (of Dragon Age fame) and Trent Oster for a Baldur’s Gate 2-themed 25th anniversary show, noted the incident with a mix of humor and disbelief.
“Apparently, they repeated when it was time for the D&D movie guys. That was a very good way of grieving the brush off,” Greenwood quipped, reflecting on the unusual academic attention paid to his creation.
Despite the humorous anecdote, Greenwood remains astonished that anyone would study the world he invented so thoroughly, and that an accredited institution would recognize that dedication with a doctorate.
The Forgotten Realms, first imagined by Greenwood in the 1960s as the backdrop for his childhood stories, is now one of the most beloved settings in D&D. It appears prominently in tabletop games and has been adapted into numerous video games, including Neverwinter Nights and Baldur’s Gate 3.
As Shawn Levy, producer of Netflix’s upcoming Dungeons & Dragons series, explains, adapting such a richly detailed world is no small feat: “You’re adapting a world and a lexicon and a spirit,” he said, highlighting the challenges of translating Greenwood’s creation to new media.
