D&D (2024) Deborah Ann Woll and Matt Mercer consulted on the 2024 DMG.

WotC consulted with celebrities including True Blood's Deborah Ann Woll and Critical Role's Matt Mercer when revising the upcoming 2024 edition of the Dungeon Master's Guide. Apparently another (unnamed) consultant provided advice on running game for kids.

That's it; that's the news.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

Seems that WotC doesn't have much faith in their own staff if they are using outside consultants. Isn't this what their RPG design staff is for? Just seems like an odd marketing ploy to me, the DMG gets Debrah Ann Woll and Matt Mercers seal of approval.

WotC has always used outside consultants in 5e. I don’t know about pre-5e, but just check the credits of the core rulebooks. It might be partially a marketing ploy, but Mercer has worked on official 5e books before. This isn’t weird or new.

 

[GMMichael]

Mercer is best known for being the Dungeon Master for Critical Role, the hit Actual Play series that helped usher in Dungeons & Dragons' current popularity nearly nine years ago. . .

Woll, an actress best known for starring in True Blood and Daredevil, is also a veteran DM who currently runs the Actual Play series Children of Earte for Demiplane, a character toolset for non-D&D tabletop RPGs.

Point: Woll.

 

[Reynard]

Point: Woll.

Woll is by far my favorite celebrity GM. I just don't think D&D is the right game for the stories she tells.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

Debrah Ann Woll and Matt Mercer consulted in the 2024 D&D Dungeon Masters Guide. From Comic Book Com. Dungeons & Dragons Consulted With Critical Role's Matthew Mercer and Deborah Ann Woll on New Dungeon Master's Guide

It says something about how far D&D has come since 2013/2014 to look at the profiles of the people they're "consulting" for this, compared to the profiles of the people who they "consulted" for 5E (who were mostly pretty obscure even to TT RPG fans).

 

[Reynard]

Get a modern gamer to read 1E and 2E DMG and see what one is easier.

The two books aren't really equivalent. Evert DMG since has followed the 2E model, but the 1E DMG is its own beast. It isn't really "the third rulebook" in the modern sense.

 

[DarkCrisis]

Did you run it RAW or closer to advanced B/X? Alot of people ignored inconvenient rules.

Get a modern gamer to read 1E and 2E DMG and see what one is easier.

I started in 2E but didn't read 1E until like 5 years ago and it was like reading a boring school book. I got a copy of OSRIC soon after and went through them at the same time and it made it pretty clear. Thank you OSRIC! Even played a one shot with it. Good stuff.

One thing I like about modern OSR is a lot of it is just taking the old stuff and putting in a nice clear modern format.

 

[Reynard]

Woll is by far my favorite celebrity GM. I just don't think D&D is the right game for the stories she tells.

Oh, crap, what if Woll runs Daggerheart?

IN.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

Woll is by far my favorite celebrity GM. I just don't think D&D is the right game for the stories she tells.

Yeah I don't really want to diss D&D on a D&D forum, but like, there are a lot of streamer and podcast DMs who are running D&D games where they'd be so much better off with a different system, and they're literally having to work around D&D in a way you just wouldn't with a system closer to their intent. Oh well, I suppose people being familiar with D&D counts for a lot.

 

[DarkCrisis]

Woll is by far my favorite celebrity GM. I just don't think D&D is the right game for the stories she tells.

Thats the problem with being the biggest and most well known RPG. You try to cram your square peg campaign ideas into D&D's round holes. (giggity)

 

[DarkCrisis]

It says something about how far D&D has come since 2013/2014 to look at the profiles of the people they're "consulting" for this, compared to the profiles of the people who they "consulted" for 5E (who were mostly pretty obscure even to TT RPG fans).

There was a time that if Monte Cooke's name was on it, I bought it.

Then WoD D20 happened.