WotC James Wyatt is on the Dungeons & Dragons Team Again

[Aldarc]

Glad to see the team expanding. Wyatt has done a lot of good work. The 4E DMGs are still the pinnacle of any edition for a practical DM toolkit.

I see a LOT of praise for the 4e DMG on Twitter as a "practical DM toolkit" and its advice on running adventures, action verbs, etc.

I've long said the 4e fluff books are some of the best D&D books. I feel like a lot of people focus on the mechanics of 4e, and that's fair. But, if that's all the every focus on, the miss out on some truly superb story elements.

Agreed. One thing 4e writing did well, IMHO, was write everything in the cosmos as if it was a potential plot hook or adventure site for a GM to use. That's one reason why I will run groups through the Nentir Vale and the World Axis cosmology because there are so many great story elements to use from that setting and the associated fluff books.

 

[Mistwell]

I meant I thought you meant something more recently. That's an old thread.

ANYTHING which said he was back had to be an old thread given it wasn't this thread! It was 9 months ago dude. Not that old. We're not talking ancient history we're talking THIS cycle of the game right now.

 

[Umbran]

Mod Note:

This thread is not about Mike Mearls. Several people have requested it remain so.

We expect you to honor that request from his point forward. Leave him out of this discussion, please and thank you.

 

[Greg K]

Man I love the 4e lore. It was one of the things that brought me back to D&D. If he can do this for 5e, I would be happy.

To be fair about 4e lore and cosmoogy, I did like the Feywild and removing the Great Wheel. However, I have also always ignored the Great Wheel and have included a Faerie realm in many of my campaigns since late 1e or early 2e

 

[bedir than]

It shouldn't be a surprise that a business unit with 33% growth is hiring new people. There is also no surprise that a business unit that has indicated that it will increase product releases is hiring new people.

Looking beyond those clear and obvious facts seems to be a desire for conspiracy that ignores reality.

 

[embee]

Nope, he's working on Baldur's Gate 3 and Dark Alliance from the Franchise side, last anything was apparent. His role is no longer involving facing customers or interacting with the tabletop scene...which is fitting.

Jeremy Crawford was quite clear a while back that Mearls didn't work on the TTRPG any longer, and he hasn't appeared in any capacity in the credits.

So, if I'm understanding you correctly, what you're saying is that he's definitely working on 6e.

 

[Umbran]

So, if I'm understanding you correctly, what you're saying is that he's definitely working on 6e.

Mod Note:

You might have thought I was kidding. I wasn't. You're done in this thread.

Anyone else want to test this?

 

[DEFCON 1]

Honestly, I think James Wyatt returning to D&D is mainly because I don't think he wanted to leave D&D in the first place... but he saw the tea leaves of what happened to all the designers on a new edition once the book got released.

I mean, we all remember the "Christmas releases" that happened pretty frequently prior to 5E. With the exception of Chris Perkins... anyone who had worked on the D&D team for any length of time (and thus had probably a bigger paycheck due to annual salary increases and such)... were either let go or they decided to move on before the could be let go. Monte Cook, Rodney Thompson, Greg Bilsland, Bill Slavicsek so on and so forth. Then the department would bring in newer and less expensive writers and designers to take their place.

James Wyatt had been with the D&D department from at least 3.5 (and the Eberron stuff) up through 5E's release... so knowing what usually would happen around that time for an employee like him, he got ahead of things and was able to facilitate a transfer over in Magic: The Gathering, which at least allowed him to stay employed with Wizards of the Coast. But he NEVER lost his desire to work on D&D, which is why he had been writing and releasing all those Plane Shift articles in his spare time over the years in and around his Magic work.

So perhaps with this new Wizards & Digital re-org there was a growth of salary availability within the D&D department that gave him the opportunity to now come back over at whatever pay scale he's currently at.

 

[Mistwell]

Oh hey James Wyatt was one of the creators of Madness at Gardmore Abbey, an excellent adventure!

 

[Parmandur]

Honestly, I think James Wyatt returning to D&D is mainly because I don't think he wanted to leave D&D in the first place... but he saw the tea leaves of what happened to all the designers on a new edition once the book got released.

I mean, we all remember the "Christmas releases" that happened pretty frequently prior to 5E. With the exception of Chris Perkins... anyone who had worked on the D&D team for any length of time (and thus had probably a bigger paycheck due to annual salary increases and such)... were either let go or they decided to move on before the could be let go. Monte Cook, Rodney Thompson, Greg Bilsland, Bill Slavicsek so on and so forth. Then the department would bring in newer and less expensive writers and designers to take their place.

James Wyatt had been with the D&D department from at least 3.5 (and the Eberron stuff) up through 5E's release... so knowing what usually would happen around that time for an employee like him, he got ahead of things and was able to facilitate a transfer over in Magic: The Gathering, which at least allowed him to stay employed with Wizards of the Coast. But he NEVER lost his desire to work on D&D, which is why he had been writing and releasing all those Plane Shift articles in his spare time over the years in and around his Magic work.

So perhaps with this new Wizards & Digital re-org there was a growth of salary availability within the D&D department that gave him the opportunity to now come back over at whatever pay scale he's currently at.

If we want to speculate, I'd wager that Wyatt wanted to work in world building...and there was precious little of that in 5E between the DMG and the Ravnica book...written by James Wyatt.