The 2024 Dungeon Master's Guide is Chris Perkins' Last Book as Product Lead

Chris Perkins has said that the 2024 Dungeon Master's Guide is the last official D&D product he'll be working on as a product lead. Yesterday, a number of sites (including EN World!) posted previews and reviews of the upcoming 2024 Dungeon Master's Guide. Interestingly, Polygon's coverage of the 2024 DMG contained an extra quote from Chris Perkins, stating that the book was his last as a product lead.

“Although I made substantial contributions to the Monster Manual (2025) and the next D&D starter set, the Dungeon Master’s Guide (2024) is the last official D&D book in which I’m credited as a product lead,” Perkins said to Polygon. “Knowing that, I tried to stuff as much of my DM brain into [...] that book as would fit. Whether that’s a gift to the community or not, I’ll let the users decide.”

Perkins is currently a Game Architect for Dungeons & Dragons and helps manage the design team for the game. He's also served as a lead story designer for several campaign-focused adventures. He's also been a long-time face of Dungeons & Dragons, appearing at conventions, Actual Play shows, and marketing videos as an authority on the game and its past, present, and future.

EN World has reached out to Wizards of the Coast for additional context about Perkins' comment and his role with the company. We'll note that Perkins is a part of the marketing cycle for the 2024 Dungeon Master's Guide, so he doesn't appear to have left the company.

 

[Meech17]

I'm a fan of Mr. Perkins. I've only come to learn who he is in the last couple of years. I've enjoyed reading Dungeon magazine.. and I find that I especially like the era of the magazine where he was the editor. Beyond that, listening to him run those early seasons of Acquisitions Incorporated were super fun, and they helped me a lot in my own DMing.

I'm curious as to what he's doing next. I know he was wearing several hats a WOTC, so perhaps they're just lightening his work load a bit.. Or perhaps he's actually working on something new.. We'll have to wait and see it seems.

 

[Parmandur]

Hard to really know what this means when companies use job titles that don't exist outside that company. To be fair, the RPG industry isnt big enough to have standardized titles so I can't blame them.

Personally I don't like the whimsy that has been part of official products lately and I feel Perkins has always been a whimsy guy even back in his Dungeon Magazine days.

Heaven fortend that Dungeons & Dragons, a game of make believe about Elves and dragons played with colorful number rocks marketed primarily to children 12 and up, should have any whimsy in it.

 

[Zardnaar]

Alot of respect for him since Dungeon.

But after the very mediocre releases last few years......

Not sure how much of that is his fault vs corporate.

I'm sure he will be fine.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Personally I don't like the whimsy that has been part of official products lately and I feel Perkins has always been a whimsy guy even back in his Dungeon Magazine days

Nothing against his style in general, but I feel he imposed it on far too many products. I hope they split his role between multiple people so there is more variety going forwards.

 

[Parmandur]

Nothing against his style in general, but I feel he imposed it on far too many products. I hope they split his role between multiple people so there is more variety going forwards.

They already have: in the past 2 and half years since he got this promotion, he has only been lead on Spelljammer and co-lead on the anthology Keys from the Golden Vault. Seems the DMG is just the longhorn of his last work as a project lead and passing the torch.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

They already have: in the past 2 and half years since he got this promotion, he has only been lead on Spelljammer and co-lead on the anthology Keys from the Golden Vault. Seems the DMG is just the longhorn of his last work as a project lead and passing the torch.

Yeah, I noticed a difference - especially with Infinite Staircase.

 

[Scribe]

Personally I don't like the whimsy that has been part of official products lately and I feel Perkins has always been a whimsy guy even back in his Dungeon Magazine days.

I don't think this is on him, its the post-Tasha shift finalized really.

 

[Zardnaar]

Yeah, I noticed a difference - especially with Infinite Staircase.

I thought the products went downhill around Frostmaiden book. The adventures were never great generally but you had things like Xanathars Eberron, Theros.

I stopped buying product around Witchlight/Fizvans. Made an exception for Golden Vault.

 

[sevenbastard]

Heaven fortend that Dungeons & Dragons, a game of make believe about Elves and dragons played with colorful number rocks marketed primarily to children 12 and up, should have any whimsy in it.

Some people like Game of Thrones some people like Xanth. Luckily the world has room for all types of fantasy.

 

[Parmandur]

Some people like Game of Thrones some people like Xanth. Luckily the world has room for all types of fantasy.

Sure, which is why WotC tried to provide a variety of styles in their books, bit they still are mainly aiming for what will attract their core audience of 12-24 year olds.