WotC Chris Perkins announces Retirement from Dungeons and Dragons

Over on Twitter and Bluesky, Chris Perkins has announced his retirement from Dungeons and Dragons.

Chris Perkins started officially working for Wizards of the Coast in 1997 as an Editor for Dungeon Magazine. Since then, he has functioned as the Editor in Chief of D&D Periodicals, A Senior Producer, and eventually landing as the Senior Story Editor over D&D 5e and Game Architect on D&D 5e 2024.

He also is known for acting as one of the Dungeons Masters for Acquisitions, Incorporated.

Personally, I'll miss the guy's work.

https://bsky.app/profile/chrisperkinsdnd.bsky.social%2Fpost%2F3llyvdjkphk2p

 

[Queer Venger]

WotC definitely could claim ownership over Perkin's Iomandra campaign, and anything else he developed while working for WotC . . . but I don't think they would likely exercise that option. What would it gain them? While interesting settings, they did not garner fan support similar to Eberron or other major setting.

Also, I'm assuming that if Perkins is planning on doing independent work in game design . . . he's likely to start fresh on something new, rather than revisit those older settings.

Or maybe Critical Role will hire him as a full time design consultant for their new rpg, (I think they are all close friends). That would be interesting!!

 

[SteveC]

Perfect, design the game and leave D&D to be D&D and lets see how it goes.

I think this is the point. I have seen "D&D done right" since the 1970s. D&D is still at the top of the chain. Last year I experienced at least half a dozen "D&D adjacent" games and none of them received any serious traction. 2025 is going to have several strong contenders, so we'll see how that goes.

I think there's plenty of design space for games that do D&D "right," whatever that means. The last time WotC made serious changes to D&D was 4E and that didn't go in the way they've expected. And I say that loving 4E.

D&D is a game that does what I'd call "D&D fantasy" right. Each edition does it in different ways, mind you, but the goals for what the game does have largely remained the same. There are dungeons, and within them, there are dragons ... go for it!

 

[Sorcerers Apprentice]

The weird part about that is, of course, the fact that most of the audience is new anyway.

Just because someone is new to the hobby it doesn't mean they lack the basic skills. They are quite capable of hating change just as well as grognards.

 

[KYRON45]

I think this is the point. I have seen "D&D done right" since the 1970s. D&D is still at the top of the chain. Last year I experienced at least half a dozen "D&D adjacent" games and none of them received any serious traction. 2025 is going to have several strong contenders, so we'll see how that goes.

I think there's plenty of design space for games that do D&D "right," whatever that means. The last time WotC made serious changes to D&D was 4E and that didn't go in the way they've expected. And I say that loving 4E.

D&D is a game that does what I'd call "D&D fantasy" right. Each edition does it in different ways, mind you, but the goals for what the game does have largely remained the same. There are dungeons, and within them, there are dragons ... go for it!

Isn’t it up to us to “do D&D right”?
The designers make the game and we play it.
As long as we enjoy playing it in a way that’s fun for us it’s right.

 

[Reynard]

This is just more of the same expression of "my favorite D&D is obviously the best D&D."

It didn't hold water in 1977 and it doesn't now.

 

[TiQuinn]

Thinking on it, Perkins leaving is probably good for D&D's future. They should probably eliminate all the GenXers from the design team and let the 20s/30s remake the game for the generation(s) actually playing and buying it.

Are Amanda Hamon, Makenzie Armas, and Justice Arman that old?

 

[Dire Bare]

Just because someone is new to the hobby it doesn't mean they lack the basic skills. They are quite capable of hating change just as well as grognards.

Yes, fear of change transcends age and different generations. It can even be passed down from parents to their kids . . .

You should hear some of the stuff some of my 13-year old students, with nerdy parents at home, say about D&D . . . it used to shock me and I had to check to see if a 50-60 year old hadn't snuck in and replaced one of my students!!

 

[SteveC]

Isn’t it up to us to “do D&D right”?
The designers make the game and we play it.
As long as we enjoy playing it in a way that’s fun for us it’s right.

Absolutely correct! I think we're just seen a ton of "D&D should really do this," or "D&D does this thing really bad." And that's led to hundreds of different game systems. And I like playing some of them a lot. None of them have replaced D&D. The time D&D had a serious change made to it, 4E, is not well thought of (again, I love it, but that is not the consensus). So that's best kept in mind when talking about how seriously D&D needs to change. As long as we're having fun, who cares ... just as you say. I would really want an experience designer who knew what they're doing, ideally a team of them, to come in and make changes to the game. And since we just had a new edition launch, I doubt anything like that will happen anytime soon.

I'm playing 5E right now and having fun, just no real need to go to the next edition anytime soon.

 

[Queer Venger]

Funny CP anecdote. I met him several times, last time was at SDCC a couple of years ago and he was very pointed when I asked him about 5.5, he said, "we are calling it the 2024 rules revisions." He signed my DM's trucker hat. Nice guy, a veteran of a very mercurial business. I wish him all the best and I still chuckle when he corrected me LOL

 

[Zardnaar]

Funny CP anecdote. I met him several times, last time was at SDCC a couple of years ago and he was very pointed when I asked him about 5.5, he said, "we are calling it the 2024 rules revisions." He signed my DM's trucker hat. Nice guy, a veteran of a very mercurial business. I wish him all the best and I still chuckle when he corrected me LOL

He can call it whatever he likes. For all intents and purposes it's 5.5 though.