Jeremy Crawford Also Leaving D&D Team Later This Month

Jeremy Crawford is leaving Wizards of the Coast later this month. Screen Rant (via me!) had the exclusive announcement. Crawford was the Game Director for Dungeons & Dragons and was one of the guiding forces for D&D over the past decade. In the past year, Crawford has focused on the core rulebooks and leading the team of rules designers. He has also been a face of Dungeons & Dragons for much of 5th Edition, appearing in many promotional videos and DMing Acquisitions Incorporated Actual Play series.

He joins Chris Perkins in leaving the D&D team in recent weeks. Perkins, who was the Creative Director for D&D, announced his retirement last week. Both Perkins and Crawford appear to have left Wizards on their terms, with Lanzillo very effusive with her praise of both men and their contribution in our interview.

On a personal note, I've enjoyed interviewing Jeremy over the years. He was always gracious with his time and answers and is one of the most eloquent people I've ever heard talk about D&D. I'll miss both him and Chris Perkins and look forward to their next steps, wherever that might be.

 

[Minigiant]

Again not to seem ageist but

D&D tropes are old and it's still running old ideas and the things that have made it popular and big in 5E what contrary to the old ideas of the old designers. Critical Role does not run like traditional D&D


The old designers eventually have to go.

 

[Mournblade94]

Oh really? My google-fu was only showing him going back to 2012 (as if 13 years isn't a lot anyway! ) but either way you are right, he has a good amount of experience as well just not as much compared to what we are losing.

At the end of the day, I think this will probably be a positive thing for D&D because I believe that bringing in fresh perspectives is a good thing.

He was with Pathfinder from the beginning and worked on a lot of WOTC projects in 3rd. He wrote lots of Dungeon Scenarios in his youth like Perkins did. Schneider has great Cred.

 

[MockingBird]

I was pretty excited for the 5e24 update but now that I have it in my hands I'm just meh. Not really liking the direction it's going. Now I'm seeing that most of the big names are dipping gives me some concern. Who knows, maybe it will interest me more in the future.

 

[Gradine]

I understand they are different settings, but Wizards approach, how they market the content.

Is it really anything but 'Play as a Heroic Hero doing Heroic Things for Good and Justice. HEROIC'?

I mean... there's a lot of different ways presented to approaching Eberron. Baker himself deliberately calls out how the Emerald Claw were invented just to create the possibility of the players doing heroic things for good and justice. The core ideas of the setting though have always been the noir trappings of the political and economic corruption and skullduggery. Of shades of grey resisting the simplicity of describing things as black and white (See the Valenar, Shadow Marches, Droaam, the Blood of Vol, and do not get me started on the Church of the Silver Flame...). The nominally good Queen is utilizing her underhanded secret service to restart a devastating war while the nominally evil secret vampire King is working his butt off to keep the peace.

You can punch evil fascists Indiana Jones-style all day long if you like, but the primary tone and thrust of Eberron has always been closer to Casablanca and The Maltese Falcon.

I won't speak for Forgotten Realms because outside of the video games and the first three Drizz't books my knowledge there is a lot less, but I will at least the 5.0 PHB gave as many Evil ideals as Good ones, and made the Zhentarim a playable faction as well. The presentation there I'll agree has always leaned heroic fantasy but I don't feel like it's fair to say that's presented as the only option.

 

[Stormonu]

I wish them the best in whereever/whatever they do next.

I guess the big tell will be what they get up to after they leave. If they continue to make D&D material independently, I'd point my finger at office politics for the "real reason" they left; if they move on to some other profession I guess it means they wanted a change of pace.

It will be interesting to see where D&D itself goes from here. The old guard that had a big hand in the 2014 version is gone, and it was the aesthetic they promoted that drew me back in. Lately, I've been "meh" about the releases and get the nagging feeling that my D&D doesn't match their vision of D&D. Right now, I'm feeling a bit left out in the cold like around 4E's release.

 

[Mournblade94]

My guess is that they are either ramping up to replace creators with AI, or they want new/lower paid creators to reduce costs, or they plan to go strictly in the licensing route, and allow third party creators to produce new content.

In my opinion the licensing thing would be the best route. Do like games workshop. They started licensing to hogshead and now Cubicle 7 does it. Not only is the game designed elegantly the production is beautiful.

 

[Reynard]

Baldur's Gate is D&D IP.

That isn't the same thing, especially to people outside D&D fandom.

 

[Reynard]

He also made Golarion, like Greenwood made Forgotten Realms

I knew he worked for Paizo, but I did not know that he created Golarion.

 

[kayakingpoodle]

I'm sure if you keep posting comments on her Facebook photos, she'll learn the error of her ways and take you back.

How inventive, an ad hominem, a strawman and assumptions all in a single sentence. Kudos!

 

[Reynard]

Not really liking the direction it's going.

Folks say this a lot and very rarely elaborate in detail.
Please elaborate in detail.