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.

 

[SteveC]

if you say so, you simultaneously called 3pps not innovative, 2014 having zero innovations and 2024 being full of them, as far as I am concerned that is completely backwards.

I'd strongly agree with this. I was thinking about 2024 in terms of innovations, and I see it as much more a cleaning up/errata edition. That's why I call it 5.5.

In thinking about what 5.5E did innovate, I think there was options in the play test but they didn't see the light of day. I see the Bastions system as being something genuinely innovative (although there have been systems for strongholds before, I'd call Bastions strongholds from a party/adventuring standpoint). The other big change was the Weapon Mastery system, but that has been in D&D for a long time in different editions.

I wonder what other innovations people are seeing with 5.5E. Not trying to be snarky (my snark is much more obvious!) but is moving all subclasses to level three and ruining my one-level Hexblade dip an innovation?

 

[Micah Sweet]

View attachment 402412

Here, let me help.

The red one is where we discuss the game called Dungeons and Dragons. Like, the actual one published by WotC.
The yellow one is the OSR folder for Shadowdark and all the other OS games. You can discuss TSR era D&D as well.
Green is for Level Up: your preferred version of 5e.
General RPG discussion not tied to any particular game is the blue one.
Purple is for all things Paizo.

There are lots of discussions about the things that don't involve Wizards of the Coast in Yellow, Blue, Green, and Purple. If you want to have a pleasant conversation that doesn't involve WotC, I suggest going there.

It is extremely difficult to have a conversation about D&D-like games, and to a lesser degrees RPGs in general, without having WotC enter it. Their influence on the industry and the hobby is simply too pervasive, and topics that apply to WotC 5e also apply to many other games.

 

[Yaarel]

In a practical way the people who play D&D own D&D.

The ap-OGL-ypse showed. If any corporation that "owns" D&D, displeases the community that plays D&D, the community can swiftly shapeshift into an activity that the corporation has no IP control of, whatsoever.

The players own D&D. This reality is why the rules for the D&D game are now in the CC.

Now, a corporation can serve the community players. It takes great effort and resources to come up with D&D products that most of the players most of the time value. Most of the millions of D&D players appreciate the services that WotC provide.

 

[Argyle King]

Do you think there's a need to free up some slots to get ready for the 6th Edition team?

 

[Retros_x]

Does no one think that swapping out the old timers (good luck to them all) and bringing in fresh perspectives might be good?

Honestly this is what I was thinking, was surprised to see so much negativity. Also everybody here acts like you need to have 20 years experience to be a good game designer, which I frankly don't think its true. They have a lot of talents working in their teams that maybe now can have an bigger influence. I am not too negative about this. And until I hear otherwise I just assume the seniors leave for better paying jobs because lets be honest nowadays salary jumps happen through switching companies. They were working for a long time for WotC already.

 

[Retros_x]

Much of art is functionality. Art needs to fulfill a need, even if the need is to express a feeling or concept.

Making a product that no one utilizes is like designing a language that no speaks.

Even if only ten people need the product, it has to fulfill a need.

I think you confuse something here. A product needs functionality for customers. Art beeing my need to express myself is not a functionality for anyone than myself. Its my form of expression. I can try to make my art a product, but I don't have to. In fact I have tons of art in my flat and none of it is in any form a commercial product.

Design is always related to a product and thus - contrary to art - always tries to create functionality. Although I would argue that good design is actually not about the functionality, but the quality. As long as something works as intented, the functionality is fullfilled - that doesn't mean its good designed though.

 

[Rossiland]

D&D is toast. Glad I rejected 5.5. It's naught but a brand name now for licensing.

People say the same in 1998.

 

[Micah Sweet]

People say the same in 1998.

And I'm sure some of those people feel that opinion was justified, even now.

 

[AlViking]

People say the same in 1998.

People have been saying that D&D is toast for close to 50 years.

 

[Remathilis]

Do you think there's a need to free up some slots to get ready for the 6th Edition team?

Not sure if you're trying to be funny, but you're actually kinda right. The team that is going to be built today will be the ones who, in 10 years, will be releasing 6th edition. They will cut their teeth on the next half-decade of projects and once they both identify the problems to address and cuttings changes in the market, begin preliminary work on what will be 6e.

That's a way away though, but the seeds are being planted.