Taylor Navarro Joins Wizards of the Coast as D&D Designer

Wizards of the Coast has hired yet another D&D game designer - this time UK-based designer Taylor Navarro. Navarro announced that she was joining the D&D team this week on BlueSky. Navarro notably was a winner of the Diana Jones Emerging Designer Award back in 2024 and has worked for Ghostfire Gaming and Evil Hat in addition to working on several DMs Guild projects. Some of her most notable works was contributing to the DMs Guild publication Journeys Beyond the Radiant Citadel and publishing Not Yet: A Romantic Duet TTRPG.

Navarro is the fourth D&D game designer to join Wizards of the Coast in recent weeks, with James Haeck, Leon Barillaro, and Erin Roberts also announcing that they've joined D&D in a similar game designer capacity. Additionally, Justice Ramin Arman was promoted to Game Design Director of the group.

 

[Henadic Theologian]

Amongst crusty old racists who make a lot of noise on the internet it doesn’t, but if you enjoy quality writing and imaginative fantasy beyond the generic it’s excellent.

I like the product personally, although I thought it should be split into two products a setting book for more details and the adventure anthology, but I think its unfair to just assume someone who doesn't like it is a racist. There can be a variety of reasons someone dislikes.

 

[Zardnaar]

I like the product personally, although I thought it should be split into two products a setting book for more details and the adventure anthology, but I think its unfair to just assume someone who doesn't like it is a racist. There can be a variety of reasons someone dislikes.

Its not 2019 anymore. Its just an overused strawman counter attack.

Radiant Citadels not very good but its far from the worst offender. WoTCs production values tend to mask the mediocrity of most of their adventure product.

Alot of that is longer form adventures are really hard to make and WotC isnt very good at at to begin with.

A good DM can probably turn a mediocre product into something fun.

I liked Dragon of Stormwrack Isle. Its an average adventure but good of its used for newbies (which i did).

Lost Mines better adventure but not better starter set.

A great hook and being easy to run and understand helps. Then theres preferences eg dungeon hacks or whatever.

 

[Imaro]

Its not 2019 anymore. Its just an overused strawman counter attack.

Radiant Citadels not very good but its far from the worst offender. WoTCs production values tend to mask the mediocrity of most of their adventure product.

Alot of that is longer form adventures are really hard to make and WotC isnt very good at at to begin with.

Could you elaborate on why exactly you think its not very good?

 

[Zardnaar]

Could you elaborate on why exactly you think its not very good?

The Citadel itself. The set ups kinda silly. The potentially interesting places to visit don't really stand out and youre not going to be there long enough to realky care.

Im not really a big fan of once around the realm type adventures. Dragons Crown in Darksun is one exampke arguably HotDQ and SKT as well. None of those adventures are particularly well regarded either.

Everything also feels a bit under developed from the Citadel itself through to places to visit.

 

[Gradine]

you should probably make sure that the things you dislike so strongly about the book… are actually… you know, true.

I mean, we've reached a point in our society where "truth" can be flexible or entirely irrelevant; those who find the truth an inconvenience at best are unlikely to suddenly start caring about it now

 

[BookTenTiger]

Just a general reminder that whatever you thought of the original Radiant Citadel book, Taylor Navarro did not write it. She was a writer on a companion piece.

I think it's really exciting that WotC is hiring a lot of new folks with a variety of RPG publishing experience! I also notice that the reception has been pretty different when the new creator is not a white man.

 

[Imaro]

The Citadel itself. The set ups kinda silly. The potentially interesting places to visit don't really stand out and youre not going to be there long enough to realky care.

Silly? The Citadel didn't strike me as particularly silly, no more (and probably less so) than Forgotten Realms, Greyhawk or Mystara. I guess I'd have to understand better how you're using the word silly to better understand how The Citadel is more silly than any other setting.

Wait...A giant hollowed out, pulsating Diamond that is theorized to signal the births and deaths of civilizations...and generates life giving magic that has drawn countless spirits to a preserve within its hollowed core, which is being used by a sect of druids as their home and a sanctuary for various creatures from across the multiverse...doesn't stand out??

And thats just a single site.

Edit: If anything this feels like some of the most creative and imaginative non-Tolkien/non-western medieval tropes fantasy we've gotten in D&D since Planescape/Spelljammer

As for being there long enough to care...why wouldn't your PC's be if they or the DM want to use the Citadel as a home-base?

 

[Chaltab]

But, if you’re going to judge every person credited on the book (or in this case a completely different book that happens to concern the same setting), you should probably make sure that the things you dislike so strongly about the book… are actually… you know, true.

Exactly. It's fine if you don't like something and it's fine to have an opinion on something you've only engaged with through criticism thereof and not the media itself. But if you're going to do that at least try and learn from people who accurately represent it? There's so much bad faith criticism of everything because the algorithm makes negative takes lucrative.

 

[Zardnaar]

Silly? The Citadel didn't strike me as particularly silly, no more (and probably less so) than Forgotten Realms, Greyhawk or Mystara. I guess I'd have to understand better how you're using the word silly to better understand how The Citadel is more silly than any other setting.

Wait...A giant hollowed out, pulsating Diamond that is theorized to signal the births and deaths of civilizations...and generates life giving magic that has drawn countless spirits to a preserve within its hollowed core, which is being used by a sect of druids as their home and a sanctuary for various creatures from across the multiverse...doesn't stand out??

And thats just a single site.

Edit: If anything this feels like some of the most creative and imaginative non-Tolkien/non-western medieval tropes fantasy we've gotten in D&D since Planescape/Spelljammer

As for being there long enough to care...why wouldn't your PC's be if they or the DM want to use the Citadel as a home-base?

Its not particularly interesting or developed as a home base. Tgats been done better in better adventures. Its very safe but that also means boring.

They've got 20 archmages kicking about iirc for security Its to poorly detailed to rival Sigil. Utopia so kinda boring.

A good DM coukd expand it i suppose. Pick a direction and do it better.

Its very high magic and would probably require buy in from most groups as extra-large very safe Utopia isnt exactly compelling.

I might use it as a location but junk all the fluff. Turn it into an extra planar redoubt.

 

[bedir than]

Its not particularly interesting or developed as a home base. Tgats been done better in better adventures. Its very safe but that also means boring.

They've got 20 archmages kicking about iirc for security Its to poorly detailed to rival Sigil. Utopia so kinda boring.

A good DM coukd expand it i suppose. Pick a direction and do it better.

Its very high magic and would probably require buy in from most groups as extra-large very safe Utopia isnt exactly compelling.

I might use it as a location but junk all the fluff. Turn it into an extra planar redoubt.

The setting, including in the portion you could have downloaded for free, explicitly states the types of adventures that can take place in the Citadel itself. There are also rival factions.

A DM could choose to use the written guidance given about how to have challenges within the Citadel, or not. But when there is guidance against the 'utopia' claim and people ignore that, that's not a fault of the writer.