An Introduction to Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition

[cavalier973]

[video=youtube;76yhnu4Kwew]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76yhnu4Kwew[/video]

I don't think I had watched this video (from 2008) until a few minutes ago. Some observations:

Chris "DM to the Stars" Perkins gives a good overview of the game. I know from watching other videos (like the Robot Chicken game he ran) that Chris really enjoys building monsters; 4e seemed to be a good edition to do that with.

He claims in the video that you can run the monsters out of the monster manual without any extra work (or something to that effect). Eh....

He takes some time to describe aspects of D&D4e that are non-combat; roleplaying, skill challenges, etc. and describes examples (chasing the bad guy through busy city streets, and what skills the players can use.

He introduced himself as "The Creative Manager for Dungeons and Dragons". I wonder if he still has this title?

I get the impression from several places that he really liked 4th edition rules.

The comments posted below the video are interesting; one from a mere 2 months ago asks "where can one buy this game?". I know if I see a copy of the 4e Red Box in a Barnes & Noble or other type store, I'm getting it. I already have a copy, but, you know...

 

[wedgeski]

Chris is now the Lead Story Developer, or some such title (see Editorial of last DDI Dungeon).

 

[Scrivener of Doom]

Chris is now the Lead Story Developer, or some such title (see Editorial of last DDI Dungeon).

It should also be noted that the job titles at WotC change every few months and sometimes even more often even if the underlying job remains the same.

 

[cavalier973]

His title should be "Grand Dungeon Master of the Universe". Plus, he should get a pay raise.

 

[DEFCON 1]

His title should be "Grand Dungeon Master of the Universe". Plus, he should get a pay raise.

I dunno if he would really want a pay raise, since that'd put him even closer to being let go.

It's a very interesting situation right now in that I think Perkins and Wyatt were the two longest-employed members of the D&D team... which normally would put them first on the chopping block come December layoffs because they'd probably have close to the highest salaries (assuming of course they have some layoffs this year, but it seems in the past this was usually the case after a new edition's release.) However, Wyatt possibly dodged that bullet by moving over to the Magic: The Gathering story team instead. I wonder if James kind of knew which way the winds were blowing, and figured he'd move over into the larger part of the WotC company now while he still had a chance in an effort to delay his trip to the chopping block?

But Perkins is in the interesting situation of not just being the longest-tenured employee of the D&D department (I think)... but he also has the status of being the most well-known employee specifically due to being the "Grand Dungeon Master of the Universe" as you said. So its quite possible that might actually save his job if/when the layoffs occur because of his fame and position as the "face" of D&D for a lot of people. What can WotC not afford to do... pay his salary, or lose his stature as "DM to the Stars" in A.I. and other "celebrity" D&D games?

It'll be very interesting to see.