And then there were 8! On Chris Sims and Jennifer Clarke Wilkes' Layoffs...

I've seen quite a few people speculating that Chris Sims and Jennifer Clarke-Wilkes may not have been made redundant, but possibly fired for various reasons, or because contracts ended (given that Jennifer has been at WoTC for about 15 years, that latter guess was always going to be very unlikely!). For that reason, I feel it's a good idea to set things straight and find out exactly what happened; I'm sure neither want rumours like that to start! The short version: yep, they were lay-offs.

Chris Sims kindly shared with me that "Jennifer Clarke Wilkes and I were laid off on Wednesday the 28th. Our positions were eliminated, reducing the D&D team to eight people working directly on the tabletop game."

Hopefully that will put some speculation to rest! Here's the original article, for context.

Who makes up the 8 still working on the RPG? Mike Mearls, Rodney Thompson, Jeremy Crawford, Greg Bilsland, Chris Perkins, Peter Lee, Matt Sernett, Adam Lee.

The 8 does not include art or brand staff, including community manager Trevor Kidd, brand/marketing managers, Organized Play program managers and the like, which brings the number up to about 13.

As an interesting point of comparison, Paizo CEO Lisa Stevens kindly shared that "We don't have any part time employees. The 25 full-time were folks that worked directly on Pathfinder products in design, development, editing and art. Currently, we are pushing 60 employees in the company and growing. In the next few months, we will be hiring more editors and developers to support Pathfinder. 2014 was our best year ever in both sales and profits. Still going up!"

 

[Jiggawatts]

This might not be popular, but I actually somewhat agree with the one guys views on magic in 5E. He is over the top in delivering his message, sure, but I think it has some merit. I prefer a magic system that is rich, deep, and versatile. Where (IMO) 5E went wrong with the balancing of magic was failing to recapture the early balancing mechanics of magic, using AD&D style as their baseline. Where it was easy to have a spell interrupted, and magic was dangerous and had side effects. Those added a mystical allure to magic as well.

As for the actual topic, I hope those two designers get new jobs very soon, maybe with Lisa and Paizo even.

 

[doctorhook]

I think a lot of folks are reading far too deeply into this. First, WotC announced their intention to outsource and license content frequently, so a big team is a liability. Second, it's obvious that WotC is trying to go slow with this edition, so I'd wager we should chill out till at least Princes of the Apocalypse hits shelves before we conclude that WotC has no plans; they kept release info on 5E very tight even three months before GenCon last year, and it hasn't even been a year since then. Given the success of the core books, I do expect an uptick in the volume of content eventually, but more than any, I believe 5E is shaping up to be "the patience edition".

 

[Evenglare]

It sure would be fantastic if they released it for the OGL so people could start making their own stuff and selling it without fear of retribution. If wizards doesn't want a fast schedule then allow others to put stuff out for it. It's such an easy fix. Wizards can't have it both ways, releasing stuff on a slow schedule and holding the license. People are getting impatient and it needs to be remedied at some point. The two ways of doing that are release stuff faster or let other people do it on their own terms. Of course people are creating their own stuff anyway, but I'm sure if they could release it for money it would be a bit higher quality.

 

[Tyranthraxus]

Huh? Why the hell cant Wizards have it both ways? They CAN release stuff on a 'slow' scale and hold the license. As long as they keep release good product Ill keep buying it. And I have so far.

I find this impatience some Gamers have to be quizzical. People were getting impatient before the release, then books got released and they were impatient for the next, then repeat the cycle. People got impatient because the books were not being released fast enough.

 

[The Mirrorball Man]

I find this impatience some Gamers have to be quizzical. People were getting impatient before the release, then books got released and they were impatient for the next, then repeat the cycle. People got impatient because the books were not being released fast enough.

People are excited and eager for more D&D. It's a good thing, isn't it?

 

[Evenglare]

I should have rephrased that. They can release stuff slowly and hold their precious IP close to their hearts.... but they are going to have to eat the bad press people will start spreading. My evidence? Everything that has recently come out of this board. People are getting impatient, wizards aren't forthcoming with their releases. You can do whatever you want, but you better be prepared for the repercussions, in this case the public, the forums being irritated from slow release. Not even that really, it's the lack of information about ANY release other than.. what ONE adventure? Please.

 

[Celtavian]

I doubt you'll see any fix to the mechanics. They have trouble producing a splatbook and an adventure at the same time, release the warforge and kender info on the net, a conversion guide, and whatever I'm forgetting. They certainly do not have time to fix what was intended from the start.

I'm not sure how they thought that a bounded edition could be fun or that not supporting the edition with some books would be profitable. The only time something bounded is fun is when your doing [redacted].

I hope that is not the case. I know I'm one of the customers WotC wants back. Not "me" in particular, but "me" in the general sense of a life long D&D player that spends a lot of money on these games if I like them. I spent a ton on 2nd edition when I reached adulthood. A ton on 3e. A couple of books 4E. A ton on Pathfinder. So far I've spent on the PHB and Monster Manual. I'm the kind of money that WotC wants back. I'm also the type of player that left because of how WotC handled the magic system. I think a lot of Pathfinder players went to the game because of how WotC handled the magic system. I figure focusing on making the magic system fun and interesting, while not allowing it to overpower the game would be a focus. Not just at low levels, but at higher levels as well. I know as a caster heavy player, this magic system along with the legendary resistance system is killing my fun.

 

[The Mirrorball Man]

I know as a caster heavy player, this magic system along with the legendary resistance system is killing my fun.

Now that's something you really should have mentioned in other threads.

 

[Iosue]

I should have rephrased that. They can release stuff slowly and hold their precious IP close to their hearts.... but they are going to have to eat the bad press people will start spreading. My evidence? Everything that has recently come out of this board. People are getting impatient, wizards aren't forthcoming with their releases. You can do whatever you want, but you better be prepared for the repercussions, in this case the public, the forums being irritated from slow release. Not even that really, it's the lack of information about ANY release other than.. what ONE adventure? Please.

I dunno. It seems like some folks on some boards devoted to hard core RPG gamers are getting impatient and irritated. I don't think that really qualifies as bad press.

 

[Evenglare]

Clearly I need to choose my words correctly. By bad press I mean the general discontentment of players that spread this around the internet. It's not isolated to this board. People everywhere are noticing that there has been no schedule update. The feeling is spreading, its plain to see on any board here, 4chan, wizards forums, RPG.net, facebook... everywhere. That's what I mean by bad press and it seems you agree with me that players are getting irritated.