D&D General Chris Perkins and Jeremy Crawford Join Darrington Press

Chris Perkins and Jeremy Crawford have a new home, joining Critical Role’s Darrington Press. The LA Times was the first to report on the news of the pair joining Darrington in undisclosed roles. [UPDATE: Per Darrington Press, Perkins is Creative Director and Crawford is Game Director, matching their roles at Wizards.] According to the article, Perkins and Crawford were approached by Critical Role shortly after news broke that the pair were departing Wizards of the Coast.

I was committed to staying with Wizards until after D&D’s 50th anniversary, which gave me lots of time to work on succession planning and exit strategies,” Perkins told the LA Times. “What brought me out of retirement was the chance to work with Jeremy and the brilliant folks at Critical Role on things that have a lasting, positive impact on the world.”

“Chris and I talked about his retirement plan for years, so his approaching departure was long on my mind. When we sent the new D&D rule books to the printer last year, I felt it was time to explore a new chapter for myself,” Crawford added. “I love the game and its team, but 18 years is a long time. I was ready for a new adventure. The chapter that we’ve now opened feels like coming home — resuming work with Chris and returning to Southern California.”

Darrington Press just launched Daggerheart, a fantasy TTRPG that’s more narrative focused than D&D, but also has significant rules-crunch. Many have described Daggerheart as a rival to D&D, a comparison that will likely be made even more now that Darrington has snatched away two of D&D’s primary architects for the last 10+ years.

 

[Clint_L]

Which is a pretty great place to be! Look at how many "it's fine, I guess" burgers McDonald's sells each year.

I hate that analogy. I think it's condescending to fans of the game. I think 5e is very popular because it's an excellent game.

 

[Rushbolt]

This really raises more questions for me. Will they be writing Daggerheart material? Will they start doing seminars at conventions for Daggerheart? Will they help get an organized play program off the ground? Will they work on Candela Obscura? Will they write a heroic fantasy game based on the Illuminated Worlds system? So many ways this can go.

 

[Not a Decepticon]

I was half-asleep when I read that, and it shocked me into waking up. Anyway, I'm not sure Daggerheart will dethrone D&D, but I can see it taking up Pathfinder's spot. Compared to Pathfinder, Daggerheart is mechanically distinct and is setting neutral. Plus, it'll be more recognizable thanks to the people at Critical Role.

Considering Matt Mercer is a player in a Pathfinder 2e Actual Play, I do not think Darrington and Paizo are competing, with each other, but have a "rising tide lifts all ships" attitude, sharing whatever piece of cake they manage to tear from Hasbro's hands.

I could certainly see Daggerheart taking Pathfinder's spot as the number two tabletop RPG if they make the right moves.

I recall Cyberpunk Red actually has overtaken Pathfinder in sales some time after Cyberpunk 2077 finally became playable and got a new expansion with Idris Elba as James Bond, and Edgerunners anime premiered on Netflix.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I hate that analogy. I think it's condescending to fans of the game. I think 5e is very popular because it's an excellent game.

I don't mean it condescendingly. I own a ton of 5E and run multiple campaigns of it. But it's also the center of the Venn diagram for a lot of groups that might otherwise have disparate tastes.

It can be some groups' favorite game, but also be a lot of other groups' consensus pick.

Replace "McDonald's hamburger" with "pepperoni pizza," which is probably a better analogy.

 

[Zarithar]

Ok then... maybe I should check out Daggerheart after all

 

[haakon1]

Replace "McDonald's hamburger" with "pepperoni pizza," which is probably a better analogy.

I like McDonalds.

I don’t like pepperoni pizza - I’ve heard many pizza makers don’t like it either. It looks good in photos and on TV, sells well, but so many other toppings are better. As the 80 year old Sicilian pizza maker in Clearwater, WA told me when we got talking, it’s Polly-O cheese that makes pizza New York style, and you gotta make a living so anything goes for topping - except pineapple, he refused.

Give me a margharita, or sausage & mushroom, hmmm.

So, yes, agree - 5e is like pepperoni pizza. Not a fan, gives me the agita, but if people order it, you eat it.

 

[definiteFreakyFishGuy]

I wonder how the Darrington Press folks who were there from the very beginning feel about these two big names swooping in and taking the spot of Creative Director and Game Director...

 

[Scribe]

I wonder how the Darrington Press folks who were there from the very beginning feel about these two big names swooping in and taking the spot of Creative Director and Game Director...

Probably like every corporate employee looking at the top positions getting filled with external resources.

Could be worse, watching what happens after a takeover...

 

[overgeeked]

Probably like every corporate employee looking at the top positions getting filled with external resources.

Could be worse, watching what happens after a takeover...

A related question: how long will Darrington and CR continue to be treated like tiny indie darlings instead of the sprawling corporate empire they are? Admittedly, they're not all that sprawling compared to companies outside the RPG industry, but within it...they're easily top 5 with CR alone, after the success of Daggerheart they're likely top 3 behind WotC and Paizo.

 

[Afroconan]

A related question: how long will Darrington and CR continue to be treated like tiny indie darlings instead of the sprawling corporate empire they are?

Likely, the moment they start doing corpo shenanigans. Some have already started with the criticism towards the DH 3rd party license.

I personally think they'll mostly skirt trouble since I believe they'll remain private for the foreseeable future.

What makes WotC "corpo" is having to answer to actual shareholders and having to adhere to the whims of the "Line Goes Up School of Business Administration"