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.

 

[popuman]

More like Shots Fired!

Agree to disagree. There's (apparently) no bad blood there, so D&D will continue doing what they do. Crawford and Perkins will be a great addition to Darrington Press. Everybody wins!

 

[Yaarel]

Regarding the Daggerheart mechanics, looking at it for the first time, I like how it deletes Constitution as an ability ('trait'), and instead distinguishes Agility as a separate ability.

 

[jmartkdr2]

After thinking about this (and some other news) for a couple days I realize I have no idea what, if any, effect this will have on Hasbro or WotC. They're both way to big for me to predict.

This is still very big news for Darrington Press, and I've mentally upgraded the odds of them being a AAA-tier player in the industry from "possibly" to "probably."

It's also pushed me to actually buy the Daggerheart book so they made at least a couple dollars back already.

 

[Reynard]

I don't think Crawford and Perkins were wooed away by Darrington. I think they left, had some ideas about what they wanted to do, and Darrington came to them. I am absolutely certain the CR crew got to know them with various projects and livestreams, and it probably felt really good to all involved.

Now, if I have a wish, I want Deborah Anne Woll to come in, because I have always believed that while she is an amazing DM, she would benefit from a more narrative system.

 

[chuckdee]

Agree to disagree. There's (apparently) no bad blood there, so D&D will continue doing what they do. Crawford and Perkins will be a great addition to Darrington Press. Everybody wins!

Shots fired doesn't necessarily mean bad blood nor any I'll intent, just that a competitive ground has been set. Each being present could indeed make both better by their existence on such a ground, just as the rise of Pathfinder led to.