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.

 

[Remathilis]

I would assume the full story is that they had worked for the same company for a long time, got done with a big project and decided to move on. Throw in a chance to move from the Seattle area to southern CA and work on new stuff with a smaller company. I wish them both luck but I don't see any bigger story than that - it was time to move on and this sounded like an interesting opportunity for them and a change of pace.

That's what I think as well. I don't know if they moved because they wanted to move on to new things or if Darrington offered them a better gig (more money, easier workload) but I don't see it as a headhunting or resign in disgust type of situation.

 

[DEFCON 1]

The only people who care about how games "rank" against each other are folks like us around here who have no financial stake in the games... only our own egos wanting the games we prefer to be the "popular" ones. As though it legitimizes our opinions as being correct.

No one who actually develops / publishes all these other games are actually concerned how their games rank against each other, because they are only focused on doing good work that people like so that it brings in enough money for them to keep their lights on and pay their staff.

 

[Nord Ronnoc]

I'm sure someone will spin this as "Chris and Jeremy abandoning WotC sinking ship over Controversies." This just tells me that this isn't a bridge burning between the two.

If this post by the official D&D account on Bluesky and other sites is of any indication, it's much more amicable compared to Paizo.

 

[AlViking]

An article with a bit more info Why Dungeons & Dragons storytelling duo signed with Critical Role

 

[Umbran]

When did ENWorld turn into such a hen house?

Right at the beginning. Or do you forget that the site stated as a place to pick over the rumors of the then-impending 3e?

 

[Reynard]

Right at the beginning. Or do you forget that the site stated as a place to pick over the rumors of the then-impending 3e?

Fair enough. Cluck away.

 

[Sacrosanct]

Yes and no. Shadowdark is firmly within the OSR space as far as play style goes, but it leans heavily on some 5e mechanics which does draw some people from D&D as well. I think that's why it was so successful, because it had something for both camps. The creator is also pretty cool, and the license is very easy to use.

I don't see much about Daggerheart that interests me or my group. But the CR community's impact on its potential to replace Pathfinder can't be ignored. Guess we'll wait and see.

I am currently in two SD groups (one weekly and one monthly) and a weekly AD&D 1e game. SD is exponentially easier to get the same gritty feel and aesthetic of 1e without the huge learning curve. For newer players who want that old school feel, SD is the way to go, no questions asked. SD is a huge boon to the OSR community to get newer players. But for those die hard AD&D enthusiasts, it's been a pain because its drawing people away from AD&D. I've seen the number of AD&D and OSE groups get smaller and smaller as the players continue to migrate to SD.

 

[Bravesteel25]

Yes and no. Shadowdark is firmly within the OSR space as far as play style goes, but it leans heavily on some 5e mechanics which does draw some people from D&D as well. I think that's why it was so successful, because it had something for both camps. The creator is also pretty cool, and the license is very easy to use.

I don't see much about Daggerheart that interests me or my group. But the CR community's impact on its potential to replace Pathfinder can't be ignored. Guess we'll wait and see.

I knew when I made that reply that somebody would point out how Shadowdark is a little more than an OSR game. I agree, but I don't think it is enough so to do anything other than denote it as OSR to anyone that isn't hyper-aware of the differences.

Daggerheart certainly isn't going to cater to everyone, just like Pathfinder and even D&D doesn't. I'm interested to see what they do with it.

 

[The Soloist]

'Daggerheart 1.0 is done for. I predict Daggerheart 1.5 just in time for Christmas shopping.'

 

[The Soloist]

I am currently in two SD groups (one weekly and one monthly) and a weekly AD&D 1e game. SD is exponentially easier to get the same gritty feel and aesthetic of 1e without the huge learning curve. For newer players who want that old school feel, SD is the way to go, no questions asked. SD is a huge boon to the OSR community to get newer players. But for those die hard AD&D enthusiasts, it's been a pain because its drawing people away from AD&D. I've seen the number of AD&D and OSE groups get smaller and smaller as the players continue to migrate to SD.

Yes, I've seen Uber rants on old school forums against Shadowdark.

Will SD have a lasting effect? Will these people flock to a new shiny new game in 2-3 years? Too soon to tell.