D&D (2024) Deborah Ann Woll and Matt Mercer consulted on the 2024 DMG.

WotC consulted with celebrities including True Blood's Deborah Ann Woll and Critical Role's Matt Mercer when revising the upcoming 2024 edition of the Dungeon Master's Guide. Apparently another (unnamed) consultant provided advice on running game for kids.

That's it; that's the news.

 

[R_J_K75]

This absolutely a marketing ploy, those two names alone attract a couple of million potential customers. Who will potentially but 3+ $60 books with possible additional digital resources. So, yeah that's worth the investment. Even though it's a negative in my book, I can totally see the business sense in it. And it's not like we won't buy those books one way or another...

I'm sure it was definitely worth the cost based on the celebrity status of who they hired, and I don't blame them for doing so in a push to sell the revised books. Couching it as a second set of eyes, I don't buy it. WotC hiring a consultant to help write the parts on teaching young kids how to play the game was smart, I agree with that as it's the first time ever that something like this has been included in a core book AFAIK.

Wasn't the point of the UA playtests to get feedback and opinions from people like us here on EN World and players in general, what happened to that? This seems to indicate that we'll see only a few more (if any) of these before the core books are released, and that the books are reaching a point of being close to finished, if they aren't already.

 

[Reynard]

Yes they are proficient DMs, so am I, so are you. But the reason there's a news item about them is because they are famous and WotC announced they consulted on it. Did WotC announce that Nina Hess worked on the 5e PHB? No. These two didn't even write/edit the DMG, they just did some 'consulting'. They might be great consultants! I don't know. But that's not the point, if the content was why they were hired, then the content would speak for itself. But they chose to give it media exposure...

I am not sure why this is such a problem for you.

 

[bedir than]

Yes they are proficient DMs, so am I, so are you. But the reason there's a news item about them is because they are famous and WotC announced they consulted on it. Did WotC announce that Nina Hess worked on the 5e PHB? No. These two didn't even write/edit the DMG, they just did some 'consulting'. They might be great consultants! I don't know. But that's not the point, if the content was why they were hired, then the content would speak for itself. But they chose to give it media exposure...

Let me put it this way: Before 2000 no one cared that Vin Diesel played D&D, almost no one knew Vin Diesel. When he became famous, it was a big thing he played D&D... And I don't care if they are (famous) actors, we had a lawyer here that ran a D&D compatible game company a wrote oodles of D&D compatible books, now he's a judge. I know a great DM that was a politician. People have day jobs, pnp RPGs generally don't pay very well or at all.

WotC did, in fact, announce every consultant on the 2014 core books. They've done the same for every other book in the 5e era and they are doing the full DMG reveal in a couple of months, per the story that started this discussion.

Since the DMG isn't done they can't give a full list now, as there isn't a full list.

 

[Cergorach]

Wait, you want to be able to say you don't like something on an open public discussion forum but don't want people to be able to say they disagree with you?

No, I absolutely allow them to disagree with my opinion.

But there's a difference between disagreement and attacking one's opinion. You don't agree with what I say, fine. You say I should feel differently or that I'm wrong, because reason xyz, NOT fine. This is not a matter of 'Fact(tm)', this is a matter of taste (or lack thereof) and that is in the Eye of the Beholder... And this Beholder just keeps casting deathrays at D&D streaming... How many different ways do I need to say, "It's not you, it's me!"?

 

[Parmandur]

Wasn't the point of the UA playtests to get feedback and opinions from people like us here on EN World and players in general, what happened to that?

Unearthed Arcana is always just temperature tests to see what ideas are like or not liked by people, not really for detailed feedback.

This seems to indicate that we'll see only a few more (if any) of these before the core books are released, and that the books are reaching a point of being close to finished, if they aren't already.

Yeah, UA seems to ne done, they are juat working on finishing the books.

 

[Cergorach]

WotC did, in fact, announce every consultant on the 2014 core books.

Do you have a link for that? Because I don't remember that at all...

 

[michaeljpastor]

WotC consulted with celebrities including True Blood's Deborah Ann Woll and Critical Role's Matt Mercer when revising the upcoming 2024 edition of the Dungeon Master's Guide. Apparently another (unnamed) consultant provided advice on running game for kids.

That's it; that's the news.

I've long suspected that the new DMG is going to have a lot more "How To DM In <This> Style" features in it, and this further confirms my suspicions. Sure there will be a lot of Canonical/mechanical/Rules guidance. But I think there will be a lot of coaching advice, so-to-speak.

I'd kill to have a DMG that has outside guest "Op Ed" columns and sidebars about DMming, Worldbuilding, Effective methods of Plot-hooking, How to prep your DM Satchel, etc. It would give it a touch of the Best of Dragon in it. I just wish that I knew of more of the creative community being involved (Mastering Dungeons, SlyFlourish, the Dungeon Dudes on the YouTube side of things, would be nice votes).

Additionally, aren't they putting some setting material in this? Maybe they're contributing to that.

Who knows? Maybe some of them are, and just haven't said anything yet (fingers crossed, but not behind my back).

 

[Clint_L]

Did the Mortality Radio change the D&D landscape? No. Did Critical Roll change the D&D landscape? Yes.

If there's something in the D&D (community) that I don't like, but doesn't impact the D&D landscape, then I can just ignore it as it doesn't change D&D.

If there's something in the D&D (community) that I don't like, but does impact the D&D landscape, then I can't just ignore it as it does change D&D. This news item clearly shows that it's changed core D&D (DMG).

See the difference? I have been able to ignore this particular popularity game for the last decade or two, but with the direct influence in the DMG, how can I ignore it?

It's not that I dislike streaming per se, I watch a ton of streaming/YouTube. I just dislike this particular version of streaming, it feels/sounds fake to my ears/eyes. Again, this is what I think, I can absolutely see the appeal. But I also don't like reality TV, like Big Brother, dating shows, etc. These RPG streaming series fall right smack in the middle of that category for me.

Facebook might have been instrumental in connecting D&D communities together, do you want Meta consulting on the DMG? I wouldn't.

I don't need to like everything D&D. Some people don't like D&D Lego... I don't mind them not liking that. I think that making a MtG D&D sourcebook is cool. But I don't want D&D Lego or D&D MtG becoming core D&D in the PHB/DMG/MM either.

At what point are we no longer allowed to say that we don't like something? This has 0 political angle, this is purely what someone likes or doesn't. I'm not even being dismissive of the two consultants or the streaming they do. At a certain point I have to start wondering if people are just looking for a fight when you disagree with them...

Yes, you’ve made it very clear that you don’t like actual play shows. For someone who claimed not to want to “yuck anyone’s yum,” you seem very intent on emphasizing your dislike of actual play shows.

My question is: what do you think the negative impact of consulting with Matt Mercer and Deborah Ann Will is going to be? Will there be a new rule requiring us to say “how do you want to do this” when a player strikes a killing blow? Did you find Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount to be a radical departure from D&D as we know it or something?

 

[Crimson Longinus]

If there's something in the D&D (community) that I don't like, but does impact the D&D landscape, then I can't just ignore it as it does change D&D. This news item clearly shows that it's changed core D&D (DMG).

How do the streaming shows change D&D? What is the actual issue here?

It's not that I dislike streaming per se, I watch a ton of streaming/YouTube. I just dislike this particular version of streaming, it feels/sounds fake to my ears/eyes.

What's fake about it?

 

[Dire Bare]

See it as, I don't want that streamer mentality in my core D&D.

What exactly is this "streamer mentality" that you are so concerned about? How exactly do streaming shows change D&D, the game itself, that is a negative for you?

You're coming across as a "get off my lawn" type of fan without any real, concrete concerns.