D&D 5E (2024) Is 5E better because of Crawford and Perkins leaving?

[AlViking]

It isn't that. it is that people think, for soem reason, that they are supposed to like D&D because it is D&D, and when they don't, they don't know who to process that.

Last time I checked I don't have people shackled to my table if they don't like the game. I've been playing for a long, long time and occasionally people do drop out because D&D just isn't for them. People have a lot of demands on their time, I think you're vastly overstating the issue.

When you are talking about good games that are lesser known or played, no one feels compelled to liek them. if you don't, you don't, and you just move on. but twith D&D, we feel like we have to explain why we do or don't like it, and then defend that against those with differeing opinions.

If someone tries out Daggerheart and it isn't to their liking they probably just go play something else and don't continue to post to that game's forum instead of doom-posting forever on a game they apparently hate.

TTRPGs, as a industry and hobby, would be better off without D&D for this reason alone.

Considering that D&D is the best selling RPG and has had record growth over the past decade I suspect there wouldn't be much of a TTRPG as an industry or hobby without it. Meanwhile there are a whole lot of us who play because we ... gasp!!! ... enjoy the game and have fun playing and don't feel compelled to like that game because it's D&D. If 5e had not come along, I may have gone back to an older game but most likely would be playing something else or gotten more invested in board games. There is no magic to the label, no guarantee of success, no anticompetitive practices by WOTC forcing other game companies out of business.

A lot of people just happen to like playing the game and if you don't I wish you luck finding something that does work for you.

 

[Belen]

I think that the answer is split, at least on my case. The following is exclusively from a DM perspective.

I am a big fan of Chris Perkins and most of the material he worked on directly fo 5e. All of the most iconic and most inspiring 5e modules are his (Curse of Strahd, Tomb of Anhilation, Waterdeep: Dragon Heist, etc.), and you can tell, because he had an eye for setting, drama and humor that is not well matched by his successors. After his last major adventure, Wild Beyond the Witchlight, none of the WotC modules have successfully emulated Perkins's writing style. In fact, all post-Perkins modules have major problems to differing degrees, and sometimes are just wrongheaded (Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen, Phandelver and Below). That being said, Perkins had already stepped away from adventure writing for a few years, so I'm not sure his departure impacts that front too much.

What Chris Perkins's departure really does impact is the institutional knowledge of WotC: he was lorekeeper, experienced adventure writer, storyteller, D&D guru, and elder statesman all at once, and I think WotC is poorer for not having one of these roles (let alone all).

As for Jeremy Crawford, I think that, in general, his impulses are completely contrary to my whole DMing philosophy. Most major reestructurings that took place in the game from 2020 onwards (when he took over for Mike Mearls) have been for the worse. This includes a swath of new changes in the 2024 edition that generally seem to me completely misguided (e.g. hiding is now a set DC, instead of a contested check; same with influencing). I also think Crawford was actively averse to offering storytelling support for DMs (or unsure of how to do so), and we have gotten a very player-focused slew of releases instead. Adventures, settings, DM tools, all worsened during his tenure (compare Vecna to Strahd, or Planescape to Wildemount/Eberron). There are exceptions, but they're mostly James Wyatt's books (who is wonderful on his own and has been carefully iterating on DM toolboxes for decades).

I have nothing personally against Jeremy Crawford: in fact, in interviews, he seems like a lovely man. But purely from a DM-perspective, I think his 5-year stewardship (~2020-2025) of the game was overall much worse than the previous 5-years (~2014-2020). I am glad that there is new blood at the helm now (and glad James Wyatt stuck around to help them).

This is a great summation of my thoughts too.