D&D 5E Mike Mearls is back on the D&D RPG Team

Three weeks ago, WotC's Jeremy Crawford told us that Mike Mearls was no longer working on the tabletop RPG, and hadn't since some time in 2019. Today, the (newish) D&D head Ray Winninger said on the company's Twitch livestream that Mearls is now back full-time on the tabletop game.

Mike Mearls is back full time on the RPG again. He was splitting his time working on some computer game stuff for us, but he’s back.

He still doesn't appear to be back on social media since his final tweet back in 2019.

 

[Guest 6801328]

If you're brining people back, go get Andy Collins. He'd be the third most influential name in getting D&D to where it is today.

Whatever took place with Mearls in the past, he seems to have been reprimanded and seems to have come through the other side, hopefully wiser and better prepared to handle a similar situation should it arise. Let's just let him get back to work and enjoy the quality products he'd contribute to developing.

This seems like a deeply misinformed impression of how businesses operate, at least among white-collar ranks. If WotC...or any well-run business...had any kind of official response to this Zak S. thing, it would be one of two things:

1. Corporate counsel drops by the office to say, "Hey, um, be careful next time." (I've...cough...had that happen.)
2. The employee is fired.

Executive employees are not "punished". Maybe at review/promotion time such an incident would factor in, but there's no "you're getting assigned to job you don't like until you've learned your lesson, young man" or whatever.

 

[billd91]

If you're brining people back, go get Andy Collins. He'd be the third most influential name in getting D&D to where it is today.

Since Andy Collins was in charge of the 3.5 revision, I'd have seriously mixed feelings about that. There were some necessary fixes - ranger, bard, classes too front-loaded, buff spells, harm - but that was the feature-creepiest update and some things really didn't need to be messed with and now stick out like a sore thumb in that edition-ette (weapon sizes, I'm looking at you).

 

[3catcircus]

Since Andy Collins was in charge of the 3.5 revision, I'd have seriously mixed feelings about that. There were some necessary fixes - ranger, bard, classes too front-loaded, buff spells, harm - but that was the feature-creepiest update and some things really didn't need to be messed with and now stick out like a sore thumb in that edition-ette (weapon sizes, I'm looking at you).

At this point, I don't even really want a new edition of D&D, regardless of who does it. I rather, want a supplement that fundamentally changes how D&D plays, from the ground up.

I want bolt-ons for a lifepath, classless, skill based system with gritty/realistic death spiral mechanics that can be scaled (limit spells like so to have a more gritty feel or do this to add more complicated mechanics.)

 

[Lem23]

Just to be clear, I have never seen anything like "evidence" that happened though I have dug rather deep to try and find it (as in more than just what's available to the public on the internet), just allegations and inferences from what has been made public. Any time I ask for a link to evidence of that specific allegation I get one of three links back which is not evidence of that allegation.

I don't want to go in circles again on that topic, I just wanted to make it clear to others that this part is a rumor, and not "evidence".

Just because you chose to ignore what was presented doesn't mean it was just gossip. Discounting what people have posted in support of what they claim because it doesn't meet your own nebulous or particular requirements doesn't mean there isn't a convincing case, just that you're ignoring those and then claiming there's nothing to support it. It's rather tautological - "I see no evidence!" "Well, there's this." "I refuse to accept that. There's no evidence!" "Well, there's also this, and this." "I refuse to accept those either. There's no evidence!" etc.

 

[Sorcerers Apprentice]

This seems like a deeply misinformed impression of how businesses operate, at least among white-collar ranks. If WotC...or any well-run business...had any kind of official response to this Zak S. thing, it would be one of two things:

1. Corporate counsel drops by the office to say, "Hey, um, be careful next time." (I've...cough...had that happen.)
2. The employee is fired.

Executive employees are not "punished". Maybe at review/promotion time such an incident would factor in, but there's no "you're getting assigned to job you don't like until you've learned your lesson, young man" or whatever.

If working hands on together with Larian on a D&D video game is considered "punishment" at WotC, their "rewards" must be glorious!

 

[3catcircus]

Just because you chose to ignore what was presented doesn't mean it was just gossip. Discounting what people have posted in support of what they claim because it doesn't meet your own nebulous or particular requirements doesn't mean there isn't a convincing case, just that you're ignoring those and then claiming there's nothing to support it. It's rather tautological - "I see no evidence!" "Well, there's this." "I refuse to accept that. There's no evidence!" "Well, there's also this, and this." "I refuse to accept those either. There's no evidence!" etc.

I'm just gonna say it. Enough about this, metoo, gamergate, and every other petulant manchild/womanchild whining and wringing of hands. I don't care if someone treated some other people badly at a public event and a separate person didn't do anything/didn't do whatever is considered enough of a response/overreacted. They are all adults. They can grow up and either call the cops if they think a crime was committed and be prepared to go to court, or deal with it as an annoyance when the cops show up and do nothing because it isn't a crime.

Hurt feelings aren't a concern anyone should have, only whether or not criminal activity occurred.

 

[darjr]

I care. When you have to usher a 12 year old out of a con because no one bothered to fix the broken stair until much too late I’d hope you’d care too.

 

[Morrus]

I'm just gonna say it. Enough about this, metoo, gamergate, and every other petulant manchild/womanchild whining and wringing of hands. I don't care if someone treated some other people badly at a public event and a separate person didn't do anything/didn't do whatever is considered enough of a response/overreacted. They are all adults. They can grow up and either call the cops if they think a crime was committed and be prepared to go to court, or deal with it as an annoyance when the cops show up and do nothing because it isn't a crime.

Hurt feelings aren't a concern anyone should have, only whether or not criminal activity occurred.

What a strange world you live in where all social actions are classified merely by whether they are against the criminal code in your local jurisdiction or not. Are you ... Robocop?

 

[3catcircus]

I care. When you have to usher a 12 year old out of a con because no one bothered to fix the broken stair until much too late I’d hope you’d care too.

Since when did an objective "this object is broken" situation ever equate to a subjective "somebody did something that offended me and it may or may not be a crime" situation?

Bad analogy.

 

[Lem23]

Since when did an objective "this object is broken" situation ever equate to a subjective "somebody did something that offended me and it may or may not be a crime" situation?

Bad analogy.

Not a bad analogy at all. You should read up on what darjr is referring to: Missing stair - Wikipedia