Mike Mearls joins Chaosium as Executive Producer

[Chalice]

That doesn’t bode well for Chaosium. I’ll leave it at that, out of respect for all involved and of course this forum.

 

[Wofano Wotanto]

(what was the name of that line he worked again?)

Feng Shui? Unknown Armies?

 

[TiQuinn]

Feng Shui? Unknown Armies?

Found it! Atlas Games / Penumbra. He did a series of modules with John Tynes for 3rd edition that were excellent.

 

[Wofano Wotanto]

Found it! Atlas Games / Penumbra. He did a series of modules with John Tynes for 3rd edition that were excellent.

Yeah, both those others were Atlas as well. He did quite a bit for them.

 

[kronovan]

That doesn’t bode well for Chaosium. I’ll leave it at that, out of respect for all involved and of course this forum.

I'm aware of the controversy, but don't care to discuss or expand upon it either. With him making a fresh start with a new company, I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt and remain optimistic that he's learned from past mistakes.

Chaosium, for all that I love their products, have in the past often over-promised and under-delivered when it comes to production schedules. While they've been doing better lately, having Mearls who is experienced in that area certainly can't hurt.

Yes, this IMO was one of the strengths of Mearls being at the early helm of D&D 5e. I recall him insisting on a small staff and not over extending their capabilities/resources with a deluge of setting, companion and splat books. With so much published for 4e not selling well, that seemed like a wise approach. On the other hand, when WotC did its fan survey of exiting settings and it was apparent that others were favored as much or more than Forgotten Realms, he seemed to be one of the impediements to developing content for those.

I waited a long time for a revised CoC Dark Ages companion and the Cults book. I get it though - for the CoC line those 2 are niche products. Still, the wait for those at 5+ years was too long. That leads into one of my concerns with Mearls in this role - while I believe he'll help alleviate production schedule problems, I do have some concerns that his approach might lead to the lenghty delay, or the cancelling of non-core products. I hope that time will prove my concerns to be unwarranted.

 

[SteveC]

I know Mike has been around the forums a bunch lately, so I just wanted to say "Bravo!" It will be interesting to see what comes of this.

 

[The Myopic Sniper]

Good to hear!

 

[Reynard]

That doesn’t bode well for Chaosium. I’ll leave it at that, out of respect for all involved and of course this forum.

But you chose to bring it up anyway?

 

[Shardstone]

But you chose to bring it up anyway?

Get'em, Reynard.

 

[DammitVictor]

I've been a vocal critic in the past. There's no doubt I will be a vocal critic in the future. Neither is a reason not to wish him and Chaosium the very best today, and hope for great things in the future.

It's a peach of a job, Mearls; congratulations and good luck.