Who are these guys: Rob Heinsoo, Andy Collins, James Wyatt

[Umbran]

Threads merged.

 

[Alnag]

Was anyone else at all concerned when they saw the 4E credits and Andy Collins was listed as a lead designer?
...
Are there really good books that Collins has been lead designer for, or is that twinge of worry in my gut not going to go away?

I agree. I also have my doubts about his work. The reason I am still optimistic about the 4e as a whole is the rest of the team and the other contributors. They also build on solid ground (d20 system) so it will be fine. But I agree, I would not nominate Andy Collins (with all respect to this guy) as a lead designer.

 

[Glyfair]

Wyatt did the Oriental Adventures book.

He was also one of the primary designers of Eberron. He gets my vote, based on the comments I've read about his contributions.

 

[jaerdaph]

I remember James Wyatt when he used to contribute Masque of the Red Death articles and adventures to DRAGON and DUNGEON.

He has my Seal of Approval.

 

[00Machado]

There was a time a few years ago when I wouldn't have been happy to see him working on the 4E core. I don't recall what I read of his that I didn't like, but it doesn't matter now anyway. Over time, I've read the Sibling Rivalry stuff, the ideas he's posted on his site, and the Draconomicon. I tought they might have put others on the design team since most of his credits look to be Developer credits, but whichever role he serves in, I think he'll make good contributions.

I'm happy to see Rich Baker and Mike Mearls on the Development team at least, though I think I would have rather seen them work with Andy on the design side. Rich is my favorite adventure author - The Forge of Fury, Red Hand of Doom, Rana Mor, etc. And Mike puts together the best "mechanics that serve the play experience", in my opinion.

I hope they bring similar contributions to the 4E core rules.

 

[Hjorimir]

Who are these guys??

They are our new 4th Editon overlords and I, for one, welcome them!

 

[Glyfair]

I posted this in another thread, but Robin Laws has posted this quote on his blog about some of the 4E team.

At dinner, any concerns I might have about WotC screwing the pooch on the new D&D are 100% allayed by the news that the lead designer is none other than my boon compadre Rob Heinsoo. Whenever I’ve asked him what he’s working on over the last year plus, Rob has responded with this peculiar spasm of guilt, then mumbled something about new collectible projects. Now that I know what he couldn’t tell me it all makes sense. I absolutely trust that Rob knows what needs to be done to make the game faster and easier to run, while still hitting the pleasure centers of D&D fans everywhere, and has the design moxy to implement the vision. I am also very heartened to hear that Mike Mearls is on board as developer and James Wyatt is steering the story team.

So when asked what I think about the new master plan, I don’t need to lay out one of my usual long-winded, either-or scenarios. All I have to say is: “Heinsoo. Wyatt. Mearls*. It will rock, end of story.”

*This is not to imply, of course, that any of the other members of large team of people working on the game will not also be heavily responsible for its rockage.

 

[MerricB]

Rob Heinsoo was one of the leads on the D&D Miniatures game in its early days. He spent much time interacting with the fans on the message boards, and is a great guy.

Cheers!

 

[AdmundfortGeographer]

Andy Colins is the current Sage of Sage Advice. Has been for a while now.

 

[Henry]

Given the changes announced so far, I had a strong feeling Mike Mearls was a developer there, too. Though I may disagree with some of the per-encounter stuff, Mike has a VERY good head for rules on his shoulders. The others' credits are equally strong.