Wizards Hires Erin Roberts as Game Designer for D&D

Wizards of the Coast has made another D&D game designer - this time tapping Erin Roberts, creator of the Godsbreath setting seen in Journeys from the Radiant Citadel. Roberts announced the hire on social media over the weekend. Similar to the hires of James Haeck and Leon Barillaro, Roberts is an established TTRPG designer. In addition to her credits at Wizards of the Coast, she's also worked for Paizo and Haunted Table. Her Godsbreath campaign setting has appeared in two different D&D anthologies, first appearing in Journeys from the Radiant Citadel.

Wizards has restocked its group of designers over the last year, following the departure of Jeremy Crawford and Chris Perkins. This is the third designer hired over the past couple of months, alongside the aforementioned Haeck and Barillaro. Additionally, Wizards promoted Justice Ramin Armin as the Director of Game Design.

While the D&D design team has put out a steady stream of Unearthed Arcana releases, no announcements of 2026 D&D products have been made as of yet.

 

[nanteen]

As long as they keep the Forgotten Realms advancing story line on it's steady trajectory, without more brand new radical changes. I'm fine

 

[THEMNGMNT]

Erin Roberts is living the dream of many a Dungeon Master. Congratulations to her!

 

[I'm A Banana]

She's an amazing designer, her adventures are top-notch and Godsbreath is such a compelling setting (and I really dig the gothic horror vibe). Wins.

 

[QuentinGeorge]

Isn't RC widely regarded as neh? Impression i fet. Similar to Candlekeep.

They're still better than typical larger adventures. Sea of Mediocre.

Most of Radiant Citadel adventures are riddled with issues and just not particularly good (the settings are different, and have flavour, even if the book has the most bone-headed ideas of where to place them in establish settings) but of the adventures in there, Roberts' one is one of the best, even if I think Antebellum-era southern US is a little too modern for my D&D tastes.

 

[EzekielRaiden]

and it needed to be a boxed set (as originally planned) or two books (player + DM).

Not gonna happen in 5e. 5e books are meant to be for everyone, remember! Because that increases sales, and everyone knows, if the game sells better, it is better. Right?

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Not gonna happen in 5e. 5e books are meant to be for everyone, remember! Because that increases sales, and everyone knows, if the game sells better, it is better. Right?

We got a separate player and DM book for the Forgotten Realms (not to mention a pretty major change in staff), so that philosophy appears to have changed. It was certainly true at the time though - it was originally conceived as a boxed set until someone got cold feet over it.

Erin Roberts is a world builder, so we may see more investment in developing settings going forward, rather than the throw it out the door and forget about it approach of the last couple of years.

 

[Mournblade94]

Yawning Portal had better adventures.

Radiant Citadel doesn't hold up vs any of the other anthologies. Espicially near contemporaries eg Golden Vault, Infinite Staircase. Hell even Candlekeep is better.

I love Yawning Portal I just finished Tamochan last night. Radiant citadel wasnt medieval enough for me and the citadel thing was redundant of Sigil. I skipped the book because things like the Mardi gras dancehall was out of place for any campaign I wanted to run. Infinite Staircase was absolutely fantastic.

 

[Zardnaar]

I love Yawning Portal I just finished Tamochan last night. Radiant citadel wasnt medieval enough for me and the citadel thing was redundant of Sigil. I skipped the book because things like the Mardi gras dancehall was out of place for any campaign I wanted to run. Infinite Staircase was absolutely fantastic.

Player gifted me alt art copy infinite staircase. Quite liked it.

 

[Mournblade94]

A safe place in the middle of the Astral Plane is something I don't find realistic in the context of the multiverse as we have always known it. The Astral Plane is a mess, and what's more, it's a dangerous mess. But in the middle of it all, there's a cute little place. I find it hard to find it interesting. But, I repeat, that's just my opinion and I'm not trying to convince anyone.

Im no fan of Radiant Citadel especially when Sigil is right there, but i still use Alignment and the utopia is an absolutely valid expression of a truly lawful good place. In a lawful good place everyone would work for the good of the many.

 

[Mournblade94]

As long as they keep the Forgotten Realms advancing story line on it's steady trajectory, without more brand new radical changes. I'm fine

I'd much rather they leave the Forgotten Realms alone. The new books were ok but they really went out of left field with making Calimshan little Eberron and taking purple dragon knights literally. The rest of the FR books were mostly OK I just cut out the weird new Calimshan because it has nothing to do with the original one.