Recently there have been some departures from the popular Pen & Paper Dungeons & Dragons: Among others, two long-time and important figures behind the game have now joined the competition. In the GameStar Talk, our experts discuss how things might proceed from here.
What happened with Dungeons & Dragons? In 2024, Wizards of the Coast, the company behind Dungeons & Dragons (D&D), released the latest edition of the game. In April, two of the key designers left the company: Chris Perkins and Jeremy Crawford. Both joined a subsidiary of Critical Role in June, the leading streaming group for D&D.
It is now also known that two more key figures behind D&D are gone: The well-known DM Todd Kenreck reportedly resigned via X.com. He was also active on the game’s YouTube channel. Almost simultaneously, the Vice President Jess Lanzillo announced she had left Wizards of the Coast.
What is discussed in GameStar Talk? Specifically, Chris Perkins and Jeremy Crawford, two creative minds who shaped D&D for decades, are now missing. The discussion revolves around the possible future of the game, the 2024 edition, the online companion D&D Beyond, and a potential Baldur’s Gate 4. Here you can watch the video on YouTube:
D&D in the GameStar Talk – Here are our experts
Who are the experts? In the GameStar Talk, our experts Paul Aeils from the GameStar YouTube channel, Fabiano Uslenghi from the GameStar team, Eleen Reinke from GamePro, and the MeinMMO Pen & Paper expert Benedict Grothaus discuss:
Host Paul Aeils (via GameStar) is a great fan of Pen & Paper and is currently running a Cyberpunk game. He has also tried his hand at D&D, Mörk Borg, and other systems.
Fabiano Uslenghi is a long-time GameStar editor and DSA veteran. He also plays D&D but enjoys testing smaller systems like the official game based on Avatar: The Last Airbender as well. He was also featured in the eight-episode D&D series Ready to Roll (via YouTube) in 2023.
For GamePro, Eleen Reinke is also part of the Talk. She is an editor there and enjoys Pen & Paper games in her spare time, including D&D and Shadowrun. Currently, she is running a campaign that has lasted several years.
Benedict Grothaus, editor at MeinMMO, is also participating. He has been a Pen & Paper player for many years, although he is not playing as much as he would like at the moment. Additionally, he brings expertise from the industry.
What will happen with D&D, Wizards of the Coast, and Hasbro cannot yet be said concretely. However, one thing is certain: for the Pen & Paper there are several exciting resources and cool settings. Seven of them are presented here by MeinMMO editor Alexander Schürlein: 7 settings from Dungeons & Dragons that are at least as exciting as the Sword Coast
