On July 16, the world of tabletop role-playing games (TTRPG) was shocked to learn that former senior Dungeons & Dragons designers, Christopher Perkins and Jeremy Crawford, had joined the ranks of Darrington Press. The news arrived just weeks after Critical Role Productions’ tabletop games imprint launched its first in-house game, Daggerheart.

Back in April, Perkins and Crawford unexpectedly left Wizards of the Coast, where they were integral to the design and success of D&D’s 5th edition iteration. But it wasn’t clear which path they’d forage next.

Now, Critical Role CCO Matt Mercer will combine their two decades of game-design experience with the momentum of the actual-play empire. It’s easy to imagine the duo contributing to Daggerheart, which, mere weeks after its praise-filled launch, threatens D&D’s place at the top of the TTRPG mountain. As someone who has followed the TTRPG for years, the creative energy and impulse at Darrington Press/Critical Role feels palpable while, on the other side, Wizards seems to be struggling to keep up.

From an outsider’s perspective, there seem to be two different stories here. One is the official version of an amicable relationship between “mother” Wizards and the poster child, Critical Role, sealed by a congratulatory post on X. By all official accounts, Perkins, after reaching the position of creative director for D&D in 2024, amicably retired in April 2025, at the age of 57. Crawford, who had also maxed out his level in 2024 as game director, left shortly after Perkins, because he was satisfied with the product and wanted to pursue different creative avenues.

At the time, Wizards of the Coast’s VP of franchise and product (Dungeons & Dragons) Jess Lanzillo told Screen Rant that Perkins and Crawford’s departures had “been a point of discussion for some time and something that we’ve been training up everyone for.“ According to Lanzillo, their substitutes would come from the current ranks, as the team is strong and there is a clear roadmap in place for the next five years of D&D.

But there might be a less savory story to the transition and Darrington’s recruitment of the legendary designers. Two months after Perkins and Crawford left the company,

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