D&D Veterans Perkins and Crawford Join Darrington Press to Work on Daggerheart
Chris Perkins and Jeremy Crawford, lead designers of D&D 5th edition, now work on Daggerheart at Critical Role's Darrington Press, a game they didn't design.
Chris Perkins and Jeremy Crawford, lead designers of the 5th edition of Dungeons & Dragons, joined Critical Role's publishing arm Darrington Press in 2025. They now work on Daggerheart, a tabletop role-playing game whose rules they did not design.
While at D&D, Perkins and Crawford authored Curse of Strahd, described as the best-selling D&D adventure of all time. Their move to Darrington Press marks a shift from shaping D&D's core rules to supporting a system built by others.
Daggerheart's rules draw on D&D house rules. One example is the Syndicate Rogue feature Well-Connected, which resembles the "I know a guy" house rule common at many tables.
The game also bakes collaborative storytelling into its rules and product design. Campaign frames directly address players or instruct the GM to have players add to the setting, making shared worldbuilding part of play rather than an optional add-on.
Polygon reported on the designers' new roles.
Quick answers
Who are Chris Perkins and Jeremy Crawford?
They were lead designers for the 5th edition of Dungeons & Dragons and authored Curse of Strahd, described as the best-selling D&D adventure of all time.
What is Daggerheart?
Daggerheart is a tabletop role-playing game whose rules draw on D&D house rules and bake collaborative storytelling into its rules and product design. It is published by Darrington Press.
When did Perkins and Crawford join Darrington Press?
They joined Critical Role's publishing arm Darrington Press in 2025.