Introducing the D&D Community Advisory Group

Hey everyone,

First, thank you. Thousands of you took the time to share honest feedback in our Winter Community Survey. We're reading it, acting on it, and we’re going to keep doing this to regularly check our course.

Three themes came through consistently: trust, game quality (honoring the legacy while strengthening what’s next), and value, especially for D&D Beyond subscribers.

We’re very excited about our 2026 Roadmap and new seasonal model for you, and we're focused on showing, through action, our commitment to your table. That means fewer surprises, clearer roadmaps, and better-supported tools for your games.

• Showing Up, Not Just Speaking
• The D&D Community Advisory Group
• Meet the 2026 D&D Community Advisory Group

Showing Up, Not Just Speaking

Olly Lawson

Since coming aboard last summer, I’ve been listening directly through our monthly AMAs, Discord, State of Game update, creator YouTube channels, Unearthed Arcana feedback, reading comments daily, and, of course, the recent survey. I've learned a lot.

I also went to Gary Con and spent time with Gary Gygax’s son, Luke. While there, we announced a new collaboration with Luke to bring more Greyhawk to D&D, with additional collaborations with D&D authors and designers to come.

The D&D Community Advisory Group

Kent Davis

Last summer, I shared that we were forming an annually rotating D&D Community Advisory Group with a simple goal:

Bring trusted community leaders into the room early, so we can help stress-test decisions, surface risks, and make better calls before things are final.

We built this group by bringing together a variety of creators, WPN store owners, event organizers, community builders, and educators, each bringing a different lens on what D&D is and what it can be.

Since forming in December, the group has met with leads across our team to discuss early product concepts and D&D Beyond tools, and to challenge our approach. Alongside feedback we were hearing more broadly from players, creators, and the community, they pushed on the lack of a roadmap, which led us to revisit our plans before sharing the 2026 roadmap timeline in March. Some topics are still far out, and this gives us a chance to adjust earlier. That’s part of the point: this group engages early, while there’s still time to change course.

This doesn’t replace Unearthed Arcana, surveys, research, conventions, or the many other ways we listen. It’s one more channel built for consistent, candid input from people deeply involved in the game.

We compensate members for their time, as we would any professional consultant, but we expect candid, unfiltered feedback. And we'll rotate membership so the group evolves as the community evolves.

I’m proud of the people in this room.

Meet the 2026 D&D Community Advisory Group

Sam Keiser

Here’s who’s currently serving on the D&D Community Advisory Group:

• David Christ (he/him) - Rumored to be part Frost Giant and having a wicked pants allergy, ‘The Baldman’ organizes some of the biggest conventions, D&D events, and organized play programs in the world.
• Donna Ricci (she/her) - Owner of Geeky Teas & Games. Enjoys bad board games, good video games, Terry Pratchett novels, cats, advocating for mental health, and hitting people with boffer weapons. Future Londoner.
• Jennifer Kretchmer (she/they) - Jennifer is an award-winning game designer, author, actual play performer, television actor and producer, and disability consultant, as well as the creator of the Accessibility in Gaming Resource Guide.
• Kelly Lynne D'Angelo (she/her/they) - Kelly is a Tuscarora writer and veteran online Dungeon Master. Credits: The Legend of Vox Machina (Amazon), Miracle Workers (TBS), Final Space (Adult Swim), and Candlekeep Mysteries. Responsibly chaotic. @kellylynnedang
• Kelly McLaughlin (he/him) - Kelly is the co-host of Dungeon Dudes, a YouTube content creator, and co-creator and author of the award-winning Drakkenheim setting. @Kelly_Dungeon_Dudes
• Michael E. Shea (he/him) - Mike writes for SlyFlourish.com, hosts the Lazy RPG Talk Show, and wrote Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master, Forge of Foes, City of Arches, and other fine RPG products.
• Monty Martin (he/him) - Monty Martin is the co-creator of the Dungeon Dudes YouTube channel. He was the Dungeon Master and co-author of the actual-play series and the ENNIE-award-winning adventure Dungeons of Drakkenheim.
• Nala J. Wu (they/them) - Nala, aka "Jae", is a proud multiple-marginalized freelance art director, layout designer, sensitivity/cultural consultant, and award-winning illustrator & actor working full-time in tabletop RPGs. Connect @naladraws!
• Scott DeBoard (he/him) - Scott owns Silver Dragon Games, “Arizona’s Best D&D Store” and 2026 GAMA Retailer of the Year, a community-driven game store intentionally designed to create a welcoming space for women and new players.
• Ted Sikora (he/him) - Creator of Nerd Immersion, a D&D and tabletop channel focused on news, interviews, product reviews, rules discussions, and homebrew content.
• Teos Abadía (he/him) - Teos is a Colombian-American advocate for a healthier tabletop industry. Find his work at Alphastream Game Design, the Mastering Dungeons podcast, and Success in RPGs on YouTube.
• Zac Clay (he/him) - Zac is a professional Dungeon Master from the San Francisco Bay Area. He coordinates youth D&D programs, mentoring the next generation of TTRPG storytellers.

The group asked to share a short statement about what this work means to them:

As the first D&D Advisory Group, we wanted to take a moment to introduce ourselves. As a diverse group of professionals from across the RPG industry, long-time players of the game, and members of the community, we care deeply about the future of D&D and tabletop gaming.

We all joined this panel with both a sense of responsibility and a fair share of skepticism. We are here to offer honest, independent feedback to Wizards of the Coast, ask hard questions, and raise concerns directly. We share our perspective, but what they choose to act on is ultimately up to them.

Since we began, Wizards of the Coast has actively listened and engaged in good-faith discussions with us, which has created a productive exchange of ideas.

We're grateful to be part of this community and look forward to continuing this work and the conversations ahead!

- The D&D Community Advisory Group

Staying Connected

We’re going to keep showing up and doing the work, and we’ll keep building what comes next with you.

We’ll see you at the table.

- Dan Ayoub, Head of the Dungeons & Dragons franchise