James Haeck, Lauren Oboe, Adam Bradford and Todd Kenreck have all announced that they are taking their leave of the DNDBeyond/Fandom team to go do other things
James Haeck, Lauren Oboe, Adam Bradford and Todd Kenreck have all announced that they are taking their leave of the DNDBeyond/Fandom team to go do other things
I don't want to guess at anything, start gossip, etc. but I'd be lying if I said that I didn't find all of this extremely concerning. It's hard not to look at this as a bit of a mass exodus, and that usually is indicative of problems. I realize that there are a lot of people besides James, Lauren, Adam and Todd that work at DDB, but they are the 4 most visible and all leaving at the same time, and those are only the people who are publicly leaving.
I hope that I'm wrong in my concern and that all of them are leaving on good terms and things at DDB/Fandom are fine. Whatever happens I wish them the best. Boy will they be missed.
I don't want to guess at anything, start gossip, etc. but I'd be lying if I said that I didn't find all of this extremely concerning. It's hard not to look at this as a bit of a mass exodus, and that usually is indicative of problems. I realize that there are a lot of people besides James, Lauren, Adam and Todd that work at DDB, but they are the 4 most visible and all leaving at the same time, and those are only the people who are publicly leaving.
I hope that I'm wrong in my concern and that all of them are leaving on good terms and things at DDB/Fandom are fine. Whatever happens I wish them the best. Boy will they be missed.
Yeah, so many leaving at once, and more odd no replacements announced is concerning.
I suppose it's possible the company overall is fine and they just stopping with a lot of community stuff (articles/videos) and just making the most of the apps. But this level exodus with no word of what is going on is definitely worrying.
Here's hoping they at least let people keep the Compendium content they bought when the system shuts down, one way or another. Losing fifty character sheets and all my homebrew is going to suck hard, but enough screencaps can solve that issue. If laboriously.
Ever rolled a double 1 on a skill check when you have advantage?
It's kinda like that - sometimes, as unlikely as it seems, these things happen.
I'll be sad to see my friends and colleagues leave, but each of them has had truly wonderful opportunities open up for them and I wish them the absolute best of luck. 💗
D&D Beyond isn't shutting down or anything like that - we're carrying on doing what we do best - creating more tools and bringing you the latest content from Wizards of the Coast.
Todd Kenrick said an exciting announcement is forthcoming, and in my experience it's not unusual that one fixture leaving a company triggers a few others who'd been thinking about it to pull the trigger as well. Particularly for creative types like James working with a licenced IP and the limited artistic freedom that results from that can chafe a bit too much after a while. We'll see.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Want to start playing but don't have anyone to play with? You can try these options: [link].
Bets on "DDB" going into maintenance mode while the focus shifts to Cortex?
Which would be 'exciting' if Cortex wasn't an absolute tire fire of a Rules-Lite Narrative Experience(TM) ruleset with absolutely no gameplay involved anywhere in any document I've seen concerning it.
Bets on "DDB" going into maintenance mode while the focus shifts to Cortex?
I'll take that bet - happy to stake my job on it not happening. 😉
Cortex has very little overlap with D&D Beyond - I'm one of the few people who works on both.
Cortex is another Tabletop RPG, owned by Fandom. It's the game system used for previous games like Marvel Roleplay, Firefly etc. It's being used for Tales of Xadia (The Dragon Prince) and Legends of Greyskull, and a number of others!
I know that hearing the news today can be a bit of a shock, but I want to reassure everyone that the reason y'all love this site is because of the hard work the Developers do to make things better every day. There are so many excellent people who work on D&D Beyond who are never on camera, who are the beating heart of this site, and that heart is still there and strong.
Also there is nothing nefarious going on, we all just have had opportunities that we're excited to peruse! It made sense to make the announcements all at once, but it's not happening exactly at the same time. I believe Todd leaves tomorrow, but I'm still around for another week and Adam a bit more than that. And we're all excited to tell you what we're doing next, but not until after we've completed the DDB adventure.
As my cleric likes to say, one job at a time. ;)
As for me, the amazing Mellie will be taking over my role as the new Community Manager! She's been working with the DDB community for years, has already been instrumental in helping with our social media, and is frankly way more knowledgeable about homebrew than I am! You are all in excellent hands!
Thank you Stormknight for bringing some awareness to this. I feel a public announcement of what the future is would help a lot of people. Rumor mill is flying high at the moment.
Bets on "DDB" going into maintenance mode while the focus shifts to Cortex?
I'll take that bet - happy to stake my job on it not happening. 😉
Cortex has very little overlap with D&D Beyond - I'm one of the few people who works on both.
Cortex is another Tabletop RPG, owned by Fandom. It's the game system used for previous games like Marvel Roleplay, Firefly etc. It's being used for Tales of Xadia (The Dragon Prince) and Legends of Greyskull, and a number of others!
Bets on "DDB" going into maintenance mode while the focus shifts to Cortex?
I'll take that bet - happy to stake my job on it not happening. 😉
Cortex has very little overlap with D&D Beyond - I'm one of the few people who works on both.
Cortex is another Tabletop RPG, owned by Fandom. It's the game system used for previous games like Marvel Roleplay, Firefly etc. It's being used for Tales of Xadia (The Dragon Prince) and Legends of Greyskull, and a number of others!
Much as I love the Dragon Prince, D&D will always be my RPG.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
All stars fade. Some stars forever fall. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Homebrew:Magic Items,Monsters,Spells,Subclasses ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If there was no light, people wouldn't fear the dark.
In short: Cortex is an old system that Fandom acquired the rights to while it was undergoing an upgrade to its latest edition. It's supposed to be "the first" fully digital-integrated RPG, relying on the digital toolset as much as, if not more than, physical books. In style, it's very similar to games like Overlight, Cypher, Genesys, and other games that emphasize Narration, Imagination, and Collaboration over Rules. I.e. they give almost no actual structure to your game, offering only the barest, lightest individual action resolution mechanic they can get away with and inviting you to otherwise fill in the details through Exciting Role Play(C).
Some folks eat that shit up and will buy into it as hard and fast as they can.
I am much more ambivalent about it, as I've been doing collaborative writing games for twenty years without any need to pay Fandom hundreds of dollars for the privilege of an expensive digi-book telling me "use your Imagination(!) to play games with your friends!"
I'm curious what others are thinking at this time about recent events?
I am not in the loop. Can someone explain/link me to something?
Buyers Guide for D&D Beyond - Hardcover Books, D&D Beyond and You - How/What is Toggled Content?
Everything you need to know about Homebrew - Homebrew FAQ - Digital Book on D&D Beyond Vs Physical Books
Can't find the content you are supposed to have access to? Read this FAQ.
"Play the game however you want to play the game. After all, your fun doesn't threaten my fun."
James Haeck, Lauren Oboe, Adam Bradford and Todd Kenreck have all announced that they are taking their leave of the DNDBeyond/Fandom team to go do other things
Gotcha. Thank you.
Buyers Guide for D&D Beyond - Hardcover Books, D&D Beyond and You - How/What is Toggled Content?
Everything you need to know about Homebrew - Homebrew FAQ - Digital Book on D&D Beyond Vs Physical Books
Can't find the content you are supposed to have access to? Read this FAQ.
"Play the game however you want to play the game. After all, your fun doesn't threaten my fun."
O.O
Hmmm, I would not say that is a good sign.
She/Her College Student Player and Dungeon Master
I don't want to guess at anything, start gossip, etc. but I'd be lying if I said that I didn't find all of this extremely concerning. It's hard not to look at this as a bit of a mass exodus, and that usually is indicative of problems. I realize that there are a lot of people besides James, Lauren, Adam and Todd that work at DDB, but they are the 4 most visible and all leaving at the same time, and those are only the people who are publicly leaving.
I hope that I'm wrong in my concern and that all of them are leaving on good terms and things at DDB/Fandom are fine. Whatever happens I wish them the best. Boy will they be missed.
Much that once was is lost.
https://www.enworld.org/threads/adam-bradford-lauren-urban-todd-kenrick-leave-d-d-beyond.678047/
All of them got better offers at the same time.
Seems legit.
She/Her College Student Player and Dungeon Master
Yeah, so many leaving at once, and more odd no replacements announced is concerning.
I suppose it's possible the company overall is fine and they just stopping with a lot of community stuff (articles/videos) and just making the most of the apps.
But this level exodus with no word of what is going on is definitely worrying.
...well.
Here's hoping they at least let people keep the Compendium content they bought when the system shuts down, one way or another. Losing fifty character sheets and all my homebrew is going to suck hard, but enough screencaps can solve that issue. If laboriously.
Why you shouldn't start ANOTHER thread about DDB not giving away free redeems on your hardcopy book purchases.
Thinking of starting ANOTHER thread asking why Epic Boons haven't been implemented? Read this first to learn why you shouldn't!
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D&D Beyond FoundersEver rolled a double 1 on a skill check when you have advantage?
It's kinda like that - sometimes, as unlikely as it seems, these things happen.
I'll be sad to see my friends and colleagues leave, but each of them has had truly wonderful opportunities open up for them and I wish them the absolute best of luck. 💗
D&D Beyond isn't shutting down or anything like that - we're carrying on doing what we do best - creating more tools and bringing you the latest content from Wizards of the Coast.
Pun-loving nerd | She/Her/Hers | Profile art by Becca Golins
If you need help with homebrew, please post on the homebrew forums, where multiple staff and moderators can read your post and help you!
"We got this, no problem! I'll take the twenty on the left - you guys handle the one on the right!"🔊
Todd Kenrick said an exciting announcement is forthcoming, and in my experience it's not unusual that one fixture leaving a company triggers a few others who'd been thinking about it to pull the trigger as well. Particularly for creative types like James working with a licenced IP and the limited artistic freedom that results from that can chafe a bit too much after a while. We'll see.
Want to start playing but don't have anyone to play with? You can try these options: [link].
Bets on "DDB" going into maintenance mode while the focus shifts to Cortex?
Which would be 'exciting' if Cortex wasn't an absolute tire fire of a Rules-Lite Narrative Experience(TM) ruleset with absolutely no gameplay involved anywhere in any document I've seen concerning it.
Sad day.
Why you shouldn't start ANOTHER thread about DDB not giving away free redeems on your hardcopy book purchases.
Thinking of starting ANOTHER thread asking why Epic Boons haven't been implemented? Read this first to learn why you shouldn't!
What is Cortex?
A fool pulls the leaves. A brute chops the trunk. A sage digs the roots.
My Improved Lineage System
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D&D Beyond FoundersI'll take that bet - happy to stake my job on it not happening. 😉
Cortex has very little overlap with D&D Beyond - I'm one of the few people who works on both.
Cortex is another Tabletop RPG, owned by Fandom. It's the game system used for previous games like Marvel Roleplay, Firefly etc. It's being used for Tales of Xadia (The Dragon Prince) and Legends of Greyskull, and a number of others!
Cortex site | Tales of Xadia site
Pun-loving nerd | She/Her/Hers | Profile art by Becca Golins
If you need help with homebrew, please post on the homebrew forums, where multiple staff and moderators can read your post and help you!
"We got this, no problem! I'll take the twenty on the left - you guys handle the one on the right!"🔊
-
View User Profile
-
View Posts
-
Send Message
InsiderHi friends,
I know that hearing the news today can be a bit of a shock, but I want to reassure everyone that the reason y'all love this site is because of the hard work the Developers do to make things better every day. There are so many excellent people who work on D&D Beyond who are never on camera, who are the beating heart of this site, and that heart is still there and strong.
Also there is nothing nefarious going on, we all just have had opportunities that we're excited to peruse! It made sense to make the announcements all at once, but it's not happening exactly at the same time. I believe Todd leaves tomorrow, but I'm still around for another week and Adam a bit more than that. And we're all excited to tell you what we're doing next, but not until after we've completed the DDB adventure.
As my cleric likes to say, one job at a time. ;)
As for me, the amazing Mellie will be taking over my role as the new Community Manager! She's been working with the DDB community for years, has already been instrumental in helping with our social media, and is frankly way more knowledgeable about homebrew than I am! You are all in excellent hands!
Thanks everyone!
Find me on Twitter: @OboeLauren
Thank you Stormknight for bringing some awareness to this. I feel a public announcement of what the future is would help a lot of people. Rumor mill is flying high at the moment.
Thanks for the info.
A fool pulls the leaves. A brute chops the trunk. A sage digs the roots.
My Improved Lineage System
Much as I love the Dragon Prince, D&D will always be my RPG.
All stars fade. Some stars forever fall.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Homebrew: Magic Items, Monsters, Spells, Subclasses
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If there was no light, people wouldn't fear the dark.
Fandom's Cortex RPG System
In short: Cortex is an old system that Fandom acquired the rights to while it was undergoing an upgrade to its latest edition. It's supposed to be "the first" fully digital-integrated RPG, relying on the digital toolset as much as, if not more than, physical books. In style, it's very similar to games like Overlight, Cypher, Genesys, and other games that emphasize Narration, Imagination, and Collaboration over Rules. I.e. they give almost no actual structure to your game, offering only the barest, lightest individual action resolution mechanic they can get away with and inviting you to otherwise fill in the details through Exciting Role Play(C).
Some folks eat that shit up and will buy into it as hard and fast as they can.
I am much more ambivalent about it, as I've been doing collaborative writing games for twenty years without any need to pay Fandom hundreds of dollars for the privilege of an expensive digi-book telling me "use your Imagination(!) to play games with your friends!"
Why you shouldn't start ANOTHER thread about DDB not giving away free redeems on your hardcopy book purchases.
Thinking of starting ANOTHER thread asking why Epic Boons haven't been implemented? Read this first to learn why you shouldn't!