Jeremy Crawford

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Jeremy Crawford
Jeremy Crawford - Lucca Comics & Games 2014.JPG
Jeremy Crawford, one of the Lead Designers of Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition, at Lucca Comics & Games 2014.
Nationality American
Occupation Game designer
Spouse
Phillip Lienau
​
(m. 2014)​
[1] [2]

Jeremy Crawford is a game designer who has worked primarily on role-playing games. He worked for Wizards of the Coast from 2007 to 2025 on the tabletop role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons . He was the Lead Rules Designer for the game's 4th edition, and one of the Lead Designers of the game's 5th Edition. In 2025, he became the Game Director of Darrington Press.

Contents

Career

Green Ronin Publishing (2005–2007)

Jeremy Crawford co-designed and edited the Blue Rose (2005) role-playing game along with Steve Kenson for Green Ronin Publishing. [3] Blue Rose won the 2005 ENnie Awards for "Best Rules" and "Best d20 Game". [4] Crawford is credited on the updated edition of Blue Rose (2017) [5] as it carried forward parts of the setting design from the original edition. [6] He also worked on the second edition of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay and Mutants & Masterminds . [6] [7]

Wizards of the Coast (2007–2025)

He was hired by Wizards of the Coast in 2007 as a game designer for their flagship Dungeons & Dragons product, and has worked there since then. His Dungeons & Dragons design credits include Player's Handbook 2 (2009), [8] Dungeon Master's Kit (2010), and Heroes of the Fallen Lands (2010).

He was the rules manager for the 4th Edition of Dungeons & Dragons. Development on a new edition started in 2011 and Crawford became the Co-Lead Designer, along with Mike Mearls, of the 5th Edition of Dungeons & Dragons. Crawford also became the lead rules developer and managing editor of the edition. [9] Under Crawford and Mearls, there became a concerted effort to boost inclusiveness both in the game and in the development of the game. [10] The 5th Edition version of the game credits women as contributors to its design more than any previous one: about 26 percent are female, as opposed to 20 percent in 4th Edition and 12 percent in 3rd Edition. [11] The Mary Sue reported that under this new direction, 40% of Dungeons & Dragons players in 2018 are women which is an increase "from 2012, when women made up 20–25% of players". [12] He is credited as one of the authors of the Player's Handbook for the 5th edition of Dungeons & Dragons , along with several other books in the edition. [13] He also wrote the monthly "Sage Advice" newsletter. [14]

In 2024, he became the Game Director of Dungeons & Dragons. [15] He was the lead designer on the Player's Handbook (2024) which was part of the 2024 revision to the 5th Edition ruleset. [16] [17] Crawford won the Gayming Icon Award for his Dungeons & Dragons game design in 2024. [18] [17] In April 2025, following the release of the 2024 revised core rulebooks for Dungeons & Dragons, Crawford announced that he was leaving Wizards of the Coast. [19]

Darrington Press (2025–present)

In June 2025, it was announced that both Crawford and Chris Perkins would be joining Critical Role Productions ' tabletop game imprint Darrington Press. [20] [21] [22] Crawford became the company's Game Director while Perkins became the Creative Director which matches their former roles at Wizards of the Coast. [21] [22] [23] Crawford explained that "Chris and I talked about his retirement plan for years, so his approaching departure was long on my mind" along with the release of the 2024 revised Dungeons & Dragons rulebooks led him to feel "it was time to explore a new chapter for myself". [20] In July 2025, Darrington Press announced that Crawford will be creating a setting exploring a new genre for their tabletop role-playing game Daggerheart . [24]

Personal life

Crawford is gay, [25] [26] and married his husband Phillip Lienau in 2014. [1] [2] [27]

Works

TitleGameCreditsDateISBN
Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd editionDesigner2005978-1844162208
Blue Rose Blue Rose 1st editionDesigner, Editor2005978-1932442229
Blue Rose CompanionBlue Rose 1st editionDesigner, Production Staff2005978-1932442366
World of AldeaBlue Rose 1st editionDesigner, Production Staff2006978-1932442465
Paragons Mutants & Masterminds 2nd editionDesigner2007
Player's Handbook Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition Designer, Production Staff2008978-0786949298
Monster Manual Dungeons & Dragons 4th editionDesigner, Production Staff2008978-0786948529
Forgotten Realms Player's Guide Dungeons & Dragons 4th editionDesigner2008978-0786949298
4th Edition Core Rulebook CollectionDungeons & Dragons 4th editionDesigner2008978-1786950638
Dungeon Master's Guide Dungeons & Dragons 4th editionDesigner2008978-0786948802
Player's Handbook 2 Dungeons & Dragons 4th editionDesigner, Production Staff2009978-0-7869-5016-4
Assault on Nightwyrm Fortress Dungeons & Dragons 4th editionDesigner2009978-0786950003
Player Essentials: Heroes of the Fallen Lands Dungeons & Dragons 4th editionDesigner2010978-0786956203
Monster Manual 3 Dungeons & Dragons 4th editionDesigner2010978-0786954902
Dungeons & Dragons Starter Set Dungeons & Dragons 4th editionDesigner, Production Staff2010978-0786956296
Dungeon Master's Kit Dungeons & Dragons 4th editionDesigner2010978-0786956302
Player's Option: Heroes of the Feywild Dungeons & Dragons 4th editionDesigner2011978-0786958368
Player's Option: Heroes of Shadow Dungeons & Dragons 4th editionDesigner2011978-0786957453
Neverwinter Campaign Setting Dungeons & Dragons 4th editionDesigner2011978-0786958146
Monster Vault: Threats to the Nentir Vale Dungeons & Dragons 4th editionDesigner2011978-0786958382
Book of Vile Darkness Dungeons & Dragons 4th editionDesigner2011978-0786958689
Player's Option: Heroes of the Elemental Chaos Dungeons & Dragons 4th editionDesigner, Production Staff2012
Into the Unknown: The Dungeon Survival Handbook Dungeons & Dragons 4th editionDesigner2012978-0786960323
Ghosts of Dragonspear Castle Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition Project LeadAugust 2013978-0786965311
Dungeons & Dragons Starter Set Dungeons & Dragons 5th editionD&D Lead Designer15 July 2014978-0786965595
Player's Handbook (2014)Dungeons & Dragons 5th editionD&D Lead Designer, Player's Handbook Lead19 August 2014978-0786965601
Monster Manual Dungeons & Dragons 5th editionD&D Lead Designer, Managing Editor30 September 2014978-0786965618
Dungeon Master's Guide Dungeons & Dragons 5th editionD&D Lead Designer, Dungeon Master's Guide Lead9 December 2014978-0786965625
Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide Dungeons & Dragons 5th editionDesigner, Managing Editor, D&D Lead Designer3 November 2015978-0786965809
Elemental Evil Player's CompanionDungeons & Dragons 5th editionD&D Lead Designer, Managing Editor16 April 2015
Curse of Strahd Dungeons & Dragons 5th editionD&D Lead Designer, Designer, Managing Editor15 March 2016978-0786965984
Storm King's Thunder Dungeons & Dragons 5th editionD&D Lead Designer, Managing Editor6 September 20169780786966004
Volo's Guide to Monsters Dungeons & Dragons 5th editionLead Rules Developer, Managing Editor15 November 2016978-0786966011
Tales from the Yawning Portal Dungeons & Dragons 5th editionLead Rules Developer, Managing Editor4 April 2017978-0-7869-6609-7
Tomb of Annihilation Dungeons & Dragons 5th editionLead Rules Developer, Managing Editor19 September 20179780786966103
Xanathar's Guide to Everything Dungeons & Dragons 5th editionLead Designer, Managing Editor21 November 2017978-0786966110
Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes Dungeons & Dragons 5th editionLead Designer, Managing Editor29 May 2018978-0786966240
Waterdeep: Dragon Heist Dungeons & Dragons 5th editionRules Development, Managing Editor18 September 2018978-0786966592
Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage Dungeons & Dragons 5th editionManaging Editor20 November 2018978-0786966264
Guildmasters' Guide to Ravnica Dungeons & Dragons 5th editionLead Designer, Managing Editor, Ravnica World Design20 November 2018978-0786966592
Ghosts of Saltmarsh Dungeons & Dragons 5th EditionDeveloper21 May 2019978-0786966752
Player's Handbook (2024)Dungeons & Dragons 5th editionLead Designer17 September 2024978-0786969821

References

  1. 1 2 Crawford, Jeremy [@jeremyecrawford] (June 26, 2015). "My husband and I are celebrating 18 years together and our 1st wedding anniversary. So happy about today's ruling! #SCOTUSMarriage #LoveWins" (Tweet). Retrieved November 21, 2022– via Twitter.
  2. 1 2 Gordon, Miryam (June 2, 2015). "SOAPfest 2015: Set designer gets to play-write in the Sandbox". Seattle Gay Scene. Archived from the original on June 9, 2015. Retrieved November 21, 2022. Phillip Lienau, known primarily around Seattle as a set designer and teacher. [...] Phillip and his husband, Jeremy Crawford, came here about seven years ago from the Bay Area. [...] Jeremy works as a lead designer on Dungeons and Dragons products for Wizards of the Coast, the reason they made the move up here.
  3. ↑ "Pyramid Review - Blue Rose: The Roleplaying Game of Romantic Fantasy". Pyramid . Vol. 2. April 14, 2006. Retrieved June 22, 2024.
  4. ↑ "2005 ENnie Awards Archives". ENWorld. Archived from the original on 2008-01-20. Retrieved 2008-04-11.
  5. ↑ Farrell, John (2017-05-15). "A Lot to Love: Blue Rose, the AGE RPG of Romantic Fantasy Review". Gaming Trend. Retrieved 2024-06-22.
  6. 1 2 Long, Michael (2015-08-09). "Jeremy Crawford Interview - Gen Con 2015". Tribality. Retrieved 2024-06-22.
  7. ↑ "Paragons For Mutants & Masterminds". DriveThruRPG (Product page). August 16, 2007. Retrieved 2024-06-22.
  8. ↑ "Best sellers", Times News . April 5, 2009. p. 26.
  9. ↑ Bolding, Jonathan (April 2, 2015). "An Interview With Jeremy Crawford, Co-Designer and Editor of Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition | Tabletop | The Escapist". www.escapistmagazine.com. Archived from the original on 2019-06-21. Retrieved 2019-06-21.
  10. ↑ Trice, Michael (July 24, 2014). "The Mary Sue Exclusive Interview: Mike Mearls and Jeremy Crawford on Acknowledging Sexuality and Gender Diversity in D&D". The Mary Sue. Retrieved 2019-06-21.
  11. ↑ D'Anastasio, Cecilia (2014-08-27). "Dungeons & Dragons Has Caught Up with Third-Wave Feminism". Vice. Retrieved 2019-06-21.
  12. ↑ Kane, Vivian (10 May 2018). "How Women Are Driving the Dungeons & Dragons Renaissance". The Mary Sue. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
  13. ↑ "Book Notes". Grand Forks Herald. March 29, 2015.
  14. ↑ "Jeremy Crawford". Wizards of the Coast . Archived from the original on December 8, 2016. Retrieved 2019-06-21.
  15. ↑ Eileen, Dayna (November 9, 2024). "Game Director Jeremy Crawford: Nurturing the D&D Legacy at Lucca Comics & Games". CGMagazine. Retrieved April 11, 2025.
  16. ↑ Hall, Charlie (September 17, 2024). "The new D&D Player's Handbook is a treasure, and we may never see its equal again". Polygon . Retrieved September 28, 2024. ... These and other foundational changes came after lead designer Jeremy Crawford and the team at Wizards sought direct engagement with its massive community, ...
  17. 1 2 "Jeremy Crawford named Gayming Icon at Gayming Awards 2024". Gayming Magazine (Press release). May 29, 2024. Retrieved May 29, 2024.
  18. ↑ Kaser, Rachel (May 29, 2024). "The Gayming Awards 2024 airs on June 25, honors icons and rising stars". VentureBeat . Retrieved May 29, 2024.
  19. ↑ Hoffer, Christian (April 11, 2025). "Jeremy Crawford and Chris Perkins to Leave Dungeons & Dragons' Design Team". Screen Rant . Retrieved April 11, 2025.
  20. 1 2 Phillips, Jevon (June 16, 2025). "Why Dungeons & Dragons storytelling duo signed with Critical Role". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved June 16, 2025.
  21. 1 2 "Welcoming Chris Perkins and Jeremy Crawford to Our Team!". Darrington Press (Press release). June 16, 2025. Retrieved June 16, 2025.
  22. 1 2 McWhertor, Michael (June 16, 2025). "Top D&D designers join Critical Role after quitting Wizards of the Coast". Polygon . Retrieved June 16, 2025.
  23. ↑ Hoffer, Christian (June 16, 2025). "Chris Perkins and Jeremy Crawford Join Darrington Press". EN World . Retrieved June 16, 2025.
  24. ↑ "Breaking Daggerheart News from Gen Con!" (Press release). Darrington Press. July 31, 2025. Archived from the original on July 31, 2025. Retrieved July 31, 2025.
  25. ↑ "Dungeons & Dragons Promises To Make Its Adventures More Queer". Kotaku. 24 August 2017. Retrieved 2021-11-09.
  26. ↑ "Out100: 9 LGBTQ+ Names at the Forefront of Beauty and Business". www.out.com. 2021-11-04. Retrieved 2021-11-09.
  27. ↑ Crawford, Jeremy [@jeremyecrawford] (June 21, 2019). "My husband and I are celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary (and 23 years together) by flying to Scotland! 💖🌈🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 While I'm away for the next week, make sure to follow your bliss in your D&D games. 😘" (Tweet). Retrieved November 21, 2022– via Twitter.
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