Dear friends & family,
I wanted to write and let you all know that the time has come for me to make
some changes here at Wizards.
Two years ago, I was tasked with figuring out what had gone wrong at TSR,
developing a plan to fix those problems and move the tabletop RPG business
forward, and take responsibility for managing the Dungeons & Dragons brand,
including the development of the new edition of the game.
That responsibility was something that I had been dreaming about since I was
just a kid. Finally getting to live that dream has been one of the best
experiences of my life.
After a lot of hard work by a whole lot of people, all of those objectives
have been fulfilled. The business is healthy and growing. We have
developed a five year plan that should provide a roadmap for the exciting
changes in the years ahead while still remaining true to the heart of the
business. And the new edition of D&D has exceeded everyone's expectations,
including my own.
Now that the job I was hired to do is finished, the company has asked me to
apply my skills to other areas of the enterprise that require a
revitalization and a new strategic vision. I am therefore very happy to
report that Keith Strohm has been appointed the head of the tabletop RPG
business unit and is the new Dungeons & Dragons brand manager. The existing
brand and business management team will remain in place and report directly
to Keith. Keith is also going to be responsible, at least in the short
term, for the Red Alert disk game, while we evaluate our long term disk game
strategy. With that change in management, anyone who has any questions
regarding the tabletop RPG business, D&D, or the disk games should direct
them to Keith. His email address is [EMAIL PROTECTED]
I have been reassigned to "special projects", which is where Vice Presidents
go at Wizards of the Coast when they are preparing to take on new
challenges. While I have already submitted a proposal to senior management
about my next role, we are still working on the details. When I have more
to announce about my future plans, I will be sure to let you all know.
I will continue to spearhead the Open Gaming/D20 initiative inside Wizards,
working with Keith. My plan is to continue that work until the D20
trademark license is finalized and we make the release of the D20 system
reference document. I will, of course, continue to develop the Open Gaming
Foundation in any event.
During my time at the helm of the TRPG business, I had the great pleasure to
work with hundreds of people in various aspects of the business and to
corespond with thousands of gamers worldwide. I hope that I have been able
to return that attention and feedback with a quality product line that
rewards everyone for their long patience through the dark and challenging
years that Dungeons & Dragons has suffered through in the past decade. I
leave this position with a sense of deep satisfaction for the work
accomplished, and a bright hope that the future will be so much better than
the past.
Sincerely,
Ryan S. Dancey
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For more information, please link to www.opengamingfoundation.org
