The Game Design Round Table Season: RPG - D&D with Mike Mearls
Dec 9, 2025
Mike Mearls, a veteran game designer and key figure behind Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition, shares rich insights into tabletop RPGs. He discusses the balance between imagination and structure in D&D, emphasizing the importance of strong GMs and streamlined rules. Topics include the challenges of online discourse, how to foster inclusive play, and the power of simple mechanics like a torch timer. Mearls also advises aspiring designers to start small, focus on playtesting, and create accessible games that enhance storytelling.
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Platform Shifts Trump Features
- Mearls argues platform shifts, not incremental features, displace dominant games like D&D.
- CRPGs and MMOs beat D&D by changing the platform, so small TTRPG changes rarely dethrone it.
Kids Reveal TTRPG Essentials
- Mike Mearls ran a hugely simplified game for two 10-year-olds that used single-roll beneath-stat checks and visible hit points.
- The kids focused on storytelling and checked mechanics only occasionally, proving a tiny framework can create rich play.
Play Mode Shapes Business Models
- Players' relationship to a game determines what they buy: Magic rewards ongoing interaction, RPGs sell books but players rarely read them.
- That difference explains why TTRPGs struggle to monetize recurring engagement like card games do.
