We’ve got a pretty special Tavern Watch episode for you today, folks. It’s no secret that those of us who’ve gotten our hands on the D&D: World of Warcraft book have been pretty excited about it, our enthusiasm even slipping out of Tavern Watch and ending up on otherwise-unrelated episodes of the Blizzard Watch Podcast. Far from a cash grab or a clumsy adaptation, this new book is a real labor of love targeted directly at that crossover audience between WoW and D&D.
Therefore, we are thrilled to be able to bring you an interview with James Wyatt from Wizards of the Coast, the lead game designer on D&D: World of Warcraft! James has been designing D&D and other RPG content since the 90s, starting with material for TSR’s Masque of the Red Death D&D setting but contributing to a lot of areas of the game since then; he also did a stint on the Magic: the Gathering team, including writing the “Plane Shift” series of free products that adapted MtG elements for D&D, which later led to the stellar 5th Edition books for Ravnica, Theros, and Strixhaven. He also let us know that he’s been playing WoW since launch!
James joined Liz, Joe, and Phil to talk about all kinds of aspects of adapting WoW to the tabletop, including things like how certain classes were adapted, the importance of bringing te video game to the tabletop without limiting player choice or imagination, how feedback from playtesters at Blizzard shaped the book, and even specific systems that surprised us with their thoughtful implementations (like professions, Renown, and minipets!). We could not, however, wrangle an exact date for playable Murlocs out of him — but the dream isn’t dead, as you’ll hear.
You can listen to this episode of the Tavern Watch Podcast directly from this post, or click on download icon in the upper right corner of the player below to listen on your own device.
For more Tavern Watch, check out all of our recent episodes! We do actual plays of a wide range of games as well as a monthly episode on tabletop news, just like this one. Listen to our latest games in the playlist below, and subscribe if you want to keep up with our gaming exploits.
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