Michael Mearls is a writer and designer of fantasy

role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal ac ...

s (RPGs) and related fiction. He was the senior manager for the ''

Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. (TS ...

'' research and design team. He co-led design for the 5th edition of the game. He also worked on the '' Castle Ravenloft'' board game, and various compendium books for 3rd, 4th, and 5th editions ''Dungeons & Dragons''.

Education

Mearls is an alumnus of

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native ...

. While at Dartmouth he was a member of

Sigma Nu Sigma Nu () is an undergraduate college fraternity founded at the Virginia Military Institute on January 1, 1869. The fraternity was founded by James Frank Hopkins, Greenfield Quarles and James McIlvaine Riley shortly after Hopkins witnessed w ...

fraternity, and became known for a satiric letter to the campus paper.

Career

Mearls wrote the adventure ''To Stand on Hallowed Ground/Swords Against Deception'' (2001) for

Fiery Dragon Productions Fiery Dragon Productions is a role-playing game and wargame publisher. History Fiery Dragon Productions was founded in Toronto in 2000 by authors James Bell, Jason Kempton and Todd Secord. They got into the business to publish d20 adventures an ...

and the last product from

Hogshead Publishing Hogshead Publishing was a British game company that produced role-playing games and game supplements. History In October 1994, James Wallis founded Hogshead Publishing, a company which specialised in role-playing and storytelling games. Wallis ...

, a ''

Warhammer Warhammer may refer to: * War hammer, a medieval weapon Warhammer media franchise *''Warhammer'', a series of games and related media: ** ''Warhammer'' (game), a table-top fantasy miniature wargame, and origin of the franchise ** ''Warhammer Fan ...

'' adventure titled ''Fear the Worst'' (2002) that Hogshead released for free on the internet. He also designed the game ''

Iron Heroes ''Iron Heroes''. (previously also known as ''Monte Cook Presents: Iron Heroes''; originally announced as ''Iron Lore'') is a variant ''Player's Handbook'' for the d20 System of role-playing games, in the tradition of '' Arcana Unearthed''. It inc ...

'' (2005) for

Malhavoc Press Malhavoc Press is an American publisher of role-playing games, specializing in third-party material for Dungeons & Dragons' third edition. History Game designer Monte Cook left Wizards of the Coast in April 2001, founding Malhavoc Press as a ...

. In June 2005, Mearls was hired as a designer by

Wizards of the Coast Wizards of the Coast LLC (often referred to as WotC or simply Wizards) is an American publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and science fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail stores for games. It is currently a subsidia ...

; he came to Wizards through the community of third-party d20 designers. At Wizards, he served as a lead developer for ''Dungeons & Dragons'' R&D working on the new 4th Edition. Between the "Orcus I" and "Orcus II" design phases for fourth edition, Mearls spliced the encounter-power mechanics of fourth edition into '' Tome of Battle: The Book of Nine Swords'' (2006), which was in process during development of the new edition. Along with Andy Collins, David Noonan, and

Jesse Decker Jesse Decker is an author, designer, and editor of roleplaying game material. Biography Decker began playing '' Dungeons & Dragons'' in 1983 during recess at his elementary school. During the summer of 1996, he began doing "temp work" for Wizar ...

, Mearls was part of

Rob Heinsoo Rob or ROB may refer to: Places * Rob, Velike Lašče, a settlement in Slovenia * Roberts International Airport (IATA code ROB), in Monrovia, Liberia People * Rob (given name), a given name or nickname, e.g., for Robert(o), Robin/Robyn * Rob ( ...

's "Flywheel" design team for the fourth edition of ''Dungeons & Dragons'', and did the final concept work from May 2006 to September 2006, before the first books for the edition were written and playtested. After Heinsoo was laid off in 2009, Mearls stepped up to become the new ''D&D'' Lead Designer. He co-designed the ''

Castle Ravenloft Board Game ''Castle Ravenloft Board Game'' is a board game published in 2010 by Wizards of the Coast. It was the first game released in the Dungeons & Dragons Adventure System board game series. Overview In ''Castle Ravenloft Board Game'', the players cont ...

'' (2010) with

Bill Slavicsek Bill Slavicsek is a game designer who served as the Director of Roleplaying Design and Development at Wizards of the Coast. He previously worked for West End Games and TSR, Inc., and designed products for '' Dungeons & Dragons'', '' Star Wars'' ...

. In 2014, Mearls was a senior manager for ''Dungeons & Dragons'' research and development. Mearls was, together with

Jeremy Crawford Jeremy Crawford is a game designer who has worked primarily on role-playing games. He is most widely known for being the Lead Rules Designer for Wizards of the Coast. Career Jeremy Crawford co-designed and edited the '' Blue Rose'' role-playin ...

, Co-Lead Designer for the Fifth Edition of ''Dungeons & Dragons''. By 2018, Mearls had become the franchise's Creative Director. He left the Wizards of the Coast tabletop RPG team in 2019 and was replaced by

Ray Winninger Ray Winninger is a game designer who has worked on a number of roleplaying games, including the '' Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy roleplaying game. He is the former Executive Producer for the Wizards of the Coast '' Dungeons & Dragons'' studio. C ...

as the Executive Producer in charge of the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' studio in 2020.

Writing credits

* ''

'' role playing game. * "The Siege of Durgham's Folly," from

Necromancer Games Necromancer Games was an American publisher of role-playing games. With offices in Seattle, Washington and Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, the company specialized in material for the d20 System. Most of its products were released under the Open Game Li ...

* Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition ''

Player's Handbook 2 ''Player's Handbook 2'' is a supplement to the 4th edition of the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' role-playing game. Contents The ''Player's Handbook 2'' includes eight classes: the avenger, barbarian, bard, druid, invoker, shaman, sorcerer, and warden, ...

'' * Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition '' Monster Manual 3'' * Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition ''

Keep on the Shadowfell ''Keep on the Shadowfell'' is the first official product from the 4th edition '' Dungeons & Dragons'' ("''D&D''") line. It is part one of a three-part series of adventures. It introduces a series of 4th edition '' Dungeons & Dragons'' settings cal ...

'', Adventure Book * Playtest: New Hybrid and Multiclass Options, ''

Dragon A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted a ...

'' magazine #400 * Dragon magazine #360

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mearls, Mike American bloggers Dartmouth College alumni Dungeons & Dragons game designers Living people Year of birth missing (living people)