Mike Mearls
| Mike Mearls | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Occupation | Writer, game designer |
| Nationality | United States |
| Genre | Role-playing games |
Michael Mearls is a writer and designer of fantasy role-playing games (RPGs) and related fiction.
Education
Mearls is an alumnus of Dartmouth College.[1] While at Dartmouth he was a member of Sigma Nu fraternity, and became known for a satiric letter to the campus paper.[2]
Career
Mearls wrote the adventure To Stand on Hallowed Ground/Swords Against Deception (2001) for Fiery Dragon Productions[3]:226 and the last product from Hogshead Publishing, a Warhammer adventure titled Fear the Worst (2002) that Hogshead released for free on the internet.[3]:307 He also designed the game Iron Heroes (2005) for Malhavoc Press.[3]:226
In June 2005, Mearls was hired as a designer by Wizards of the Coast; he came to Wizards through the community of third-party d20 designers.[3]:301 At Wizards, he served as a lead developer for Dungeons & Dragons R&D working on the new 4th Edition.[4] 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.[3]:298
Along with Andy Collins, David Noonan, and Jesse Decker, Mearls was part of Rob Heinsoo'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.[3]:297 After Heinsoo was laid off in 2009, Mearls stepped up to become the new D&D Lead Designer.[3]:301 He co-designed the Castle Ravenloft Board Game (2010) with Bill Slavicsek.[3]:302
Personal
On July 23, 2014, Mearls announced on Twitter that he and his wife are expecting their first child.[5]
Writing credits
- Iron Heroes role playing game.
- "The Siege of Durgham's Folly," from Necromancer Games
- Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition Player's Handbook II[6]
- Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition Monster Manual
- Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition Keep on the Shadowfell, Adventure Book
- Playtest: New Hybrid and Multiclass Options, Dragon magazine #400[7]
- Dragon magazine #360[8]
References
- ↑ TheDartmouth.com | Graduation List as of June 5, 1997
- ↑ | College Should Look Into Robot Workers, Cloning and Zombies
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Shannon Appelcline (2011). Designers & Dragons. Mongoose Publishing. ISBN 978-1-907702-58-7.
- ↑ Mike Mearls' blog - Wizards Community
- ↑ Mearls, Mike. "Confirmation of Pregnancy to Enquiry based on reference to need for a nursery".
- ↑ Crawford, Jeremy; Mearls, Mike; Wyatt, James. "Contents". Player's Handbook 2. Wizards of the Coast. Retrieved 2011-10-05.
- ↑ Mearls, Mike. "Playtest: New Hybrid and Multiclass Options". Dragon magazine #400. Wizards of the Coast. Retrieved 5 October 2011.
- ↑ Mearls, Mike (2007-09-21). "Encounter Design in 4th Edition". Dragon magazine #360. Wizards of the Coast. Retrieved 2012-08-23.