Over on D&D Beyond, Dan Ayoub unveiled the ‘D&D Community Advisory Group’ a panel that has been helping D&D course correct.
Last Summer, Dan Ayoub, the new Head of D&D, announced a new wave of initiatives for the game. This includes a goal of ‘opening a dialogue’ between the community and designers and the formation of a ‘Community Advisory Group’. You can read all about it in the post, fittingly titled, ‘Welcome Back to the Table: D&D’s New Direction’. But today, Ayoub unveiled the Community Advisory Group, as well as some of the goals and steps the group has already taken.
The D&D Community Advisory Group was formed with the goal of helping push D&D in the right direction from a community perspective. Community, in this case, meaning the broader D&D community. This includes people who play the game, who teach others, who run stores where people play D&D, who organize D&D events, D&D creators, YouTubers, and so on. It’s a broad slice of people who intersect with D&D in myriad ways.
They formed last December. In the ensuing time, as Ayoub says, he has met with leads across the D&D team to talk about early concepts and D&D Beyond Tools. But also to challenge WotC’s approach. One example of this was the Community Advisory Group pushing back on the lack of a roadmap, which Ayoub says led the team to revisit its plans before sharing the 2026 roadmap two months ago.
Ayoub hopes that the D&D Advisory Group will continue to engage early and help point out the places where the team can change course while there’s still plenty of time to do so. And in the Advisory Group’s own words, they hope to ask questions and raise concerns on behalf of the broader community:
As the first D&D Advisory Group, we wanted to take a moment to introduce ourselves. As a diverse group of professionals from across the RPG industry, long-time players of the game, and members of the community, we care deeply about the future of D&D and tabletop gaming.
We all joined this panel with both a sense of responsibility and a fair share of skepticism. We are here to offer honest, independent feedback to Wizards of the Coast, ask hard questions, and raise concerns directly. We share our perspective, but what they choose to act on is ultimately up to them. Since we began, Wizards of the Coast has actively listened and engaged in good-faith discussions with us, which has created a productive exchange of ideas. We’re grateful to be part of this community and look forward to continuing this work and the conversations ahead!
Meet The Committee
Who is on this advisory group, you might be wondering? Without further ado, here they are:
- David Christ (he/him) – Rumored to be part Frost Giant and having a wicked pants allergy, ‘The Baldman’ organizes some of the biggest conventions, D&D events, and organized play programs in the world.
- Donna Ricci (she/her) – Owner of Geeky Teas & Games. Enjoys bad board games, good video games, Terry Pratchett novels, cats, advocating for mental health, and hitting people with boffer weapons. Future Londoner.
- Jennifer Kretchmer (she/they) – Jennifer is an award-winning game designer, author, actual play performer, television actor and producer, and disability consultant, as well as the creator of the Accessibility in Gaming Resource Guide.
- Kelly Lynne D’Angelo (she/her/they) – Kelly is a Tuscarora writer and veteran online Dungeon Master. Credits: The Legend of Vox Machina (Amazon), Miracle Workers (TBS), Final Space (Adult Swim), and Candlekeep Mysteries. Responsibly chaotic. @kellylynnedang
- Kelly McLaughlin (he/him) – Kelly is the co-host of Dungeon Dudes, a YouTube content creator, and co-creator and author of the award-winning Drakkenheim setting. @Kelly_Dungeon_Dudes
- Michael E. Shea (he/him) – Mike writes for SlyFlourish.com, hosts the Lazy RPG Talk Show, and wrote Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master, Forge of Foes, City of Arches, and other fine RPG products.
- Monty Martin (he/him) – Monty Martin is the co-creator of the Dungeon Dudes YouTube channel. He was the Dungeon Master and co-author of the actual-play series and the ENNIE-award-winning adventure Dungeons of Drakkenheim.
- Nala J. Wu (they/them) – Nala, aka “Jae”, is a proud multiple-marginalized freelance art director, layout designer, sensitivity/cultural consultant, and award-winning illustrator & actor working full-time in tabletop RPGs. Connect @naladraws!
- Scott DeBoard (he/him) – Scott owns Silver Dragon Games, “Arizona’s Best D&D Store” and 2026 GAMA Retailer of the Year, a community-driven game store intentionally designed to create a welcoming space for women and new players.
- Ted Sikora (he/him) – Creator of Nerd Immersion, a D&D and tabletop channel focused on news, interviews, product reviews, rules discussions, and homebrew content.
- Teos Abadía (he/him) – Teos is a Colombian-American advocate for a healthier tabletop industry. Find his work at Alphastream Game Design, the Mastering Dungeons podcast, and Success in RPGs on YouTube.
- Zac Clay (he/him) – Zac is a professional Dungeon Master from the San Francisco Bay Area. He coordinates youth D&D programs, mentoring the next generation of TTRPG storytellers.
This is just the first D&D Community Advisory Group, it will be a rotating body of folks from the community. Looking forward to see how they help steer the game!
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Source: Bell of Lost Souls
