Daggerheart's Hope & Fear Expansion: Perkins and Crawford Unveil 'Reign of the Weredragon,' a Single-Villain Saga Inspired by Curse of Strahd

A major surprise has rocked the tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG) industry. Chris Perkins and Jeremy Crawford, two lead designers for Dungeons & Dragons fifth edition, have officially departed Wizards of the Coast to join Darrington Press, Critical Role's publishing division. This decision, announced in June 2025, immediately sent shockwaves through the fan community. Both are now involved in developing Daggerheart's inaugural expansion, Hope & Fear, released last month. This expansion not only adds new content but also carries an ambitious mission: to revolutionize how players interact with fantasy stories.

Daggerheart, Critical Role's in-house TTRPG system launched in May 2025, sold out quickly upon release. Despite its solid community, the game deliberately avoided mainstream media attention—unlike D&D, which boasts cross-platform promotional power. However, beneath its apparent simplicity, Daggerheart has been quietly strategizing to change the TTRPG landscape. The arrival of Perkins and Crawford signals that Darrington Press is serious about its ambitions.

In a video interview with Polygon, Perkins revealed that he and Crawford joined late in the Hope & Fear development cycle. "We immediately helped fill existing gaps, including writing one of the campaign frames," he stated. A campaign frame is a ready-to-use story package that includes settings, themes, rules, characters, and locations. Game Masters (GMs) can select a frame and develop it into a full campaign. Hope & Fear introduces four new frames, over 100 adversaries, and fresh character and equipment options.

One of the most captivating frames is Reign of the Weredragon. Perkins admitted to being inspired by Curse of Strahd, D&D's best-selling adventure featuring a charismatic single villain. "I wanted to create a frame with a central villain, and Strahd is the perfect example," he said. However, the idea for creating Forlorne Lykona—the evil sorceress ruling Whelvia—came from Crawford, who admires Disney villains like Maleficent. Forlorne possesses the ability to transform into a dragon and wields a deadly array of curses.

Unlike Curse of Strahd, where players are outsiders trapped in Barovia, Reign of the Weredragon places players as natives of Whelvia. "They have a personal stake in the land," Crawford explained. "Furthermore, players help the GM create the villain through a 'session zero.'" This collaborative process is inspired by Alex Roberts' game For the Queen, also published by Darrington Press. The GM selects prompts from 40 questions, and players answer them to build Forlorne's personality and backstory. "This connects players to the world and makes them feel like narrators," Crawford added.

"We want players not just to play, but to create stories together. This process is the core of Daggerheart." — Jeremy Crawford

Both Perkins and Crawford were previously known as architects behind the success of D&D 5e. During their time at Wizards of the Coast, they shook up the adventure formula with products like Curse of Strahd and Rime of the Frostmaiden—large-scale adventures that also served as settings. Now, at Daggerheart, they are bringing a similar approach. "The idea of turning campaign frames into full-sized adventures is already on our minds," Perkins revealed. "But we haven't officially announced anything yet."

For fans in Indonesia, this development marks a new chapter in the global TTRPG industry. Daggerheart offers a more collaborative and narrative-centric alternative, differing from D&D's more structured approach. With Perkins and Crawford on board, production quality and rules innovation are expected to increase. The TTRPG community in Indonesia, which has long been dominated by D&D, could find a breath of fresh air. However, challenges remain: accessibility of physical books and language localization are still major hurdles.

Looking ahead, Critical Role will air an actual play miniseries of Reign of the Weredragon with Perkins as GM. This will be the first showcase for the frame. The question is, will Daggerheart truly be able to shake D&D's dominance, or will it become a strong niche among loyal fans? Time will tell, but Darrington Press's moves are certainly worth considering.