Chris Perkins and Jeremy Crawford Get D&D Tribute Characters
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In the past month, the Dungeons & Dragons team has seen the departure of two key figures: lead designers Chris Perkins and Jeremy Crawford, both of whom were instrumental in shaping the development of the game over the past decade.
To honor their contributions, Wizards of the Coast recently released two free characters based on the designers: A level 10 female gnome artificer named Vi (in honor of Crawford) and a level 3 Kobold sorcerer named Spurt (in honor of Perkins). You can download both of them now for free via D&D Beyond.
Along with the characters, D&D Beyond also created a post on Facebook, calling out the contributions of Crawford in particular (who will be leaving the company at the end of April 2025).
Who are Chris Perkins & Jeremy Crawford?
Chris Perkins and Jeremy Crawford are two of the most influential figures in the modern history of Dungeons & Dragons, having shaped the game’s design and storytelling over the past two decades. Perkins began his career with D&D in the late 1980s under the pen name “Christopher Zarathustra” and officially joined Wizards of the Coast in 1997 as editor of Dungeon magazine. He later became the senior story designer and was instrumental in shaping the narrative direction of D&D, notably leading the development of major products like Curse of Strahd. He was also the longtime Dungeon Master for the popular live-play series Acquisitions Incorporated. In October 2024, Perkins was promoted from Game Design Architect to Creative Director, but only held the position for a few months before announced his retirement from Wizards of the Coast in April 2025, ending a 28-year tenure with the company .
Crawford joined Wizards of the Coast in 2007 and rose to prominence as the lead rules designer for D&D’s fifth edition. He co-authored the 2014 Player’s Handbook and led the development of several key supplements. His tenure emphasized inclusivity and accessibility, helping to broaden the game’s appeal to a more diverse player base. In 2024, Crawford was promoted to Game Director and led the 2024 revision of the core rulebooks before announcing his departure from Wizards of the Coast in April 2025.
Final Thoughts
The two free characters (which both Crawford and Perkins have played in various campaigns and actual plays in the past) are a fitting tribute to two of Dungeons & Dragons most iconic modern era designers.
You can download Crawford’s Vi and Perkins’ Spurt now via D&D Beyond.
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Cameron Nichols is a Senior Editor who lives in Boston, Massachusetts, and has been playing D&D since the early 90s, when he was introduced by his older brother and cut his teeth on AD&D 2nd Edition. Since then he’s played virtually every RPG he could get his nerdy little mitts on (including a weird Goth phase in the early 2000s when he rocked Vampire: The Masquerade pretty hard). His favorite D&D campaign setting is the Forgotten Realms and his favorite character to play was a Half-Orc Barbarian named Grug (who was unfortunately devoured by a gelatinous cube).
