Under thepen name "Christopher Zarathustra", Perkins got his career start in 1988 writing the adventure "Wards of Witching Ways" forDungeon magazine #11.[3] He later officially started working forWizards of the Coast in 1997, beginning as the editor forDungeon.[4][5][6] A few years later, he was promoted to editor-in-chief of Wizards periodicals.[7]
Perkins later became the senior producer forDungeons & Dragons, leading the team of designers, developers, and editors who make products for theDungeons & Dragons role-playing game.[4][6] Perkins was the story manager forDungeons & Dragons in 2007 before the release of the game's fourth edition.[8] Perkins was working on theStar Wars Saga Edition whileDungeons & Dragons fourth edition was being developed, and ideas were exchanged freely between Perkins and the fourth edition team.[9] He was also on the SCRAMJET team, led byRichard Baker, and includingJames Wyatt,Matthew Sernett,Ed Stark,Michele Carter, andStacy Longstreet; this team updated the setting andcosmology ofDungeons & Dragons as the fourth edition was being developed.[9]
Perkins wrote a blog, "The Dungeon Master Experience", on the Wizards of the Coast website for over two years, where he shared tricks and advice about the challenge of "dungeon mastering" a campaign through the lens of his homebrew world, Iomandra.[10] However, in the penultimate posting of March 2013, he announced the following posting would be the last "at least for a while", whereupon the blog became inactive.[11]
Perkins was the Lead Story Designer for the adventure moduleCurse of Strahd, released in 2016, which addedRavenloft to the5th edition ofDungeons & Dragons.[12][13] In 2018, Perkins was the senior story designer forDungeons & Dragons.[14] In a 2024 interview, he highlighted that as the Game Architect for theDungeons & Dragons brand his "primary responsibility is to manage the team of designers and editors" who make the tabletop game products along with supporting "other D&D teams as well as business partners".[15] In October 2024, Perkins stated that "although I made substantial contributions to theMonster Manual (2025) and the nextD&D starter set, theDungeon Master's Guide (2024) is the last official D&D book in which I'm credited as a product lead".[16] He later clarified that his position at Wizards of the Coast has shifted from Game Design Architect to Creative Director.[17] In April 2025, Perkins announced his retirement after working for "28 years" at Wizards of the Coast.[18][19]
In June 2025, it was announced that both Perkins andJeremy Crawford would be joiningCritical Role Productions' tabletop game imprintDarrington Press.[20][21][22] Perkins became the company's Creative Director while Crawford became the Game Director which matches their former roles at Wizards of the Coast.[21][22][23] Perkins stated, "I was committed to staying with Wizards until afterD&D's 50th anniversary, which gave me lots of time to work on succession planning and exit strategies. What brought me out of retirement was the chance to work with Jeremy and the brilliant folks at Critical Role on things that have a lasting, positive impact on the world".[20] In July 2025, Darrington Press announced that Perkins will be creating an "interconnected adventure supplement" for their tabletop role-playing gameDaggerheart.[24]
Perkins was the longtimeDungeon Master for the Acquisitions IncorporatedDungeons & Dragons games at thePenny Arcade Expo (PAX), untilPAX Unplugged 2018.[25][26][27] The games began in 2008 with the 4th edition ofDungeons & Dragons before switching to the 5th edition following the release of the new edition.[28]
^abAppelcline, Shannon (2011).Designers & Dragons. Mongoose Publishing. p. 298.ISBN978-1-907702-58-7.
^"Article Archive".Dungeons & Dragons. Wizards of the Coast. Archived fromthe original on 2014-10-12. Retrieved2015-10-22.
^Perkins, Chris (2013-03-14)."Until the Next Encounter".Dungeons & Dragons. Wizards of the Coast. Archived fromthe original on February 18, 2015. Retrieved2015-10-22.
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