Michael Mearls is an American writer and designer of fantasyrole-playing games (RPGs) and related fiction.
Mearls worked forWizards of the Coast from 2005 to 2023, holding various positions. He was the senior manager for theDungeons & Dragons research and design team and then later became the franchise's Creative Director. He co-led design for the 5th edition of the game. He also worked on theCastle Ravenloft board game, and various compendium books for3rd, 4th, and 5th editionsDungeons & Dragons. In 2024, he became the Executive Producer of role-playing games atChaosium. Then in 2025, he left to work atAsmodee.
Mearls is an alumnus ofDartmouth College.[1] While at Dartmouth he was a member ofSigma Nu fraternity, and became known for a satiric letter to the campus paper.[2]
Mearls wrote the adventureTo Stand on Hallowed Ground/Swords Against Deception (2001) forFiery Dragon Productions,[3]: 226 and the last product fromHogshead Publishing, aWarhammer adventure titledFear the Worst (2002) that Hogshead released for free on the internet.[3]: 307 He also designed the gameIron Heroes (2005) forMalhavoc Press.[3]: 226
In June 2005, Mearls was hired as a designer byWizards of the Coast based on his work on third-party d20 products.[3]: 301 Along withAndy Collins,David Noonan, andJesse Decker, Mearls was part of the fourth editionDungeons & Dragons "Flywheel" design team led byRob Heinsoo, and this team was responsible for the final concept work from May 2006 to September 2006, before the first books for the edition were written and playtested.[3]: 297 Between the fourth edition design phases titled "Orcus I" and "Orcus II", Mearls added the encounter-power mechanics of fourth edition intoTome of Battle: The Book of Nine Swords (2006), which was in process during development of the new edition.[3]: 298 Heinsoo was laid off in 2009, so Mearls was made the new lead designer ofDungeons & Dragons.[3]: 301 [4] Following Collins departure from Wizards in May 2010, Mearls was promoted to Group Manager of theDungeons & Dragons R&D team.[4] Mearls oversaw the launch of 4th Edition's Essentials line;[4][5] Shannon Appelcline, author ofDesigners & Dragons, commented that the new line was "primarily the brain child of Mike Mearls".[6] Mearls also co-designed theCastle Ravenloft Board Game (2010) withBill Slavicsek.[3]: 302
In 2014, Mearls was a senior manager forDungeons & Dragons research and development.[7][8] Mearls was, together withJeremy Crawford, Co-Lead Designer for theFifth Edition ofDungeons & Dragons.[9][10][11] By 2018, Mearls had become the franchise's Creative Director.[12][13] He left the Wizards of the Coast tabletop RPG team in 2019 and was replaced byRay Winninger as the Executive Producer in charge of theDungeons & Dragons studio in 2020.[14][15][16] Mearls went on to join the Exploratory and Vision design teams forMagic: The Gathering.[17][18][19] He received "special thanks" in the credits forBaldur's Gate 3 (2023); in a 2019 interview, Mearls described his role as "story and system support".[20] Mearls confirmed onBluesky that he waslaid off in December 2023.[20][21][19]
In May 2024,Chaosium announced that Mearls was their new Executive Producer of role-playing games.[22] In June 2025, it was announced while Mearls had left Chaosium, he would still continue to work on some Chaosium projects such as the new edition ofRuneQuest. Mearls left to work atAsmodee.[23][24]
^ab"Mike Mearls; Dungeons & Dragons".Wizards of the Coast. Archived fromthe original on April 24, 2016. Retrieved2020-03-09.Mike Mearls is the senior manager for the D&D research and design team. He led the design for 5th Edition D&D. His other credits include the Castle Ravenloft board game, Monster Manual 3 for 4th Edition, and Player's Handbook 2 for 3rd Edition.
^Wizards RPG Team (2014).Players Handbook. Wizards of the Coast.ISBN978-0786965601.
^Rosewater, Mark (March 29, 2023)."March of the Machine Learning, Part 1".Magic: The Gathering.Archived from the original on May 18, 2024. RetrievedMay 24, 2024.Mike Mearls (exploratory and vision): Mike came to Magic from Dungeons & Dragons. This was the first premier set he worked on.
