Here's my (mostly) full thought on Darrington Press and their significance in ttrpg right now. This is largely from a business perspective, not the field of design. That's mostly irrelevant imo, at least atm. This might be a pretty long thread (will be) and wont. be perfect, but.

The first and most important thing is that Darrington Press has enough of a foundation through Critical Role to challenge WotC in the realm of D&D. A lot of people are likely already thinking along these lines, but I'm saying it anyway. WotC should be scared if they arent already

Reasons being, WotC has stepped in major public dogshit many many times this year alone in the D&D world. Their conservative fan base trashes them for being "SJW liberals" and their liberal fanbase is slowly walking away from WotC's milquetoast approach to modern representation.

WotC is and has been outdated for a very long time, but that hasn't mattered because there hasn't been any competition. No company comes close in popularity or funding.

Darrington could surpass WotC in popularity, and quickly. That is a major threat.

One of the major weaknesses of D&D on a business level has been that everyone but WotC have been dictating what's cool about D&D. Critical Role and Dimension 20 are actual modern D&D, with things like TAZ representing the same. WotC makes the content. Everyone else makes it cool.

This isnt assuming that Critical Role is going to stop playing D&D or thay anyone else is. But it is to say that the groups that most D&D fans follow can move away from D&D (as they should) and start making the money that they're currently giving to WotC.

Darrington is a publishing company, so they will likely have a multitude of games under their banner. Combine this with the most popular ttrpg actual play series promoting marketing, and a studio that can produce multiple shows with multiple casts, and you have a competitor.

They're already converting their relationships with talented and experienced people in the smaller/indie ttrpg world to bolster their company from the start. A talent pool of people with skills equal or greater to WotC's who are aligned with modern sensibilities. Lots o potential

But all that said, know that I look at Darrington with the same level of side-eye as I do any company. My relationships with owners, employees, etc, dont largely effect my caution. The actions they take will dictate my feelings, as it does with everything else.

This is a time of outstanding opportunity in ttrpg, and @DarringtonPress could and should invest in diverse leadership. That means leaders of color, disabilities, marginalized genders, bodies, ideals. Finding the best for the job means looking where others do not to find it.

To clarify a bit as well.

I dont think that Darrington will anytime soon be able to compete with WotC in full. CR is a large pillar of support for D&D and that company, and so are the other mentioned APs. Losing support from one, and potentially more, will weaken the giant.