D&D 5E Monte Cook Leaves WotC - No Longer working on D&D Next [updated]

Jack99 · Apr 25, 2012

Good or bad? That's really hard to say. I thought it was great to have Monte on board for 5e, because although 3.x is far from my favorite edition, I still think he is a really good designer. But I do not think 5e is necessarily doomed without him. Depends in which way he was pulling the game. Away from 4e? Towards 3.x? Something entirely different?

mudbunny · Apr 25, 2012

And to head things off at the pass, I fully expect WotC (and Mr. Cook) to remain professional. That means that neither one will comment on why he left. I only hope (although I may be spitting into the wind here) that this thread will also remain at such a level.

Incenjucar · Apr 25, 2012

I wonder if this is related to the feedback survey from the customers regarding his articles.

While I can't say I'm upset that he's no longer having an effect on the rules, I do hope he occasionally provides some creative ideas.

I do hope this doesn't cause him too much trouble on a personal level, since he seemed to have moved back to Seattle for this.

Thaumaturge · Apr 25, 2012

He did point out that it isn't over design issues, so I'm keeping the faith that D&D is headed in the right direction. Still, it is troubling.

Thaumaturge.

Also, I just happened to refresh twitter right after he posted this. Seriously. I'm not stalking anyone.

Bedrockgames · Apr 25, 2012

Thaumaturge said:
He did point out that it isn't over design issues, so I'm keeping the faith that D&D is headed in the right direction. Still, it is troubling.

Thaumaturge.

Also, I just happened to refresh twitter right after he posted this. Seriously. I'm not stalking anyone.

Read it again. He doesn't say it isn't over design, just that it was a disagreement with the company and not the designers. wOTC ciuld have handed him a design decision he disliked. So it is entirely possible he left because of the direction of the game itself (though anything now ispure speculation).

Ahnehnois · Apr 25, 2012

Wait, what?

If this is true 5e might be doomed before it even gets released in playtest. Not that I'm a huge Monte Cook fan, but he's the only designer employed at WotC who actually deserves to be. How can we trust the team that represents the status quo?

DEFCON 1 · Apr 25, 2012

Incenjucar said:
I wonder if this is related to the feedback survey from the customers regarding his articles.

I did admittedly raise an eyebrow when Monte was removed from Legends And Lore and Mearls took them back. I wondered what was up with that, since his articles and polls got lambasted by what seemed like everybody. So perhaps there was a disconnect between what he wanted and was doing, and where the company and/or gamer public was wishing 5E would go?

Piratecat · Apr 25, 2012

My understanding is that the full time corporate environment within WotC is challenging. Monte's been his own boss for ages. It's hard to go back into an environment with a lot more bureaucracy. He's a great guy; I wish him the best.

That said, I'll caution people not to jump to conclusions either positive or negative about this, or why he's leaving. We all tend to put our own spin on this sort of thing, because we see it confirming our worst fears or our best hopes. One thing is mandatory, please: do not use this news as an excuse to level personal insults at Cook or any other member of the team. Opinions are fine, cheap shots never are.

Thaumaturge · Apr 25, 2012

Bedrockgames said:
So it is entirely possible he left because of the direction of the game itself (though anything now ispure speculation).

That's a good point. If, as an obvious hypothetical, he was told Ponies and Transformers had to be core races, that's a design issue, but not a problem with his fellow designers.

It could be any number of things, and we may not know for years or ever.

Thaumaturge.

Edit: Or, you know, Piratecat could tell us a good possibility the post before mine. Whatever.

Kaodi · Apr 25, 2012

If the problem is not with his fellow designers, then besides the previously mentioned SRD and work environment, another strong possibility might be differences on the digital strategy.