AMA with Monte Cook (Numenera, D&D, Monte Cook Games, Malhavoc Press)

[GrissTheGnome]

How is the progress on the Torment game? If I remember correctly your going to work on that a bit, is that part done, and if so how do you feel about it?

One of the things I have grown to appreciate in my old age is giant super adventures. I'm currently working through a 3rd Edition adventure with my home group. And on my bucket list is to do "Eternal Lies" for Trail of Cthulhu. Super adventures are probably a pain in the butt to create, but they raise the chances of me running something considerably. Any plans on making one for Numenera or the Strange?

Also I'm madly in love with the Strange, it looks like I'm going to get to play in a game soon. I know your doing the Numenera Kickstarter so that is probably the focus at the moment, but any hints of the future of that line would be awesome.

 

[Monte At Home]

Dear Mr. Cook,

I've independently published adventures for OGL 3.5 and Savage Worlds since 2008 through my game company, White Haired Man. In 2013 I closed the doors because the returns per product were averaging about $200 or so over two years of sales. Our reviews were great, but at that time I simply could not find a way to generate more per book.

This brings me to my question. Assuming the work White Haired Man put out for Cypher System Rules passed muster with Monte Cook Games, why does the licensing fee need to be so high at $50? I could understand a royalty cut per sale sooner than such a large amount of what an independent studio will make per unit.

Thank you for considering my question.

The game industry is a crazy place, with some getting more attention and success than others. It's hard to always know why. I'm sorry that White Haired Man's doors had to close. All I can say is that those publishers using our limited license are having no trouble way more than recouping what is actually a very, very small licensing fee. (In the larger context of licenses, most are thousands of dollars.) As I said in an earlier question, we aren't doing it to make money, we're doing it to set a bar of professionalism.

That said, in all matters and this applies to a lot of inquiries in this AMA, we are not some huge Hasbro-like corporate entity with policies that can't be altered with circumstances, we're a small group of people that anyone can approach as reasonable individuals.

 

[Lapasta]

Hi Monte!

I'm a Kickstarter backer for Numenera. First I would like to tell that when I saw the announcement for The Strange I was disappointed that you would already be moving on from Numenera, even before the books were all out. I'm glad now to see that I was wrong, as you just announced even more books for Numenera.

About these three new books: why did you choose to put them as expansions to Numenera and not just campaigns for use with the Cypher System? Isn't Numenera already big enough? (Not that I would prefer the other way, just want to understand why). In special the one on other planes go near the theme of The Strange (or doesn't it?).

Also, how weird will the Into the Night be?

I'm also a backer for Torment: Numenera. How involved are you in the development of the game? Do you know the storyline only or also the details of the plot? And do you think you will see an increase in the sales of Numenera (book) when the PC game is out?

I am a long time fan of Planescape: Torment, but have never played tabletop Planescape. I have recently tried to read the old AD&D books and found them hard to digest by modern standards. Will into the Outside make for a similar experience, but with a fresh take on it?

 

[Monte At Home]

Hail and well met Monte!

I am a fan of your work and use a lot of that older Rolemaster stuff for inspiration. I have been looking for a copy of the Darkspace book you wrote for Spacemaster since mine disappeared in a fire years ago. Some time ago I asked if you minded me doing a conversion of Darkspace for HARP which I never got around to doing. I still want to do that but just have so many other projects on my list.

Outside of ICE, is there anything you miss about working on (and playing) Rolemaster?

Bruce

The crit charts are pretty fun. There's also a certain purity of a percentile system that appeals in some ways. I made a lot of great friends at ICE, and though we're all scattered to the four winds, there are a lot of great memories there.

 

[turkeygiant]

Hi,

Do you think there will be a setting expansion for Numenera that presents a more "organised" corner of the ninth world, something that really draws me to a setting is when you can see the relationships between the different factions and nations on a large scale rather than just presenting them each as their own little concept that ends at the border of the village/city/nation? Golarion and Forgotten realms are usually my examples for diverse settings that still feel like interconnected worlds, but for that matter The Strange does it really well too tying many of the recursions back to the overarching interests of the Estate, Quiet Cabal, OSR, etc. One of my struggles with getting a Numenera game going has been that there are a million great ideas for a one off game or couple session arc, but I have a hard time trying to draw more long term stories and interests out of the fluff for the Steadfast.

 

[Monte At Home]

Hi Monte,

I've been a big fan of Ptolus since your first blog posts about it. Out of curiosity-was there anything that you wanted to put into it after it was published? Another aspect of the city or un-fleshed out storyline/hook that you thought "Oh MAN-I forgot to put that in!!"

Thanks for taking the time to do this AMA.

Not really. I of course kept running games there after publication, but some of that material wound up in the few supplementary things I did after the big book. So no, there isn't really any Ptolus stuff on the proverbial cutting room floor.

 

[Desh-Rae-Halra]

Dear Monte,


1. Imagine if you could run a dream game for 5 players. These players can come from any time and be real or fictional. Who would those 5 players be and what game would you run?

2. What kinds of things are you afraid of/if you had a phobia, what would it be?

3. When you are a player in an RPG, do you tend to gravitate towards any kind of class or concept?

4. Is it in the MCG parameters of things to come to have some Metaplot campaign for Numenera or The Strange? I think about stuff like a Ruk Incursion for The Strange or Rise of the Abhumans in Numenera.

5. What other game systems do you think are pushing the RPG industry forward?

Iadace

Desh-Rae-Halra

 

[Fabio Andrea Rossi]

The Dirty One!

Hi Monte and thanks especially for Numenera and A Hero's Tale (wish there were more of such high quality drag-n-drop scenarios), here a question I am really curious about,if you can answer it: what are the main things you would have done differently in 5e? It seems to be doing fairly well and I'm liking it , still I'd live to know the "what if" scenario, there may be treasure to steal in those dangerous caves...

 

[Dionysos]

Is there any chance of a Diamond Throne setting book for Cypher System? I see you are not much for converting AU to 5e, but it is a fabulous setting and it would be great in your current system.

 

[Monte At Home]

Hopefully this hasn't been asked already.

What was the inspiration that gave you the idea to create Monte Cook Games? Was it a natural progression from what you have done previously or was it a sudden realization?

Do you ever do things that are outside your normal routine for the soul purpose of kick starting your creative process? If so, do any of those really stand out?

What advice would you give someone who is full of creativity but doesn't have as much formal schooling or training?

What do you think defines the folks that have worked with you and for you in gaming? What is their common element?

1. I wanted to launch Numenera, and I knew that it wasn't the right fit for my previous company, Malhavoc Press, since MP did d20 products pretty much exclusively.

2. Sometimes. Travel works well for me and I have, a few times, just jumped in the car and done a road trip to get a little inspiration.

3. Probably two things--creativity and the ability to self-start/self-manage. No one that I've enjoyed working with has been the kind of person who needed to be closely managed. They all figure out what needs to be done and they do it, on their own. Creativity comes in not just because it's a creative endeavor but because problem-solving is an important aspect to almost any job.