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

[Jason Fehr]

Hi Monte, I'm going to ask the question that I know all creative type (and Stephen King in particular) hates.

Where do you get your ideas? I don't mean how do they pop into your head, but more along the lines of all the little tidbits. For Numenera you have all these little weird happenings, and rumours for each area of the world. They are unique and creative. But even more-so, you have written a ton of material for Numenera and contributed a lot to The Strange, and No Thank You, Evil as well. All in three years. How do you keep that pace?

 

[KeithK]

Hello! I'm a big fan of your work, especially Numenera.

Questions:
1. I'm a big fan of the stripped-down design of the monsters of Numenera where they seem to only have the minimal number of necessary pieces to work as monsters. Can you explain a little of the design philosophy behind that decision?

2. Another Numenera question. What made you choose to set characters on various advancement paths rather than go with a "choose off a list" style that is common in games like DnD?

3. I apologize if this is a rude question, but how much money do game designers at WotC make? Did making your own game company turn out to be the better option financially? Is licensing a tabletop game to a video-game a good way to offset the diminishing sales of tabletop products?

4. As a designer, did you find it restricting to work with the "sacred cow" mechanics of DnD like +1 swords that seem a little archaic now?

Thanks for your time!

 

[Eminence_Grise]

I was inspired by your weigth loss a few years back and actually got my weigth down by 50 pounds. I've been able to maintain it, but never able to shake more pounds.

How much weigth did you loose?
What advice do you have for somebody that struggles with motivation?
I think you were a consultant on an activity tracker a few years ago. What happened to that?

 

[Dahak]

You mentioned liking progressive rock/prog metal in an earlier post, and specifically cited Porcupine Tree, Spock's Beard, and Yes in the Ptolus core. What other bands in that genre do you like?

 

[jeffh]

Hi! Longtime fan, we actually met back at GenCon 2000 and discussed the DMG a bit, but you probably don't remember. Dave Noonan heckled my platypus at the psionics seminar, that would probably be the most memorable thing involving me.

1. I have a highly ambitious RPG most of the way to being designed/written, with some (but not nearly enough) art and graphics, which I'll eventually Kickstart. I discussed it and showed some of the art to Charles, Tammie, and Stan! at your GAMA booth in 2014 and they were very encouraging. Is there any way you'd be interested in giving feedback on this sort of thing, and if so, what would be the best way to facilitate that?

(My current financial means don't allow for much con-going. Had I been at GenCon, I'd have approached you in person about this.)

2. For an unknown in the early stages of trying to publicize a project like this, what's the best way to get my - or more importantly, the game's - name out there?

3. You mentioned earlier that editors are in greater demand than writers or designers. What's a good way to get into that? Any particular companies you'd recommend approaching? Would there be any chance of helping out MCG with a small project such as a Glimmer, or does Shanna pretty much have that covered for you?

 

[BoyWhoWalks]

Hi Monte,

After weeks of being green with envy watching Americans open their new Reliquary box, mine finally turned up in Melbourne, Australia - and boy, was it worth the wait! And speaking of the weight...

I guess what struck me most was how it simultaneously made me nostalgic for the old boxed campaign settings of the 90s, whilst being completely innovative with its presentation and communication of information. Is there any chance we'll be seeing a Reliquary for another product - say The Strange or No Thank You, Evil?

I have a group of friends that have never played an RPG in their lives - and I want to run a session of Numenera for them! How would you go about running a session for people that have never played an RPG before?

You've mentioned in the past that Planescape ended a little more abruptly than you had expected, and you would have liked the opportunity to reunite the Factions after the Faction War. Can you elaborate on what that story might have been?

Thanks for taking the time to answer!

 

[Monte At Home]

Thank you so much for the links Monte! I haven't had an opportunity to visit the local game shop, but now I must. I'm totally stoked to have spoken with a true legend of the art. Keep up the greatness dude!

Thanks!

 

[Monte At Home]

Hey Monte-

First, thanks for all the years of quality gaming material. I'm currently running Dead Gods in my 5E campaign. A great module that I never got to run because our group always move on to the new editions. So I finally decided to just adapt it. It's probably my favorite single adventure, so thanks for that. And our group is having a lot of fun with it...I don't know if I've ever seen my players so creeped out and nervous.

Your answer about the 5 players you'd like to have sounds like one of the most mind-blowing gaming sessions ever.

Since you mentioned Grant Morrison and Alan Grant, I wanted to see what comics or graphic novels you were into, if any? Only older stuff or anything still being published? Any other creators besides Morrison and Grant that you enjoy?

What about novels? What good books have you read lately? Or does your work prevent you from reading too much?

Thanks for your time!!

Glad you're having fun.

I'm a huge comics fan, and I have been since I was young. I'm a fan of Brian K. Vaughan, Ed Brubaker, Kurt Busiek, Neil Gaiman, and many others.

Right now I'm about halfway finished with a novel called The Waking Engine by David Edison. Before that I read City of Stairs by Robert Jackson Bennett. Both are good and I recommend them. I'm also reading Mark Z. Danielewski's latest novel (House of Leaves is a huge favorite of mine), but it's taking me a while.

 

[Monte At Home]

Hi Monte, I'm a fan since Planescape, currently enjoying Numenera and The Strange

There is a question about "The Strange" setting that it is bugging me since I started playing last year.

How do The Estate agents manage to recognize each other and confirm their identities and rank when visiting recursions different form Earth?
On Earth they have the badges, but nowhere it is stated that the badges can translate (equipment can't translate so I suppose badges cannot) and outside of Earth is often problematic to keep in touch with HQ (the Estate is seriously undermanned to have any good coverage of an important recursion such as Ardeyn, nevermind the near infinite number of minor recursions) so any sort of secret code (that isn't mentioned anywhere, anyway) wouldn't work well, since it couldn't be changed often, even if stolen.

The problem was raised when I was GMing "Tom Mallard's Case" for the first time: at the end of the adventure the players asked some form of identification from the rescured Estate Agent (given what had happened just a little while before it felt a justified request)

Is there something I'm missing? Is there some sort of explanation officially (or unofficially) used when playing at MCG? Are Estate agents supposed to rely on good faith outside of Earth and, possibly, Ruk?

I suppose it's the same issue you run into in any agent/espionage game--how do you know who to trust? Fortunately, you have one thing on your side--the vast majority of people in Ardeyn, and probably even Ruk, have likely never heard of the Estate. Most of the time, if someone says they're from the Estate, it's probably true. But the default assumption is that you talk to people, maybe get confirmations from the Estate when possible.

Of course, if you wanted, it wouldn't be that hard to institute either a lo-fi solution like passphrases (that's probably pretty likely) or a high-fi solution like special items that translate with you or something.

 

[Monte At Home]

Thanks so much for the answers. Since a Paladin in Hell is one your favorites, I do have one question. After fighting through all the demons and the balor and get to open the hatch on the deck... how do they get off the ship at that point? Do they wait until it gets to the Nine Hells and it will dock and extend the gang plank?

Oh boy. I wrote that in... 1997 or so? It's hard for me to recall details. But what you state sounds right. The ship kind of does its own thing.