Monte Cook back at wizards

[Pentius]

It really does sound like Development of 5th edition is now underway. Three years into the 4th Edition.

I'm sure it could be read another way, but I think most people will read it as 5E development.

I dunno, it seems to me that a lot of things have sounded like 5e is on the way. it's a standard thing to hear whenever there's any staff change at WotC.

Mainly I just hope Monte's writing is good. He's been a big force behind things I really don't like in my gaming, but WotC's recent releases have also been very hit or miss with me, so this could swing it either way(of it swings it anywhere at all).

 

[UngeheuerLich]

But if you look at 3rd edition, no matter how problematic parts of it was, it was a great game that revived D&D.

I also had more fun with 3.0, because even though some things were less balanced, it was closer to ADnD and didn´t encourage the use of minis.
All in all, it was more DMcentric, as figuring out the amount of cover e.g. was more or less a decision of the DM...

More fiddly, yes.
More imbalanced,yes

but it was a lot closer to its roots, and the worst offenders, druids, were not that imbalanced...

And i guess, people who believed D&D 3.5 is all bad are no longer actually working on 4E. And this was a mistake!
3.x really had flaws. But it also had very very great parts. And not all of them were retained in the pathfinder conversion.

I would really like to read what monte cook´s design principles were.

@ 5e:
In no way will 5e come out, before character builder, adventure tools etc have been released fully functional.
It is very very important for their credibility that they bring out a good working program as promised, no matter how ling it takes.
It is also important for them to have such tools for 5e.
And if you ask me, they need to fully support 4e tools for those who like to stay with 4e. There is no reasons for them to withdraw them, as no matter if you play 4e or 5e, you give them money.

So in a perfect world, we have 5e sooner than later, best if we all can take part in some kind of beta test.

 

[Pentius]

But if you look at 3rd edition, no matter how problematic parts of it was, it was a great game that revived D&D.

I think that was more to do with the timing, than the system. The climate in the hobby is a lot different now, so what worked then may not work now.

I also had more fun with 3.0, because even though some things were less balanced, it was closer to ADnD and didn´t encourage the use of minis.

My mileage varies. I found minis a requirement with 3e, and my 4e experience has been a lot more like my AD&D experience than the 3e days were.

All in all, it was more DMcentric, as figuring out the amount of cover e.g. was more or less a decision of the DM...

I disagree. The reigning in of Casters world breaking effects handed a lot of power back to the DM, as did splitting the rules for PCs and NPCs. As a 4e DM, I have a lot more decisions in my hands, and more freedom to make them, then I did during 3e(or in my case, 3.5).

 

[Nikosandros]

All I read is that Monte will be writing the next installments in the column, no mention whatsoever of the fact that he's been hired by WotC. I agree, that this might indicate an involvement with the development of the game, but all of this seems a bit premature at this point...

 

[Sonny]

@ 5e:
In no way will 5e come out, before character builder, adventure tools etc have been released fully functional.
It is very very important for their credibility that they bring out a good working program as promised, no matter how ling it takes.
It is also important for them to have such tools for 5e.
And if you ask me, they need to fully support 4e tools for those who like to stay with 4e. There is no reasons for them to withdraw them, as no matter if you play 4e or 5e, you give them money.

So in a perfect world, we have 5e sooner than later, best if we all can take part in some kind of beta test.

I doubt 5e would be out sooner then 2013, unless it's based almost entirely on 3e. And I doubt it will be. So it's going to be awhile still. Seems pretty clear though, either there's a big 4e revamp in the future, or 5e is definitely in development at this point.

 

[Sonny]

All I read is that Monte will be writing the next installments in the column, no mention whatsoever of the fact that he's been hired by WotC. I agree, that this might indicate an involvement with the development of the game, but all of this seems a bit premature at this point...

"I've spent the past several months talking about D&D's past and how that relates to its future. It's now time to focus much more on the future of the game. Monte has an unmatched design pedigree in the RPG field, and for that reason we've brought him on board to work with R&D in making D&D the greatest RPG the world has seen."

I don't see how telling people it's now time to focus on the future and Monte has been brought in to help make D&D the greatest rpg the world has ever seen, could mean he's only writing column for them.

Edit: Also bringing someone on board pretty much means that person will be working for the company. At least in the companies I've worked for, that's what bringing someone on board has meant.

 

[Nikosandros]

"I've spent the past several months talking about D&D's past and how that relates to its future. It's now time to focus much more on the future of the game. Monte has an unmatched design pedigree in the RPG field, and for that reason we've brought him on board to work with R&D in making D&D the greatest RPG the world has seen."

I don't see how telling people it's now time to focus on the future and Monte has been brought in to help make D&D the greatest rpg the world has ever seen, could mean he's only writing column for them.

Edit: Also bringing someone on board pretty much means that person will be working for the company. At least in the companies I've worked for, that's what bringing someone on board has meant.

I somehow had missed the most relevant part... yes, I concede that you're right.

 

[wedgeski]

I have mixed expectations about this. I loved 3E in its day, as much as I love the current edition, and I gorged myself on Malhavoc product after he left Wizards. I consider him one of the best in the field.

But... 4E is a different beast to 3E. I *like* that about it. It reflected a very different gaming landscape to the one that existed when 3E was under development. I also seem to remember Monte posting in one of his blogs that he didn't actually like 4E all that much (not really surprising considering his contribution to its predecessor).

Having said all that, Monte is nothing if not a pro. He's obviously been brought on for a reason, and I'm excited to see what he has to say.

 

[Pentius]

I also seem to remember Monte posting in one of his blogs that he didn't actually like 4E all that much (not really surprising considering his contribution to its predecessor).

I poked around the net a little to see if I could find anything on Monte's thoughts on 4e(pre-return to WotC, natch), but while I found a lot of talking about Monte not liking 4e, the only thing I could find that he has actually said was a bit on his blog where he mentioned not liking the license, as a publisher.

 

[wedgeski]

I poked around the net a little to see if I could find anything on Monte's thoughts on 4e(pre-return to WotC, natch), but while I found a lot of talking about Monte not liking 4e, the only thing I could find that he has actually said was a bit on his blog where he mentioned not liking the license, as a publisher.

I had a quick poke around to see if I could back myself up on this, but with no success. I'm happy to be wrong.