Wow.
Whether or not this ulitimately bodes well or ill for 5e can't be determined at this point.
However, at this particular moment in time, this is certainly negative news for 5e. The reasons, which we'll likely not know for months or years, are largely irrelevant.
As an analogy, you've got a highly anticipated movie in the works. Much is made of the star selected to play the lead and after filming starts, the star quits.
Alternatively, a star athlete quits after being actively recruited by Team A. That athlete was going to be a cornerstone of the team strategy, a ticket draw, etc. Now they're gone from the team.
Can the negative be overcome? Sure. Could the end result be better than originally thought through the addition of his replacement? Yes. Could it be a loss they can't recover from? Yes, but less likely, IMO.
But right now, it's a negative -- and a big one.
Side Note: I love reading posts where people slam Monte for 3e content but rave about Mike M for 4e. Has anyone bothered to look at the credits of a lot of 3e d20 & OGL supplements? Mr. Mearls has a large body of work, and a fair bit of it was done with Monte. (Iron Heroes, anyone?)
Whether or not this ulitimately bodes well or ill for 5e can't be determined at this point.
However, at this particular moment in time, this is certainly negative news for 5e. The reasons, which we'll likely not know for months or years, are largely irrelevant.
As an analogy, you've got a highly anticipated movie in the works. Much is made of the star selected to play the lead and after filming starts, the star quits.
Alternatively, a star athlete quits after being actively recruited by Team A. That athlete was going to be a cornerstone of the team strategy, a ticket draw, etc. Now they're gone from the team.
Can the negative be overcome? Sure. Could the end result be better than originally thought through the addition of his replacement? Yes. Could it be a loss they can't recover from? Yes, but less likely, IMO.
But right now, it's a negative -- and a big one.
Side Note: I love reading posts where people slam Monte for 3e content but rave about Mike M for 4e. Has anyone bothered to look at the credits of a lot of 3e d20 & OGL supplements? Mr. Mearls has a large body of work, and a fair bit of it was done with Monte. (Iron Heroes, anyone?)