Monte has left the building:How do you feel about the direction of the game?

[ForeverSlayer]

You can always follow Monte if you want.
I ll do it. He is responsible for some great works outhere (like planescape).

And a bit of gossip which this might mean something or it is just pure coincidence: According to Monte's tweet, yesterday had a dinner with Eric Mona (Pathfinder).

That would be so great!

 

[ForeverSlayer]

RPGs are a team effort. To think there is one guy there fighting to make it something you want vrs all these other guys wanting the opposite for some reason is silly.

I understand they are a team effort but Monte was the old/new kid on the block. Sometimes it's that one guy that bring that extra something to the game.

You can't ignore that even though people work as a team they are not always equal in their ability. You can look at any sports team for the proof.

 

[vagabundo]

I think I'm going to wait until the final product - and even beyond - to make any decisions about the game. I'm going to give it it's dues; it is DND after all. Oul' Grand Father DND.

Monte leaving is a surprise, but who knows how that will effect things. Maybe he nudged things in a certain direction. He was certainly there early in the development.

I'm looking forward to the early playtest now. And even then I'll wait for the books and give it a few games to see how it plays.

At least we live in interesting times.

 

[Nork]

RPGs are a team effort. To think there is one guy there fighting to make it something you want vrs all these other guys wanting the opposite for some reason is silly.

They're going to produce a game they think people will enjoy no matter who's at the helm. The added public play-test means we also have input into it as well. So if it's a game that ends up not top your taste, it's partially your fault.

If he was pushing an agenda of "bring back 3E, because 3E is D&D" instead of "make a good game without worrying what it is or isn't", then he could very well have been that one guy fighting to make something the 3E faction of edition warriors want vs all the other guys wanting the opposite.

Personally, I'm glad he is gone. He has always given me the impression that he thought 3E was perfect. If something is perfect, then anything that isn't it is wrong by virtue of not being it. That plus other baggage that he had going into this made me suspect that there was either going to be a meltdown or a product with a very specific agenda.

Maybe it wasn't reasonable for me to think those things, but then again, here we are with Cook leaving the team and taking a jab at the company on the way out. Not the biggest meltdown, but a meltdown none the less. I'm just glad it was early and relatively minor.

Of course, some of the impressions that make me leery of Cook could have made Cook someone's best hope for 5E.

 

[Consonant Dude]

Mixed feelings.

I strongly dislike Monte Cook's work as a designer. And even his fluff is constantly hampered by rule bits that I can't stand.

OTOH, I am weary that WotC seem to perpetually be in a state of flux regarding Dungeons & Dragons. Not just regarding this edition, mind you but ever since mid-way into 3.0.

People focus a lot on "name designers" like Cook but I personally think what is missing at this point is strong direction at the top, the way it used to be under Peter Adkison.

None of the designers left impress me (and I can't stand Mike Mearls' work or design philosophy) but even if they had a kickass bunch... I'm not sure it would work all that well.

It's a lot like team sports. A bunch of star players aren't gonna be as effective as they could be without solid coaching.

All this talk of public playtesting, who's designing it, what kind of license it will be released under..... it's cute but what I really want at this point is a solid direction and a kickass version of D&D. And what I'm seeing is a company that writing up lame surveys, changing their minds all the time and a high employee turnover.

I'm not giving up but definitely not optimistic at this point.

 

[RoboCheney]

I like a lot of his 3rd edition stuff, but his L&L columns added to my mounting concerns with 5E. I'll have to run a playtest game or two though.

Maybe he's working on Pathfinder 2E now?

 

[Blackwarder]

I feel that the game is going north-north-east...

Warder

 

[Argyle King]

I think my feeling of apathy (mentioned elsewhere) has been reinforced. Honestly, at this point in time, I'd say I'm more excited about 13th Age than D&D 5E. If a Pathfinder 2E comes to light, that won't bode well for D&D's visibility in my eyes.

 

[Grimmjow]

from what I've been hearing from people who are more into keeping base with this game than me is that he left because of wizards of the coast, not because he didn't like the way DDN was going

 

[Tony Vargas]

I still can't feel hopeful about 5e, but I doubt the absence of Monte Cook could make it any worse.