Monte Cook is most famous as co-designer of Dungeons and Dragons 3rd Edition, and writer of the third edition Dungeon Master’s Guide. He has worked on countless RPG products for Iron Crown Enterprises and TSR/Wizards of the Coast, including lines such as Champions, Planescape and Dark*Matter. In 2001, he became an independent publisher, and was one of the first to produce material online under the Open Gaming License. Under his Malhavoc Press imprint, he self-published many products, including Arcana Unearthed/Evolved, and cumulating in Ptolus, a book that is regarded by many as the ultimate fantasy RPG setting. He has since worked on an experimental subscription-based adventure project called Dungeon-a-Day and consulted on the design of the Pathfinder RPG. He now writes the “Legends and Lore” column for the Dungeons and Dragons website.
He’ll be calling in to Desert Bus at 10AM , so please leave him your questions below.
Dear Dr. Malhavoc: Do you know anything about Iron Heroes 2?
What are your thoughts on Pathfinder, especially compared to D&D 3 and 3.5?
What is your stance on erotic Star Trek fan fiction?
How do you feel about Jack Chick’s Dark Dungeons?
Do you think 4th edition solved some of the issues with 3rd edition and what would you have done to make 4th edition better?
Also, do you support Bill/Opus for the Meadow Party in 2012? Aack!
What would your words of advice be to someone first starting DnD?
Are there any plans to revisit Ptolus? Would you rebuild it around the new 4th edition in the same way you originally built Ptolus around 3ed?
The D&D 4th Edition “Starter Set” gathered a lot of ire from parts of the community. As someone who’s worked on D&D, what are your thoughts it? Was it too restricting, such as not allowing someone to really set up a character experience, or was it really a good way to get into the game as a beginner?
Dear Dr. Dungeonmaster Cook: When do you think we’ll see D&D 5th Edition? If you have to guess, what direction do you think the game will take with by then?
Do you have a single most memorable dungeons and dragons experience, either as a player or as a dm?
What is your opinion on erotic Star Trek D&D?
If you were to stat up Celestia as a deity, what domains would you give her?
What influence (if any) do you think indy RPG’s like “Dogs in the Vineyard” “Fiasco” etc. have had on mainstream rpgs.
What is your favorite race from Arcana Evolved? Why? Flavor or number crunchiness?
Dear Monte; If Planescape had continued as a setting, where do you think Sigil would have gone post-Faction War?
Dear Dr. Malhavoc, I love _Arcana Evolved_ very much and am saddened by the lack of new AE books. What should I do?
Why is the 3.5 Sorcerer notably worse then the Wizard?
What is the Most Spectacular Way you killed a party as a DM?
Dear Dr Monte. If marketing decided D&D was the be renamed D&D&D (to cash in on the 3D craze), what would the third D be?
Dear Dr. Cook, Monte Cook’s World of Darkness always seemed like one of your strangest gigs. Can you tell us how that came about?
Also, any chance of more Planescape now that you’re working at D&D again?
Do you think that general public playtests (ie pathfinder, warmachine mk II) etc. will find a place in the next version of D&D?
Are you aware of the “Locate City Bomb” trick? What is your opinion on using multiple “legal” attributes and spells to make an overpower effect?
What is the most creative use and/or abuse of D&D rules/feats/skills in an RPG session that you have seen or performed?
Dear Dr. Malhavoc, _Iron Heroes_ is surprisingly unfun in places — “surprisingly” because it is so awesome in concept. The Armiger and Weapon Master in particularly are generally considered boring to play as written. To what do you attribute this? Are we doing it wrong?
Planescape was my favorite campaign setting. I wonder what Monte’s favorite elements of it were. Love his stuff! Would love to see that again in as much detail.
What were your playtests of 3.0-3.5 like?
Leave a Reply