Monte Cook Interview?

10 posts / 0 new
Last post
bonemage's picture
Offline
Namer
Joined: 2004-05-11
Monte Cook Interview?

I was thinking and curious if anyone on this site has asked Monte Cook who happens to be my favorite game designer for an interview.... He and 3 other Planescape Vets recently released a planar supplement called Beyond Countless Doorways which while very Planescape in nature adds a few ideas that are non Planescape like.

For example Monte adds a concept of shifting planes that would affect planar travel based around whether they happen to be touching each other or disconnected at any given time. But the big meat of the products is information on a whole bunch of new planes and planar adventures which I guess would most likely be considered either demi planes or prime material worlds for purposes of "pure" Planescape Cosmology.

Kind of have a funny story about how I emailed back and form with Mr. Cook. I was at the time browsing Planescape auctions on Ebay to complete my collection and noticed a few auctions by this lady that in the description was offering customized autographs from Monte Cook. I thought it was rather odd that such an auction would not have it listed in the title so I thought she might be forging the autographs and not putting them in the title so ebay would not catch on.

So I emailed Mr. Cooks company and let them know about the possible forgeries expecting some sort of reply from one of his minions about checking it out and maybe a thank you. But I get an email from Monte himself thanking me for letting him know but it was in fact his wife cleaning out their basement selling some of their personal books!!!

They then offered to let me send them anything I wanted signed to them after I did not win any auctions. Which I have not gotten around to doing but I am thinking I may send my copy of Dead Gods or Faction War since they seem like cool adventures and I don’t use them much like I do the Plane walkers Handbook, Inner Planes Book, or Hell Bound. He also designed Tales of the Infinite Staircase, The Great Modron March, The Guide to the Astral Plane (which I actually use a lot) and Planescape Monstrous Compendium III.

bonemage's picture
Offline
Namer
Joined: 2004-05-11
Monte Cook Interview?

As a follow up I just ordered the Beyound Countless Doorways book from my local gaming shop. I could have gotten it cheaper from Amazon but you really need to support local gaming shops when you can I believe.

bonemage's picture
Offline
Namer
Joined: 2004-05-11
Monte Cook Interview?

Alright I just got an email back from Mr. Cook I am going to get my new copy of Beyond Countless Doorways and my copy of Dead Gods signed by him. I was wondering if anyone might be interested in interviewing him or if I would be allowed to interview him on behalf of Planewalker. It would most likely be via email and be fairly short if I were to do it. But let me know I would love to get some of his thoughts and such posted onto Planewalker here.

Clueless's picture
Offline
Webmonkey
Joined: 2008-06-30
Monte Cook Interview?

Please, go ahead and do an interview! We haven't picked up someone for a formal position to do that for us yet but we'll certainly pick up any that others want to do. If Mr. Cook is up to it, we'd love to get a chance to chatter with him.

How would you like to organize this? Ask your own questions or collect them for the forums or both?

bonemage's picture
Offline
Namer
Joined: 2004-05-11
Monte Cook Interview?

If anyone has any questions they want me to ask just post them here and I will sort through them.

Another note his new supplement (with 3 other old PS writers) is called Beyound Countless Doorways and is a planar type supplement which I believe even references Planescape with permission from Wizards/Hasbro at least they allow mentioning they are all Planescape authors in advertising it...

Also on the PS line he either wrote or co-wrote the following The Great Modron March, Dead Gods, Faction War, Plane walkers Handbook, Inner Planes Book, Hell Bound Boxed Set, Tales of the Infinite Staircase, The Guide to the Astral Plane and Planescape Monstrous Compendium III.

He currently runs his own company and produces mostly D20 RPG games most notable is his Arcana Unearthed series which includes an alternate Players handbook with new races, classes and etc and many other cool books which can be used on their own to to support most any D20 world.

His website is here[url] http://www.montecook.com [/url]

Rhys's picture
Offline
factotums
Joined: 2004-05-11
Monte Cook Interview?

Mephit James and I are just starting a campaign in the forums called "Through the Looking Glasses," an experiment in co-DMing and in Beyond Countless Doorways.

Shifting planes and cotermity rules are perhaps the best addition that game has. Although it doesn't have the Great Wheel's sense of absolutes (given an infinite number of planes, you never really know if you're battling the ultimate incarnation of evil or whatever), it does have an exciting newness and dynamic feel to it that makes the Great Wheel seem rigid and inflexible by comparison.

LegatoX's picture
Offline
Namer
Joined: 2005-01-30
Monte Cook Interview?

As far as questions go, and I'm not sure he'd answer it:

Can you give a general idea of what was suppose to happen post "Faction War" as it was only the beginning of "something"?

Unless this has been answered of course (I've never read about these plans myself).

Gerzel's picture
Offline
factotums
Joined: 2004-05-10
Monte Cook Interview?

I would like to know.

Does he ever look at planewalker? And if so what does he think?

Also the Faction War thing.

And... How many Ratatasks REALLY make up the Lady of Pain?

Krypter's picture
Offline
factotums
Joined: 2004-05-11
Monte Cook Interview?

"LegatoX" wrote:
Can you give a general idea of what was suppose to happen post "Faction War" as it was only the beginning of "something"?

I'd also love to know what he planned specifically as the conclusion of Faction War. Would the factions return to Sigil? Would new factions arise? The ending of the faction war adventure is just so unsatisfactory to me that I would like - nay, demand! - to have this resolved once and for all. Smiling He's been pretty vague about it in previous interviews, so you might have to press him on it.

Ask him if Beyond Countless Doorways sold well enough to warrant future supplements.

Finally, what would he consider his greatest mistake in writing for the Planescape line, in terms of the PS universe? (not RL matters)

bonemage's picture
Offline
Namer
Joined: 2004-05-11
Monte Cook Interview?

Thought I would toss these Planescape memories articles I found on Monte Cook's site out for you guys. I just got my copy of Beyound Countless Doorways so going to page through that a bit before I send it off to get autographed. Notice that he actually linked to Planewalker in one of these articles I believe it was the first one. So he certainly knows about this kip but if I can get an interview I will certainly ask what he thinks about it and the assoicated projects.

http://www.montecook.com/cgi-bin/page.cgi?arch_lineos39
http://www.montecook.com/cgi-bin/page.cgi?mc_los_129
http://www.montecook.com/cgi-bin/page.cgi?arch_lineos111

Planescape, Dungeons & Dragons, their logos, Wizards of the Coast, and the Wizards of the Coast logo are ©2008, Wizards of the Coast, a subsidiary of Hasbro Inc. and used with permission.