When Monte Cook rejoined Wizards of the Coast recently, he was coy about why he was hired. Hiring Monte raised eyebrows for those who know him – Monte was, after all, a major force in the development of Third Edition and has been actively involved in the gaming community ever since. Wizards rehiring him seemed to have some significance for the future of Dungeons & Dragons.
Perhaps naively, I sent a series of interview questions directly to him on September 21. Monte knows me by name at least (we've met at I-CON 22) and I found our chats really enlightening about the design philosophy behind Dungeons & Dragons, including its sacred cows. I was careful not to ask the burning question, because I thought he wouldn't be able to answer it. But I did ask a lot of other questions about Wizards, Monte's gaming philosophy, and what he planned to bring to the table in his new role, whatever that is.
I've worked with Wizards' public relations team recently, so we're acquainted well enough that I wasn't too surprised when I was directed to a communications manager, who politely explained that no interviews will be coordinated with Monte, or any other internal teams, until 2012.
Thing is, Monte DID grant an interview in October, with Krosch of HubPages. Krosch didn't hit on any of the questions I asked, which is why I suspect my interview was denied.
Then Margaret Weiss, Dragonlance series author and whom I trust as a woman of her word, said on the Dragonlance forums:
I've talked to friends of Monte's who are friends of mine and they all say, Yes, he's working on 5e!
So I'm just going to call it: If Monte isn't talking, and Wizards isn't talking, and Margaret IS talking…all this adds up to Monte working on the next edition of Dungeons & Dragons. You can expect an announcement in his Legends & Lore column in early 2012.
As Monte put it in his Twitter feed:
Thanks to everyone for the well-wishes, kind words, and congratulations. Fun and interesting times ahead!
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