The title pretty much says it all – Monte Cook, possibly the most respected name in the d20 System industry, will be lending his advice and developmental assistance to Paizo Publishing’s Pathfinder RPG as a Rules Consultant. Now technically, Cook is going back on his decision to retire from the RPG field by signing on to help with Pathfinder, but I doubt anyone will mind. Paizo and Malhavoc Press, Cook’s d20 company, have worked together in the past, so it seems logical they’d come together for something as potentially-major as the next “bedrock for the Open Game movement” (as Erik Mona of Paizo put it in our recent Audio Report interview). Click through to the full announcement, which makes it sound like Cook has been involved for a while now.
Paizo Publishing press release text follows:
Monte Cook Joins the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Team
Co-creator of 3rd Edition Dungeons & Dragons to act as Rules Consultant
May 12, 2008 (BELLEVUE, Wash.) “Paizo Publishing, LLC today announced that Monte Cook, the co-creator of 3rd Edition Dungeons & Dragons and author of the 3.5 PHB and DMG as well as the Ptolus campaign setting and the recent Book of Experimental Might, has joined the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game team as a Rules Consultant.
“This is going to be a lot of fun,” said Monte Cook. “Pathfinder is a fresh spin on a rules system that I love and the guys at Paizo are great to work with. They produce nothing but the highest quality products.”
“Monte Cook is a legend of third edition and of the Open Gaming movement,” said Paizo’s Publisher, Erik Mona. “He’s also a great DM, and has the best mind for mechanics I’ve ever seen. To have one of the original third edition designers helping us with the Pathfinder RPG is like a dream come true. With Monte’s involvement, I am certain that the future of the edition he helped to create will be very long and very fruitful.”
“I am really excited to be working with Monte on this project,” said Paizo’s Lead Designer, Jason Bulmahn. “His advice has been a great help to the Pathfinder RPG. When it comes to rules design and knowledge of the 3.5 system, there is absolutely no one better.”
Monte Cook will also be contributing an introduction to the final Pathfinder Roleplaying Game hardcover, scheduled for an August 2009 release.
The Pathfinder Roleplaying Game is a tabletop fantasy roleplaying game that will serve as the anchor for Paizo Publishing’s popular line of Pathfinder adventures, sourcebooks, and campaigns. Last March marked the beginning of a year-long Open Playtest of the new rules, which are based on the popular 3.5 rules available under the Open Game License. The Pathfinder RPG is designed with backward compatibility as one of its primary goals, so players will continue to enjoy their lifelong fantasy gaming hobby without invalidating their entire game library. To learn more about the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game and to download the free Pathfinder RPG Alpha playtest document, visit paizo.com/pathfinderRPG.
ABOUT PAIZO PUBLISHING
Paizo Publishing, LLC is a leading publisher of fantasy roleplaying games, accessories, board games, and novels. Paizo’s Pathfinder line of adventures and Pathfinder Chronicles campaign setting support materials combine decades of game design experience into one evocative system compatible with the 3.5 rules. Paizo’s GameMastery line offers easy-to-use tools for Game Masters of any fantasy roleplaying game to improve their gaming experience. Titanic Games, Paizo’s board game imprint, unleashes fun, challenging games like Kill Doctor Luckyâ and Yetisburg that appeal to both families and casual gamers alike. Paizo’s Planet Stories line of science fiction and fantasy novel reprints promises a master class in the genre aimed at building the greatest fantasy and science fiction library ever assembled. Paizo.com is the leading online hobby retail store, offering tens of thousands of products from a variety of publishers to customers all over the world. In the five years since its founding, Paizo Publishing has received more than a dozen major awards and has grown to become one of the most influential companies in the hobby games industry.
Dungeons & Dragons is a registered trademark of Wizards of the Coast, Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. Ptolus and the Book of Experimental Might are trademarks of Monte J. Cook. All other trademarks are property of Paizo Publishing, LLC.
From Monte’s LiveJournal posting: http://montecook.livejournal.com/144169.html
“My role is “rules consultant,” and I’ll be really up-front with you regarding what that means (and doesn’t mean). The way it’s been working for the last couple of weeks is, Jason emails me with the occasional question or bounces an idea off of me, and I tell him what I think. I also review the new material he comes up with and give my 2 cents. And that’s really about it. Jason’s not under any obligation to take any advice I might give. It’s his baby. He makes the final decisions. I’m not a designer on this project, I’m a resource. Don’t, for example, expect to see a ton of stuff from the Book of Experimental Might books showing up in Pathfinder (although there might be a little). Pathfinder and the BoXM books have very different goals. Also, because that’s the way my role works, don’t come to me with your own ideas or feedback regarding Pathfinder–I’m not going to be able to do anything with them. The Paizo folks, however, are eager to get any and all feedback that people provide, which I think is supremely cool and part of the reason I’m glad to be a part of this.
Part of me wishes I could be involved more deeply, but to be very honest, I just don’t have the time with the other (non-P&P game related) projects I have going on. I feel fortunate and honored that they value my opinions enough to let me be involved at all.”