View source for Monte Cook

{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Short description|American writer and game designer}}
{{notability|date=December 2023}}
{{Infobox writer
| name        = Monte Cook
| image       = Monte Cook - Lucca Comics & Games 2014.JPG
| alt         =
| caption     = Cook at [[Lucca Comics & Games]] 2014
| birth_date   = {{birth date and age|mf=yes|1968|1|29}}<ref name="PNP">{{Cite web|url=http://www.pen-paper.net/rpgdb.php?op=showcreator&creatorid=2|title=Monte Cook|work=Pen & Paper listing|access-date=August 22, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080522200649/http://www.pen-paper.net/rpgdb.php?op=showcreator&creatorid=2|archive-date=May 22, 2008}}</ref>
| birth_place  = [[Watertown, South Dakota]], U.S.<ref name="PNP" />
| death_date   =
| death_place  =
| occupation  = Writer, [[game designer]]
| spouse      = [[Sue Weinlein Cook|Sue Weinlein]]
| period      =
| genre       = [[Role-playing game]]s, [[fantasy]]
| influences  =
|portaldisp=
}}

'''Monte Cook''' (born January 29, 1968) is an American professional tabletop [[role-playing game]] [[game design|designer]] and writer, best known for his work on ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]''.

== Role-playing industry career ==

=== Early years ===
Cook has been a professional game designer since 1988, working primarily on role-playing games.<ref name="wizardsbio">{{cite web|url=http://ww2.wizards.com/Books/Wizards/Bios/default.aspx?doc=MonteCook|title=Monte Cook|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090224010816/http://ww2.wizards.com/Books/Wizards/Bios/default.aspx?doc=MonteCook|archive-date=February 24, 2009}}</ref> Much of his early work was for [[Iron Crown Enterprises]] as an editor and writer for the ''[[Rolemaster]]'' and ''[[Champions (role-playing game)|Champions]]'' lines.<ref>{{Citation |last=Appelcline |first=Shannon |date=November 21, 2006 |title=A Brief History of Game #8 |publisher= [[RPGnet]]|url=http://www.rpg.net/columns/briefhistory/briefhistory8.phtml |access-date=March 13, 2013}}</ref> Cook was at one point the editor in charge of both the "Campaign Classics" line of books for the ''[[Hero System]]'' and the ''Rolemaster'' line.<ref name="designers">{{Cite book|author=Shannon Appelcline|title=Designers & Dragons|publisher=Mongoose Publishing|year=2011| isbn= 978-1-907702-58-7 }}</ref>{{rp|136}} Cook worked for Iron Crown Enterprises for four years; two as a freelancer and two as a full-time designer.<ref name="Dragon #275">{{cite journal| title = Profiles: Monte Cook| journal = [[Dragon (magazine)|Dragon]]| issue = #275| pages = 10, 12, 14| publisher = [[Wizards of the Coast]]| location = [[Renton, Washington]]|date=September 2000}}</ref> During this period, Cook wrote the multi-genre setting ''Dark Space'' (1990), which was a blend of fantasy, science-fiction, and horror.<ref name="designers" />{{rp|137}} Cook became the line editor for ''Hero System'', replacing [[Rob Bell (game designer)|Rob Bell]], who left ICE in 1990.<ref name="designers" />{{rp|149}} Cook left ICE in the early 1990s.<ref name="designers" />{{rp|137}}

=== TSR ===
Cook began working for [[TSR, Inc.|TSR]] in 1992 as a freelancer: "writing a whole slew of stuff for the old [[Marvel Super Heroes (role-playing game)|Marvel game]] that never came out because the game got canceled".<ref name="Dragon #275" /> In 1994 Cook came to work at TSR as a game designer.<ref name="wizardsbio" /> Cook designed ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'' [[Adventure (Dungeons & Dragons)|modules]] such as ''[[Labyrinth of Madness]]'' (1995) and ''[[A Paladin in Hell]]'' (1998), and dozens of supplements to the [[Planescape]] line including ''[[The Planewalker's Handbook]]'' (1996) and ''[[Dead Gods]]'' (1998). Cook also designed the conspiracy game ''[[Dark•Matter]]'' in 1999.

=== Wizards of the Coast ===
After TSR was purchased by [[Wizards of the Coast]], Cook became a senior designer, and was part of the team working on the ''D&D'' game's third edition. Cook, [[Jonathan Tweet]], and [[Skip Williams]] all contributed to the 3rd edition ''[[Players Handbook]]'', ''[[Dungeon Master's Guide]]'', and ''[[Monster Manual]]'', and then each designer wrote one of the books based on those contributions.<ref name="Dragon #275" /> Cook was proud of the work he did on the new ''Dungeon Master's Guide'', especially after [[Gary Gygax]] gave his team feedback on the book: "He said that the material in the new ''DMG'' would help him become a better DM... That was really cool–and satisfying in a 'completion of the circle' sort of way."<ref name="Dragon #275" /> In 2000, Cook said of his involvement with Wizards of the Coast and ''Dungeons & Dragons'': "It's a great time to be working here... because every product is big, important, and innovative."<ref name="Dragon #275" /> Cook also worked on ''[[Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil]]'', and the d20 ''[[Call of Cthulhu (role-playing game)#d20 Call of Cthulhu|Call of Cthulhu]]'' (February 2002).<ref name="wizardsbio" />

=== d20 licensed works and Malhavoc Press ===
Cook left [[Wizards of the Coast]] in 2001.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://icv2.com/articles/games/view/22766/monte-cook-exits-d-d-next-design-team | title=Monte Cook Exits 'D&D Next' Design Team | publisher=ICV2 | access-date=November 14, 2015}}</ref> Cook wrote the adventure ''Beyond the Veil'' (2001), one of the later releases in the "Penumbra" line of [[d20 System]] books from [[Atlas Games]].<ref name="designers" />{{rp|258}} Cook formed the new company [[Malhavoc Press]] in 2001 to work with the [[Sword and Sorcery Studios]] imprint of [[White Wolf Publishing|White Wolf]], starting with the d20 ''The Book of Eldritch Might'' (2001) as his first product.<ref name="designers" />{{rp|225}} ''The Book of Eldritch Might'' was the first commercial book sold exclusively as a PDF to be published by a print company.<ref name="designers" />{{rp|288}} It was an immediate success and has been credited with demonstrating the viability of PDF publishing within the role-playing industry.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.dyingearth.com/rpgsuccess2006.htm | title=View From the Pelgrane's Nest | publisher=Pelgrane Press | access-date=November 14, 2015}}</ref> This and other early Malhavoc products were initially released only in electronic format, though print versions of most of them have since been released by White Wolf, Inc.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse/pub/9/Malhavoc-Press | title=DriveThruRPG.com-Hottest Malhavoc Press Titles | publisher=DriveThruRPG.com | access-date=November 15, 2015}}</ref> Malhavoc Press worked with [[Fiery Dragon Productions]] after Fiery Dragon ended their arrangement with Sword & Sorcery in 2002, and the majority of the licensed work from Fiery Dragon was through their arrangement with Malhavoc.<ref name="designers" />{{rp|226}} Cook's work under the Malhavoc banner has included ''[[Arcana Unearthed]]: A Variant Players Handbook''.<ref>{{cite book | title=Arcana Unearthed | isbn=1-58846-065-7 | last1=Cook | first1=Monte | date=July 2003 | publisher=Steve Jackson Games, Incorporated }}</ref> Cook set the d20 rulebook ''Arcana Unearthed'' in his giant-dominated world of "The Diamond Throne".<ref name="designers" />{{rp|226}}

He caused controversy in mid-2004 by exclusively selling his electronic d20 material with the DriveThruRPG.com store, which then used only a proprietary [[digital rights management]]-encrypted PDF system.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.herogames.com/forums/topic/16467-drivethrurpgcom/ | title=DriveThruRPG.com | publisher=Hero Games | access-date=November 15, 2015 | archive-date=November 17, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117034725/http://www.herogames.com/forums/topic/16467-drivethrurpgcom/ | url-status=dead }}</ref> He eventually succumbed to pressure from his customers to sell his products in standard-PDF form,{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}} and DriveThruRPG has more recently done the same.

In August 2006, Malhavoc released ''[[Ptolus]]'', a campaign setting based on Monte Cook's home game that was used as the playtest campaign for the third edition D&D designers.

Shortly after the release of ''[[Ptolus]]'', which Cook has often described as the culmination of his original ambitions for Malhavoc, he announced that he would be focusing on writing fiction and other unspecified forms of creative work, rather than role-playing games, for the foreseeable future.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.montecook.com/cgi-bin/page.cgi?mc_los_157|author=Monte Cook|title=The Next Chapter|publisher=montecook.com|year=2006|access-date=August 22, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723161704/http://www.montecook.com/cgi-bin/page.cgi?mc_los_157|archive-date=July 23, 2011}}</ref> White Wolf and [[Goodman Games]] announced his final RPG books. ''Monte Cook's [[World of Darkness]]'', his own take on White Wolf's modern horror setting, was released at [[Gen Con]] 2007. From Goodman Games is ''[[Dungeon Crawl Classics]]: #50, Vault of the Iron Overlord'', which was also targeted for the same Gen Con release.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.white-wolf.com/index.php?line=news&articleid=639|title=White Wolf Announces Monte Cook's A World of Darkness|date=December 6, 2006|publisher=whitewolf.com|access-date=August 22, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080618182038/http://www.white-wolf.com/index.php?line=news&articleid=639|archive-date=June 18, 2008}}</ref>

However, due to demand by fans reading his [[LiveJournal]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://montecook.livejournal.com/ |title=The Chapel Perilous |publisher=Monte Cook |access-date=November 15, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160118125454/http://montecook.livejournal.com/ |archive-date=January 18, 2016 }}</ref> and posting their desires on the Malhavoc message boards,{{citation needed|date=November 2015}} Monte Cook released one more RPG product in early 2008, ''The Book of Experimental Might''.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.rpgnow.com/product/54689/Book-of-Experimental-Might | title=Book of Experimental Might | publisher=DriveThruRPG.com | access-date=November 15, 2015}}</ref> This was quickly followed by ''The Book of Experimental Might II: Bloody, Bold and Resolute''.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.rpgnow.com/product/55582/Book-of-Experimental-Might-II-Bloody-Bold-and-Resolute?term=book+of+experimental+might+ii | title=Book of Experimental Might II | publisher=DriveThruRPG.com | access-date=November 15, 2015}}</ref>

=== ''D&D Next'' ===
Cook returned to Wizards of the Coast in 2011. On September 20, 2011, [[Mike Mearls]] announced that Cook would be taking over his "Legends & Lore" column for the [[Wizards of the Coast]] website.<ref>{{cite web|author=Mike Mearls |url=http://wizards.com/dnd/Article.aspx?x=dnd/4ll/20110920 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110920232001/http://wizards.com/DnD/Article.aspx?x=dnd/4ll/20110920 |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 20, 2011 |title=Dungeons & Dragons Roleplaying Game Official Home Page – Article (DM Rules and Exciting News) |publisher=Wizards.com |date=September 20, 2011 |access-date=April 30, 2013}}</ref> In January 2012, it was revealed that Cook was to be the lead designer for the 5th edition of ''Dungeons & Dragons''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://community.wizards.com/dndnext/blog/2012/01/09/welcome_to_the_group |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120113083304/http://community.wizards.com/dndnext/blog/2012/01/09/welcome_to_the_group |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 13, 2012 |title=The Wizards Community > DnD Next > Blog > Welcome to the Group |publisher=Community.wizards.com |access-date=April 30, 2013}}</ref> In April 2012, Cook announced his departure from [[Wizards of the Coast]] due to "differences of opinion with the company" but not "with [his] fellow designers".<ref>{{cite web|author=Monte Cook (montecook) wrote, April 25, 2012 12:30:00 |url=http://montecook.livejournal.com/251404.html |title=montecook: Change of Plans |publisher=Montecook.livejournal.com |date=April 25, 2012 |access-date=April 30, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150305205244/http://montecook.livejournal.com/251404.html |archive-date=March 5, 2015 }}</ref>

=== Monte Cook Games and ''Numenera'' ===
Cook co-founded Monte Cook Games, LLC with Shanna Germain in 2012,<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.shannagermain.com/portfolio_2/monte-cook-games/ | title=Monte Cook Games | publisher=Shanna Germain | access-date=November 14, 2015 | archive-date=June 6, 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170606175111/http://www.shannagermain.com/portfolio_2/monte-cook-games/ | url-status=dead }}</ref> which is a roleplaying game company that has produced ''[[Numenera]]'', ''[[The Strange]]'', ''The Cypher System Rulebook'', ''[[Invisible Sun (role-playing game)|Invisible Sun]]'', and ''[[No Thank You, Evil!]]'' which went to press in Fall 2015 after a [[Kickstarter]] campaign raised over $100,000 to fund its publication.<ref name="MCG">{{cite web | url=http://www.montecookgames.com/team/ | title=Monte Cook Games | publisher=Monte Cook Games | access-date=November 14, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/montecookgames/no-thank-you-evil-a-game-of-make-believe-for-famil | title=No Thank You, Evil! a Game for Famelies | publisher=Kickstarter PBC | access-date=November 15, 2015}}</ref>

''Numenera'' is a Kickstarter-funded table-top RPG created by Cook, set a billion years in the future in a science fantasy and post-apocalyptic setting with streamlined rules that prioritize the story, the action, and the wild ideas. It raised over $500,000 (more than 25 times its goal of $20,000).<ref name="kickstarter-rpg">{{cite web|author=Monte Cook Games|url=http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1433901524/numenera-a-new-roleplaying-game-from-monte-cook |title=Numenera: A new role-playing game from Monte Cook by Monte Cook — Kickstarter |publisher=Kickstarter.com |date=August 9, 2012 |access-date=June 7, 2014}}</ref> System playtesting was announced on October 30, 2012, and the game was released on August 14, 2013.<ref>{{cite web|author=Cook, Monte|url=http://www.montecook.com/playtesting-numenera/|title=Playtesting Numenera — Monte Cook|date=October 30, 2012|access-date=June 7, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117024935/http://www.montecook.com/playtesting-numenera/|archive-date=November 17, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Cook, Monte|url=http://www.montecook.com/numenera-primer/|title=Numenera Primer — Monte Cook|date=August 14, 2013|access-date=June 7, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117024930/http://www.montecook.com/numenera-primer/|archive-date=November 17, 2015}}</ref> Cook has stated that [[David Cook (game designer)|David "Zeb" Cook]]'s (no relation) [[Planescape]] fantasy world was a significant influence on concepts in ''Numenera''.<ref name="monteblog-zeb">{{cite web|author=Cook, Monte|title=David "Zeb" Cook|url=http://www.montecook.com/david-zeb-cook/|date=March 12, 2013|access-date=June 7, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141019072959/http://www.montecook.com/david-zeb-cook/|archive-date=October 19, 2014}}</ref>

The Ninth World of ''Numenera'' was also the setting for a 2013 release of the ''[[Thunderstone (card game)|Thunderstone Advance]]'' deck-building game by [[Alderac Entertainment Group]],<ref>{{cite web|title=Numenara {{!}} Thunderstone|url=http://www.alderac.com/thunderstone/numenera/|publisher=Alderac Entertainment|date=August 31, 2012|access-date=October 8, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131014034646/http://www.alderac.com/thunderstone/numenera/|archive-date=October 14, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/142961/thunderstone-advance-numenera | title=Thunderstone Advance: Numenera | publisher=BoardGameGeek LLC | access-date=November 15, 2015}}</ref> as well as the 2017 video game ''[[Torment: Tides of Numenera]]'', which was developed by [[InXile Entertainment]] after a successful Kickstarter campaign.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://torment.inxile-entertainment.com/ | title=Torment: Tides of Numenera | publisher=InXile Entertainment | access-date=November 15, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181104101145/http://torment.inxile-entertainment.com/ | archive-date=November 4, 2018 | url-status=dead }}</ref>

''The Strange'' is a Kickstarter-funded table-top RPG created by Cook and [[Bruce Cordell]] using the same Cypher System ruleset as ''Numenera''. The game, which involves traveling through different worlds known as Recursions, was released in August 2014.<ref>{{cite web|author=Ryan, Charles|url=http://www.montecookgames.com/announcing-bruces-birthday-and-the-strange/|title=Announcing Bruce's Birthday and The Strange|date=May 6, 2014|access-date=July 14, 2014}}</ref>

''Invisible Sun'' is a Kickstarter-funded table-top role-playing game created by Monte Cook Games, with a street date released of September 20, 2018. It is a surreal fantasy game with many game accessories.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/montecookgames/invisible-sun/ | title=Invisible Sun }}</ref>

''Stealing Stories for the Devil'' is a Kickstarter-funded table-top role-playing created by Monte Cook Games. It was released in February 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ryan |first=Charles |date=2023-02-08 |title=Stealing Stories for the Devil |url=https://www.montecookgames.com/stealing-stories-for-the-devil/ |access-date=2024-06-25 |website=Monte Cook Games |language=en-US}}</ref> It is billed as a reality-altering heist game, where player characters use different abilities to lie to reality. It is a boxed set with board game-like aspects.

''Tidal Blades, the Roleplaying Game''<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ryan |first=Charles |date=2024-08-14 |title=Tidal Blades: the RPG |url=https://www.montecookgames.com/tidal-blades-the-roleplaying-game/ |access-date=2024-08-14 |website=Monte Cook Games |language=en-US}}</ref> is a Kickstarter-funded table-top RPG created by Cook and Shanna Germain using the Cypher System ruleset. The game was released in August 14 2024.{{cn|date=August 2024}} It is a tropical fantasy game located around the near islands and coastal city of Naviri, surrounded by a frozen temporal rift called The Fold. It was Kickstarted along "Tidal Blades 2, Rise of the Unfolders", the boardgame.{{cn|date=August 2024}}

== Career ==
=== Author ===
Monte Cook is a graduate of the Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writer's Workshop.<ref name="HG">{{Cite book | contribution=[[Call of Cthulhu (role-playing game)|Call of Cthulhu]] | title=[[Hobby Games: The 100 Best]] | last=Cook | first=Monte | editor-last=Lowder | editor-first=James | editor-link=James Lowder | publisher=[[Green Ronin Publishing]] | year=2007 | pages=42–45 | isbn=978-1-932442-96-0}}</ref> After graduating from the 1999 workshop, he has published the novels ''The Glass Prison'' and ''Of Aged Angels''.<ref name="wizardsbio" /> He has also published short stories like "Born in Secrets" (in ''[[Amazing Stories]]''), "The Rose Window" (in ''Realms of Mystery''), and "A Narrowed Gaze" (in ''Realms of the Arcane'').<ref name="wizardsbio" /> He also writes a continuing ''Call of Cthulhu'' fiction series, ''The Shandler Chronicles'', in ''Game Trade Magazine''.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.gametrademagazine.com/Home/1/1/58/913?articleID=104672 | title=The Shandler Chronicles Classics | publisher=Game Trade Magazine | access-date=November 15, 2015}}</ref>

In the non-fiction genre, Cook has written ''The Skeptic's Guide to Conspiracies''.<ref name=Cook>{{cite book|last=Cook|first=Monte|title=The Skeptic's Guide to Conspiracies|year=2009|publisher=Adams Media|location=Avon, Massachusetts|isbn=978-1-60550-113-0|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uemoH83ku4cC|author-link=Monte Cook|access-date=December 19, 2012}}{{Dead link|date=August 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

=== Video games ===
Cook wrote dialogue for the [[MMORPG]] ''[[Marvel Heroes (video game)|Marvel Heroes]]''.

== Personal life ==
He is married to [[Sue Weinlein Cook]].<ref name="Dragon #275" />

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
*[https://www.montecookgames.com/ Official website]
*[http://www.flamesrising.com/interview-with-monte-cook Flames Rising interview]
*{{isfdb name|id=Monte_Cook|name=Monte Cook}}

{{D&D topics}}
{{d20}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cook, Monte}}
[[Category:1968 births]]
[[Category:20th-century American male writers]]
[[Category:20th-century American novelists]]
[[Category:21st-century American male writers]]
[[Category:21st-century American novelists]]
[[Category:American male novelists]]
[[Category:Dungeons & Dragons game designers]]
[[Category:Living people]]