By John Grigsby, Staff Reviewer

As many of you may be aware, I recently attended GenCon game fair, where I had the privilege of chatting with Ed Stark and David Noonan, two members of the design team at Wizards of the Coast. I have to say, it was a very enlightening chat and they are two of the nicest guys you'll ever meet. They, along with Claire Vail and Joe Hauck, were simply wonderful in providing me with answers to a few of the questions that I had.

Meeting Ed and Dave was a real treat for me, because I recognize their names from many of the gaming products that I grew up on. Besides serving on the development team of many recent releases from Wizards such as Frostburn and Complete Divine, Ed has contributed to D6 Adventures, Paranoia, Star Wars, and Torg from West End Games and was creative director for many TSR favorites including Axe of the Dwarvish Lords, Return to White Plume Mountain, and Return to the Keep on the Borderlands. Dave authored Unearthed Arcana (the new version), which many of you will know I thoroughly enjoyed, and Whisper of the Vampire's Blade (an Eberron adventure), has authored numerous magazine articles in Dragon, Dungeon, and Polyhedron, and has contributed to a fair number of recent Wizards releases himself.

In fact, so tongue-tied was I at meeting these guys that I forgot to note who was doing the actual answering to several of the questions (I completely ignored the fact that I had a digital recorder and could have recorded and then transcribed the interview), so I'll just put the questions and answers out there and if I happen to know who it was that provided the answer, I'll indicate such. Answers may be paraphrased slightly, but the gist of them remains intact. Please bear with me, this was only my third interview, and I'm still learning about what kinds of things to ask about and how to take notes in a hurry.

Q: Recently, Arthaus turned the rights to Gamma World and Ravenloft back over to Wizards of the Coast. Speaking as a fan of Ravenloft, in particular, does Wizards have future plans for the lines?

Ed: Possibly. At this time, there's nothing on the schedule, but no final decision has been made regarding those lines.

Q:As Greyhawk has unofficially become the "default" D&D campaign setting, will we be seeing any expansion for it in the future?

Ed: Greyhawk is almost exclusively the property of the RPGA now. They offer plenty of support for it through their website.

Q: Between all the material that was released for 2nd and 3rd edition, do you feel that the Forgotten Realms line is tapped out or are there hidden secrets yet to be revealed?

A: There's still something there. Only a comparatively small portion of the setting has been revealed, and there's still a lot that you haven't seen. Between original material that has yet to be released and older material waiting for conversion and updating, there's enough for quite a while yet.

Q: Many gamers, myself included, use the D&D Miniatures for table-top play. Is there any possibility of special blister packs of commons, say a package of 10 assorted orcs or 10 assorted stormtroopers, being released for D&D or Star Wars?

A: Highly unlikely. First, what about the players that spent so much money to get their army of orcs? They will rightfully feel cheated if we suddenly release a blister pack. Also, commons are fairly easy to get through the secondary market, such as E-Bay or through trade. Some retailers may package a selection of commons together and sell it at a certain price, but for most, randomized packs are better seller.

Q: Now that the Star Wars movies are done, does this mean the end of the Star Wars Roleplaying Game in favor of expanding the miniatures line?

A: The miniatures are selling very well, with the release of the Ultimate Missions books and, of course, the new AT-AT coming out soon. It's a licensed property, so we don't know when, or if, Lucasfilm will say they want it back. The Ultimate Missions books do have some role-playing game material in them, and there may be more in the future.

Q: What new game do you feel most optimistic about?

Ed: Any of the new releases by Avalon Hill. I enjoy strategic boardgames, and I think they will continue to do well.

Dave: As a big miniatures gamer from way back, I like the prepainted minis.

Q: What is your personal favorite campaign setting?

Dave: Eberron. That's the one I'm currently running and I enjoy it.

Ed: I'd have to say the original I.C.E. Middle Earth setting. That was an excellent setting, very enjoyable.

Dave: Ooh, good call.

Ed: By the way, we have a great new product coming out soon; Fantastic Locations, which will include skirmish-sized maps for table-top miniatures play!

Q: With the turmoil over D&D v.3.5, there was much speculation about the future. Putting to rest the conspiracy theories, has planning on 4th edition begun?

A: Not in the foreseeable future. Of course, the game is always growing and changing, but there is nothing definite on the schedule yet. And, as with 3rd edition, you will get plenty of warning.

Q: What advice would you give to someone looking to get into the industry?

Dave: Dragon and Dungeon magazines are a great start. Try submitting a few things to see if you have what it takes. Other than that, just a marketable skill and a love for the games are all that is necessary.

Ed: Check out different websites to get a feel for what people seem to like and concentrate on those kinds of products. You might consider trying your hand at self-publishing (it's pretty easy nowadays) and then going back to a company and showing them what you've done.

Dave: And be on time! (laughs)

I also managed to corner Joe Hauck, brand manager for Magic the Gathering, to ask a couple of questions about that game.

Q: Does the release of the new Magic the Gathering starter set represent a return to the roots of the game?

Joe: Not really. Over the years, bad cards have been weeded out, combos that don't work and are exploitable have been fixed, that sort of thing. This new one, the 9th edition, is a representation of the new and the old. It includes two decks, a CD-rom, and online access to mentors and players around the world. It's now easier than ever to learn to play.

Q: Where do you see Magic: the Gathering headed in the future? Any chance of a Magic: the Gathering RPG or a Dominaria setting for D&D?

Joe: I think the game will continue to develop and expand. As for a role-playing setting, not at the current time, but who knows?

Finally, though I was unable, due to time constraints, to participate in a demo of Hecatomb, the new horror-themed trading card game from Wizards of the Coast, Claire Vail did take a few moments to fill me in on a few details.

Hecatomb is aimed at a more mature audience, ages 15 and up, and features a unique game concept by Brian Miller based on real-world mythology and the works of luminaries such as H.P. Lovecraft. Hecatomb cards are five-sided, with four clear edges and one edge imprinted with a number indicating the card's Strength and any rules text that may apply. Up to five cards, called minions, are then stacked in such a way that all of the Strengths and rules text can be clearly seen by the player. Each minion card also has a cost, the number of mana cards that must be tapped to bring it into play.

Players send forth a set of stacked minions, referred to as abominations, to reap souls by attacking. The opposing player will designate untapped abominations to serve as blockers. Any abominations which are not blocked reap a number of souls equal to the number of minions in the stack. It is also possible to pit abominations directly against one another. Abominations that attack one another do not reap souls. Instead, their total Strengths are compared. If an abomination suffers damage equal to its Strength, it is destroyed and all minions go to the graveyard. Otherwise, minions are lost from the top down, based on their individual Strength scores.

These are the basics, as explained to me by Claire, and I'll know more when I actually receive a copy of the game for review (or break down and buy my copy). Keep watching for that review, as this game looks like it might be worth checking out!

A big thank you to Ed, David, and Joe, who were very helpful and kind enough to take time from their schedules to answer my questions. I'd also like to say a special thank you to Claire, who was nice enough to arrange all of this for me, and who also answered some of my questions about Hecatomb. You can learn more about any of these games at http://www.wizards.com.