| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| gregc |
Posted - 07 May 2020 : 11:31:48
Ed Greenwood is almost as old as Elminster now. Who is the official content creator/manager/approver at Wizards of the Coast?
Do you think they will publish a new 5e Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide?
I am a little concerned because there have been no FR books out for many years. However they did do some modules. So its not clear what their strategy is to continue developing the world I DMd in for 5 years back in 1e/2e. |
| 14 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Diffan |
Posted - 09 May 2020 : 19:59:59
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
I wouldn't use the term "love" in conjunction with what they're doing to the Realms right now. They're just milking it right now, like they did with everything shadow-related and everything drow-related.
One person's "love" is another person's "exhaustion". I think they (designers at WotC) are doing with the brand as much as they can with a host of elements to consider and blending it in to a degree that a person can use - or not use - the Realms as they see fit. Take Ghosts of Saltmarsh for example, this book has 3 adventures written in it for a sea-faring/coastal campaign that designed to be more open-world. How does it factor into the flagship setting? Historically, it doesn't. It was a place in Greyhawk. CAN it be set in the Forgotten Realms? Absolutely! Though I would've placed it in the Moonsea because it's more fun than the Sword Coast (but I digress).
The fact is, they're taking elements that are known to people who've played D&D before, sometimes decades before, and that name catches their ear and makes them interested. "Oh look, they're doing something with Acererak! He was a scary dude back in the hey-day when I played D&D. Lets check it out." MANY people aren't mad that he's on Toril or in the Forgotten Realms, they're just happy he's being mentioned and used. This is because, as sales and product placement is seen to be ramping up, people are far less interested with a nuanced piece of Realmslore being messed up VS. a cool name added back into their beloved hobby. Sure, some Realms-fans are mad, but I dare say that's a minority compared to the people who are currently playing this particular edition of Dungeons and Dragons.
So when we see Warduke pop his head out of retirement - and probably in the Realms as some bad-guy NPC (as I plan to use him in MY Realms game) there will be some eye-rolling from Realms fans BUT the far bigger group will be like "Oh man, that dude was Awesome! I had his action figure back in 1982! He had a cool winged helmet that made his eyes glow!" They're not going to care that he's part of the Horned Society based specifically in Greyhawk, they're just happy their childhood is being loved again.
So I think, in that vein, it's where the Forgotten Realms are. WotC is going to use names that people will recognize: Xanathar's Guide, for example, and be like "OH, cool a beholder!" and not "Oh man, why's he on here when it has nothing to do with Waterdeep?". Considering that a lot of people getting into the hobby are new to D&D and RPGs altogether, having these names floating out to them isn't a hindrance to WotC's brand. But I'll be honest, I don't think the people complaining about their work and usage of brand names and settings are buying into the edition to begin with, so they're not really losing customers that they didn't have in the first place. |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 09 May 2020 : 16:35:51
quote:
Originally posted by Copper Elven Vampire
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
I wouldn't use the term "love" in conjunction with what they're doing to the Realms right now. They're just milking it right now, like they did with everything shadow-related and everything drow-related.
Redundant complaining. I say let it happen. Let the director make it happen. Be it a failure or a huge success. Wooly tends to go straight black and white, I'm cool with that. Canon is fact. You have to build your game around the books and supplements.
I don't know what the point of your post even is... But you're right: canon is fact, and I'm very black or white on what is and is not canon.
I personally prefer to play in the grey areas, though, where something could be canon, but simply isn't addressed either way -- but I never say such things are canon; simply that they don't violate published canon.
Ironic, though, that you should be the one to bring this up, with the number of times you've said something was canon and then failed to provide a canon reference. |
| Copper Elven Vampire |
Posted - 09 May 2020 : 06:28:56
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
I wouldn't use the term "love" in conjunction with what they're doing to the Realms right now. They're just milking it right now, like they did with everything shadow-related and everything drow-related.
Redundant complaining. I say let it happen. Let the director make it happen. Be it a failure or a huge success. Wooly tends to go straight black and white, I'm cool with that. Canon is fact. You have to build your game around the books and supplements. |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 09 May 2020 : 02:09:22
I wouldn't use the term "love" in conjunction with what they're doing to the Realms right now. They're just milking it right now, like they did with everything shadow-related and everything drow-related. |
| keftiu |
Posted - 09 May 2020 : 01:54:13
We’ve seen more of the Realms in 5e than any other setting. Well I’d be glad to see more content, it’s getting the bulk of WotC’s love these days, and that’s worth acknowledging. |
| Renin |
Posted - 08 May 2020 : 20:59:38
I had huge concerns and made myself 'worry' about this very subject once upon a time..okay, probably like 5-6 years ago.
You have to let it go.
The Realms are YOURS. There are supplements from 2nd edition, which I have, that I haven't touched yet in adventure or even mentioning. I have scores upon scores of pages to reference to build new campaigns for years and years. The best part? The stuff I wrote for my Realms using this info as well. None of my friends of 29 years give two s***s about official TSR/WOTC canon. It's about what we've done, or what the DM has told them. There is n legacy to tarnish for Ed's hallowed Faerun; if that many thousands, nay, millions of people play in those lands, then mission accomplished.
The Realms aren't over and done with. They are unrecognizable to me, based on business practices that are utterly different from what was going on in the 80s and 90s (which....also led to the company downfall..but I digress!). I'm also the fanbase that said 'Spellplague? I'm done with this ride, see ya!' and haven't looked back.
But I still love the Realms. Love what you got. Make it your own. Enjoy it. Don't worry about where it's going. Love what it has been and still means to you. |
| Lord Karsus |
Posted - 08 May 2020 : 02:04:36
-I can't blame anyone for wanting to create/support new worlds. Lots of creative people out there. |
| AJA |
Posted - 08 May 2020 : 01:31:27
Not entirely sure how you're using the term 'gatekeeper' here, but if you mean the one overseeing the FR line at TSR/WotC, that's not Ed, and never has been. Ed is only a freelancer and writes what the publisher contracts him to write (see all the Elminster novels, when Ed has repeatedly said that if it were up to him, there are many other characters he'd rather write books about).
What used to be called the 'traffic cop' for the Realms were TSR/WotC employees like Jeff Grubb and Steven Schend. Not sure who that was after Steven, or if it ran by committee.
quote:
Originally posted by gregc
I am concerned that if EdMinster passes to another plane that will be the end of FR.
In a certain sense, it will be. Especially for those who value his words and works over 'the rest of the field' (so to speak).
But Ed's works for the published Realms have always been outnumbered by those of other designers (in-house or freelance), an arrangement that was set up from the beginning (as Ed has said, to avoid having him be a product 'bottleneck,' like Gary Gygax was for the Greyhawk line). So in that sense, the Realms will outlast Ed and continue on much as they are now.
Now, whether that is your cup of tea or not is another matter, but is also largely independent of the status of Ed's health.
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| PattPlays |
Posted - 07 May 2020 : 16:59:14
quote:
Originally posted by AlexMcClay2000
quote:
Originally posted by gregc
When I think modules are great, it adds content to the realm, details characters and such.
I am concerned that if EdMinster passes to another plane that will be the end of FR.
There was an interview with him Ed Greenwood here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ga6ltnM_7no
somewhere in there he says the name of the WOTC person who will be the new gatekeeper, I can't afford the time to watch all 2 hours so I thought someone might know who it was lol.
In the old days greyhawk modules just became part of my Faerun.
I would have thought a new campaign book would sell well and setup the basis for more modules, but maybe they just don't have the funds for it.
Not clear to me if you can just create a module set in the Forgotten Realms and give it away for free.
Lets make Forgotten Realms great again !
At around minute 50-53, Ed mentions that it is Chris Perkins
I think Chris serves a good role as someone not trying to one-up Ed. Chris is just a DM, so he's making stories as they come to him and his coworkers.
Though trying to see a pattern in the adventures is difficult.. tiamat to strahd demons to acerack to waterdeep to avernus... you can conspiracy theory that the big avengers endgame plan here is a Return to Planescape, but... I sincerely think the only way Chris kept the creative efforts consistent is by tackling fun ideas one at a time. We are not in a lore era, but we could be building one.
We just have to fill in the blanks faithfully and tackle the implications of year after year of wild nonsense like the death curse, rage of demons, lolth's moves in the abyss (which i thought was in the elemental chaos..?) etc. |
| AlexMcClay2000 |
Posted - 07 May 2020 : 16:08:55
quote:
Originally posted by gregc
When I think modules are great, it adds content to the realm, details characters and such.
I am concerned that if EdMinster passes to another plane that will be the end of FR.
There was an interview with him Ed Greenwood here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ga6ltnM_7no
somewhere in there he says the name of the WOTC person who will be the new gatekeeper, I can't afford the time to watch all 2 hours so I thought someone might know who it was lol.
In the old days greyhawk modules just became part of my Faerun.
I would have thought a new campaign book would sell well and setup the basis for more modules, but maybe they just don't have the funds for it.
Not clear to me if you can just create a module set in the Forgotten Realms and give it away for free.
Lets make Forgotten Realms great again !
At around minute 50-53, Ed mentions that it is Chris Perkins |
| Diffan |
Posted - 07 May 2020 : 15:55:13
For starters, there's Forgotten Realms lore published every single module they put out that's not already tied to a different setting (see Mythic Oddesy of Theros, Guildmasters Guide to Ravnica, & Eberron: Rising of the last war as examples).
Every adventure that is set in the Realms has NPC details, details on the goings-on in that region, monsters, and current activity etc. And there's a lot of Adventures published so far such as: Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus, Storm Kings Thunder, Out of the Abyss, Waterdeep: Dragonheist, Hoard of the Dragon Queen, Rise of Tiamat, Dead in Thay, Murder in Baldur's Gate, Legacy of the Crystal Shard, Tomb of Annihilation, Lost Tales of Myth Drannor, and Ghosts of Dragonspear Castle. Then there's adventures published that have ideas for locations in the Realms like Ghosts of Saltmarsh, Curse of Strahd, Isle of Dread, and Tales of the Yawning Portal.
There's actually a LOT of Realmslore for the current timeline and Canon but it's just not in a compact detailed book like we've had before.
Second: the Realms never stopped continuing to be great... |
| gregc |
Posted - 07 May 2020 : 14:52:34
When I think modules are great, it adds content to the realm, details characters and such.
I am concerned that if EdMinster passes to another plane that will be the end of FR.
There was an interview with him Ed Greenwood here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ga6ltnM_7no
somewhere in there he says the name of the WOTC person who will be the new gatekeeper, I can't afford the time to watch all 2 hours so I thought someone might know who it was lol.
In the old days greyhawk modules just became part of my Faerun.
I would have thought a new campaign book would sell well and setup the basis for more modules, but maybe they just don't have the funds for it.
Not clear to me if you can just create a module set in the Forgotten Realms and give it away for free.
Lets make Forgotten Realms great again ! |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 07 May 2020 : 14:48:19
I think WotC is concentrating on new settings because it's less work -- especially with the Wildermont (or whatever it's called) or Acquisitions Inc stuff, where someone else did all the heavy lifting.
Ditto with the recent Eberron reboot -- a 5E reskin of the same material, where someone else did all the heavy lifting of creating it.
WotC isn't in the business of crafting new lore, any more.  |
| maransreth |
Posted - 07 May 2020 : 14:07:45
lol we do know what WotC's strategy is - make more modules for people to play! Don't worry about lore - we stuffed that up in 4e, so let's not do any lore and let DMs decide for themselves.
Sorry, not the best and not appropriate but that is just my take. If you remember what WotC said during the 5e playtest - all material we make can be used in any campaign setting. Yet WotC is hesitant to remake old settings in case they get it wrong and people object. Let's do new settings instead! People like to hear about these places through streaming and podcasts - let's give them more of that, that way we wont annoy people as it is new and they dont know any better.
I doubt we will ever see a greyhawk or planescape, or other setting book as WotC just dont want to take a chance and the books don't sell. Instead focus on the money winners (they are a business after all) and do new stuff based on the new people we have attracted to the game - screw the old timers, they will have to wait and see if we do anything for them.
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