| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Krafus |
Posted - 06 Aug 2014 : 15:36:00
Lately I've become quite worried about only R.A. Salvatore, Ed Greenwood, and Erin Evans being contracted to write new FR novels. Now that the Sundering series is over, I was really hopeful that new contracts would go to other authors beside those three – not because I think they're bad, but because the diversity of writers and the sheer number of new novels being published per year has always been one of the biggest draws of the Realms for me. Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be happening.
No matter what one might think of the quality of the novels during 2nd, 3rd, and 4th edition, no one could argue that there was quantity. And I'd love to read more novels by Erik Scott de Bie, Paul Kemp, Elaine Cunningham, Richard Lee Byers, and Richard Baker.
There are three factors I can think of that might explain the current situation:
1) Wizards has adopted a "less is more" strategy for the core handbooks and adventures. While I approve of that strategy where sourcebooks are concerned, I'm worried that they have decided to extend it to novels as well.
2) The number of people currently working on D&D at Wizards is apparently the lowest it's ever been. Paizo Publishing has more people working on their Pathfinder line than WotC has working on D&D. Right now the whole team is understandably focused on the upcoming release of 5th edition, but I'm worried that the D&D team, even if it wanted to publish a lot of novels, simply no longer has enough staff to manage the publishing process of a large quantity of novels. Also, the release of 5th edition has been staggered over several months, so even if they do intend to start publishing more novels once 5th edition is fully released, it'll still be long months before they can turn their attention to that.
3) R.A. Salvatore is writing new FR novels at a faster pace than he did before. Given that he's by far the best-selling author of the FR novel line, it would make sense that Wizards has decided to publish as many new Drizzt novels as possible, even if it comes at the expense of other authors not getting to write new novels.
Thoughts?
EDIT: Changed thread's title so it is more legible. |
| 30 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Ayrik |
Posted - 27 Sep 2014 : 01:13:49
Wargames, card games, and such are generally more accessible to strangers (ie, the public) than tabletop RPGs, I think. First, the products sort of sell themselves - they are on display, their normally reclusive and introverted owners take immense pride in demonstrating their pretty toys and custom touches and masterful expertise on the topic. I think of it as a chatroom centered around a game, people socialize with anybody who happens along to play with them, they always have the option of playing the game or talking about the game when theres no other common ground.
RPG geeks tend to be less receptive to strangers, while efforts are always made to accomodate new players there is always a sense of interlopers being where they dont really belong, established players are often unconfident, shy, even embarassed to reveal how much love they lavish upon their characters and creations. I think this is because most RPG groups are essentially small groups based around one (or a small handful) of stronger personalities, the leaders, whom the others look to for direction and approval. Fitting new people into a complex hierarchical dynamic is always a little problematic, it can be disruptive - even if only because everybody involved strives so hard to avoid disruption that they can no longer behave in a comfortable, natural manner. |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 25 Sep 2014 : 21:21:08
Weird... I have three game stores in my area, and one of them just expanded to have more table space. One store is close to 20 years old, one is like 5 years old or so, and another opened about a year or so ago.
Whenever I go into either, there are usually multiple games going on... For a couple of them, I see more cards games and minis games than RPGs, but I see those there, too. The other usually has RPGs going on.
And this area is not among the largest metropolitan areas in the nation... Though there are a lot of tech companies in the area, so maybe we have a larger than average percentage of gamers and geeks. |
| Wolfhound75 |
Posted - 25 Sep 2014 : 21:00:23
Not intended to be rabble-rousing, simply some of my observations and hypotheses on the current Realms saga for the rumination and hopefully peaceful discussion of the group:
Regardless of whether a company is privately-held or publically-traded, every company has a budget. We all remember the results of TSR's cash woes.
I suspect that the leadership even approaches most decisions in a similar manner; "What is the business case?" Most people will agree that this really means, "How much are we going to make on this effort?" Compare this to "How much are we going to spend on this effort?" and you can assess the overall profitability of the effort in question.
While we all dearly love The Realms, IMHO it is unrealistic to expect any company to be altruistic (take a loss on the overall effort) simply to provide new material for what is probably being assessed as a dwindling fan base. The fact that there is new material in works indicates that the corporate leadership still sees a viable business case.
So, how do we, the loving, Realms-addicted, loyal fan base ensure there continues to be a business case? Let me ask a couple of open-ended questions as food for thought to stimulate discussion.
First, how many "game stores" are around today versus twenty years ago? I can remember vividly the excitement of weekend bike trips to the town square where not one but two stores existed. This in a small farm town with a population under six-thousand. Trips to neighboring towns or "the big city" of 250,000 people found at least one in every small town and multiple competing stores spread throughout the "big city". Today, my home town boasts zero game stores. Today, I now live in the fifth largest metro area in the United States and game stores are as rare as artifacts.
When you walk in to your local game store, what is going on? I found one I frequent and unlike the two I grew up with, which always had at least two game groups of younger kids meeting and playing and even a collection of adults, it's rare that there are more than two customers at any given time. Today, there are no tables or space set aside for gaming groups at the store I frequent. In my past experience, stores always had space for game groups and never charged for reserving a table, since kids could rarely afford to "rent" space. Instead, the owners realized that by being in the store, kids would likely spend their allowance to buy additional product to support their games and thus, it was a good case to provide the space. From a business sense, I can only hypothesize that this change means now there is no demand and thus no revenue to be made by providing space in the store for this activity.
So why the change in the business model? Ask yourselves, other than our core groups of friends with whom we adventure in the Realms, and thus excepting our children, who buy exposure to parental influence, are pre-disposed, what are the majority of kids choosing to do with their time today? For your answer, think about what you absolutely ensure you take with you when you leave the house and the item you can't imagine ever having done without. That's right, thanks to the digital age, kids aren't finding the need to play imagination-based games. It's far easier to hand them an iPad or iPhone and let them entertain themselves playing mindless games like Candy Crush.
To bring this back to point, a decreasing fan base (whether by the fact we're all getting older and lack of younger generations interest or by the bitterness of what I'll term Edition Wars) means decreasing revenue. In order to make profitability requirements, a reality of any corporation, this means reducing cost structure. How do we change the paradigm? We need to find new ways to drive interest in the product and capture the generation that didn't grow up needing to use their imaginations to entertain themselves. This may mean embracing the change to digital formats far more capable than PBeM.
Good Hunting! |
| Caolin |
Posted - 25 Sep 2014 : 05:13:39
quote:
Originally posted by Richard Lee Byers
It would be nice to think that Hasbro is interested enough in all the individual Realms novelists to track their professional activities outside the setting. Actually, though, I'd be surprised if anyone who qualifies as a big shot at the parent company even knows my name.
Ah, such is life working for a company with an IP under the control of a publicly held company. The irony of this for WoTC is that even though Hasbro has a $10+ billion (yes, billion) market cap with $1.35 billion in profits for 2013, the D&D IP is given a budget as if it were owned by a much smaller, privately held company (this is an educated guess considering all of the staffing cuts). |
| Gary Dallison |
Posted - 24 Sep 2014 : 15:49:03
Anonymity could be a good thing given the state of things at the moment at WoTC (i suspect a lot is riding on 5E and heads may roll if does not meet expectations, however flawed those expectations may be). I would hate it if the big shots at my company knew my name, although like most big shots everywhere i often think they have trouble remembering their own name. |
| Richard Lee Byers |
Posted - 24 Sep 2014 : 14:41:52
It would be nice to think that Hasbro is interested enough in all the individual Realms novelists to track their professional activities outside the setting. Actually, though, I'd be surprised if anyone who qualifies as a big shot at the parent company even knows my name. |
| ErinMEvans |
Posted - 24 Sep 2014 : 05:17:24
quote:
Originally posted by CylverSaber
If Hasbro isn't happy with authors writing outside of the Realms, there's a simple solution to that... hire them to write more Realms novels!
Competition is good :)
Excellent idea. :)
But fortunately Hasbro has no say on what we do outside the Realms. If you're an employee, you have a non-compete agreement in place. If you're a contractor, you just have to deliver what you agreed to deliver and not break your NDAs. :) |
| CylverSaber |
Posted - 23 Sep 2014 : 20:55:13
If Hasbro isn't happy with authors writing outside of the Realms, there's a simple solution to that... hire them to write more Realms novels!
Competition is good :) |
| Arcanus |
Posted - 23 Sep 2014 : 19:14:26
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by Arcanus
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by Arcanus
Not sure how hasbro would like the idea of a world created in direct competition to the realms that is written by its own authors.
Unless it was also supported by an RPG, I don't think that they'd consider it direct competition. Besides, unless they have contracts with the authors that say the authors cannot write for themselves or anyone else, then there is nothing Hasbro could do.
Honestly, as far as competition goes, Hasbro is more concerned about other toymakers. For competition in the area of RPGs and fiction, their competition is Paizo.
Well knowing hasbro/wizards it wouldn't surprise me if they cut off their nose to spite their face lol
It's easy to bash WotC, out of disagreement with past decisions... But I can't see any reason why they would pay any attention at all to a group of freelance authors making their own shared world. Many of TSR/WotC's authors have creator-owned worlds they've written about for other publishers -- including some of the bigger names that have been on TSR/WotC's roster of authors.
It was a joke. Lighten up. |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 23 Sep 2014 : 18:02:19
quote:
Originally posted by Arcanus
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by Arcanus
Not sure how hasbro would like the idea of a world created in direct competition to the realms that is written by its own authors.
Unless it was also supported by an RPG, I don't think that they'd consider it direct competition. Besides, unless they have contracts with the authors that say the authors cannot write for themselves or anyone else, then there is nothing Hasbro could do.
Honestly, as far as competition goes, Hasbro is more concerned about other toymakers. For competition in the area of RPGs and fiction, their competition is Paizo.
Well knowing hasbro/wizards it wouldn't surprise me if they cut off their nose to spite their face lol
It's easy to bash WotC, out of disagreement with past decisions... But I can't see any reason why they would pay any attention at all to a group of freelance authors making their own shared world. Many of TSR/WotC's authors have creator-owned worlds they've written about for other publishers -- including some of the bigger names that have been on TSR/WotC's roster of authors. |
| Arcanus |
Posted - 23 Sep 2014 : 17:34:36
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by Arcanus
Not sure how hasbro would like the idea of a world created in direct competition to the realms that is written by its own authors.
Unless it was also supported by an RPG, I don't think that they'd consider it direct competition. Besides, unless they have contracts with the authors that say the authors cannot write for themselves or anyone else, then there is nothing Hasbro could do.
Honestly, as far as competition goes, Hasbro is more concerned about other toymakers. For competition in the area of RPGs and fiction, their competition is Paizo.
Well knowing hasbro/wizards it wouldn't surprise me if they cut off their nose to spite their face lol |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 23 Sep 2014 : 17:15:53
quote:
Originally posted by Arcanus
Not sure how hasbro would like the idea of a world created in direct competition to the realms that is written by its own authors.
Unless it was also supported by an RPG, I don't think that they'd consider it direct competition. Besides, unless they have contracts with the authors that say the authors cannot write for themselves or anyone else, then there is nothing Hasbro could do.
Honestly, as far as competition goes, Hasbro is more concerned about other toymakers. For competition in the area of RPGs and fiction, their competition is Paizo. |
| Arcanus |
Posted - 23 Sep 2014 : 17:04:36
Not sure how hasbro would like the idea of a world created in direct competition to the realms that is written by its own authors. |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 23 Sep 2014 : 16:22:31
quote:
Originally posted by CylverSaber
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
Well, they could do it if it was their own creation... But that would require a lot of time and coordination. And unless I am mistaken, it wouldn't have as much appeal as a shared world that wasn't a tie-in. Not saying there is anything wrong with the idea or that it wouldn't be as good as tie-in fiction; but tie-in fiction has a built-in, pre-selected audience and therefore will draw in more readers, at least initially.
You know, I have never thought of the Realms novels as "tie-in" books. Something like Star Wars, where people clearly are drawn by the movies, yes, those novels are tie-ins. But as far as I know, the Realms novels are an equal draw to the game material. I would consider that more "trans-media"... and of course there would be nothing to stop the authors of a "creator-owned" shared universe from licensing their world out for game material and other products.
They are tied-in to the game setting, similar to the Pathfinder, BattleTech, or Shadowrun novels.
Star Wars and Star Trek novels are also tie-ins, though they aren't tied to the game settings; the game settings and fiction are tied to the movies and TV shows. |
| CylverSaber |
Posted - 23 Sep 2014 : 14:45:29
quote:
Originally posted by CorellonsDevout
Part of the answer (and the authors can correct me if I'm wrong) is copyright issues. The authors do not own the Realms, so to speak, therefore if they went and wrote in it without the permission of Wizards/Hasbro/TSR, that would be plagerism.
Oh, I didn't mean doing unauthorized Realms stories, I meant building their own shared fantasy world.
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
Well, they could do it if it was their own creation... But that would require a lot of time and coordination. And unless I am mistaken, it wouldn't have as much appeal as a shared world that wasn't a tie-in. Not saying there is anything wrong with the idea or that it wouldn't be as good as tie-in fiction; but tie-in fiction has a built-in, pre-selected audience and therefore will draw in more readers, at least initially.
You know, I have never thought of the Realms novels as "tie-in" books. Something like Star Wars, where people clearly are drawn by the movies, yes, those novels are tie-ins. But as far as I know, the Realms novels are an equal draw to the game material. I would consider that more "trans-media"... and of course there would be nothing to stop the authors of a "creator-owned" shared universe from licensing their world out for game material and other products.
quote:
Originally posted by Erik Scott de Bie
quote:
Originally posted by CylverSaber
So why can't we have a shared universe with Richard Lee Byers, Erik Scott de Bie, Paul Kemp, Troy Denning, Elaine Cunningham, Jeff Grubb, Kate Novak, Jim Lowder, and so on?
You totally could. Is that something you'd want?
It wouldn't be the Realms, because . . .
It's definitely something I'd want. As much as I love the Realms, I know that the authors that have built up over the years are the reason I love it so much. So I'd love to see something of that scope involving those talents.
quote:
Have you read Hal Greenberg's "The Awakened" anthology, by any chance?
That's just an anthology for now, but it could grow from there.
I have not, but now I am curious!
quote:
Originally posted by Richard Lee Byers
CylSaber: That is certainly something that could happen. Somebody would have to be the mastermind who launched and oversaw the project, though.
Hey, Jeff Grubb used to be traffic cop for the Realms :)
quote:
Originally posted by ErinMEvans
This is the crux of it. That's a lot of work. A lot of "not-writing" work.
Yeah, I guess I can see that, and it would no doubt be a risk, but the idea of a sandbox owned and operated by the folks who play in it sounds long overdue. |
| ErinMEvans |
Posted - 23 Sep 2014 : 06:05:31
quote:
Originally posted by Richard Lee Byers
CylSaber: That is certainly something that could happen. Somebody would have to be the mastermind who launched and oversaw the project, though.
This is the crux of it. That's a lot of work. A lot of "not-writing" work. |
| BenN |
Posted - 23 Sep 2014 : 05:32:33
quote:
Originally posted by Erik Scott de Bie
If Shadowbane 4 (working title "Kingdom of Night") happens, I'm currently planning to continue working in Westgate.
More Shadowbane and 'Light? Yes please!  |
| Richard Lee Byers |
Posted - 23 Sep 2014 : 03:40:48
CylSaber: That is certainly something that could happen. Somebody would have to be the mastermind who launched and oversaw the project, though. |
| Erik Scott de Bie |
Posted - 23 Sep 2014 : 01:08:53
quote:
Originally posted by CylverSaber
I have a question for Erik, Richard, and any other authors who may be reading this thread. How come no one has started up a "creator-owned" shared novel universe?
[snip]
So why can't we have a shared universe with Richard Lee Byers, Erik Scott de Bie, Paul Kemp, Troy Denning, Elaine Cunningham, Jeff Grubb, Kate Novak, Jim Lowder, and so on? Why do we have to wait for Hasbro? I ask this seriously.
You totally could. Is that something you'd want?
It wouldn't be the Realms, because . . .
quote:
Originally posted by CorellonsDevout
Part of the answer (and the authors can correct me if I'm wrong) is copyright issues. The authors do not own the Realms, so to speak, therefore if they went and wrote in it without the permission of Wizards/Hasbro/TSR, that would be plagerism.
That's the explanation for why we don't just release books set in the Realms. I suppose we could create our own shared-setting, and in fact many of us have taken part in such things.
Have you read Hal Greenberg's "The Awakened" anthology, by any chance?
That's just an anthology for now, but it could grow from there.
quote:
Originally posted by Ayrik
Many FR authors try to select a location which is somewhere almost off the edge of the map ...
[snip]
I find it curious that FR fiction went through a brief period of placing some focus back into the Dales and Sembia and Westgate, etc. Its almost as if the audience had travelled to far away, hidden, secret, and exotic corners of the Realms for so long that they needed to be reminded of their points of origin.
This is indeed a curious thing, and I think it's kind of a natural flow of things.
From my perspective, I wrote my first two Realms novels (Ghostwalker and Depths of Madness) to be intentionally in underdeveloped areas. My third, Downshadow was obviously required to be in Waterdeep, since it was part of that series (which I think was intended to be to 4e something like what the Sembia series was for 3e). My next two Shadowbane books were based in Luskan (because it fit so well into the concept) and Westgate (because it's a classic Realms locale and I love it to death) respectively.
If Shadowbane 4 (working title "Kingdom of Night") happens, I'm currently planning to continue working in Westgate.
Cheers |
| Ayrik |
Posted - 22 Sep 2014 : 22:57:41
Many FR authors try to select a location which is somewhere almost off the edge of the map - RAS is not at all unique in that regard. Long ago, the *frontiers* were places like the Moonsea, the North, the Anauroch, Tantras and Neverwinter. Few dared to tread in Realms which were sort of owned by other authors, stories about Cormyr and the Dales and Zhentil Keep arent written unless WotC deliberately assigns stories to occur in those Heartland regions. Each new map of the Realms is bigger and grander, now we look at once-distant places like Baldurs Gate or Thay as being almost right next door. Even the exotic lands of Zakhara and the Shining South and Shou and Halruaa dont seem like the nearly-impossible epic jaunts across hostile lands that once they were.
I find it curious that FR fiction went through a brief period of placing some focus back into the Dales and Sembia and Westgate, etc. Its almost as if the audience had travelled to far away, hidden, secret, and exotic corners of the Realms for so long that they needed to be reminded of their points of origin. |
| Arcanus |
Posted - 22 Sep 2014 : 22:12:44
Bob salvatore (by his own admission) finds corners to hide in. He rarely ventures into the wider realms and pretty much does his own thing. He created icewind dale, menzoberranzan and spirit soaring just so he could play in his own sandbox. |
| Tanthalas |
Posted - 22 Sep 2014 : 19:34:15
Given how RAS has been writing FR novels pretty much since FR novels have existed, I think it's pretty outlandish to say that his books don't feel realmsish.
Now if your argument is that when he uses characters from other authors that they don't feel right (namely Alustriel), I'd say you have a point. But RAS is far from being the only author with this problem. For example, Ed's Elminster feels a lot different than the Elminster that appears in the books of other authors. The Storm that appears in the Avatar series (first book) was a complete moron compared to how she usually acts.
The argument that his stuff doesn't really connect with what other authors do, is also a fine argument, but suffers from the same problem above: that's what happens with most Realms books. Every author is usually doing his own thing, and the best way to avoid continuity problems is by not using characters that other authors are using.
Addendum: the argument that RAS has no respect for the Realms because his characters have "silly names, speech impediments, and mental illnesses" is so fantastically bad that you should be ashamed to have even thought it. |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 22 Sep 2014 : 17:38:31
Well, they could do it if it was their own creation... But that would require a lot of time and coordination. And unless I am mistaken, it wouldn't have as much appeal as a shared world that wasn't a tie-in. Not saying there is anything wrong with the idea or that it wouldn't be as good as tie-in fiction; but tie-in fiction has a built-in, pre-selected audience and therefore will draw in more readers, at least initially. |
| CorellonsDevout |
Posted - 22 Sep 2014 : 17:11:28
Part of the answer (and the authors can correct me if I'm wrong) is copyright issues. The authors do not own the Realms, so to speak, therefore if they went and wrote in it without the permission of Wizards/Hasbro/TSR, that would be plagerism. |
| CylverSaber |
Posted - 22 Sep 2014 : 16:25:32
I have a question for Erik, Richard, and any other authors who may be reading this thread. How come no one has started up a "creator-owned" shared novel universe? For me, and I think a lot of other people, a big appeal of the Realms is the shared universe feeling, and the fact that different authors with different perspectives and styles all contribute to it. As the OP observed, right now the only authors with announced books in the Realms are RAS, Ed Greenwood, and Erin Evans, and while I enjoy all of those writers, three people can't cover the full scope that made me fall in love with the Realms!
So why can't we have a shared universe with Richard Lee Byers, Erik Scott de Bie, Paul Kemp, Troy Denning, Elaine Cunningham, Jeff Grubb, Kate Novak, Jim Lowder, and so on? Why do we have to wait for Hasbro? I ask this seriously. |
| Seravin |
Posted - 11 Sep 2014 : 19:15:32
My bad, Douglas Niles wrote those modules not Bob, he just wrote Bloodstone Lands. But the early H Bloodstone modules were generic non-FR:
http://www.amazon.ca/Bloodstone-Wars-Standard-Advanced-Dungeons/dp/0880383984
Then later shoe-horned into the Realms, and then Bob wrote the supplement and Sellsword novels there.
|
| Entromancer |
Posted - 11 Sep 2014 : 18:11:54
That's the first I've heard of his Vaasa/Damara Witch King/Orcus modules not being intended for the Realms. Were they originally part of his Demon Wars setting? |
| Seravin |
Posted - 11 Sep 2014 : 17:52:05
To start- I've read all of Bob's books and love them and buy them all the day they are released; his drow are the best ever written (in my opinion) and his contribution to the Realms' underdark world is unmatched. All that said, tje early modules for Vassa and Damara Witch King/Orcus stuff were not meant to be set in the Realms but shoved in like the Moonshaes, and Icewind Dale as his initial setting was deliberately remote such that it could be in any D&D setting; I don't think it's unfair for people to feel Bob's Realms feel different than say Ed or Jeff Grubb or Elaine (who I feel all really get the Realms very well--edit obviously Ed gets the Realms well duh!). His use of Alustriel in the Mithrill Hall/drow war was...really off and weird for example given that she's a Chosen of Mystra! I think that's been discussed here before. I do think when Bob steps outside of the North it feels off (to me!). I loved Cadderly and the Clerical Quintet but it may as well not have been set in Faerun.
Sorry if that is too off-topic. |
| Lilianviaten |
Posted - 11 Sep 2014 : 03:37:26
quote:
Originally posted by Erik Scott de Bie
quote:
Originally posted by zenmichael
I am still not to 4E yet on my read-through of the realms, but I know that in 2e & 3e there were many of the types of stories you are talking about. Do those just not exist anymore? I mean, it at least seemed like the Waterdeep books from 4e were not concerned with gigantic events, but perhaps they were presented in a misleading fashion.
You are correct. The Ed Greenwood Presents: Waterdeep books (one of which I wrote) were generally concerned with localized events, rather than world-shaking things.
quote:
I get that so far 5e is just RAS (I agree with both of you, basically ... see my 8,000 hours of reviews for details if curious) & the Sundering, but we're kind of in a transition year here, right? I'm guessing (as long as 5e does OK, and since so far it seems to just be 3e all over again I'm sure it'll be fine) WotC will start pushing out more books (if not AS MANY as they used to) come 2015.
Well, let's hope.
And in point of fact, it probably wouldn't be 2015. If history and experience is any indication, the cycle on these is at least two years. In all likelihood, unless they do a major push, books they contract right now wouldn't come out until at least 2016.
Cheers
I hope WOTC has some things brewing that they are keeping under wraps. I know we'll get 2 novels from RAS in 2015, at least 1 from Ed, and at least 1 from Erin. But even so, those novels will only deal with a few areas. There is no Campaign Guide promised for 2015, so we'll have no clue what's happening in most of Faerun. Not cool. |
| Erik Scott de Bie |
Posted - 11 Sep 2014 : 02:12:25
quote:
Originally posted by zenmichael
I am still not to 4E yet on my read-through of the realms, but I know that in 2e & 3e there were many of the types of stories you are talking about. Do those just not exist anymore? I mean, it at least seemed like the Waterdeep books from 4e were not concerned with gigantic events, but perhaps they were presented in a misleading fashion.
You are correct. The Ed Greenwood Presents: Waterdeep books (one of which I wrote) were generally concerned with localized events, rather than world-shaking things.
quote:
I get that so far 5e is just RAS (I agree with both of you, basically ... see my 8,000 hours of reviews for details if curious) & the Sundering, but we're kind of in a transition year here, right? I'm guessing (as long as 5e does OK, and since so far it seems to just be 3e all over again I'm sure it'll be fine) WotC will start pushing out more books (if not AS MANY as they used to) come 2015.
Well, let's hope.
And in point of fact, it probably wouldn't be 2015. If history and experience is any indication, the cycle on these is at least two years. In all likelihood, unless they do a major push, books they contract right now wouldn't come out until at least 2016.
Cheers |
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