Yes, the Kraken Society is specific to the FR. It's been around since 1988 or thereabouts.
I'm pretty sure it's just the one kraken, Slarkrethel, who founded and secretly runs the organization. Slarkrethel (and the Kraken Society) most recently appeared as secondary antagonists in Storm King's Thunder.
Yeah, that's how I remembered it too. I would never argue that FR shouldn't be the default setting because in a way it is just by the nature that it's probably the most well-known and accessible for most players. It has something for most people and isn't too over the top or complicated, so I think it's the obvious choice.
I like it quite a bit, and it makes sense as a frequent use in the game.
Yeah, I'd be fine with FR being the default and I'd like for WotC to just come out and say "...unless otherwise stated, FR is the default campaign setting..."! This gives them the option to introduce and use other settings. I'm getting the impression that D&D2024 is going with the Multiverse default approach which doesn't appeal to me much.
Well, the multiverse approach has worked for the past decade, so I see no reason why they would move away from it. I like thst it allows for variety.
To be fair, at this point in the history of the FR setting, throwing out everything about FR other than a name in a sidebar and inserting some unrelated lore is a longstanding tradition.
Well, that's my point: Volo's Guide isn't a "Forgotten Realms book" anymore than Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes is a "Greyhawk book" or Fizban's Treasury of Dragons is a "Dragonlance book." The default assumed Setting is the Multiverse, as Crawford said way back in 2015.
I'm inclined to agree with your overall premise that FR is not the "default" setting for 5e.
