D&D 5E Forgotton Realms Canon?

[SilverBulletKY]

How do the things that happen in the novels tie into the things that happen in the premade adventures and your campaign if using Forgotton Realms? For example, I'm looking at a adventure called The Gauntlgrym Gambit that came out of Dungeon Magazine in 2011. This adventure is basically discovering the entrance to the lost city of Gauntlgrym. In doing a bit of research, I discovered that in 2010, R A Salvator wrote a book called Gauntlgyrm where Drizzt and company entered the lost city. So this adventure from Dungeon magazine happens before the time period in which the book was written? I don't really care if my home game corresponds to 'official events' but I was wondering what some of you do in yours.

 

[Nivenus]

The 4th edition timeline for the Realms is a bit of a mess at the moment. As it turns out the Sundering - the RSE which ushers in 5e and undoes a lot of 4e's changes - begins the same year that 4e takes place. This leaves a lot of the events of 4e's adventures and novels (few of which I think were explicitly dated) a bit in limbo, since they clearly take place before the Sundering's well under way but around the "present" of 4e. Things will probably be sorted whenever the 5e sourcebook for the Realms debuts but there's no clear indication of when that will be yet.

In response to your specific query, I've neither read the book nor the adventure but your inference seems logical. When in doubt, assuming a later publication occurs after an earlier one is generally a good assumption to make but in some cases it doesn't really follow. This seems to be one such case.

 

[Mirtek]

The 4th edition timeline for the Realms is a bit of a mess at the moment. As it turns out the Sundering - the RSE which ushers in 5e and undoes a lot of 4e's changes - begins the same year that 4e takes place. This leaves a lot of the events of 4e's adventures and novels (few of which I think were explicitly dated) a bit in limbo, since they clearly take place before the Sundering's well under way but around the "present" of 4e. Things will probably be sorted whenever the 5e sourcebook for the Realms debuts but there's no clear indication of when that will be yet.

Actually no. The Sundering really kicks off a few years after 4e's starting timeline (4e FRCS has 1479 as current year) and by the end of it the timeline will be advanced roughly 10 years (e.g. this is why Erin had to find a way to place her main protagonists in stasis for 7 years, since she didn't want to have the bagge of these timeskip on their shoulders). The 4e novels are all canon and the Sundering and in many cases the forerunners of the stories continued and explored more fully in the Sundering novels. At the moment we're now in 1486 DR

 

[Nivenus]

Actually no. The Sundering really kicks off a few years after 4e's starting timeline and by the end of it the timeline will be advanced roughly 10 years (e.g. this is why Erin had to find a way to place her main protagonists in stasis for 7 years, since she didn't want to have the bagge of these timeskip on their shoulders). The 4e novels are all canon

I didn't say they were non-canon and I am aware of the time skip. However, while the Sundering ends during the 1480s, what I've read suggests that A Murder in Baldur's Gate, the first adventure in the storyline, takes place in 1479 DR.

What I meant by "in limbo" is not that the books are non-canon, but that the chronological placement of several is (AFAIK) somewhat uncertain. Unlike Star Wars EU books, FR books don't usually come with a time-stamped date and my experience is that unless stated otherwise they tend to take place in the "present" year of the setting (1479 DR for 4e) or sometime shortly after. However, the fact that some of the changes to the setting caused by the Sundering occur very shortly after 4e's start date might mean that some of these novels may actually take place earlier (or else 1479 is just a very crowded year, which is possible).

 

[Mirtek]

I didn't say they were non-canon and I am aware of the time skip. However, while the Sundering ends during the 1480s, what I've read suggests that A Murder in Baldur's Gate, the first adventure in the storyline, takes place in 1479 DR.

Yet it doesn't bring any changes affecting any of the pre-sundering novels happening at the same time in other places of the realms. Bhaal's return, surprisingly as it may seem, is pretty much of a non-event until now. Some carnage in one city and weakened reborn deity who still hasn't done much of anything and is likely laying low to lick his wounds and recover a bit before being noticed by the big players.

Technically The Companions even starts long before 1479 with the rebirth of certain protagonists, but it's not changing much of anything until decades later when they have once again grown old enough.

The novels happeing in the late 1470s and early 1480s are unaffected by the Sundering novels, which may start parallel but don't mess around big scale until later in the 1480s

 

[Nivenus]

The novels happeing in the late 1470s and early 1480s are unaffected by the Sundering novels, which may start parallel but don't mess around big scale until later in the 1480s

Ah, gotcha. I'm still trying to figure out the whole Sundering thing, which is largely still a mystery aside from a few main points.

 

[shadow]

Does the Sundering bring back Maztica? Are the dragonborn still in the Realms?

 

[HobbitFan]

I don't understand the logic of having the Sundering series making great changes in the Realms but the FR not getting updated before WOTc started using it as backgrund for their first adventures. Makes no sense.

It seems like they should have at least provided a capstone or soemthing on the website to get Dungeons Masters (and PLayers) up to speed on the Realms so we are all on the same page.

Part of the post-Sundering confusion amongst the fans is a result of WOTC doing the Sundering, hyping it as an event and then going FR silent.

I don't understand it at all.

 

[jimmyjimjam]

Yes but all the dragonborn were transported to Maztica and are living in the northwest part of that continent with the dog tribes.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

The novels don't exist -- they happen in some other Forgotten Realms.