DDAL Lost Tales of Myth Drannor: DDAL's "Secret" D&D Book For Gen Con 50

Lost Tales of Myth Drannor is an official D&D Adventurers League book containing six adventures for characters of levels 1-20. It is billed as a promo for Gen Con's 50th anniversary, although it will eventually appear on the DMs Guild -- from DDAL's Greg Marks: "It is a book that is a promo for GC50 and cons the admins are invited to. It will eventually appear on the DMsGuild."

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Greg also added that "When initially released some are being distributed by BMG at Gen Con (I can't speak to how) and some by admins as promos" and that its appearance on DMsGuild would be "some months later.... PDF and possibly POD".

He added later that "I can't speak to what the BMG folks will be doing with their allotment, but the admins that are there will have some as well (myself, Claire and Alan are attending). The first print run of Super Secret Project 76 (not its real name) will be used by the admins as a promo item that we hand out at cons we go to (an actual book is a pretty awesome promo!). It will eventually go up on the DMsGuild as well, though not immediately. I will continue to tease more info on my twitter (@Skerrit7h3green) up until it is released on August 17th."

And there's a LOT of them sitting in boxes at Gen Con this week!

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[Mirtek]

Maybe (and maybe not), but just because Mearls said it wasn't canon doesn't mean it will not be. He is not the sole source and gate keeper of D&D lore.

And thus we're back to square one. In a pinch I think Mearls ranks higher than the AL leadership in terms of who is authorized to comment on canon, but I could be wrong.

So we're back to not knowing.

 

[dave2008]

And thus we're back to square one. In a pinch I think Mearls ranks higher than the AL leadership in terms of who is authorized to comment on canon, but I could be wrong.

So we're back to not knowing.

Yep - and that's fine with me!

 

[Mirtek]

Yep - and that's fine with me!

Unfortunately for me and many others it's the sole deciding factor whether to pursue it or ignore it.

 

[dave2008]

Unfortunately for me and many others it's the sole deciding factor whether to pursue it or ignore it.

Wow. How can that be? What meaning does "canon" have in D&D? I've played D&D since the 80's and I never even thought about something being canon until sometime after I joined this forum and the old WotC forum in 2008. It had absolutely no impact on my D&D playing. I can't understand how that could be the sole determining factor. That philosophy cuts off so much wonderful material.

Some additional thoughts:

1) The DMG says even the rules aren't "canon", so how can the fluff be so sacred?
2) What does it mean if we play RoT and Tiamat wins, but then in SKT it is assumed that Tiamat lost?
3) What do you gain by restricting yourself to "canon" material?
4) Would you not purchase an adventure, that most agreed was one of the best ever, simply because it wasn't canon?

 

[Mirtek]

4) Would you not purchase an adventure, that most agreed was one of the best ever, simply because it wasn't canon?

Yes. Because since I don't play the adventures anyway, the only reason to buy them is to read up on the latest canon development.

I haven't played D&D for almost a year now and for me that's perfectly normal. I was "reading D&D" way more than "playing D&D" ever since I got into D&D. The only thing that changes between now and then is that I am no longer reading D&D, as there's nothing to read.

It wasn't unusual for me to not actually play D&D for a year or more, but back then I was reading the D&D FR novels. The monthly flow during the golden days down to the meager trickle of 3-4 per year until they recently axed the novel line completly.

With that WotC actually threw me out of D&D, I have mostly accepted the fact that I am a customer of the sort they no longer want. Well then, it's there decision and my personaö attachment to D&D is decreasing with each passing month. It's not as if there aren't more companies willing to fill my limited recreational time then I actually have recreational time (just my "pile of shame" on Steam would likely keep me occupied for a year if all I would do were to finally play through all the games I bought in sale after sale but never even installed yet). I mean if I won the lottery tomorrow and could dedicate 100% of my waking hours to leisure, I likely couldn't fully participate in everything that is offered to me right now (not even thinking about the new venues that would open up to me if I with all the extra money I'd have then).

So right now I already have greatly reduced my activity here on Enworld and on all D&D related stuff in total and I guess soon my last motivation to check for morsels of canon FR material pushing the metastory will pass too. I am already way less motivated to keep digging into whether this module is canon than I would have been in the past.

As the why canon is important to me? Frankly I am not interessted in discussing that. We'll won't ever understand each other anyway, so we would both lose time for no result or understanding after all. I am part of the crowd for which the "overload" on canon and metastory that was the FR of old was not something that drove me away from FR or had me liking FR despite of it, no I am part of that crowd that like FR specifically because of that.

I mean why do I watch GoT for wanting to see how it ends instead of reading one of the 10,000 fanfictions that have long since concluded the story? Or why don't I like the taste of thuna or cucumber while somebody else loves them? I don't think this is something that can be discussed and agreed upon.

 

[dave2008]

Yes. Because since I don't play the adventures anyway, the only reason to buy them is to read up on the latest canon development.

I haven't played D&D for almost a year now and for me that's perfectly normal. I was "reading D&D" way more than "playing D&D" ever since I got into D&D. The only thing that changes between now and then is that I am no longer reading D&D, as there's nothing to read.

It wasn't unusual for me to not actually play D&D for a year or more, but back then I was reading the D&D FR novels. The monthly flow during the golden days down to the meager trickle of 3-4 per year until they recently axed the novel line completly.

OK, so to you canon is the story in the books, not really the RPG at all. That makes more sense.

As the why canon is important to me? Frankly I am not interessted in discussing that. We'll won't ever understand each other anyway, so we would both lose time for no result or understanding after all. I am part of the crowd for which the "overload" on canon and metastory that was the FR of old was not something that drove me away from FR or had me liking FR despite of it, no I am part of that crowd that like FR specifically because of that.

I think you already did. You are in it for the story fiction presented by the books. Got it. It really isn't related much at all to the game. It is the stroy / lore that your interested in. That makes your position much more understandable to me.

I mean why do I watch GoT for wanting to see how it ends instead of reading one of the 10,000 fanfictions that have long since concluded the story? Or why don't I like the taste of thuna or cucumber while somebody else loves them? I don't think this is something that can be discussed and agreed upon.

There is a big difference between GoT and D&D. GoT is one persons vision of particular story. D&D is many peoples. Even if you are just taking the books as "canon" there have been multiple writers and even companies that have told that story. Of course the game itself has millions of people who contribute to the story, some who continue to tell the story every week.

an RPG doesn't have a set course, a set canon. It is a game that lives and breathes with the players. But you were not talking about the game. That is really all the explanation that was needed. Thank you!

 

[Mirtek]

OK, so to you canon is the story in the books, not really the RPG at all. That makes more sense.



I think you already did. You are in it for the story fiction presented by the books. Got it. It really isn't related much at all to the game. It is the stroy / lore that your interested in. That makes your position much more understandable to me.

Yes, that sums it up perfectly.

I hope I did not come across as arrogant or dismissive of you. I didn't want to imply that my position was superior or anything, it was just my honest experience so far that trying to discuss that never ended well. Usually is merely leads to a lot of pages of fruitless discussion and at best case both sides are left none the wiser, worst case we end up none the wiser and gotten angry at each other.

There is a big difference between GoT and D&D. GoT is one persons vision of particular story. D&D is many peoples. Even if you are just taking the books as "canon" there have been multiple writers and even companies that have told that story. Of course the game itself has millions of people who contribute to the story, some who continue to tell the story every week.

Indeed. But just for me personally the only ones that matter are those working for the company telling the official canon in the shared world. The Bakers, Cunninghams, Salavatores, etc.

an RPG doesn't have a set course, a set canon.

Here we have to agree to disagree. While I agree with you to some degree (see after next quote), there are RPGs that do have a metacanon story beyond what happens at the game tables. D&D used to be such a game. I'd say it's actually still such a game, just with that part having faded so far into the background that it become almost invisible. It's still there somewhere far behind the scenes, but nowhere near as visible and dominant as it used to be (e.g. adventures came with a blurb stating the officially assumed outcome. Sure your table results could differ, but you would be told from which end the canon metastory would march forward). For some this is a blessing they were long longing for, for others it's a curse driving them away from what they once loved.

It is a game that lives and breathes with the players. But you were not talking about the game. That is really all the explanation that was needed. Thank you!

Yup, that's our difference in perception. I only care about the part that is told by the group of people hired by the owner of the game worlds to continue there story. I don't care at all what happens at the millions of individual game tables and that explicitly includes my own game table during those times I am part of one. My own games are fully recognized by me as short "what if's", existing in a bubble my group and me formed out of a certain point in time of canon and will eventually burst without any lasting impact on the game story. Most of the time it didn't even impact our own next campaign, with it's starting point again being "cut" from a certain point in canon without assuming our last campaign/characters ever happened.

 

[dave2008]

Indeed. But just for me personally the only ones that matter are those working for the company telling the official canon in the shared world. The Bakers, Cunninghams, Salavatores, etc.

Thank you for taking the time to respond. I always enjoy understanding another person's perspective - and that can often be hard to do under a text based format.

Here we have to agree to disagree. While I agree with you to some degree (see after next quote), there are RPGs that do have a metacanon story beyond what happens at the game tables. D&D used to be such a game. I'd say it's actually still such a game, just with that part having faded so far into the background that it become almost invisible. It's still there somewhere far behind the scenes, but nowhere near as visible and dominant as it used to be (e.g. adventures came with a blurb stating the officially assumed outcome. Sure your table results could differ, but you would be told from which end the canon metastory would march forward). For some this is a blessing they were long longing for, for others it's a curse driving them away from what they once loved.

I understand where your coming from. But as someone who purchased 1 adventure in 30 years prior to 5e, and only read some of the dragonlance books, the "canon" you speak of was completely transparent from the beginning. It is a difference of perspective/experience; both are valid I think.

 

[akr71]

Hey, wow! An internet forum discussion where folks with differing opinions are being respectful and civil toward each other! Kudos to [MENTION=40810]Mirtek[/MENTION] & [MENTION=83242]dave2008[/MENTION] - while I'm firmly in Dave's 'canon doesn't matter' camp, it is enlightening to here why it is important to some. I play in the Realms, but have never read a FR novel, so the 'canon' thing has always been a mystery to me.

 

[darjr]

I have confirmation. We will have some at Nuke-Con! No details yet. When/if I see em I'll post photo's and such.