D&D 5E Per Ed Greenwood, Halruaa survived the Spellplague

[Rejuvenator]

That said, it's easy enough for a DM to roll back the timeline to a preferred time period.

I was thinking maybe something more like an Optional Reboot Guide where the FR setting provides a table of different options (Time of Troubles, Spellplague, etc.) detailing the events and repercussions, and the DM can pick and choose which elements to incorporate into the setting.

 

[S_Dalsgaard]

Because R A Salvatore wants the timeline advanced because of his novels and, frankly, he has the clout because his novels outsell everything else.

It's purely a business decision.

That said, it's easy enough for a DM to roll back the timeline to a preferred time period. That's what I am doing - I actually like the 4E version and have it working just the way I like - and I am sure there are others doing the same, in large part because it doesn't look like we will be seeing a traditional campaign setting soon!

As far as I have read, Salvatore was actually not very happy with what they did with the Realms for 4e, so I am not sure it is fair to blame him for the Spellplague.

 

[Scrivener of Doom]

I was thinking maybe something more like an Optional Reboot Guide where the FR setting provides a table of different options (Time of Troubles, Spellplague, etc.) detailing the events and repercussions, and the DM can pick and choose which elements to incorporate into the setting.

Ahhh, gotcha.

That would be easy enough to do here or on the Candlekeep forums or on a blog post. It doesn't really need WotC input as the official information already exists.

But I can see that might be helpful for some DMs.

As far as I have read, Salvatore was actually not very happy with what they did with the Realms for 4e, so I am not sure it is fair to blame him for the Spellplague.

My apologies for an unclear post.

My reply was based on the assumption that the question was in relation to advancing the timeline in 5E rather than rebooting to an earlier - and arguably more popular - period.

Yes, RAS is on record as being upset with the 4E "experiment" but he is otherwise in favour of the timeline continuing to advance past the 4E period because of his novels.

 

[S_Dalsgaard]

Ahhh, gotcha.

That would be easy enough to do here or on the Candlekeep forums or on a blog post. It doesn't really need WotC input as the official information already exists.

But I can see that might be helpful for some DMs.



My apologies for an unclear post.

My reply was based on the assumption that the question was in relation to advancing the timeline in 5E rather than rebooting to an earlier - and arguably more popular - period.

Yes, RAS is on record as being upset with the 4E "experiment" but he is otherwise in favour of the timeline continuing to advance past the 4E period because of his novels.

Ah, yes I would imagine that.

As far as I am concerned I also prefer it to move forward, although I am fine with Salvatore and Greenwood making most of the Spellplague seem like it never happened. I don't like retcons, but on the other hand I want Mystra and Lathander around, so whatever explanations (far-fetched or otherwise) they come up with, is fine by me.

 

[Jeremy E Grenemyer]

This might be a newbie question, but why couldn't D&D do for Forgotten Realms what J. J. Abram's Star Trek did for the original Star Trek? At least as an "official option".

A lot of fans put forward this idea online. The discussions, as you might expect, got pretty heated too.

From this idea another idea was put forward: support multiple eras of the Realms.

This last is something I think WotC could still explore. If they're willing to emphasize the connections between worlds, it follows that those mystical connections might not all converge on the same point in time for any given world.

Because R A Salvatore wants the timeline advanced because of his novels and, frankly, he has the clout because his novels outsell everything else.

:sigh:

Near as anyone can tell, a group decision was made to keep the timeline moving forward, and WotC approved of it.

When the authors who would come to work on the various Sundering novels met, it's quite possible they could have decided a reboot was the best way to go, in which case Salvatore, had he wanted the timeline to move forward, would have been outvoted.

Remember, WotC asked for help from these guys to fix WotC's mess.

It's purely a business decision.

People making these decisions happen to care, believe it or not. They care about the stories they're telling. It's more than just a matter of people wanting more money for the sake of more money.

That said, it's easy enough for a DM to roll back the timeline to a preferred time period. That's what I am doing - I actually like the 4E version and have it working just the way I like - and I am sure there are others doing the same, in large part because it doesn't look like we will be seeing a traditional campaign setting soon!

Now you're talking sense.

 

[HobbitFan]

I hope we start hearing something Realms related soon. WOTC is being entirely too quiet for seemingly no real reason.

 

[Parmandur]

Ed said on CandleKeep, in more or less words, that he couldn't say anything due to NDA...but that there was stuff to nit disclose. We're looking at something big being announced soon, methinks.

 

[Jeremy E Grenemyer]

Regarding the general level of communication between Ed Greenwood and WotC:

(As always, this information is relayed from Ed Greenwood to the Candlekeep forums, via The Hooded One.)

Hi again, all. Ed says you're very welcome, Irennan.
To Baptor, Ed says this:


Oh, do I sympathize with you. I understand how much you want clear answers to these questions you've posed, and I ache to give them. However, every single question you ask runs head-on into NDAs. That exist for very good reasons.
So let me say just this much:
Just a day ago I had a back-and-forth e-mail with a Wizards staffer about a future project, that involved discussion of specific Realmslore details. Two days before that I was providing extensive Realmslore (photo references, text, explanations) for a future fiction-and-game project. And last week I had a fun, if briefer than usual, phone call with many in-house and freelance Realms creatives, about several related upcoming products. (And the word "usual" is chosen deliberately.)
My specific level of involvement with the gaming side of the Realms changes constantly. And always has done, since the very beginning of the published Realms. That's part of the very nature of gaming publishing, it seems to me.
The problem with saying more is that anything I say will fuel speculation, which may be harmful to everyone and go in directions that are utterly or partly off-base. And directions and decisions for the publishing of the Realms and of D&D itself change over time, so that something said firmly and definitely by someone in a position to "know for sure" can be complete truth when said - - and then not happen, or change markedly before it does happen. That's just the nature of the beast.
Right now, I am chest-deep in the Realms. Because this is one of the Saturdays I have off from my library day job (I usually work alternate Saturdays), I spent about ten hours at the keyboard today, pounding out Realms stuff. Honest. But that's about as much as I can say. Besides, peeking behind the curtain beforehand DOES ruin the fun.


And so saith Ed. Sharing as much as he can. I suspect a lot of the future is hidden even from in-house Wizards staffers these days, just because plans change and the nature of publishing means things CAN change faster than they could in the days of booking printing time and ordering paper two years in advance, which is the way things were when I started working in publishing.
Be of good cheer, Realms fans. No matter what happens, Ed will be here for us as long as he's alive. And there are SO many other great folks who love the Realms, from Jeff Grubb and Steven Schend to Eric Boyd and George Krashos to Brian Cortijo and the James brothers to Bob and Erin and Troy and Susan Morris and Phil Athans and Chris Perkins and . . . and . . . every time Markustay draws a new map, and Ed peers at it and smiles, the Realms grows a little stronger. So the Realms, in the end, is as strong and happy-making a setting as YOU make it!
love to all,
THO

Glad to hear the lines of communication are open and being used.

 

[Curmudjinn]

I was thinking maybe something more like an Optional Reboot Guide where the FR setting provides a table of different options (Time of Troubles, Spellplague, etc.) detailing the events and repercussions, and the DM can pick and choose which elements to incorporate into the setting.

+1

An 'eras of play' table is a definite must. I wouldn't even mind small paperback gazetteer-handbooks per era. Even pdfs would do. This would also work well for other settings with many eras of play.

 

[Jeremy E Grenemyer]

+1

An 'eras of play' table is a definite must. I wouldn't even mind small paperback gazetteer-handbooks per era. Even pdfs would do. This would also work well for other settings with many eras of play.

Oh how I would love to get my hands on a sourcebook that covered Cormyr from the days of its founding through to just before Azoun IV took the throne.

Just the maps alone... :drool:

WotC could model it after the historical chapters in the novel Cormyr.

As a DM I could get a lot of miles out of a book like that.