D&D 5E 5E Forgotten Realms: what will it look like?

[Sammael]

You do realize that would be 17 kinds of business unwise, right? Setting up a timeline where people can play at any point of the timeline is the way to go so fans of all eras can play in the Realms as they want.

I didn't say to remove the Spellplague timeline altogether. I just suggested to put it on perforated paper so I can tear it out of my 5e FR book. And burn it.

As for business unwise, well... I used to buy every single FR book during the 3.x period. I spent quite a bit of money on them. So from my own personal business point, it was quite unwise for them to stop producing FR content during 4e.

 

[rounser]

The easiest way to get the "Spellplague" tick off of the host is to revert to an earlier edition, and that's what 5E has to contend with. Knowing it's there, lurking in the future with it's retcon nonsense takes the shine off running any canon FR that acknowledges it, IMO. Like it or not, I suspect 4E FR will remain a strong reason for many to avoid 5E FR and therefore 5E as a whole, even if the release encourages setting the campaign in an earlier time.

 

[Dragonhelm]

I foresee a core campaign setting book (or boxed set) that allows for all eras of play for the Realms. Think like the 3E Dragonlance setting book but bigger and bolder.

Dragonlance is a prime example of what to do after something like the Spellplague. We DL fans went through that with the Fifth Age. It took the War of Souls and 3rd edition DL to bring fans back together again.

 

[Herschel]

$10 a month isn't little for folks in other countries.

But $10 could be a reasonable price for a 'module' of 5e.

With the current exchange rate it shouldn't be much of a problem. It's all about budgeting though. If you have the money, you get more stuff. That's just the way it is (even if that way sucks monkey junk.) There are things I don't buy for entertainment too.

 

[Herschel]

I didn't say to remove the Spellplague timeline altogether. I just suggested to put it on perforated paper so I can tear it out of my 5e FR book. And burn it.

As for business unwise, well... I used to buy every single FR book during the 3.x period. I spent quite a bit of money on them. So from my own personal business point, it was quite unwise for them to stop producing FR content during 4e.

You're one person compared to the legions of post-Spellplague fans. If they set the timeline so that we can play in any era we choose and that's a dealbreaker for some, then they're not worth considering because the whole goal of the edition is to appeal to as many people as they can. The most rational way to look at it is 'my game happens here because that's the era I like and I can ignore the latter'.

 

[Sammael]

You're one person compared to the legions of post-Spellplague fans. If they set the timeline so that we can play in any era we choose and that's a dealbreaker for some, then they're not worth considering because the whole goal of the edition is to appeal to as many people as they can. The most rational way to look at it is 'my game happens here because that's the era I like and I can ignore the latter'.

What legions of post-Spellplague fans? I searched Candlekeep for them and found one or two, compared to the hundreds of people who opposed the Spellplague.

Honestly, the vast majority of Spellplague fans I've met online are those who hated Realms to begin with and were happy to see it destroyed.

Even if there are legions of Spellplague fans somewhere out there, a simple fact remains that they spent practically nothing on 4e FR materials because there were none past the initial two books. On the other hand, I have over $500 of 3e FR materials sitting on my shelf right now. And no, DDI doesn't count because if it does, my 10 years worth of Dragon magazines count as well.

And you're still not accepting the fact that I said from the beginning that I wouldn't mind a section on post-Spellplague FR, as long as it were easily removable from the books.

 

[avin]

I put my money on "the realms are slowly healing from the devastaing spellplague and returning to their former glory" approach.

I'm not a FR fan but some friends of mine hated Time of Troubles as much Spellplague, so I think the timeline will move on after Spellplague.

 

[rounser]

You're one person compared to the legions of post-Spellplague fans. If they set the timeline so that we can play in any era we choose and that's a dealbreaker for some, then they're not worth considering because the whole goal of the edition is to appeal to as many people as they can. The most rational way to look at it is 'my game happens here because that's the era I like and I can ignore the latter'.

The amazon.com reviews of 4E FR suggest otherwise, and given that 4E FR saw only three or so setting books for it, it seems extremely unlikely that 4E FR fans are "legion". Even on the WOTC boards, it's clear that the FR golden goose caught the spellplague too, and died somewhat.

It's simply more invasive and aesthetically whack to have a dodgy future mapped out for your setting. Having goofiness in the past is more ignorable, but I see what 4E FR did to the setting as being a bit like the Batman movie franchise before "Batman Begins" was released.

The ideal, I think, would be to reboot from a Grey Box era, but done better, informed by all done since (Spellplague excepted). Alternative timeline, kind of a Casino Royale for FR. Not going to happen, I know.

I think the target in WOTC's grasp given it's limited resources is to detail something small that can be dropped in most any cliched D&D setting, like another Nentir Vale or Thunder Rift. It could fit in the DMG. That'd be less pie in the sky.

 

[Knightfall]

Dragonlance is a prime example of what to do after something like the Spellplague. We DL fans went through that with the Fifth Age. It took the War of Souls and 3rd edition DL to bring fans back together again.

While I didn't hate the Fifth Age stuff, it was a bit jarring. The War of Souls was very well done, and the 3E Dragonlance books were some of the best 3rd Edition books made.

 

[Pour]

I don't think any one time period, or edition period, should win out. Nothing should roll back.

Calls for that seem uncompromising and selfish, and inherently challenge others' ideas of the setting. The setting should be something to everyone, not one portion's dream. And being overly vocal about it, or worse, condescending, is like telling other people their preferred Realms is stupid. It offends them, and certainly doesn't paint Realms fans in a very good light. I understand they're a tight crew, but no one should criticize another group's setting sensibilities. There's no need when all parties can be happy.

Make it a timeline deal, or progress the timeline. Sammael can rip out the Spellplague pages and burn them, perforated or not, if they're in there.