D&D 5E How will the Forgotten Realms be handled?

[variant]

The last straws for me when it came to the Realms was the 'getting along with orcs' in Drizzt novels and the whole 'death of Eilistraee plot', both came from novels. After those two things, I will never touch any new Realms lore again. I stopped reading all new Realms novels. I was growing tired of the Drizzt novels anyway with the death of Wulfgar and pairing of Cattibrie and Drizzt.

 

[Nebulous]

I thought I'm Moander in and leave this thought ...

Although I personally like the Grey Box era best, and think the 3E FRCS was also a great product, what the Realms needs most is what I fear will not happen: a divorce between the novels and the campaign setting. Let authors continue to write novels and do whatever they'd like, but don't have those characters or events carry over into the RPG setting. That linkage more than anything else, I think, has damaged the Realms and turned off many people to what is otherwise a very deep and evocative setting.

But it won't happen -- apparently there are a lot of fans out there who like the linkage between the novels and the campaign setting. I'd like to know who they are, because I've never met one or seen their posts, but apparently they are driving the marketing decisions.

(And as to authors ... I'm not an RAS fan, but don't think everything he's done is bad, mostly merely average. Ed Greenwood, though -- man, for a guy who can develop great set dressing and setting details, he cannot put together stories or characters that deserve to see print. I just listened to the latest WotC podcast which was an interview with Ed about his latest novel, and it was the most painful thing I've ever heard. Much as I dislike Drizzt, Elmunchkin needed to be retired about two decades ago. I simply can't reconcile Ed's great Realmslore articles with his absolutely craptastic novels.)

Ugh, i love Ed but i agree, i tried to read one of his novel's once and could not finish, it was too painful. Salvatore is easily a better writer. i loved the early RAS stuff, but i eventually got bored of the endless
drizzt stories. I too am a fan of the FR, i have been since the little grey box, but i don't really let the novels have an impact on my game much. I didn't even use the 4e FR so i'm not familiar with the changes. Something about another world crashed in and that's why dragonborn exist now.

For me, the FR is so freaking huge, i can take one small corner of a couple hundred square miles, a good map, and run a whole campaign in that region without ever leaving or caring what happens in the rest of the world.

 

[Raunalyn]

Honestly, I really enjoyed the Icewind Dale trilogy. Sure, it was pulp fiction, easily devoured in a couple of sittings, but it was still fun. After that, Salvatore went downhill. I personally cannot stand Drizzt; he's one of the most blatant Gary-Stu's that I've ever seen.

I also think that he's secretly evil. I think he had something to do with Wulfgar's original "death" so that he could steal Catti-Brie for himself. He may have also been the second gunman on the grassy knoll.

 

[Hussar]

Fewer than you might think, at least recently...

2012
The Masked Witches
Venom in Her Veins
Eye of the Chained God
The Rose of Sarifal
Sword of the Gods: Spinner of Lies (eBook)
Prince of Ravens (eBook)
The Gilded Rune
Skein of Shadows (eBook)
Charon's Claw
Elminster Enraged
Eye of Justice (eBook)
Spider and Stone (eBook)

2013
Prophet of the Dead
The Last Threshold
The Companions
The Godborn
The Adversary

2014
The Reaver
The Sentinel
The Herald

That's still 18 novels in three years. Or, rather, a heck of a lot more novels than supplements.

 

[Raunalyn]

When will all these puns end? It's a great Mystra to me...

 

[Echohawk]

That's still 18 novels in three years. Or, rather, a heck of a lot more novels than supplements.

Again, you might be surprised. It depends if you count the large number of Living Forgotten Realms adventures released for public play during this time. But even if you don't, the number of novels published over the last few years is definitely not "a heck of a lot more" than the number of published supplements which take place in the Realms.

2012: 12 novels + ebooks, 8 supplements, 35 LFR adventures
2013: 5 novels, 6 supplements, 19 LFR adventures
2014: 3 novels, 5 supplements, 16 LFR adventures

2012
EPIC 4-1: Shooting the Moon
NETH 4-1: Containing Shadow
TYMA 2-4: Stand Against the Darkness
AGLA 2-3: Sojourner's Way
NETH 4-2: The Tripartite Tower
NETH 4-3: Purifying the Prophet
SPEC 4-1: Cerulean Dreams
Halls of Undermountain
SPEC 4-2: The Writhing Obelisk
WATE 3-1: Moon Rising
Web of the Spider Queen
CALI 3-4: Fragments of a Shattered Mind
Spiderkiller
CALI 4-1: Plain of Stone Spiders
CALI 4-2: Dragon Above, Desert Below
CALI 4-3: Twisted Rune
SPEC 4-3: Conflict in Calimport
SPEC 4-4: Mischief in Memnon
Menzoberranzan: City of Intrigue
Council of Spiders
CORE 4-1: Eastern Carnivals
CORE 4-2: Legacy
MYRE 4-1: My Realms: Calimshan
SPEC 4-5: Rising Darkness
WATE 4-1: Paying the Piper
WATE 4-2: Rivals
WATE 4-3: The Devil's Denouement
Kill the Wizard
EPIC 4-2: Age of Ruin
Ed Greenwood Presents Elminster's Forgotten Realms
War of Everlasting Darkness
ABER 4-1: The Price of Freedom
ABER 4-2: A Dream Frozen in Amber
ABER 4-3: A Little Rebellion
CORE 4-3: Running Amok
CORE 4-4: Shadow Siege
ELTU 4-1: Born by Fiends
ELTU 4-2: The Iriaebor Gambit
INTR 4-1: Born Every Minute
SPEC 4-6: Raging Shadows
INTR 4-2: This Way to the Egress
CORE 4-5: Skeletons in the Closet
EPIC 4-3: Dark Hearts of Madness

2013
CORE 5-1: Churning Shadows
CORE 5-2: A Radiance Faded
ELTU 4-3: Minutes to Midnight
ELTU 4-4: The Fall of Elturgard
SPEC 5-1: Morthac's Mansion
SPEC 5-2: Closer to the Heart
QUES 4-1: Liberation
Storm over Neverwinter
Vault of the Dracolich
Search for the Diamond Staff
CORE 5-7: Broken Light
CORE 5-8: The Dantalien Maneuver
CORE 5-9: Last Testament
EPIC 5-2: Dragons Dark
SPEC 5-3: What Distant Skies
SPEC 5-4: Sky's Favor
Ghosts of Dragonspear Castle
Murder in Baldur's Gate
PREQ 5-1: Edge of Justice
NEVE 5-1: Hound's Baying
NEVE 5-2: Serpent's Kiss
NEVE 5-3: Spider's Web
WATE 3-2: Deepest Shadow
WATE 3-3: Dark Ranger
Legacy of the Crystal Shard

2014
CORE 6-1: Behind Obould's Lines
EPIC 5-3: Shadow Storm
EPIC 6-1: Confrontation in Shadow
SPEC 6-1: Divide and Conquer
Scourge of the Sword Coast
MYTH 6-1: Preemptive Strike
MYTH 6-2: Ambassador, General, Herald, Spy
MYTH 6-3: The World Will End in Fire
Dead in Thay
ADCP 1-1: Jungle Hunt
ADCP 2-1: The Paladin's Plague
ADCP 2-2: Heart of the Desert
ADCP 3-1: Swarm of Chaos
ADCP 3-2: From Dawn Till Dusk
ADCP 4-1: City of Destinies
ADCP 4-2: The Lost City of Suldolphor
ADCP 5-1: Home's Last Light
ADCP 5-2: The Best Defense
D&D Starter Set
Hoard of the Dragon Queen
The Rise of Tiamat

 

[HobbitFan]

Anyone know why WOTC is being so silent about their 5E plans for the Realms?

 

[Mirtek]

Is there a list of changes so far? I can't seem to find one.

Here's an overview: SPOILER ALERT

• Murder in Baldur's Gate -There is a statue of Minsc holding Boo in the middle of the wide. -Bhaalspawn finish killing each other and Bhaal is reborn.
• Legacy of the Crystal Shard -The Arcane Brotherhood is back in action. They are now operating throughout the North. -Auril is a goddess again. -Barbarian Tribes and ten towns still have a rocky relationship
• The Companions -The companions of the Hall have been resurrected. -Foreshadowing that the Shades will not control the Anauroth in the future. -The Harpells are still around. -The weave is being restored and as it is repaired spellscars vanish.
• Night of the hunter -Orcs are indeed chaotic evil in alignment and don't want to play nice with the other races. -Lolth is making a play for control of the newly reformed weave. To be continue in RA's next book. -The Kingdom of Many Arrows is going to try to invade the North to be continued in RA's next book.
• The GodBorn -Scratch two princes of shade, Brennus kills Rivalen and himself. -There is a faction of Sembians that want independence from Shade. -Mask is reborn. -Shar's Mouth(Black hole in the middle of Ordulin) is closed.
• The Adversary -The Harpers are growing in number and influence again. -The gods are creating bunches of chosen. -Vhaeraun has chosen. -Shar and Asmodeus get in a proxy fight.
• The Reaver -The Sea of Fallen Stars has returned to its normal size per 1st-3rd ed. -Velsharoon and Kiaransalee's names still have great power when working necromantic spells -Nobanion was a spellscarred lion and was released from his imprisonment. -Umberlee is back in action. -So is the Emerald Enclave. -Lathander is back and Amaunator is out. -There is a faction of the Red Wizards that wants to be free from Szass Tam -The moonstars have active agents -Spellplague lands are vanishing
• The Sentinel -Sembia/Netheril is invading Cormyr/Dalelands/Myth Drannor -The giant black hole(Underchasm) in the map is filled again. -Helm is back -Myrkul is believed to be around again -Cyric is no longer in time out -Grumbar and Luthic get mentioned as active deities. -Scratch another prince of shade, Yalder gets beheaded
• The Herald - The wards of Candlekeep are drained - Shade invades and captures Myth Drannor - The victory proves to be a short one when they bring Shade Enclace over Myth Drannor to try to drain the Mythal - Shade Enclaves crashes down, killing most of Netheril's might (arcanists, soldiers, civilians) in the crash - Scratch Telamont Tanthul from the list, even he dies in the crash (as do any other shade princes still left a this point) - Mystra is powerfull again to get Shar to back down in a possible confrontation

 

[Mirtek]

*Edit* Sorry for the tripple post, something fishy with my browser

 

[Mirtek]

*Edit* Sorry for the tripple post. something fishy with my browser