This is the same as mentioned above where Thor or the rest of the avengers are mysteriously absent from a world altering event with no explanation given. The just-shrug-and-ignore-it excuse is extremely lazy writing and bugs me in comics, movies and any other media.
Sure, you can ignore the obvious solutions to a problem "because they are too easy and don't tell a good story". And if your group is fine with that then of course there is no such thing as bad-wrong-fun. But for some of us if you want a good story, then make sure you have a good reason for us to not take the easy solution.
Sure, I get it. I mean, there are two reasons for this. The real world reason of it being a Captain America comic rather than a Thor or Avengers one. And then the fictional reason...Thor was fighting Magog and wasn't available to help.
But....there's a difference for a game setting because the DM (and the players) have a huge say in the fiction. The DM is not a passive audience member who is unable to explain away this illusion breaking plot hole. The DM can actively address it. Each group should be playing in their version of the Realms.
So, if this is going to be a problem for a specific game, then why wouldn't it fall to the DM to cater things to his or her group?
You have a have a bunch of Demon Lords invading the Underdark? Well we have a scroll of sending and my wizard met Khelben "Blackstaff" Arunsun as part of his background. Why wouldn't I just contact him and let him know? Why wouldn't he send a warning to Elminster? By the time of the final showdown I expect that all of the high-powered casters in the realms, along with their favorite meat shields, will be there to kick some serious ass.
These are good questions. Why wouldn't Khelben or Elminster help? For my players, the question would be "Who?", but for other players, especially one who's gone to the trouble of incorporating one of them into his background, they're important questions.
So isn't this a game specific issue? And wouldn't a game specific issue be more a DM matter than a designer matter?
Yep, you need a reason for why the heavy hitters are not going to bother saving the world. And the reason it is a valid criticism is that the published adventure paths don't seem to have any reason for them not to. The fact that Elminster is not even a consideration in the Tyranny of Dragons adventure line is the problem.
That's interesting, because for many others, the problem is when he shows up, not when he is left out.
I think 5E has made a great effort to diminish the importance or prominence of many of the long-standing NPCs. All the NPCs that have been introduced in the adventures are involved in the stories. They don't offer anything for characters beyond the story, other than a couple of passing mentions.
Honestly Elminster is always a problem. Now he has the same excuse as Superman or Thor, and that is that he can't be bothered by local events, and that makes sense. But for world shattering events there needs a reason. The usual cop out is "He is away on another plane", but that gets old after awhile.
I don't know. I would think that if I really thought this was going to be an issue, I'd make one excuse that lasted....he's dead. Boom, nice and simple, never a problem again.
