D&D 5E Chris Perkins drops 2020 hint!

[gyor]

They've already killed the Greyhawk metaplot for Ghosts of Saltmarsh, and yeah, I would expect the same for any setting brought into 5E.

I'm not familiar with Greyhawks metaplot, how did Saltmarsh kill it?

 

[Parmandur]

I'm not familiar with Greyhawks metaplot, how did Saltmarsh kill it?

Well, I'll admit "kill" is a bit dramatic, but...to avoid spoilers, the new sandbox material in GoS that links the modules has some geopolitical facts that are central to the action that ignore the major events on Greyhawk after Gygax left the company.

Spoiler: Some more details...

Specifically, the Scarlet Brotherhood is in the region sneaking around and plotting to takeover the Holds of the Sea Princes which are important to the smuggling economy in Saltmarsh: as of ~1989-1990, the Scarlet Brotherhood had already succeeded in taking over the Holds openly. This, and a few other tidbits, date the Adventure book to the original Gygax box set in world, bringing events back to before the Greyhawk Wars.

This matches with how Mearls said they were looking at using Greyhawk in the future, shortly before GoS was announced, so rebooting Greyhawk to Gygax appears to be their plan for Greyhawk in the future:

 

[gyor]

I find it funny in that video that they keep worrying about getting Greyhawk facts wrong, only to fumble with their own books. The Orcs were covered in Volo's Guide to Monsters, not MTOFs.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

We will see many retcons, little changes in the continuity, because they are necessary, accidentally unintentional or unavoidable, with a reboot of worlds with famous novels may be too risky. It would be like the expanded Star War legends losing the canon with the new movies.

Dark Sun in the 4th Ed had got some changes, but it was more retcons what a complete reboot.

Nethir Vale or Points of Light will come back as a transitional world, where the rest of D&D multiverse could visit as "guest artists".

I have mentioned some times in the past about the chronomancers, a sourcebook from AD&D 2nd Ed and the time dragons, what appeared in the last paper number of Dragon Magazine published by Paizo, and I say there is a open door for the return of these concepts because the time spheres are a good excuse to justify some important changes in the lore or background, or allowing games where the PCs are who alter the History and not by the heroes from the famous novels.

* If my memory doesn't fail I have readen Gary Gygax's plan for Gh was the PCs gathered special magic items and these together would cause a reboot of the world. The end of the novels of Gorn was also a reboot of the world, but theoretically the people from Gh was sent to the new universe of Dangerous Journeys.

I wonder about an agreement between WotC and Gygax Games to recover IPs created by Gary Gygax after the time in TSR.

 

[Urriak Uruk]

We will see many retcons, little changes in the continuity, because they are necessary, accidentally unintentional or unavoidable, with a reboot of worlds with famous novels may be too risky. It would be like the expanded Star War legends losing the canon with the new movies.

You know the Star Wars example is the opposite of what you describe? The Disney decision was not "small changes," it was a full reset of everything that wasn't from the movies. Which is largely what I expect for Greyhawk and Dark Sun, a full reset back to their most popular periods.

 

[gyor]

You know the Star Wars example is the opposite of what you describe? The Disney decision was not "small changes," it was a full reset of everything that wasn't from the movies. Which is largely what I expect for Greyhawk and Dark Sun, a full reset back to their most popular periods.

I expect it will be a mix of reset with a handful of new elements, such as Tieflings and Dragonborn being added to Greyhawk and maybe looking at the setting from a fresh perspective. Also I would not be surprised to see Greyhawks connection to Faerun reciprocated, with maybe Elminster making an appearance of some or a portal between them or something.

And maybe Darksun will get Genasai right in the core this time, I mean they fit the setting like a glove.

 

[gyor]

We will see many retcons, little changes in the continuity, because they are necessary, accidentally unintentional or unavoidable, with a reboot of worlds with famous novels may be too risky. It would be like the expanded Star War legends losing the canon with the new movies.

Dark Sun in the 4th Ed had got some changes, but it was more retcons what a complete reboot.

Nethir Vale or Points of Light will come back as a transitional world, where the rest of D&D multiverse could visit as "guest artists".

I have mentioned some times in the past about the chronomancers, a sourcebook from AD&D 2nd Ed and the time dragons, what appeared in the last paper number of Dragon Magazine published by Paizo, and I say there is a open door for the return of these concepts because the time spheres are a good excuse to justify some important changes in the lore or background, or allowing games where the PCs are who alter the History and not by the heroes from the famous novels.

* If my memory doesn't fail I have readen Gary Gygax's plan for Gh was the PCs gathered special magic items and these together would cause a reboot of the world. The end of the novels of Gorn was also a reboot of the world, but theoretically the people from Gh was sent to the new universe of Dangerous Journeys.

I wonder about an agreement between WotC and Gygax Games to recover IPs created by Gary Gygax after the time in TSR.

I remember that Nerath fans were like were is Nentir Vale/Nerath in the last survey of Settings, and it just dawned on me that they might decide to merge Nerath into the Forgotten Realms somehow, like add it to FRs solar system or something.

I mean Nentir Vale actually started out conceptually as a part of the Forgotten Realms, before they decided to make it seperate, and Nentir Vale some major events like both worlds were involved in the Dawn War and Devas from one world can and have been reborn on the other, to the point where Nerath Deities do have artificts on Faerun. And both were effected by the Abyssal Plague.

 

[Urriak Uruk]

I expect it will be a mix of reset with a handful of new elements, such as Tieflings and Dragonborn being added to Greyhawk and maybe looking at the setting from a fresh perspective. Also I would not be surprised to see Greyhawks connection to Faerun reciprocated, with maybe Elminster making an appearance of some or a portal between them or something.

And maybe Darksun will get Genasai right in the core this time, I mean they fit the setting like a glove.

I doubt the Genasi thing. Sure earth and fire genasi are good fits, but I'm pretty sure as a water genasi you don't fit in at all.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

In Dark Sun 4th Ed the feywild was canon, but its name was "land within wind", and also destroyed by defiler magic. This "land within wind" could be a joker card what would allow to add new things, as races (the wilden from PH 3 4th Ed or classes (warden and seekers).

In 3rd Ed the origin of the dragonborn was Bahamut the good dragon god chosen ordinary mortals as his champions against Tiamat, and they suffered a metamorphosys within an egg. And they were steriles. The dragonkin, dragonblood humanoids were canon in Faerun, even in 2nd Ed, but more powerful than ordinary dragonborns.

In Expanded Psionic Handbook the origin of the half-giants was as indirect allusion to DS. At least that was my opinion.

DS had got new and own genasi subraces: sun, sand, magma and cinder.

* After Baldur's Gate 3 DS would be one of the best candidates for an adaptation, but this will need a lot of work by "fashion designers" and artists because its look is unique.

* Now I am thinking there was a plan for a module set in Kalidnay, the dark domain crossover between Ravenloft and DS, since the beginning, not an improvisation al all. And in the end of the story Gwydion, darklord of Arak/shadow rift would visit Athas for a little time.

Other idea for a crossover is genies and sha'ir from Zakhara (al-Quadim) and Athasian elemental clerics discovering some planar gate to demiplanes within para-elemental planes, and different factions want to conquest that regions.