D&D 5E Question about 5e Forgotten Realms

[Bootlebat]

So, what happened to the Spellplague and other changes from 4e? Did Ao just "reset" the multiverse to it's previous state or what?

 

[Larnievc]

Pretty much. It’s gone back more or less to 3rd ed situation with a few significant changes to represent the march of time like Dragonborn.

 

[pukunui]

@Larnievc's response is pretty spot on. The Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide goes into it in a little more detail. You can probably find out most of it by searching for "FR Sundering" on Google or something.

 

[Panda-s1]

Pretty much. It’s gone back more or less to 3rd ed situation with a few significant changes to represent the march of time like Dragonborn.

@Larnievc's response is pretty spot on. The Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide goes into it in a little more detail. You can probably find out most of it by searching for "FR Sundering" on Google or something.

man that all sounds disappointing, tbh. like I get it, but geez.

 

[Demetrios1453]

So, what happened to the Spellplague and other changes from 4e? Did Ao just "reset" the multiverse to it's previous state or what?

There are still some somewhat significant changes (4e Tymanther is still around, for example, although somewhat reduced), some leftover collateral damage, and of course a lot of dead (and new) NPCs after 100+ years of catastrophes, but it's broadly similar to the 3e Forgotten Realms. As for the multiverse, it's actually gone one step further and been reset to the 2e status quo.

 

[Eltab]

The 4e changes to the setting did not go over well with FR fans, so the lead-in to 5e featured the necessary miracles and events to un-do most of it.

 

[Panda-s1]

The 4e changes to the setting did not go over well with FR fans, so the lead-in to 5e featured the necessary miracles and events to un-do most of it.

that's the most disappointing part of all. like why go out of your way to do a functional retcon when you can just pretend it never happened instead? here's the Old New Forgotten Realms! the spellplague never happened! we're back to where we left off in 3.5, except we moved the timeline forward a little. also Elminster has a new hat!*

*the hat is retconned out after fan backlash.

 

[aco175]

I thought I read somewhere where the Spellplague ruined a lot of the world magic like mythals and such. I generally only use it to describe how magic in dungeons failed and monsters are able to escape. If I have a demon locked away, well now it can escape or the barrier is weaker. Maybe a magical trap fails to go off or a magic font works wonky now. Things like this.

 

[gyor]

There are still some somewhat significant changes (4e Tymanther is still around, for example, although somewhat reduced), some leftover collateral damage, and of course a lot of dead (and new) NPCs after 100+ years of catastrophes, but it's broadly similar to the 3e Forgotten Realms. As for the multiverse, it's actually gone one step further and been reset to the 2e status quo.

Its superficially like 3.5e. They bring back some destroyed nations, keep some 4e nations, bring back some Gods who have been dead since 2e, add some more gods, shake up the power structures of various nations and alot of the details are different. Its plays to nostalgia of multiple additions while trying to keep the cooler elements of 4e and moving the story forward, which makes its largely it's own thing in practice.

 

[teitan]

It wasn't so much a retcon as a silent event that didn't have a Super Mega Secret Crisis War and instead a series of 6 novels and 3 adventures that didn't explain the changes in a satisfactory way while still being kinda cool. It does reset a lot of things in a way where you don't need to know the continuity if you pick up a 5e supplement or the SCAG. It's very approachable and broad for DM's to play with while respecting the lore. A lot of people compare it the way things are in 3e but I see more the 1/2e cusp in it. Something huge just happened and this is where we are... have at it kind of thing. Personally I want more Ed.

We will call it "Iconic" Forgotten Realms. It's classic Realms without the bloat.