D&D 5E What is canon about older-edition settings in 5E?

[JEB]

Sidenote: That they reference the Chaos War for Dragonlance in Yawning Portal...

• is a pretty strong indicator that they were counting all the novels as canon for Dragonlance at that point, not just defaulting to the War of the Lance (though that was clearly still their preferred era, based on nearly all the other refs)
• makes me doubt that the listed options for placing adventures in other settings include binding information; I'll be very surprised if they revisit Dragonlance in the Chaos War or later eras for 5E

Still gonna try and list all such refs, though, just in case (and to keep building the picture).

 

[Paul Farquhar]

binding information

There is no "binding information". Despite the wording, 5e lore is just as much subject to change as everything else. We already know there is a major change to dragonborn incoming.

 

[JEB]

TOMB OF ANNIHILATION

Greyhawk

• Acererak gets a profile in a sidebar in the introduction (with a few more details in his statblock near the end); according to ancient texts, he's from Oerth; much of his past, however, is "forgotten"; he travels the planes in search of artifacts; rather than seeking godhood, he prefers to "create evil gods and unleash them"; he has many followers and worshipers; he has lived in "many worlds" and "crafted countless demiplanes", but mainly builds tombs, one of which is the Tomb of the Nine Gods on Toril (by implication there are others, presumably including the original Tomb on Oerth)
• Vecna is a "prime example" of a lich who pursued godhood

GHOSTS OF SALTMARSH (thanks for help with this, @Stormonu)

Greyhawk

• The adventures are set around Saltmarsh, a fishing community with a "tradition of being a starting point for incredible adventures"; it's apparently located along the Azure Sea; the book further details part of the "coastal lands of Keoland, a kingdom in the Greyhawk setting"
• Saltmarsh is detailed at length, along with information about the Kingdom of Keoland (to include King Kimbertos Skotti), the Hold of the Sea Princes, and their relations to Saltmarsh
• The Scarlet Brotherhood is profiled
• Iuz is mentioned as "a cambion and demigod", and his emissary in Saltmarsh is a tiefling (possibly suggesting ties between Iuz and tieflings); his emissary in Saltmarsh works for the Faithful Quartermasters of Iuz
• Mention is made of Ket, "a distant kingdom held in a mix of contempt, mistrust, and fear", and the Great Kingdom and (presumably) its Overking
• Rare types of wood can be found in the Hool Marshes, the Drowned Forest, and the Dreadwood (which also has elves and fey)
• A cleric of St. Cuthbert is mentioned
• There is a sidebar on Procan, Greyhawk god of the sea and weather
• Locations detailed near Saltmarsh include Abbey Isle, Burle (near the Dreadwood), Seaton, the Tower of Zenopus (from the sample adventure from in Holmes blue basic), the Dreadwood (now tied to the Shadowfell), the Drowned Forest (site of an Abyssal incursion), the Hool Marshes, the Dunwater River, the Silverstand, and the Azure Sea
• All of the adventures in this book take place in Greyhawk by default
• The updated Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh includes books penned by Tenser and Nystul
• The Styes features a cult of Tharizdun, "an ancient deity of darkness"
• In the sidebar for placing The Styes, they suggest the city of Prymp, in Ahlissa, implying it fits the criteria of "part of a free city that has fallen into despair and decay"

Mystara

• In the sidebar for placing The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh in other settings, they mention the Grand Duchy of Karameikos and the Five Shires (which may share a border), the Blight Marsh, and Rollstone Keep; they also use the term "hin", which presumably means halfling
• In the sidebar for placing Danger at Dunwater in other settings, they imply that halflings are tied to the Five Shires; they also mention Baron von Hendricks of Fort Doom, Darokin's "other port", Port Tenobar, and the "vast" Malpheggi Swamp
• In the sidebar for placing Isle of the Abbey in other settings, they mention the Minrothad Guilds ("always interested in consolidating their power on the sea"); the Thieves' Guild; "the scholars of North Isle"; Fire Island; cult "followers of Alphaks"; and "Thyatian privateers" from Terentias
• In the sidebar for placing Tammeraut's Fate in other settings, they mention Duke Stefan of Karameikos (who would apparently be concerned by a Thyatian attack); Rugalov; "Duke von Hendricks of the Black Eagle Barony"; "agents of the Iron Ring"; the "Known World"; Nyx; Orcus as an entity in the setting; and Protius

 

[Dragonsbane]

I thought whatever I say is canon at my table is canon? No? I certainly don't have much of 5E as canon.

 

[Scott Christian]

TASHA'S CAULDRON OF EVERYTHING

Awesome work.

I do have to point out something though. The authors of these books, are what might be called "unreliable narrator's." So, for example, it would be easy enough for Tasha to say later: "Oh, I wasn't raised by Baba. I just said that to keep my past undisclosed."

 

[Bolares]

Awesome work.

I do have to point out something though. The authors of these books, are what might be called "unreliable narrator's." So, for example, it would be easy enough for Tasha to say later: "Oh, I wasn't raised by Baba. I just said that to keep my past undisclosed."

I think that's the best way to make RPG lore. Gives the DM more freedom to do their thing

 

[JEB]

BALDUR'S GATE: DESCENT INTO AVERNUS

Greyhawk

• Arkhan the Cruel has the Hand of Vecna, having acquired it from the world of Exandria (one can assume this is the same Hand of Vecna from Oerth, having found its way to Exandria, but it doesn't actually say this)

ICEWIND DALE: RIME OF THE FROSTMAIDEN

Greyhawk

• The Secret of the Obelisks sidebar notes that "an evil wizard named Vecna" stole one obelisk and used it wipe the obelisk's creators out of existence, and also stole the knowledge to make new obelisks; this took place sometime before Netheril's fall in the Realms, as Netherese wizards "later" learned the secret of making obelisks; so Vecna's living days were at some point before -339 DR (over 1800 years ago)

Spelljammer

• A Nautiloid features in the sidequest "Id Ascendant", including a layout of the interior and various functions (not explicitly tied to Spelljammer; don't know how accurate it is to Spelljammer, either)

CANDLEKEEP MYSTERIES

Greyhawk

• An alternate setting for this anthology is the Great Library in the Free City of Greyhawk

 

[JEB]

EXPLORER'S GUIDE TO WILDEMOUNT

Nentir Vale

• The creation story has parallels with the World Axis cosmology (not explicitly tied to Nentir Vale)
• The Dawn War pantheon is worshipped in Exandria, to include the Raven Queen (whose origin story differs from Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes) (not explicitly tied to Nentir Vale)

Greyhawk

• "Vecna the Whispered One" was a notable archmage in the Age of Arcanum, and is part of Exandria's pantheon (the same Vecna as the one on Greyhawk, or a variant? not explicitly tied to Greyhawk)
• Kord, Pelor, and Tharizdun are part of Exandria's pantheon (not explicitly tied to Greyhawk)

VAN RICHTEN'S GUIDE TO RAVENLOFT (thanks, @Urriak Uruk)

Nentir Vale

• One option for Ezra's true nature is that she's an aspect of the Raven Queen (not explicitly tied to Nentir Vale)

Greyhawk

• Azalin Rex once existed as the Darklord of Darkon (not explicitly tied to Greyhawk)
• Among the domain of Klorr's echoes of "lost and failed" domains is one with "a city of skulls"; possibly a reference to Vecna's 2E Ravenloft domain of Cavitius, although for 5E alone it could be anything
• Kas the Bloody Handed, Vecna's traitorous vampire ex-lieutenant, rules the domain of Tovag; he's "notorious across the planes"; he was taken by the Mists after betraying Vecna and engaging in a battle with him that supposedly destroyed them both; he searches for the Sword of Kas (same setting as Vecna by implication)
• The entry for Tovag also describes the lich Vecna as growing in power "over ages and across worlds" after escaping the battle with Kas that supposedly destroyed them both

Dragonlance

• Among the domain of Klorr's echoes of "lost and failed" domains is one with "a tower like a blackened rose"; possibly a reference to Lord Soth's 2E Ravenloft domain of Sithicus, although for 5E alone it could be anything (note also that Lord Soth hasn't explicitly been tied to Dragonlance in 5E)

 

[Parmandur]

Arkhan the Cruel has the Hand of Vecna, having acquired it from the world of Exandria (one can assume this is the same Hand of Vecna from Oerth, having found its way to Exandria, but it doesn't actually say this)

Ah, no, bit of a spoiler for Critical Role there, but Arkhan actually got the Hand a more...direct...way while

Spoiler

Vecna was distracted by his ascension to godhood

.

 

[JEB]

Ah, no, bit of a spoiler for Critical Role there, but Arkhan actually got the Hand a more...direct...way while

Spoiler

Vecna was distracted by his ascension to godhood

.

Interesting, thanks. But this raises an interesting question... the Baldur's Gate book tells us nothing about that, just that Arkhan has the Hand. Icewind Dale makes Vecna a contemporary of (or older than) Netheril. The Exandria book is actually pretty vague about when Vecna ascended to godhood, except that he's the newest god in the pantheon. And the 5E Ravenloft book notes he's gone between multiple worlds.

Wizards appears to have left themselves a few different ways of handling Vecna's backstory in 5E, none of which technically contradict any of the 5E books:

• One Vecna, from Greyhawk, visiting multiple worlds (also works with older-edition lore, but not Critical Role)
• One Vecna, from Exandria, visiting multiple worlds (also works with Critical Role, but not older-edition lore)
• One Vecna, from an unknown world, visiting multiple worlds (safe middle, broad-strokes)
• Different variants of Vecna in different settings (Into the Vecna-Verse?)

That Vecna has also meddled with something that can basically create retcons may be relevant...

EDIT: Just realized that by the new canon policy, Critical Role isn't canon for D&D 5E; it's not from a 5E RPG book. So only what's in the Exandria book would count.