D&D 5E Revisited Setting News: Its not the 2023 Classic setting, but rather for 2024

[Plaguescarred]

There are not issues with Dragonlance, WotC owns are rights to the IP.

Glad to hear this! After the litigation that surrounded the latest novels penned by the creators of DL i wasn't sure about the rest. I"d say it may also be a good contender for classic settings with new novels coming up.

 

[Bolares]

That's my point: newer players might not have any nostalgia for Greyhawk, but they love D&D, and "history of D&D" products have taken off: my kids love those art books, for example. Positioning Greyhawk as the buy-in for learning the history of one's hobby...particularly if they include a Ruins Castle Greyhawk Adventure...I see a real market for it. And it makes more sense as a 50th Anniversary tie-in than the Forgotten Realms. The questionable nature of whether such a product would work would be why it's not set in stone yet, but whatever this project is, it is something that WotC is considering three years in advance for the 50th Anniversary, so it has to be something fitting for that while simultaneously being something they are unsure of: for the very reasons proposed against Greyhawk here by @Ruin Explorer or @Henadic Theologian among others, which are valid, that makes it fit the bill for the "revisit" in my mind. A Greyhawk product would be a perfect fit for a celebration of the history and origins of the game, but maybe it wouldn't sell: so WotC is still considering it and researching how it would work and be received.

We've seen something similar with Magic recently. They didn't come back to Dominaria for years, because they didn't feel it offered something to newer audiences. So they transformed Dominaria in to a "history" plane. Stories there now focus on the rich history of the plane, and it's interaction with past and present. Maybe Greyhawk could be something like that for D&D?

 

[dave2008]

Glad to hear this! After the litigation that surrounded the latest novels penned by the creators of DL i wasn't sure about the rest. I"d say it may also be a good contender for classic settings with new novels coming up.

That was the authors of the DL books, they were not the sole creators of the DL setting (many people created the setting with the Authors). The new books only exist because the authors got a license from WotC to use the DL IP.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Glad to hear this! After the litigation that surrounded the latest novels penned by the creators of DL i wasn't sure about the rest. I"d say it may also be a good contender for classic settings with new novels coming up.

WotC's ownership of DL was never in dispute. The issue was, having obtained permission to publish a novel using the licence, the authors felt publication was being blocked.

 

[Plaguescarred]

That was the authors of the DL books, they were not the sole creators of the DL setting (many people created the setting with the Authors). The new books only exist because the authors got a license from WotC to use the DL IP.

I thought that Tracy and Laura Hickman were the creators of Dragonlance, and that others expanded it.

Also what this page says Dragonlance - Wikipedia

 

[Henadic Theologian]

There are no issues with Dragonlance, WotC owns all the rights to the IP.

I don't think it's legal issues folks are referring to when they talk about issues with Dragonlance.

 

[Plaguescarred]

WotC's ownership of DL was never in dispute. The issue was, having obtained permission to publish a novel using the licence, the authors felt publication was being blocked.

It's a good news that novels in setting other than Forgotten Realms are being licensed. Do we know if any other setting have novel license as we speak?

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I thought that Tracy and Laura Hickman were the creators of Dragonlance, and that others expanded it.

Also what this page says Dragonlance - Wikipedia

They where employees. If a company employs you to make something for the company, the rights belong to the company, not to you.

 

[dave2008]

I thought that Tracy and Laura Hickman were the creators of Dragonlance, and that others expanded it.

Also what this page says Dragonlance - Wikipedia

The Hickmans came up with the initial idea (possibly based on their home game), but to say they created the game setting is to far a stretch. Their was a dedicated team at TSR that developed the setting including other writers, designers, and artist. Don't forget that Margaret Weis was a co-author of the original novels was well. And there have been many more authors since those books.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

It's a good news that novels in setting other than Forgotten Realms are being licensed. Do we know if any other setting have novel license as we speak?

WotC are not currently producing novels, but they have granted rights to a couple of (high profile) authors to use their IP. I guess if a sufficiently high profile writer where to approach WotC and ask to use the licence for an Eberron novel they might get permission.