D&D 5E 5E Forgotten Realms: what will it look like?

[Therise]

Given the outcry (as well as the love, for some) that occurred over the 4E Forgotten Realms cataclysm - spellplague, Abeir, god-killing, nation-nuking, etc... what do you think the 5E Forgotten Realms will look like?

Will they ditch / remove the 4E Realms in some way? (reset to an earlier edition state? have a Star Trek-style timeline reboot?)

Will they simply tone down the cataclysmic changes of 4E Realms, or keep all the 4E changes?

Will they have yet another BOOM! with a world-shattering event?

What do you think? Hope for? Are you happy with the way it is?

Do you care? Or is it way too late?

 

[skullking]

Will they have yet another BOOM! with a world-shattering event?

What do you think? Hope for? Are you happy with the way it is?

Hopefully Fzoul Chembryl is found in the shower and the Spellplague turns out to be a dream

 

[delericho]

Apparently, they're going to try to do a Realms where DMs can pick their own point in the timeline and just play that. So, a reunification there just as for D&D in general. (Seems fitting - FR went PoL to match the 4e paradigm; now they're going 'reunification' on us for the 5e one.)

Personally, I think it's a mistake to redo FR for 5e. If nothing else, they'll need to pick a preferred timeline for the fiction/video-game lines, which probably means the others won't get much support.

I would have thought that the better approach would be to quietly let FR go dormant for a while (actually, as long as possible, even up to a full edition), and then reboot the setting.

Then again, they've apparently got a Chinese video-game company at work developing the new look of the Realms. Maybe there's an MMO in the works that they haven't told us about yet?

 

[Matt James]

The timeline is established. I would love to the next iteration of the Realms to be of all eras.

Keep your eyes peeled.

 

[Alzrius]

I'm guessing that the 5E Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting/Guide will have a large section covering the various points of the setting's (game) history, probably broken down as pre-Time of Troubles/post-Time of Troubles/post-Spellplague.

I also suspect they'll release new material for the post-Spellplague era, and supplement that by re-releasing older FR materials from previous editions (digital form only) and maybe the occasional article for the online Dragon and Dungeon directed towards earlier FR periods.

 

[Giltonio_Santos]

I hope spellplague and 4E-Realms become a kind of "days of future past" stuff, one of many possible futures.

4E was the first time ever where I wished for the Forgotten Realms to be truly forgotten...

 

[Hassassin]

I've never understood why almost all history in campaign settings has happened before the assumed campaign starting point. Information about what will happen in the future (unless the PC's do something about it) is often more useful to me as a DM.

 

[Knightfall]

I foresee a core campaign setting book (or boxed set) that allows for all eras of play for the Realms. Think like the 3E Dragonlance setting book but bigger and bolder.

The Forgotten Realms has become an iconic setting, and it isn't hard to imagine FR fans going ga-ga over a newly revised set that allows them to pick the timeline they want their campaign to be set in.

In a revised FR set I could see the following:

• A solid, durable box. Don't ever use the material from those flimsy 4E boxes ever again. Make the boxes durable. Use the design ideas you used for the D&D board game boxes. Make this FR boxed set a must have for all FR fans!
• DM's Sourcebook: Campaign design for any era and a Who's Who of the Realms. Includes a comprehensive Gazetteer of the world including an appendix for the various sub-settings.
• Player's Guide: All the iconic character options for the Realms. You know what they are. Don't skimp.
• History of the Realms: Like the hardcover they did, but designed more for the game and less for the coffee table.
• Monster Guide: A detailed listing of the appropriate monsters from the Monster Manual/Vault and any "required" monsters not already detailed. Since I'm making this a box, I'd add in monster tokens for the new monsters. Tokens are cool!
• An introductory adventure.
• Maps: Four full-sized maps that shows the classic vision of the setting. If people want to play in the post-Spellplague era, theyshould hang on to their 4E hardcover. The maps should be double-sided, however. On the other side, include maps of the most iconic cities or regions (Baldur's Gate, Shadowdale, Thay, Watedeep) Have more maps embedded throughout the DM's book with two key maps on the inside covers.
• An extra piece of coolness. Something that makes the box really worth the price it's going to cost. A CD, perhaps, that includes some of the best classic realms products on it as PDFs. Or a collectible art card like what was done with the D&D Silver Anniversary boxed set. Just don't fill the extra space with treasure cards.

 

[DEFCON 1]

This "full timeline" scenario where they basically tell the DMs that they can play in whatever era they want pretty aligns with what they did for the Star Wars RPG. I mean in that one, they basically said straight out that you could set campaigns in the Old Republic era, the prequel era, the 30 years between Eps III & IV, the New Hope era, the years following Jedi, and all the way into the New Jedi Order era. You had this entire timeline... delve into whatever part of the history you want.

The Realms are the same way. You've got before Time of Troubles, during ToT, following ToT, the 100 years of blank canvas between 3E and 4E Realms, and the whole post-Spellplague era. Pick and choose where you want to adventure, and the game will support you. And heck, if they DO release PDFs of all their old stuff.. they can pretty much tell you which products to buy (from the 2E Realms boxset onward) that go into whichever part of the history you want more detail on.

 

[grimslade]

If unity is the goal, the entire timeline is going to be supported. Whether this means reprints or renewed support of classic fluff, or a series of 4e Neverwinter style campaign books to update and collate time periods for locales from early Greenwood to the Abeir-Toril jumble. I agree that SW: RPG eras are a good example of how to handle a long timeline and cater to a wide array of preferences.
The question becomes location specific or era specific? I think era specific continues fractures in the fan base. All eras in one location specific book adds up to a lot of wasted pages for most groups. The easiest way WotC can serve all eras and obey the Hasbro PDF leads to piracyomgbbq is to add Out-of-Print titles up to a DDI style service. Subscription for continued access to the entire FR library with conversion note articles as a bonus. This leaves them the freedom to pick and choose good campaign locations and eras for books. Time of Troubles adventure path? Fall of Netheril massive event for GenCon? The quest for lost Maztica after the Spellplague? I don't know but it helps WotC utilize back titles without the suits freaking out and opens up FR for a big resurgence.