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<blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 6497570" data-attributes="member: 42582">Your posts on this issue are presented as criticisms of [MENTION=67338]GMforPowergamers[/MENTION], but I don't see why - his approach is exactly the one you are telling him to take, namely, he refuses to run the Realms even though his players would like him to.But I think the bigger pictures - which may be part of GMforPowergamers' point, and is definitely part of [MENTION=22779]Hussar[/MENTION]'s point - is that this is not a very healthy commercial situation for a gaming setting to be in, namely, so burdened with canon that new GMs can't realistically set about picking it up and running it.If WotC make most of their Realms money from novel sales than perhaps this isn't a commercial problem for them - it may not be important to grow RPG engagement with the Realms if selling novels is where the action is. But from WotC's point of view, it also means that they have no huge incentive to faithfully maintain canon in their Realms gaming material, if the commercial viability of that material is dependant upon selling it to enough GMs and players that Realms canon purists will not be a major part of that market.I don't understand what force &quot;shouldn't&quot; has here. We are not discussing a question of morality. We are discussing a question of commercial publishing.WotC should (and will, assuming they have the evidence to ground rational decision-making) do whatever is going to let them make D&amp;D a commercially viable proposition. If that means sticking to canon, fine. If that means departing from canon, fine.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="pemerton, post: 6497570, member: 42582"] Your posts on this issue are presented as criticisms of [MENTION=67338]GMforPowergamers[/MENTION], but I don't see why - his approach is exactly the one you are telling him to take, namely, he refuses to run the Realms even though his players would like him to. But I think the bigger pictures - which may be part of GMforPowergamers' point, and is definitely part of [MENTION=22779]Hussar[/MENTION]'s point - is that this is not a very healthy commercial situation for a gaming setting to be in, namely, so burdened with canon that new GMs can't realistically set about picking it up and running it. If WotC make most of their Realms money from novel sales than perhaps this isn't a commercial problem for them - it may not be important to grow RPG engagement with the Realms if selling novels is where the action is. But from WotC's point of view, it also means that they have no huge incentive to faithfully maintain canon in their Realms gaming material, if the commercial viability of that material is dependant upon selling it to enough GMs and players that Realms canon purists will not be a major part of that market. I don't understand what force "shouldn't" has here. We are not discussing a question of morality. We are discussing a question of commercial publishing. WotC should (and will, assuming they have the evidence to ground rational decision-making) do whatever is going to let them make D&D a commercially viable proposition. If that means sticking to canon, fine. If that means departing from canon, fine. [/QUOTE]

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