Changes to Living Forgotten Realms

[possum]

Why?

I'll answer both you and comment on MerricB with this post. It's because I'm hugely into continuity when it comes to my favorite franchises. Yeah, I'm one of those people... The bane of all writers, LOL. It's just one of the aspects of me being a fan. Don't exactly know how it started, but it's there.

 

[pawsplay]

If you don't get paid, and you don't get to be in continuity, there isn't much left beyond, "Hey, somebody played a module I wrote."

 

[pedr]

Well, LFR modules will be in continuity for LFR, just as LG modules were in continuity for LG.

I wasn't playing at the beginning of LG, but I'm pretty sure that the initial idea was the same: Greyhawk would be the core 3e world, and Living Greyhawk would form part of the meta-plot. If I'm right in that, it had been dropped before I started playing at the end of year four.

The problems of making a large campaign with players expecting multiple scenario releases per month (the plan for LFR at the start was two scenarios a week!) is that you can't afford delays, and the more hoops something had to travel through, the more delays there are. Even in later years of LG, scenarios got held up at the Circle (boss-administrator) review stage, and Core scenarios then had another hoop to jump through at WotC, or perhaps two. Adding the WotC story team into this mix must have been a nightmare for the administrators, and I'm glad they're dropping it.

Besides, it might keep LFR safe from the Abyssal Plague, even if the (real) Realms suffers another RSE!

 

[MrMyth]

My next thought would be that without continued printed support for FR as a setting, it would make sense for them to move away from it towards something just generic 4e PoL since outside of the yearly one setting (which already gets modified for PoL tropes), that's really all that they're putting to print, like it or leave it.

I don't think anything about LFR will be moving towards a more generic setting. Removing it from continuity just means that:

1) Mods don't need to go through lengthy approval processes to make sure nothing within them would be a problem to have as canon in the setting;
2) If the mod-writers have a long, lengthy storyline building up to an assault on Thay, and then a book comes out in which Thay is smote from orbit, the writers can try and finish up their storyline without just having to simply say that the heroes work was all for nothing.

Living Greyhawk ran for the life of 3rd Edition, without having regular setting books or products to support it. I take it you haven't played in a living campaign before, Shemeska?

 

[Shemeska]

I don't think anything about LFR will be moving towards a more generic setting.

Not what I meant to imply actually. I didn't imply any changes to LFR, just that WotC themselves are moving away from LFR as their posterchild of organized play and replacing it with the PoL Encounters, moving away from using a largely non-supported, no longer in print setting (not in print for the moment at least, rumors hint at something forthcoming in the future for one book or so).

 

[MrMyth]

Not what I meant to imply actually. I didn't imply any changes to LFR, just that WotC themselves are moving away from LFR as their posterchild of organized play and replacing it with the PoL Encounters, moving away from using a largely non-supported, no longer in print setting (not in print for the moment at least, rumors hint at something forthcoming in the future for one book or so).

Ah, that makes a lot more sense! My apologies for the misreading!

Though, Encounters isn't PoL, is it? The first season takes place in FR (and I think there are rules for transitioning those characters to LFR itself), while the second takes place in Dark Sun, right?

I wouldn't be surprised, though, if the goal for it is to specifically not be pinned down to one setting. You've got LFR for those who really want a long-term commitment and option for character development. Encounters is all about a casual experience that can draw on whatever the current focus of the game is.

 

[Shemeska]

Though, Encounters isn't PoL, is it?

If it's not, I'm going to be enjoying this yummy egg all over my face. *chuckle*

Though I'll still hold to the notion that WotC is likely to continue to pull away from FR wrt LFR as Encounters replaces it for active support (whatever setting it uses).

 

[MrMyth]

If it's not, I'm going to be enjoying this yummy egg all over my face. *chuckle*

Though I'll still hold to the notion that WotC is likely to continue to pull away from FR wrt LFR as Encounters replaces it for active support (whatever setting it uses).

Oh yeah, I think you are absolutely correct on that point. What was so impressive about LFR was how well it worked for the casual environment, and Encounters took what they learned from it and took it to a new level. Letting LFR fall away into its own thing, and letting the fans manage it (which tends to make it more geared towards the more dedicated crowd) while focusing on Encounters seems very likely to be where they go from here.

But does look like egg is in your future - checking the site, Encounters Season 1 was a delve into Undermountain, and Season 2 is survival in the sands of Dark Sun.

 

[pedr]

I expect season three of Encounters will be PoL. I wouldn't be overly surprised if it gently tied into the Abyssal Plague meta-plot, though perhaps it's a bit early for that.

Either that, or it'll be Gamma World...

 

[Dire Bare]

Though, Encounters isn't PoL, is it? The first season takes place in FR (and I think there are rules for transitioning those characters to LFR itself), while the second takes place in Dark Sun, right?

D&D Encounters isn't linked to a particular setting, core or otherwise. I'm not familiar with season 1, but season 2 is Dark Sun due to the book releases this summer. The next season will likely be core, as WotC is expanding the core setting next year.