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<blockquote data-quote="humble minion" data-source="post: 9185148" data-attributes="member: 5948">I want canon to exist, because it lessens my workload as a GM.&nbsp; It gives me a nice backup to work with should my PCs go off in an unexpected direction.&nbsp; It gives my players options and inspiration for their PCs, to help immerse themselves in the world and the lore, to ground their PCs in the setting by incorporating setting history into their backgrounds, etc. I think everyone draws their line about 'how much canon is enough?' in different places, however.&nbsp; I don't care about where Drizzt is at day X of year Y (unless i know I have players who do, in which case I'll try to make an effort), but I do care about being able to quickly refer to information that already exists when a teleport spell misfires and the PCs end up 500 miles southeast of where they were aiming, rather than have to make up entire civilisations and geographies off the top of my head and remember them, and be consistent with them, later on.&nbsp; I don't need to get pages and pages in my campaign setting books about every minor NPC in Generic Starting Village (even the excellent 3e FRCS book, one of the best campaign setting books ever, was occasionally guilty of this), but i want shape, and something to work with, and something i can give to players to get their creative motors running and introduce them to the world they'll be playing in, and not have to write it all up myself.For the same reason though, i want canon to be static.&nbsp; Eberron has done this well, over its lifespan, while settings born from the TSR era, like FR or Krynn or Dark Sun, have generally not done so.&nbsp; If i look up Region A in an TSR-era FR sourcebook, then look up the neighbouring Region B in a sourcebook from two years later, the two will likely be utterly incompatible because the novel line has detailed three apocalypses, an overthrow of the ruling dynasty, and the death of two gods in the meantime. Canon has a purpose, and it should be suited to that purpose,</blockquote>

[QUOTE="humble minion, post: 9185148, member: 5948"] I want canon to exist, because it lessens my workload as a GM. It gives me a nice backup to work with should my PCs go off in an unexpected direction. It gives my players options and inspiration for their PCs, to help immerse themselves in the world and the lore, to ground their PCs in the setting by incorporating setting history into their backgrounds, etc. I think everyone draws their line about 'how much canon is enough?' in different places, however. I don't care about where Drizzt is at day X of year Y (unless i know I have players who do, in which case I'll try to make an effort), but I do care about being able to quickly refer to information that already exists when a teleport spell misfires and the PCs end up 500 miles southeast of where they were aiming, rather than have to make up entire civilisations and geographies off the top of my head and remember them, and be consistent with them, later on. I don't need to get pages and pages in my campaign setting books about every minor NPC in Generic Starting Village (even the excellent 3e FRCS book, one of the best campaign setting books ever, was occasionally guilty of this), but i want shape, and something to work with, and something i can give to players to get their creative motors running and introduce them to the world they'll be playing in, and [I]not have to write it all up myself[/I]. For the same reason though, i want canon to be [I]static[/I]. Eberron has done this well, over its lifespan, while settings born from the TSR era, like FR or Krynn or Dark Sun, have generally not done so. If i look up Region A in an TSR-era FR sourcebook, then look up the neighbouring Region B in a sourcebook from two years later, the two will likely be utterly incompatible because the novel line has detailed three apocalypses, an overthrow of the ruling dynasty, and the death of two gods in the meantime. Canon has a purpose, and it should be suited to that purpose, [/QUOTE]

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