Future Forgotten Realms Novels: Canon or Not?

[Gold Roger]

FR has been messed up to the max multiple times by now, through to many people working on it, world shaking novel lines, every D&D suplement released being integrated and a galore of powercreep. And that for over 20 years.

I don't care much what happens to it. My personal preference would be to let it die (read, geting discontinued) with a last bit of dignity, just to make way for another fresher medieval setting. But I understand it still has to many fans for wotc to consider this.

 

[Uzzy]

The problem is not that the novels are considered canon, it's what's written in the novels that is the problem. The continual string of RSE's, one after the other (and recently, overlapping. I.e. The Year of Rogue Dragons and the Elven Crusade novels) makes it hard to keep up with the changes in the Realms, and lessens the impact of them.

Now, if the FR novel department concentrated on smaller scale plots for the majority of their novels, I think it would be great. Adventurers setting out to meet local challenges, detailing the various cities and towns around the Realms. I'd happily buy those novels. They are even quite doable in the 'current' Realms. It's been proven by the Sembia series, the Wizards/Rogues/Fighters series etc.

However, we have a situation where we are getting RSE's nigh on constantly. That's not to say RSE's are necessarily a bad thing, but all things in moderation. Cutting down the RSE's to maybe once every two or three years in real time would be nice.

 

[JeffB]

I don't care much what happens to it. My personal preference would be to let it die (read, geting discontinued) with a last bit of dignity, just to make way for another fresher medieval setting. But I understand it still has to many fans for wotc to consider this.

Agreed. I also think it's time to let The Realms be discontinued. It's beyond a true repair and you can only patch so many holes in that old tire tube before you just gotta move on to some new tires. Pretty much the same thing that happened to Greyhawk unfortunately.

I've been re-reading through my old 1E FR materials the past week or so (mostly OGB and FR1/FR5, also the original LOD), and I'm just amazed at how much change (mostly wonky) has been done to it over the years through 2E and Novels. I cannot see myself ever running anything post TOT, in fact I'm getting a hankering to run a earlier campaign ..say 25-100 years prior to the OGB.

Though I'm not a fan of a majority of Eberron's flavor, I like the way they have "run" the campaign as a product line (including the novels). A new "classic D&D" flavor campaign setting would be something I'd be very interested to see if it was handled in the same manner as Eberron.

 

[Wrox]

I was actually shocked to discover that novels in Eberron were not canon. Part of the fun of reading a Forgotten Realms novel is knowing that the events contains within will be added to the ever growing lore of the setting. It's a part of what makes the Realms a vibrant setting. Reading novels that are not canon seems like a waste of time to me.

 

[crazy_cat]

Don't care.

If I was DM'ing in FR with my current group then I'm sure we'd ignore or amend any canon stuff (whether from novels or other sources) as and when we saw fit to if this helped our game develop as we wanted it to.

We do the same with any other setting we play in.

 

[AdmundfortGeographer]

RSE and canon-shaping events should be done through adventures and adventure paths. Novels should do none of that.

I would be fine if there was one metaplot that was novel driven, but not a whole catalog worth of metaplots.

 

[Jack99]

Dont really care, when I run FR, I run it as my world, with my changes, no matter what happens in future books and novels.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

Frack, no.

Trying to keep novel timelines/events current with the published campaign setting, and having to constantly update the setting to keep up with them, is one of the things that has screwed up the FR in my opinion.

I ignore the novels, or try to, but then the events get forced on me anyway with the update of the campaign setting. I could, and do, still use the old grey box, but then I have the additional chore of converting.

 

[Mighty Veil]

Expanded universe

I always felt with Greyhawk they should had done 2 things with it. First, roll it back to its basics, the Gygax version. And make that Open Game for 3rd parties. Second, have a WoTC continuity of Greyhawk (the 2e stuff). 3rd parties could make their own version of Greyhawk city or adventures (imagine if Freeport had been Greyhawk and the DCC were written in the Greyhawk world). Wizards' version would be a GH Expanded universe. Set up much like how the Star Wars one is. It has it's official (Lucus stuff) and it's official Expanded universe.

Maybe a lesson for the Realms. You print out a cannon version for everyone. It's basic, it sets you up for what the Realms is. Then you have a Expanded world, consisting of books, DDi, and a Realms page; each giving story or campaign world ideas for those who want them.

Each new D&D edition wouldn't then need a NEW Realms each time, with its new world event and silly explainings on why this class is gone from the world since the edition doesn't have it. Example, Bhaal is removed since assassins weren't in 2e. Bets that he returns if PHB 2 or 3 has a assassin class in it. You can just keep a Bhaal if it works for that world's flavor and feel. Then in the game rules just say: assassins are now rogues since we have no written assassin class. Feel free to keep a powerful guild who's leader is called the Grandfather of Assassins.

By having an expanded universe. Each edition would only need to focus on the new rules and how it effects the world since the last edition. No need for worldly events. Each edition the world gets reset back to its start in expanded universe. Of course the novels which make money would continue in its continuity.

 

[The_Universe]

I mine FR for "standard" D&D ideas to use in my homebrew. As a result, I really don't care what's canon and what's not, since I'm just grabbing out the pieces I like, anyway.