Future Forgotten Realms Novels: Canon or Not?

[Uzzy]

Perhaps you can give us some reasons as to why you think like that, WayneLigon and handandwhy99?

It's far too late to abandon the idea of novels being canon. Many of the plots written in the novels have been used in sourcebooks. For instance, saying 'Death of the Dragon' is no longer canon is quite mad, as you would have to rewrite the entire last 5 years of Cormyr history.

Now, lets examine what canon means, shall we? Firstly, future sourcebooks and novels have to take into consideration what's come before them, the body of work for the Realms. And.. that's it. DM's can pay as much or as little attention to them as they like. You don't want an event to happen in your Realms, then don't have it. Infact, the canonical status of many of the novels have greatly benefited the Realms as a whole.

 

[Kae'Yoss]

I couldn't care less, frankly. Being confronted with the "love it or leave it" attitude, I promply left the Realms for good, turned out the points of light and all.

 

[Vraille Darkfang]

No.

Not if I want to save money. If the Novels aren't Canon, why should they have the FR logo on them. If the FR Novels have as mush to do with the FR as the Entire Dallas Season before "Bobby in the Shower", I won't be picking them up.

The problem isn't that the Novels are Canon, the problem is that the Left Hand (book department) doesn't seem to care what the Right Hand (Game department) is doing.

FR needs a (good) head of overall production. One who balances out the Novels, Game Product, and even Computer Programs and plots the overall meta-plot of the Forgotten Realms.

They need 1 Grand Plot; 2-3 Regional Major Plot, & various Minor Ones. You then parcel these out amongst Books & Game Supplements & actually try to make sure they complement (but don't require the other).

Canon I read as "Happened". If you aren't going to have Novels be Canon, I won't be reading them. (and I have read most of them).

 

[Vraille Darkfang]

OK. It seems that some version of Ctrl or Functions allows me to Back Page & so now I have to make a post relevant to this thread.

I don't like to read fiction of fiction (as a general rule).

Thus, I don't read Star Trek Novels (despite being a fan of Star Trek). I don't read Star Wars for the same reason.

I really don't need to read a fictionilzation of a fiction.

 

[Dark Psion]

What Vraille said above is basically what I was going to post.

Keep in mind that the divide between the Novels & the RPG books was so big that you could not even post about RPG implications of the novels on the WoTC boards.

Any mention of the novels could get a thread deleted.

 

[Angel Tarragon]

No, Hell no!

 

[Dacileva]

This is true. However, if the canonical books are smaller scale, then they are easier to ignore in your game. Canon or not is not the issue here. The problems mentioned by those in this thread can be solved just by changing the emphasis of the novel line.

Songs and Swords, Knights of Myth Drannor and the Sembia series deserve to be canon.

The point I was trying to make is this:

If the books are smaller scale, it is completely irrelevant whether they are canon or not.

A smaller scale makes them interchangeable into and out of games, regardless of canon. The only place canon actually matters, and what I generally assume when people say "should novels be canon or not", is RSEs, or at least, major shake-ups. If Keith Baker came out and said that "Legacy of Wolves" was canon, then it still doesn't really affect the setting, so why bother saying it at all? Likewise, unless the books you're referring to actually did affect the setting, it doesn't matter whether they're canon or not.

The only things to really be considered (regardless of whether a person is pro-novel-canon or anti-novel-canon) are RSEs and major shake-ups, because smaller things don't matter either way.

 

[Uzzy]

I think we are closer to an agreement then you think, Dacileva. I too feel the same way. For those smaller scale stories, it's irrelevant if they are canon. But those stories I mentioned contribute a lot to the understanding of the Realms, I feel. The position that these stories are canon means that future novels and sourcebooks have to take into account those things, which gives it a sense of continuity.

And yes, RSE's need looking at. I would reduce them in number, as posted above.

The problem isn't that the Novels are Canon, the problem is that the Left Hand (book department) doesn't seem to care what the Right Hand (Game department) is doing.

Case in point, Mysteries of the Moonsea being published while the entire Moonsea was getting taken over by Zhents in the Last Mythal trilogy. Which really made the book out of date when published, which isn't good!

 

[grimslade]

The novels drive FR. The RPG sales are a very small portion of the take. Whether novels are canon or not is irrelevant. Do you want to play in the Forgotten Realms? If yes, then the novels are canon. It is very similar to Wheel of Time. The books are the reason for the game now.

Again, the novels are the setting now. It won't change unless Drizzt drops off the NYT Bestseller list and never returns.

I would prefer a setting that is just a setting with some novel support but the Realms are not that slice of pie anymore.

 

[Arnwyn]

(Disclaimer: This post - and poster - realizes that this thread, and the opinions therein, are entirely academic.)

If the current trend of content of FR novels continues, then my answer is: No. Freaking. Way. Too many changes affecting too much of the Realms has only caused problems over time. The trend is all about 'bigger and bigger', which does the game world no good. If the novels were all self-contained stories (such as the earlier novels, such as the first Drizzt novels, the Alias trilogy, the Cleric Quintet, etc), then maybe there'd be a place for them in the game world. But there isn't.

The FR novels are what ruined the FR game world, AFAIC.


(And overall, I agree with Dacileva's post, and I'll go one step further - the best novels are the ones in which it's irrelevant whether they're canon or not.)