Demetrios1453
Legend
There are a few minor changes, notably in the dwarf and drow pantheons, but that's about it.
Hussar
Legend
Went with the "Friends with Benefits" option. While the AP's might be mostly set in Forgotten Realms (they have to set them somewhere, even if it was just Genericland and FR seems to be a better choice) the books are largely setting neutral in that examples abound from other settings.
It's certainly not official though. Of course, it's a bit tricky since we don't have THAT many supplements. There's only what, 4 (not counting actual setting guides like Eberron) supplements in the last 5 years as opposed to 7 or 8 AP's. Which certainly does make it feel like it's all FR all the time.
It's certainly not official though. Of course, it's a bit tricky since we don't have THAT many supplements. There's only what, 4 (not counting actual setting guides like Eberron) supplements in the last 5 years as opposed to 7 or 8 AP's. Which certainly does make it feel like it's all FR all the time.
Urriak Uruk
Gaming is fun, and fun is for everyone
Yeah, it's the default. It's not the ONLY setting in D&D 5E, and not EVERY product is for FR... but when in doubt, the product is likely for FR.
Every single original adventure book published for 5E is meant for FR (CoS, GoS, and TftYP are remakes). I'm guessing the next one, and the one after that, will all at least begin in FR as well.
Every single original adventure book published for 5E is meant for FR (CoS, GoS, and TftYP are remakes). I'm guessing the next one, and the one after that, will all at least begin in FR as well.
Urriak Uruk
Gaming is fun, and fun is for everyone
The actual descriptor doesn't matter; what does matter is that every original adventure published as a hardcover for 5E is meant for Forgotten Realms. So their publishing schedule is impacted by... whatever it is you want to call this.
TwoSix
Everyone's literal second-favorite poster
So are we voting as to what we are predicting is going to happen with future releases? I'm kinda struggling with what the actual question is for the thread.
Urriak Uruk
Gaming is fun, and fun is for everyone
It's just a thread meant for people to debate what the words "default" and "official" mean.
Not really sure why the actual term really matters; it's pretty obvious that the bulk of releases for 5E have been for FR, though of course not all of them. It seems to be there go-to setting to set any new adventure, which based on how people react to their favorite setting getting any changes, seems to be the right choice (the only FR fans who remain seem to be happy with its status as ever-changing).
Charlaquin
Goblin Queen (She/Her/Hers)
I think Crawford’s answer was both clear and accurate. There is an official D&D setting, and it is “the multiverse.” This is similar to Magic: the Gathering where all the various planes that may be the focus of one set or another exist within a unified meta-setting, also called “the multiverse.”* All the different D&D settings exist within this meta-setting, which has certain baseline assumptions, such as the great wheel cosmology and D&D’s magic system.** The Forgotten Realms is just one setting among many that exists within the official meta-setting. It’s no more “default” than Dominaria is the “default” plane in Magic: the Gathering. Which is to say, yes, it holds a significant place within official canon, due to being the focal point of a majority of the official material, especially early on in the brand’s life cycle.
But that’s kind of circumstantial. It could easily change, especially if there is a lot of consumer demand for canon material focusing on other settings. We saw that happen with Magic, where WotC tested the waters first with a block set in Otaria (which is on Dominaria but is nonetheless pretty distinct from what they had been doing up until then), then branching out into more different settings, and at this point Ravnica is practically an equally prevalent plane in Magic canon to Dominaria. We’re starting to see them do the same thing with D&D, where they tested the waters with Eberron, and now it looks like they’re going to continue releasing material for other settings. With the success of Wildemount, who knows, Exandria could end up becoming the Ravnica to Aber-Toril’s Dominaria.
All that said, I don’t think WotC has any plans to “move on” from the Forgotten Realms any time soon. Mearls’ answer gives a great explanation of the value of having a setting that they can lean so heavily on, and I doubt they’re eager to lose those advantages. For these reasons, I voted for “friends with benefits.” Forgotten Realms isn’t the official setting. It’s sort of functionally the “default” setting for the time being, but only in the sense that they’ve been focusing heavily on it, there’s no reason they can’t or won’t shift that focus if they think the benefits of doing so will outweigh the costs. Even if that happens though (and I do think we’re starting to see it happen,) that won’t be “Moving On.” Forgotten Realms will probably always hold a special position in D&D canon, just as Dominaria still holds a special position in Magic canon, and sets that focus on it are always treated as big, special events and play hard on longtime fans’ nostalgia.
*and with the various Planeshift documents and Guildmaster’s Guide to Ravnica, they are arguably the same meta-setting, at least in D&D canon if not in Magic canon.
**This of course calls the unity of D&D’s multiverse and Magic’s multiverse into question, since they have different cosmological assumptions and different hard magic systems. But YMMV on how much that really matters to you. And anyway, there are other official D&D settings that bend or even break these assumptions. The current approach seems to be to handwave these setting inconsistencies with some vague mysticbabble, and fair enough if you ask me.
But that’s kind of circumstantial. It could easily change, especially if there is a lot of consumer demand for canon material focusing on other settings. We saw that happen with Magic, where WotC tested the waters first with a block set in Otaria (which is on Dominaria but is nonetheless pretty distinct from what they had been doing up until then), then branching out into more different settings, and at this point Ravnica is practically an equally prevalent plane in Magic canon to Dominaria. We’re starting to see them do the same thing with D&D, where they tested the waters with Eberron, and now it looks like they’re going to continue releasing material for other settings. With the success of Wildemount, who knows, Exandria could end up becoming the Ravnica to Aber-Toril’s Dominaria.
All that said, I don’t think WotC has any plans to “move on” from the Forgotten Realms any time soon. Mearls’ answer gives a great explanation of the value of having a setting that they can lean so heavily on, and I doubt they’re eager to lose those advantages. For these reasons, I voted for “friends with benefits.” Forgotten Realms isn’t the official setting. It’s sort of functionally the “default” setting for the time being, but only in the sense that they’ve been focusing heavily on it, there’s no reason they can’t or won’t shift that focus if they think the benefits of doing so will outweigh the costs. Even if that happens though (and I do think we’re starting to see it happen,) that won’t be “Moving On.” Forgotten Realms will probably always hold a special position in D&D canon, just as Dominaria still holds a special position in Magic canon, and sets that focus on it are always treated as big, special events and play hard on longtime fans’ nostalgia.
*and with the various Planeshift documents and Guildmaster’s Guide to Ravnica, they are arguably the same meta-setting, at least in D&D canon if not in Magic canon.
**This of course calls the unity of D&D’s multiverse and Magic’s multiverse into question, since they have different cosmological assumptions and different hard magic systems. But YMMV on how much that really matters to you. And anyway, there are other official D&D settings that bend or even break these assumptions. The current approach seems to be to handwave these setting inconsistencies with some vague mysticbabble, and fair enough if you ask me.
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