D&D 5E Mike Mearls did an interview for Escapist Magazine and reveals PHB classes, races, and much more

[JEB]

Regarding the choice of a default setting, and that setting being Forgotten Realms...

It's increasingly obvious that Wizards sees D&D as a franchise, not just a RPG. And franchises demand a unifying set of characters and concepts. And Forgotten Realms already has more exposure than any other D&D setting. Besides the novels, it's in video games (D&D Online and Arena of War), the IDW comic books, board games (Lords of Waterdeep), and even toys (the KRE-O line features Drizzt and company). So from a business standpoint, it only makes sense for the RPG to feature Forgotten Realms as well.

Now, it'd be lovely to see them push the nearly-as-popular settings, too (Dragonlance, and maybe Ravenloft as a distant third, thanks to the board game). And perhaps invest some energy in making the settings beloved by veteran D&D fans (like Greyhawk) more prominent. But Forgotten Realms is really the most logical choice at launch.

 

[Majoru Oakheart]

Besides the novels, it's in video games (D&D Online and Arena of War)

D&D Online is set in Eberron. Neverwinter is set in Forgotten Realms, however. And Neverwinter Nights 1 and 2, Baldur's Gate 1 & 2, Icewind Dale 1 & 2, as well as a number of other more minor games.

I'm certain that the games have reached a pretty big audience.

 

[Bluenose]

Besides the novels, it's in video games (D&D Online and Arena of War), the IDW comic books, board games (Lords of Waterdeep), and even toys (the KRE-O line features Drizzt and company).

D&D Online, as [MENTION=15142]Maj[/MENTION]oru mentions, used Eberron as the setting - Stormreach to be exact, though it now includes FR. The IDW comics make no mention that I've seen of the setting, though of course the reprints include the original FR comics. And the boardgames also include ones that are very obviously not FR - Conquest of Nerath, for instance, and I'd include CAstle Ravenloft and Wrath of Ashardalon in the category, though Legends of Drizzt is equally another FR example.

 

[Uchawi]

Maybe the new DDI, App Store, or whatever you want to call it, should have a section to convert my D&D, so an adventure with deeps hooks into FR can be modified again for Eberron, or even Golarion. I expect players would come out of the woodwork to perform the task. You can even have votes on which is the most popular.

 

[Majoru Oakheart]

Maybe the new DDI, App Store, or whatever you want to call it, should have a section to convert my D&D, so an adventure with deeps hooks into FR can be modified again for Eberron, or even Golarion. I expect players would come out of the woodwork to perform the task. You can even have votes on which is the most popular.

I guess, I just don't think most of that is necessary. I mean, most elements in the FR are easily ported to other worlds with very few changes.

Take Murder in Baldur's Gateminor spoilers):
[sblock]It's plot hinges on a large city with tensions between the rich and poor, and a dead murder god who had children before he died.[/sblock]
Those elements could easily be found in most worlds. Even if they weren't, it could be adapted to have a different cause for the issues.

 

[Thaumaturge]

Those elements could easily be found in most worlds. Even if they weren't, it could be adapted to have a different cause for the issues.

Right. The key is finding out what the story really distills down to at its core, and fitting that core to a different world.

The Tyranny of Dragons story is about an evil dragon god being returned from imprisonment/hell but cultists and dragons while groups of varying other stripes fight it.

I'd toss my vote for Iuz, specifically the Boneheart, being a good stand in for the Zhentarim in Greyhawk.

Thaumaturge.

 

[Scrivener of Doom]

Right. The key is finding out what the story really distills down to at its core, and fitting that core to a different world.

The Tyranny of Dragons story is about an evil dragon god being returned from imprisonment/hell but cultists and dragons while groups of varying other stripes fight it.

I'd toss my vote for Iuz, specifically the Boneheart, being a good stand in for the Zhentarim in Greyhawk.

Thaumaturge.

On a related note, I'm looking at the basic plot and wondering how I could make it feel like FR as Tiamat being imprisoned has nothing to with FR.

I rather like the idea of elemental cults being formed to free Cyric from his imprisonment. At least that would have a basis in FR lore.

 

[Scrivener of Doom]

Also it (probably) means that the wotc's adventure production team(s) is (are) free to take up any other projects they might fancy, unfettered by wotc's HR department.

I didn't think I would ever say this, but I am thrilled with the direction they've taken with their adventures in 5E.

I think the smaller full-time team is here to stay - and I strongly suspect it will get smaller again at Christmas when the layoffs presumably resume - amd more work will be contracted out. That keeps the RPG alive without a lot of fixed overhead while they try and see if they can turn one or more of their other non-RPG ideas into a big moneyspinner.

And by making 5E into a more natural successor to AD&D than either 3.xE or 4E, WotC should have a much larger pool of outside creatives to draw upon because there isn't the need for the same level of rules mastery required to write for 3.xE or 4E. I think that's a really useful ancillary benefit to going back to a more 80s-feel for the rules.

I must also admit, I have been rather pleased with most of the 5E adventures so far, with the exception of Murder in Baldur's Gate (but I think I am in the minority there: so many others really enjoyed it). And the fact that they're contracted out their initial official adventures to competent third parties rather having them hacked out internally at the last minute by people who should never be allowed to design adventures (yes, Keep on the Shadowfell and Pyramid of Sewage, I am looking at both of you) is a sign of a genuine commitment to getting the launch of this new edition right.

And that's a nice change.

 

[TerraDave]

I think the smaller full-time team is here to stay - and I strongly suspect it will get smaller again at Christmas when the layoffs presumably resume - ...

I was assuming the point of a smaller team was to avoid those.

 

[DEFCON 1]

On a related note, I'm looking at the basic plot and wondering how I could make it feel like FR as Tiamat being imprisoned has nothing to with FR.

I rather like the idea of elemental cults being formed to free Cyric from his imprisonment. At least that would have a basis in FR lore.

Well, the Cult of the Dragon is a group within Realmslore... so you could also if you wanted stay with the actual plot but just change the dragon that is imprisioned. Looking on the Forgotten Realms wiki, it says that the Cult venerated dead evil dragons and raised gargantuan corpses as dracoliches. So there's a possibility there of just changing Tiamat to a uber-powerful dracolich. I dunno how powerful the dracolich Dretchroyaster is supposed to be (from the Vault of the Dracolich adventure), but you could perhaps tie those together.

Or even another idea would be that rather than Tiamat being captured, instead it's the soul of uberlich Sammaster (the originator of the Cult of the Dragon itself). The lichlord had been destroyed along with his phylactery, but perhaps the Cult is using dragons to reconstitute and raise him back up anyway?

There are several ways you could go about adapting this adventure probably.