These screencaps were posted by GM Leigh (of Mage Productions) on Twitter after being showed on WotC's Twitch stream, presented by Kate Welch and Nathan Stewart. Note the old Saltmarsh trilogy references!
Why would it be wrong of you to care?
Well, your caring means that you are actively working against anyone else who might want to see a different take on an older idea. Your caring about canon stifles creativity and creates a hostile environment among fans who don't feel that a single decision point (do we place this module in this or that setting) forty years ago should be forever binding.
IOW, your Tomb of Horrors would not spontaneously combust if they did "invalidate" it with a mega dungeon in Chult. You could still run it, read it and enjoy it. And, I get the bonus of being able to enjoy a new take on an old idea.
I guess my basic point is, new ideas don't invalidate old ones.
The Elemental Princes of Evil have been a canon part of the Forgotten Realms since the 1e Gray Box, if I'm not mistaken. They were definitely canon since early 2e at the very latest. That round hole has had plenty of time to be re-shaped to square.Unless they do.
So far, WotC has been good about including "In Other Worlds" in their adventures, for the very real possibility someone isn't running FR but wants to run the adventure. PotA's other worlds describes placing the adventure in and around Hommlet, the site of the previous 2 Elemental Evil adventures (t1-4 as well as 3e's Return to). None yet have "invalidated" similar adventures of older editions. Thinking this one will "invalidate" the old Saltmarsh adventures is possibly foolish, but you never know.
I understand Sword of Spirit's feelings, though. His friend's negativity towards the effective "removal" of the Star Wars EU, is similar to how I felt about Marvel's "Ultimate" line of comics, as well as DC's "New 52". When I first heard about PotA, them setting it within FR had me thinking they were stupid because the more fitting setting (in my mind) would have been Greyhawk due to the already established lore of Elemental Evil around Hommlet. It made me happy that they included the part about setting it within Greyhawk in Hommlet, but making everything Forgotten Realms with a sidebar saying how to include it in other worlds, to me is dumb. Having Elemental Evil within Faerun just feels hamfisted "square peg in round hole". WotC has access to many settings. Certain adventures make more sense in certain settings. Write it for the setting it makes sense for, and then include the sidebar of fitting it into other worlds.
Unless they do.
So far, WotC has been good about including "In Other Worlds" in their adventures, for the very real possibility someone isn't running FR but wants to run the adventure. PotA's other worlds describes placing the adventure in and around Hommlet, the site of the previous 2 Elemental Evil adventures (t1-4 as well as 3e's Return to). None yet have "invalidated" similar adventures of older editions. Thinking this one will "invalidate" the old Saltmarsh adventures is possibly foolish, but you never know.
I understand Sword of Spirit's feelings, though. His friend's negativity towards the effective "removal" of the Star Wars EU, is similar to how I felt about Marvel's "Ultimate" line of comics, as well as DC's "New 52". When I first heard about PotA, them setting it within FR had me thinking they were stupid because the more fitting setting (in my mind) would have been Greyhawk due to the already established lore of Elemental Evil around Hommlet. It made me happy that they included the part about setting it within Greyhawk in Hommlet, but making everything Forgotten Realms with a sidebar saying how to include it in other worlds, to me is dumb. Having Elemental Evil within Faerun just feels hamfisted "square peg in round hole". WotC has access to many settings. Certain adventures make more sense in certain settings. Write it for the setting it makes sense for, and then include the sidebar of fitting it into other worlds.
...
Good grief, I've seen Romeo and Juliet performed as street theater using 1950's hot rods instead of swords. That's about as far from "canon" as you can get. But what I didn't see was a bunch of Shakespeare fans jumping up and down because the canon was changed. Some liked the show, some didn't. But that was based on the production, not on some self invented image of what Shakespeare "should be".
If they rewrite the Slave Lords modules and place them in Forgotten Realms, as an example, who cares? Why should that bother anyone. If you insist that the Slave Lord modules MUST be in Greyhawk, run the original modules. Why does it hurt you so much that I get what I want?
I suppose the big difference is that no one owns Romeo and Juliet. The performance of a 1950s hot rod version of a Shakespearean work does not in any way prevent another troupe from performing it in a way that is more faithful to the original work. The refusal of WotC to open the Greyhawk setting on the DMs Guild, however, means that even as they take the Elemental Evil story and twist it to fit the Forgotten Realms, and even as they smush Tomb of Horrors together with the Forbidden City and relocate that, too, to the Forgotten Realms, it is expressly forbidden for anyone to publish an update that adds some content to one of these classic modules or adventure paths and update the encounters and whatnot to the current edition. Mind you, you can absolutely publish your adaptation and enhancement to a classic Greyhawk adventure on the DMs Guild, as long as you set the thing in the Forgotten Realms (or Eberron, or some Magic the Gathering setting--yes, MtG is DMsG legal while the original published D&D setting is not!)
I really don't mind that they write all the new stuff for the Forgotten Realms by default, I'm happy for the kitchen sink to get all the scraps. I do, however, object to the fact that other settings (specifically Oerth and Athas) remain locked off from 3rd party work.
Did someone's T1-4 spontaneously combust because PotA came out? Is there some reason you couldn't run that original module anymore? No, of course not. Nothing actually changed for that person. Not a single thing. They are just as able to run the original T1-4 today as they were years ago.
But, now, people have a choice. They can run the original T1-4 set in Greyhawk, or they can run PotA set in Forgotten Realms. Choice is good. It's a new take on an idea. <snip> If they rewrite the Slave Lords modules and place them in Forgotten Realms, as an example, who cares? Why should that bother anyone. If you insist that the Slave Lord modules MUST be in Greyhawk, run the original modules. Why does it hurt you so much that I get what I want?