D&D (2024) Should Forgotten Realms remain the default setting?

[edosan]

I would not mind if they really delved into the Forgotten Realms but I would also love for them to go back to a Points of Light setting with something like the Nentir Vale, lots of unexplored ruins and unknown stuff…but I am not convinced WOTC is interested in doing any setting in depth at this point so it feels like an academic discussion.

 

[Parmandur]

IIRC and I could be misremembering but isnt there quite a bit of lip service to FR in the 5E core books that would imply that its the default setting for 5E?

No, not really: Greyhawk, Dragonlance, and Eberron get pretty equal billing.

 

[R_J_K75]

No, not really: Greyhawk, Dragonlance, and Eberron get pretty equal billing.

Youre probably right because its been a while since I read them other than to look something up. I might be remember reading it somewhere on a forum or it was stated (or implied) by WotC. Has it ever been officially stated that FR is the default setting by WotC or is this just the inference because the majority of the adventures are set there?

 

[TheSword]

Because this is totally an official poll by Wizards.

You think an official poll would be different

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

You think an official poll would be different

I've done polls on Reddit, ENworld, and D&D Beyond with the exact same question before and gotten completely different results.

An official poll or a poll on a different site would absolutely have different results. So that eyeroll should really be directed at your unsupported claim.

 

[Parmandur]

Youre probably right because its been a while since I read them other than to look something up. I might be remember reading it somewhere on a forum or it was stated (or implied) by WotC. Has it ever been officially stated that FR is the default setting by WotC or is this just the inference because the majority of the adventures are set there?

WotC has always sworn up and down that FR is not the default Settijg for 5E, just their main well for pre-written modular material. A lot of their books explicitly go against FR lore, too, like Volo's version of Yuan-Ti use Greyhawk lore instead.

 

[TheSword]

I've done polls on Reddit, ENworld, and D&D Beyond with the exact same question before and gotten completely different results.

An official poll or a poll on a different site would absolutely have different results. So that eyeroll should really be directed at your unsupported claim.

I don’t doubt you have different results. That’s the point…. No one can agree. I just doubt you have conclusive results. My claim is the default until someone demonstrates otherwise.

Or can you direct me to one of your polls that does have a majority of people picking one new campaign setting?

 

[R_J_K75]

WotC has always sworn up and down that FR is not the default Settijg for 5E, just their main well for pre-written modular material. A lot of their books explicitly go against FR lore, too, like Volo's version of Yuan-Ti use Greyhawk lore instead.

After your first response I started thinking not even counting DMs Guild there's quite a bit of material 5E that's not FR. I didn't know that wizards have said that FR isn't the default setting. Makes me wonder why so many people, including myself, think that it is?

 

[HaroldTheHobbit]

My players are FR lore nerds, so why not. But in my opinion 5e core and splats are still pretty world agnostic, as it should be. Campaigns and adventures are easy to port to whatever setting you fancy.

As to the D&D content development over the last years, product focus on new and younger players, and a - by the looks of it - move to digital platforms with subscription and micro payment business models, I don't really see why FR shouldn't be the one setting, more integrated in the core. Other settings seem to be done in a more and more left-handed way, ie look at Spelljammer. There's probably no longer any need to cater to grognard nostalgia for profit and popularity. So just make FR a fully integrated setting in 1DD and be done with it.

 

[jdrakeh]

As much as I dislike FR, it remains the single most accessible and well known D&D setting. For that reason alone, I'm in the "yes" camp.