D&D 5E So, Forgotten Realms...

[doctorhook]

I've got mixed feelings about FR. On the one hand, it's the setting that introduced me to D&D (via Baldur's Gate for PC in 1999), and I like it a hell of a lot more than Greyhawk or *shudder* Dragonlance. On the other hand, I still find it bogged down with over-development, and I'm fairly put-off by settings that are nakedly composite. (The parts of FR that I like are the ones that don't seem to be "tacked on".) Waves of arbitrary world-changes didn't help it either.

I really liked the Nentir Vale, although it suffered due to its narrow scope. Overall, my favorite setting is Eberron by a wide margin, because it feels like it was constructed in its entirety with a lot more care than was FR. (I think FR has a lot of carefully constructed parts, but they don't feel like they were initially imagined together.) Furthermore, I think one of Eberron's strengths is that the published setting has remained firmly focused on Khorvaire in the year 998YK, which is a politically-loaded place and time. Individual players and DMs can plausibly shape their own future Eberron in almost any direction from that point. FR changes with or without you.

 

[Alarian]

I certainly don't dislike the setting. I have TONS of reference material on it and have run (and played in) many FR set campaigns going back to 2nd edition. I just think it's time has past. The FR are the old Grand Pappy of the DnD universe and it's time to pass the torch on to a new young Whipper Snapper.

 

[PinkRose]

Who's to say that gods will be listed in the PH?
Also, FR is about as generic a fantasy setting as possible, so everything can be included there.
And for new players, when they think fantasy, besides WoW, a world like FR is what they envision.
I didn't like Netir Vale because, to me, it felt like a generic FR. It had all the same stuff, but none of the history.

 

[Shiroiken]

*Sigh*

As has been stated several times, Forgotten Realms is not the Default Setting, it's the first setting they are focusing on. The PHB is going to reference several settings, such as for gods. They've stated that they're going to focus on the realms, and them move on to four other settings (the exact ones are up for debate, but Ebberon is a solid bet).

As for why they choose the Realms, it's because it's popular. It will provide the most money, which is the purpose of any business. You may want them to focus on other settings for whatever reason, but you are the minority. Personally, I want to see Greyhawk make a return, but I know that's a long shot at best.

 

[Hand of Evil]

Mark me disappointed to. Think they could have taken the time to build an up-to-date fantasy world, FR is old and dated and should have been updated (hint: see The Kobold Guide to Worldbuilding).

 

[Cybit]

FWIW, my players are using the referenced Greek and Norse gods, so I can definitely confirm it is setting agnostic. The Dark Sun references are well done and make me excited for the eventual Dark Sun book(s).

 

[Mercurius]

While I would have preferred that WotC come out with something new to begin, I understand why they're starting with the FR. Plus it isn't like they're going to stop there. As others have said, the core rulebooks are "pan-setting."

Mark me disappointed to. Think they could have taken the time to build an up-to-date fantasy world, FR is old and dated and should have been updated (hint: see The Kobold Guide to Worldbuilding).

Out of curiosity, what do you mean by "old and dated" and needing to be updated? Are you talking about design techniques as laid out in the Kobold Guide (which I own and have read much of)? Or are you talking more about the fact that the Realms have the patina of the decades they were designed in (70s-80s)?

 

[Raith5]

I liked FR when I played it back in Second Edition days. But I think there have been so much world changing revisions which have rendered it a confusing mix of generic blandness and high fantasy drama. I am not at all sure that the heavy impact of gods in the world is prevailing preference for those playing D&D, especially those starting of in the game.

I would like to see Greyhawk lightly revised and brought forward as a more prominent setting. I just think it is a more simple, less high fantasy setting which could be updated in light of recent editions.

 

[thalmin]

Are some of you suggesting the release of 5E should have been delayed so Wizards could develop a new setting for it?

 

[Jeff Carlsen]

If the gods are defined in the Player's Handbook (like they have been in all previous editions), then they will use Forgotten Realms gods. Hopefully, they will use a new approach and list them generically like they did in the playtest (i.e. lifebringer, wargod).

Of course we can make our own world and port over the adventures easily enough; However, I like to read the novels. Forgotten Realms was easily made most popular by the novels. I get board with the novels now because everything has been done. There are no more new lands left to be made visual through literature, and I just want Elminster to Die!. They had a real opportunity to have the authors start new and bring a new world to life. I'll bet those novels would sell like hotcakes.

The Cleric class description has long used generic deities, with with a description of which deity might fit the bill in a given setting. I doubt that will change, so thus suspect that the PHB won't describe specific deities the way previous ones have.