D&D 5E (2014) Sundering - So what happened?

[Jester David]

Honestly, after the novels we know about as much as we knew before. The most Sundering information ever likely game from a GenCon Forgotten Realms panel that spelled out what was kinda happening in broad strokes. Since then, we've seen a few events here and there but most of the actual details of the Sundering are unknown.

 

[Eugee]

My understanding is as follows:

Up to 3E you have regular Forgotten Realms.

In 4E, Mystra, the goddess of magic, was killed by another god (forget the name) and it caused a cascade of events the thinned the barriers between the feywild and shadowfell, as well as causing the twin world of Aberil to return in places. The spellplague was another consequence, changing how magic worked and destroying all the portals and teleportation rings. (As stated above, this all set up the 4E Points of Light style game.)

Now throughout 4E, the gods have been having a free-for-all, with most of them taking very overt actions on Toril-Aberil/Faerun, creating their Chosen on the world or just flat-out intervening, each jockeying for position among the other gods. The return of Aberil and the shadow kingdom of Netheril brings in Dragonborn and Tieflings, too. Oh, and of course the Eladrin show up because of the feywild.

My understanding is that in 5E, the Sundering is basically a big flash in the pan as the gods finalize their battle for position, and Toril-Aberil will be splitting apart again. It seems to me like a final clash that will set the new equilibrium.

 

[Silvenger]

So... six books to tell nothing? The Companions was an awesome reading, but I have not read the others. And if all you say is true I think I never will.

 

[Eugee]

Based on the wiki articles I read on the Sundering, it really seems like this is the main FR authors trying to fix the mess that 4E created of the world, that those same FR authors pleaded with WotC to NOT do right before they disregarded them and did it.

And suddenly the Sundering (an even started in like -17000) is coming full circle and will finish it's cycle now.

Basically the Sundering is the 5E reboot of FR, and my impression is that the primary stable of FR authors were left holding a bag of and told to make it into chicken salad.

 

[Perun]

So... six books to tell nothing?

More or less... there are snippets of events

Spoiler

(Amaunator becoming his Lathander persona again, disjoining of Abeir and Toril, previously dead gods popping back alive and well, etc.)

but no explanation is given for most (any?) of those.

Most of the novels are badly written and tedious to read (IMO, of course). The Herald, Greenwood's finale to the series, being the worst -- but, after reading several of his Elminster novels, I fully expected it and can only justify my reading through it by having a hope that the whole Sundering would be explained through the novel. It wasn't, of course.

Now, I only hope for the return of Leira. That would make the whole novel fiasco almost worth it

 

[Majoru Oakheart]

I have only read the Companions and have been reading Night of the Hunter. But I've read the Sundering adventures and a couple things people have posted about the other books.

Basically, the only things the books released so far say is that the Shadowfell is slowly getting further away from Toril. We know that gods have been creating new Chosen at an alarming rate in order to prepare what everyone thinks is a coming war between gods. The gods have been striking against each other and attempting to gain power over one another(and their followers). The land has been changing in subtle ways. Especially the lands that were changed by the Spellplague.

All this seems to point towards is that there will eventually be a Forgotten Realms campaign book of some sort that will explain what happens when the Sundering is complete. This book is unannounced, of course....but I assume we'll hear something at Gen Con.

 

[Jer]

More or less... there are snippets of events but no explanation is given for most (any?) of those.

Most of the novels are badly written and tedious to read (IMO, of course).

(I know I'm probably going to get an argument started here, and decades of Internet discussions tell me that this is a really bad idea, but here I am about to do it anyway)

You said "most" - which ones would you consider to be the better novels of the bunch?

 

[Perun]

(I know I'm probably going to get an argument started here, and decades of Internet discussions tell me that this is a really bad idea, but here I am about to do it anyway)

You said "most" - which ones would you consider to be the better novels of the bunch?

Honestly? I seem to have erased most of the novels' content from my mind. I remember some of the scenes from The Companions, for example, but have no memory of other characters except for Drizzt.

From what I do remember, it's The Sentinel by Troy Denning that I liked the best.

Regards.

 

[Bumamgar]

More or less... there are snippets of events ... but no explanation is given for most (any?) of those.

Most of the novels are badly written and tedious to read (IMO, of course). The Herald, Greenwood's finale to the series, being the worst -- but, after reading several of his Elminster novels, I fully expected it and can only justify my reading through it by having a hope that the whole Sundering would be explained through the novel. It wasn't, of course.

Now, I only hope for the return of Leira. That would make the whole novel fiasco almost worth it

While they are certainly not to the level of Kay, Stephenson or Gaiman, I found the novels to be quite enjoyable. I have been a bit dissappointed that they haven't really explained the Sundering much. In fact, the most 'concrete' explanations / changes were in The Companions when they actually explored the changes in magic a bit. The rest of the novels have just had minor nods and mostly seem to be vehicles for the various authors to bring their pet characters up to date. As I hadn't read any of the prior novels featuring most of the characters, I wasn't particularly invested in the characters. However, I did enjoy the stories none-the-less.

I've read a smattering of Realms novels over the years, but none post-4e. I've read various Drizzt and Elminster novels, as well as the 2e Avatar crisis series, which, imho, did a MUCH better job of explaining the world-changing events of the Time of Troubles than these novels have in explaining the Sundering.

As far as I can tell, the Sundering is still 'ongoing' and so far, its actual effects haven't been detailed. As someone else posted, I'm assuming that sometime early 2015 we'll see a 5e Forgotten Realms handbook that will provide the full details.

 

[Silvenger]

So we have the ongoing Sundering and the forthcoming Tyranny of Dragons... and as far as I know (maybe I'm wrong) the 'Rise of the Underdark' has not ended. So in the 5th edition we have drows occupying the surface, tyrant dragons trying to enslave all the intelligent races and magic itself changing again. You know what? My PC is asking me for a quiet retirement in Krynn