D&D 5E The case for (and against) a new Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting book

[Xenonnonex]

Compared to the FRCS for 3E, both have far more information on the relevant areas.

Which you would imagine would be reasonable for an adventure locally based there. It is would be the least that should be included.
However there is no information for roleplaying a Chultan in a cultural sense. And I mean not just human Chultans.
There is a lack of information on Ubtao and the other local gods.
There is a lack of information on the factions and groups in Chult.
There is lack of information on the surrounding areas. As examples.
While you can certainly run the adventure without the ever present of the Death Curse it is still ever present.

 

[Xenonnonex]

It would not surprise me to find out that WotC has overwhelming evidence that the greater body of customers feel that way. It just makes sense.

There should now be overwhelming evidence that a great many also would rather have actual campaign settings.

 

[Shiroiken]

As long as it comes after a Greyhawk book I'm fine. But, Greyhawk first please.

Please God, no! I love Greyhawk, and I'm tired of it being further destroyed. I've already had to create my own compendium so my players don't get confused with "official canon."

 

[Fenris-77]

I don't really want a general FR setting book. I like depth of information, so I'd see a book focused on one or two nations that really gets into the nitty gritty. I want city maps, factions, NPCs, adventure hooks, all the juicy details.

 

[teitan]

Boxed set is the way to go. FR is too big to contain in one book. Plus, the nostalgia and the novelty factors could lead to better sales. I think it's time 5E got its first campaign setting boxed set.

This would also help differentiate it from the SCAG.

Boxed sets are historically much shorter than any campaign book has been. Now working with SCAG as a sort of intro to the setting and then an FRCS as an expansion onto the world? That could be a golden ticket.

 

[teitan]

The 3e FRCS is in some ways a distant prototype for the current 5e setting books. It's very similar in many ways, although it had a very minimal bestiary compared to the current books (which is likely due to the near-simultaneous publication of Monsters of Faerun, which basically functioned as the bestiary for the FRCS). It even had a couple of mini-adventures! Obviously, a 5e setting using the current format wouldn't be all that far different than the 3e version's style. And honestly, I would buy a 5e FRCS in the style of Ravnica or Eberron in a heartbeat.

The existence of SCAG and some of the adventures might cause some other issues though. For example, for all the flack SCAG gets, the deities and races parts were actually quite good, and that info would need to be repeated in any 5e FRCS - but that might cause some complaints of double dipping. And while Ravnica and Eberron both have a "city of adventure" section, 5e adventures have already done the same with in-depth Waterdeep and Baldur's Gate descriptions, so, it's either repeat that info (see above for possible complaints), choose another city (but which one would have as much clout as those two? Neverwinter, maybe?), or skip that section altogether (which, actually, might be ok as Wildemount has done so, and it would free up precious pages for other stuff).

Leading on from my last comment, they could first build it off of the SCAG and include the Baldur’s Gate and Waterdeep material if need be but I don’t think it is necessary. An FR expansion book, zooming out of the sword coast and using the new 320 pages to give a bigger treatment to the other regions would be excellent. They could easily include a few new subclasses and spells and the like and do justice to the core of the main continent. A further expansion could be the Cities of the Forgotten Realms with the Bg and Waterdeep material included plus Suzail, Shadowdale, and other important towns & cities. Probably not what the bean counters want though.

 

[teitan]

Wasn't Mearls a fan of Greyhawk? I wonder if him leaving the company reduces the likelihood of a Greyhawk book.

He is still with the company. Not the rpg.

 

[eyeheartawk]

Not a big Realms fan, but SCAG was a joke. For a default setting they don't tell you much about anywhere other than 3 cities in the Sword Coast area and virtually nothing about anywhere else.

Plus, you know, it would be nice if actual D&D settings outnumber Magic The Gathering setting books in D&D.

 

[teitan]

Against: It would probably rival Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition in size

Why? The 3e book is 320 pages. Why do people automatically think an FRCS book would be so huge or have to cover Maztica, Kara-tur, Al Qadim etc? It never has in the past and no reason to in the future.

 

[teitan]

Please God, no! I love Greyhawk, and I'm tired of it being further destroyed. I've already had to create my own compendium so my players don't get confused with "official canon."

I think Greyhawk is perfect for a SCAG size book myself. Reset to the original boxed set/folio and expand the information on the gods and some subclasses and BAM.