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

[eyeheartawk]

 

[Xenonnonex]

You can remove the Death Curse entirely, and provide other motivations, and literally nothing much changes.

It is a fundamental narrative and structure of the adventure. To quote the above and say "literally nothing much changes" simply demonstrates you do not know much about the adventure. Or you simply experienced it as a player.

 

[Xenonnonex]

I'm not saying it can't happen, I'm saying it won't happen. Especially since they're not the same thing, at all? You're asking for a re-release of a product with way more material. That's not the same as taking two books that honestly should have been together to begin with and merging them. And taking art they already had (it's all concept art) and throwing that in too.

The Tyranny of Dragons book is minimal effort. A SCAG update is not.

Oh. Why did you not say you worked at Wizards? That you are privy to their product schedule. That you are intimately familiar with their decision making process. And is not hindsight just the greatest.
They have past material. A great backlog of material. Given their history of rehashes of old material into newer editions it is feasible. You are also missing the point that balancing encounters is not minimal effort.
However my point is that we simply do not know what Wizards will release. And we have precedent in 5e earlier of re-released material.

 

[Fenris-77]

It is a fundamental narrative and structure of the adventure. To quote the above and say "literally nothing much changes" simply demonstrates you do not know much about the adventure. Or you simply experienced it as a player.

Can you use the material in the book to run an adventure in Chult without using the Death Curse? Yes you can - all the locations and NPCs are perfectly serviceable. It wouldn't be the same adventure of course, it would be a different adventure. It's not that he doesn't know the adventure, but rather that he knows the adventure well enough to know how to use the moving parts for his own thing. Dragon Heist is similar, you could use that book run a lot of different games in Waterdeep, not just the path they give you.

 

[Aldarc]

Remembered Realms vs. Forgotten Realms

Tomb of Annihilation says hello as does Ed Greenwood's book on the Border Kingdoms.

 

[Xenonnonex]

Can you use the material in the book to run an adventure in Chult without using the Death Curse? Yes you can - all the locations and NPCs are perfectly serviceable. It wouldn't be the same adventure of course, it would be a different adventure. It's not that he doesn't know the adventure, but rather that he knows the adventure well enough to know how to use the moving parts for his own thing. Dragon Heist is similar, you could use that book run a lot of different games in Waterdeep, not just the path they give you.

Then the claim of "literally nothing much changes" is invalid.
You also run into the issue of the adventure simply not having enough material to visit all of the sites as noted on the map.
You also run into the issue of overhauling a great deal of the narrative and structure of the adventure.
You also run into the issue of not enough material on the cultures of Chult. And on the gods. As examples.
The book is great to use to pull ideas out of. But I do not pretend it offers a lot more than that.

 

[Fenris-77]

Then the claim of "literally nothing much changes" is invalid.
You also run into the issue of the adventure simply not having enough material to visit all of the sites as noted on the map.
You also run into the issue of overhauling a great deal of the narrative and structure of the adventure.
You also run into the issue of not enough material on the cultures of Chult. And on the gods. As examples.
The book is great to use to pull ideas out of. But I do not pretend it offers a lot more than that.

If I take out the Death Curse and provide some other motivating factor the comment would seem accurate, at least as far as material in the book goes. I've bashed enough published storylines into my own thing to know how this works.

I feel like you might be willfully underplaying the role that good design plays in the DMs job here. Of course you can take a bunch of elements an weave something new out of it. Once the players start rolling, the narrative you get in the book as-published may or may not be enough to run the campaign anyway. Players have a way of wreaking the best laid plans. I also challenge the idea that you need an encyclopedic knowledge of the geography and pantheon prior to play. The only details that matter are the ones that actually get used, that's why soft planning is such a common tool. I'm not being confrontational here, I just don't share your pessimism about how useful the moving parts of the module are absent the overarching threat.

 

[Parmandur]

It is a fundamental narrative and structure of the adventure. To quote the above and say "literally nothing much changes" simply demonstrates you do not know much about the adventure. Or you simply experienced it as a player.

Nope, read the book. Removing the Death Curse is trivial.

 

[Aldarc]

Tomb of Annihilation says hello as does Ed Greenwood's book on the Border Kingdoms.

Also, how many fans of other official settings would love to even have as much published coverage as the "Remembered Realms" has received in 5e's lifetime?

 

[Xenonnonex]

If I take out the Death Curse and provide some other motivating factor the comment would seem accurate, at least as far as material in the book goes. I've bashed enough published storylines into my own thing to know how this works.

I feel like you might be willfully underplaying the role that good design plays in the DMs job here. Of course you can take a bunch of elements an weave something new out of it. Once the players start rolling, the narrative you get in the book as-published may or may not be enough to run the campaign anyway. Players have a way of wreaking the best laid plans. I also challenge the idea that you need an encyclopedic knowledge of the geography and pantheon prior to play. The only details that matter are the ones that actually get used, that's why soft planning is such a common tool. I'm not being confrontational here, I just don't share your pessimism about how useful the moving parts of the module are absent the overarching threat.

With the Death Curse you will need to be providing a motivating factor that is similarly world effecting. Else the issue will be met further down the adventure. Much rides on and is affected by it.
I will vouch for homebrew any day. However the inclusion of homebrew also does not mean the adventure offers enough to work off. If a group buys the material simply for the purposes of running homebrew they will be disappointed. And frustrated at the amount of homebrew they will need to include. This is not a bad thing.
I am not being pessimistic. I am simply a realist. I do not pretend that these offer much more than what they are.