D&D 5E The Debate of "Canon" in D&D 5E

[Fenris-77]

What people do at their tables is totally seperate from Canon, only official products matter for what is canon and what has to remain consistent with Canon.

You have it on backwards. Canon is the current list of things I can choose whether or not to use at my table as I see fit, just like it is for everyone else. What happens at my table has no effect on anyone else's. I don't really care about rationalizing canon from edition to edition either, as I change too much stuff for that to matter to me. I know it matters to other people, and there are many reasons why that might be the case, but it doesn't matter to me personally.

I really don't care much about rationalizing canon over several previous editions and many novels spread over those editions. It's a mess, it has been a mess, and it will continue to be a mess. There are too many authors serving too many masters there to ever make it all fit. Why bother? Use what you like and leave the rest. You can clean it up to a point, and that's a fine goal, but it's never going to be pristine.

I'm not trying to trivialize your obvious passion for the subject here, but your priorities aren't everyone's priorities. Where I think we end up arguing is that I also happen to think that your priorities vis a vis 'canon' are not the priorities of WotC either, nor do I believe they should be. Not because I think you're a bad guy, or shouldn't get what you want, but because I think what you want isn't what enough people want to make it a major focus of the design process. We'll probably have to agree to disagree about that I suspect.

 

[gyor]

You have it on backwards. Canon is the current list of things I can choose whether or not to use at my table as I see fit, just like it is for everyone else. What happens at my table has no effect on anyone else's. I don't really care about rationalizing canon from edition to edition either, as I change too much stuff for that to matter to me. I know it matters to other people, and there are many reasons why that might be the case, but it doesn't matter to me personally.

I really don't care much about rationalizing canon over several previous editions and many novels spread over those editions. It's a mess, it has been a mess, and it will continue to be a mess. There are too many authors serving too many masters there to ever make it all fit. Why bother? Use what you like and leave the rest. You can clean it up to a point, and that's a fine goal, but it's never going to be pristine.

I'm not trying to trivialize your obvious passion for the subject here, but your priorities aren't everyone's priorities. Where I think we end up arguing is that I also happen to think that your priorities vis a vis 'canon' are not the priorities of WotC either, nor do I believe they should be. Not because I think you're a bad guy, or shouldn't get what you want, but because I think what you want isn't what enough people want to make it a major focus of the design process. We'll probably have to agree to disagree about that I suspect.

Back at you, your priorities aren't everyone priorities, and I don't have it backwards at all. I don't think your bad either, it's just that I understand Canon has practical value and problems happen when it's treated by developers, like huge fan base divisions and other problems.

 

[Weiley31]

At this rate, in 5E, I can have the events of The City of The Spider Queen/The Silence of Lolth happening as a current event DESPITE it being 3.0 and happening already BEFORE the Sundering "gives us" 5E.

Or I can have The Temple of Elemental Evil being "5 years ago" and Return to Temple of Elemental Evil being many years later.

Slumbering Tsar is "supposed" to take place during 2E in my mind, and shows Orcus's death/split from his godly essence. The revived Orcus of 5E is faced in Rappan Arthuk.

Tyranny of Dragons is the "Avengers/Infinity war/Endgame" of the 5E Cinematic Universe

Heck, I imagine Aqccuitions Incorporated as Forgotten Realms/Faerune much later in the future of the world after the "current state of what 5E" is.

My one buddy, however, views each edition as an age. So 1E is The First Age, 2E is The 2nd Age, 3E/3.5 is The Third Age, 5E is the current century setting as it's The Fifth Age.

Although, I can view 4E as the age before The First Age. Especially since the Dawn War would "explain" things like the gods and how the Points of Lights would eventually become various landmarks in current age 5E.

 

[billd91]

If you think canon issues are bad among D&D fans, don’t go looking at Traveller boards. For the love of all that’s holy, don’t.

 

[Enevhar Aldarion]

Canon for a game world matters more if it is a living world where time passes there as time passes in the real world, like with the Realms. Just like 5+ years have passed in the real world since the release of 5E, 5+ years have also passed in the Realms. And events that happened during that time are now part of the Realms Canon.

Also, canon matters for any official play campaigns, such as the Adventurer's League. Everything published by WotC for 5e Realms is canon for AL play, and I would guess that is true for the other settings that have official AL adventures set in them. But other than Organized Play campaigns, canon only means as much as a gaming group, or their DM, wants it to.

 

[Wiseblood]

Canon is okay until it gets to my table. When exposed to my ability to misunderstand and forget (or selectively remember) it disintegrates like cotton candy being washed in a puddle.

 

[Tony Vargas]

Although, I can view 4E as the age before The First Age. Especially since the Dawn War would "explain" things like the gods and how the Points of Lights would eventually become various landmarks in current age 5E.

Something like that occurred to me when I first read about the World Axis & Dawn War:

The "Lattice of Heaven," destroyed in the Dawn War, could have been the Great Wheel... or, the replacement lattice Eratis aspires to create could be...

...or both, in an occilating cosmos.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

You forget that for many they primarily consume the settings via novels, especially FR and Dragonlance,

Given that most of those novels are out of print, I think that is extremely unlikely in 2020.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

What people do at their tables is totally seperate from Canon, only official products matter for what is canon and what has to remain consistent with Canon.

Only in your head.

 

[Shiroiken]

But perhaps worse than official content contradicting people's beliefs, is when people use that official content as proof to confirm their POVs, as evidence to use against people that they are "playing in the setting wrong" or "aren't a true X fan."

If you use any Greyhawk setting material past 1985, you aren't a true Greyhawk fan! Gygaxian 4 Life!!! (okay, maybe Ghosts of Saltmarsh, but that's it)

Just kidding (well, sort of). I've seen how they've trashed my favorite setting over the decades, so I've decided to disregard all canon I disagree with. It's not GREYHAWK; it's my Greyhawk and I'll do with it what I please. I've even found a way to make most of the weird/stupid races reasonably playable in my games with a bit of reskinning and a lot of social issues for them.

I ask a seemingly unforgiving world; why?

Why must we use canon as a weapon, when it is simply but a handy tool provided to quickstart a game?

You must be new to the internet

Seriously, a lot of people are a-holes who feel the need to be justified by an authority figure (in this case, the writers). Add in a touch of arrogance and the anonymity of the internet, and you get flame wars about meaningless stupid stuff. The ONLY time it has an actual impact is Adventurer's League, because organized play uses official canon.