I love how it is a "mediocre written adventure" when you haven't even read it yet. Can I borrow your crystal ball?
For real. I'm doubtful this person has read, much less played, much of any of the adventure paths... WotC would be hard-pressed to have had better overall reception of their 5e APs. Yeah, the first one had some major issues, but aside from that they've all been pretty high quality. So a comment like this just leads me to believe someone has an axe to grind and isn't leveraging any serious criticism. There's no
Regarding the Forgotten Realms, it's greatest strength has always been the combination of how generic it is, while at the same time being pretty fleshed out. Most of these APs could be dropped in anywhere, with just minor changes. WotC gets to have its cake and eat it too: build branded IP, like the factions and linking to things like Bruenor and Gauntlgrym, while at the same time creating adventures that are otherwise highly generic... and any offending content is easily stripped or re-branded. Groups can take the content how they like it. I think 5e sales have proven this a successful approach.
I'd love to see some other stuff, too. Eberron, Dragonlace, Spelljammer (well, okay, not really spelljammer, sorry), Dune .. I mean Dark Sun. I'd love to see a *gasp* totally new setting. But I can't blame WotC for making quality products that are highly likely to sell and minimize brand dilution.
I also can't imagine why anyone could have a problem with a limited edition cover and hope they don't make one... literally just ignore it. You don't have to buy it; buy the regular edition one. It's the easiest thing.
