D&D 5E WotC Explains 'Canon' In More Detail

Recently, WotC's Jeremy Crawford indicated that only the D&D 5th Edition books were canonical for the roleplaying game. In a new blog article, Chris Perkins goes into more detail about how that works, and why.

This boils down to a few points:

• Each edition of D&D has its own canon, as does each video game, novel series, or comic book line.
• The goal is to ensure players don't feel they have to do research of 50 years of canon in order to play.
• It's about remaining consistent.

If you’re not sure what else is canonical in fifth edition, let me give you a quick primer. Strahd von Zarovich canonically sleeps in a coffin (as vampires do), Menzoberranzan is canonically a subterranean drow city under Lolth’s sway (as it has always been), and Zariel is canonically the archduke of Avernus (at least for now). Conversely, anything that transpires during an Acquisitions Incorporated live game is not canonical in fifth edition because we treat it the same as any other home game (even when members of the D&D Studio are involved).

D&D Canon | D&D Studio Blog | Dungeons & Dragons

In this D&D Studio Blog, Chris Perkins describes the D&D Studio's position on canonicity.

dnd.wizards.com

D&D General - WotC: Novels & Non-5E Lore Are Officially Not Canon

At a media press briefing last week, WotC's Jeremey Crawford clarified what is and is not canon for D&D. "For many years, we in the Dungeons & Dragons RPG studio have considered things like D&D novels, D&D video games, D&D comic books, as wonderful expressions of D&D storytelling and D&D lore...

www.enworld.org

 

[Yaarel]

This relates to the canon of 5e Dark Sun.

Personally, I want the canon to be a brief recapitulation of the original 2e box, albeit updated for 5e sensibilities and mechanics, perhaps like making the Templar a Paladin oath, and "Mistrel" a Rogue archetype.

Then I want a noncanonical separate section for thematically appropriate OPTIONS, perhaps like introducing the Barbarian class as a primal archetype, and the Bard class as a psionic college.

According to canon in the first section, Forgotten Realms is nonexistent. But according to the second section there is an option to make it exist, and advice for how one might connect the unrelated settings together, if that is what is what a DM wants.

The first section is "canon". The second section is "apocrypha".

 

[Voadam]

Right, and the 4E cosmology heavily leans on the origins of the multiverse. It's not one that was formerly the Great Wheel.

Obviously Toril itself went through some major stuff in 4E, but I didn't think the greater multiverse changed, so much as it was a different multiverse. (Which seems like a weird choice, since they had just established in 3E that Toril was part of a slightly different planar set-up than the rest of the multiverse. It would have been easier to have just stuck with that, I would think.)

In 4e FR they apparently had the greater multiverse change in the spellplague.

It was through the planar gates that the Spellplague traveled across time and space

Effects on the planes​

• The World Tree was destroyed.[27]
• Most of the Outer Planes were either destroyed or merged with others, creating the Astral dominions. Entirely new Astral dominions also arose because of the Spellplague.[28]
• Dweomerheart itself was dissolved.[5]
• The Spellplague pulled back the Feywild into Toril's proximity, reopening the paths between the two planes again.[29]
• With his new found godly power, Asmodeus took advantage of the planar instability to hurl the Abyss to the Elemental Chaos in an attempt to end the Blood War.[3][22] Asmodeus failed, however, as throwing the Abyss into the Chaos did not stop the Blood War, although it was stalled by a hundred years.[30]

The implication then is that in continuity, either the planes for other worlds FR is connected to such as Greyhawk and Dragonlance (from the wizard meetings and spelljammers for example) are also changed to the new axis setup, or there is some reason this would be changed only for FR access to planes.

 

[G R (grizzyGR)]

The only canon that matters is what you enjoy and/or wish to use

 

[Mistwell]

It’s in the 5e PHB, so it’s canon.

Is that the standard? I think it's more restrictive than that. After all, this is also in the PHB, "The evil deities who created other races, though, made those races to serve them. Those races have strong inborn tendencies that match the nature of their gods. Most orcs share the violent, savage nature of the orc god, Gruumsh, and are thus inclined toward evil. Even if an orc chooses a good alignment, it struggles against its innate tendencies for its entire life. (Even half-orcs feel the lingering pull of the orc god’s influence.)"

 

[Yaarel]

Is that the standard? I think it's more restrictive than that. After all, this is also in the PHB, "The evil deities who created other races, though, made those races to serve them. Those races have strong inborn tendencies that match the nature of their gods. Most orcs share the violent, savage nature of the orc god, Gruumsh, and are thus inclined toward evil. Even if an orc chooses a good alignment, it struggles against its innate tendencies for its entire life. (Even half-orcs feel the lingering pull of the orc god’s influence.)"

I expect future printings of the Players Handbook to update away any problematic texts, like this one referring to Evil races.

This quote from Perkins implies the possibility of deleting unhelpful content from the PH in the future. "Fifth editions canon includes every bit of lore that appears in the most up-to-date printings of fifth editions Players Handbook, Monster Manual, and Dungeon Masters Guide."

 

[Minigiant]

So basically Warhammer?

Each edition, each table, and each game series is their own canon?

Balthazar Gelt is a loser dummy in the books but a cool dude in Total War.

Pekor is lawful good in the books but lawful neutral at the table.

 

[Charlaquin]

Is that the standard?

According to the article, yes.

Fifth edition’s canon includes every bit of lore that appears in the most up-to-date printings of the fifth edition Player’s Handbook, Monster Manual, and Dungeon Master’s Guide.

I think it's more restrictive than that. After all, this is also in the PHB, "The evil deities who created other races, though, made those races to serve them. Those races have strong inborn tendencies that match the nature of their gods. Most orcs share the violent, savage nature of the orc god, Gruumsh, and are thus inclined toward evil. Even if an orc chooses a good alignment, it struggles against its innate tendencies for its entire life. (Even half-orcs feel the lingering pull of the orc god’s influence.)"

It’s possible that such lore might be removed from future printings. They are in the midst of a process of changing the way race and alignment are handled, and I imagine replacing text like this in the core books will be part of that process. But, yes, for the time being, that’s canon by the standard they’re establishing here.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

In 4e FR they apparently had the greater multiverse change in the spellplague.

Wacky, I had no idea. I guess that means, in theory, that we could be in the same continuity throughout and -- clears throat -- the Spellplague might be behind the changes in Ravenloft.

 

[Mistwell]

I expect future printings of the Players Handbook to update away any problematic texts, like this one referring to Evil races.

How is that meaningfully different from saying not everything in the PHB is necessarily canon?

 

[Yaarel]

How is that meaningfully different from saying not everything in the PHB is necessarily canon?

Because everything in the PH will be canon after the official update.

 

[Charlaquin]

How is that meaningfully different from saying not everything in the PHB is necessarily canon?

Everything in the most up to date printing of the PHB is canon. What’s in the most up to date printing can be changed.

50th anniversary revised core books are looking more and more likely.

 

[Mistwell]

Because everything in the PH will be canon after the official update.

Until the next official update? Because that's the current update. That's in the most recent print, and they said everything in the most recent print is canon.

 

[Mistwell]

Everything in the most up to date printing of the PHB is canon. What’s in the most up to date printing can be changed.

50th anniversary revised core books are looking more and more likely.

So like I said, it's more restrictive than just, "It’s in the 5e PHB, so it’s canon."

 

[Yaarel]

Until the next official update? Because that's the current update. That's in the most recent print, and they said everything in the most recent print is canon.

Yeah. @Charlaquin phrased it more precisely. The recent edition is the canon.

My improper phrasing had in mind there are things (like Evil races) that we know the designers want to remove. So the future canon will differ from the current canon


Either way the design goal actually is:

PH+MM+DMG = canon

 

[Stormonu]

That's not my understanding of the past treatments of D&D setting lore. 1e greyhawk was not a separate continuity from 2e or 3e Greyhawk, the timeline advanced but the continuity was the same. Same thing for Forgotten Realms.

"Advancing the time-line" is just way to say "we're changing the Canon" with a smile on your face.

"Realm-shaking event" is the way to do it while plunging the dagger in fan's chests.

 

[Charlaquin]

So like I said, it's more restrictive than just, "It’s in the 5e PHB, so it’s canon."

I suppose if you want to quibble over “in the most up to date printing.”

 

[Bolares]

I suppose if you want to quibble over “in the most up to date printing.”

It's Enworld, of course we want to quibble!

 

[Mistwell]

I suppose if you want to quibble over “in the most up to date printing.”

I do feel like "Orcs are not inherently evil" is the current canon, despite the current PHB including that language. Do you disagree?

 

[Yaarel]

Perkins mentions as examples of 5e canon:

• Strahd
• Menzoberranzan
• Zariel

Do all of these appear somewhere in the core books?

 

[Charlaquin]

I do feel like "Orcs are not inherently evil" is the current canon, despite the current PHB including that language. Do you disagree?

I assume you meant to say you don’t feel like that’s the case. Yes, I disagree. It is, by the standard they’ve presented here, currently canon. I do expect it is likely to change in the near future, but for now it is still canon.