Spelljammer Dark Sun confirmed? Or, the mysterious case of the dissappearing Spelljammer article...

[LuisCarlos17f]

The metaplot can't work in the same way in the age of internet. And if Hasbro wants the franchise D&D to become a cinematographic universe, then screenwritters from Hollywood could be hired. And some times fiction can be affected by the real life, for example a female character is pregnant because the actress of the action-live adaptation is, or somebody dies because the actor was fired.

If the comingsoon action-live movie of D&D works in the box-office then Hasbro could choose to continue or stop the partnership deal with Paramount. This was going to end very soon.

Let's remember for the Blue and Green Ages the Crimson Sphere or Athaspace wasn't locked yet. Settles or colonies of Athasian culture could appear in other places, and some like this some races could survive the cleasing war. Maybe these groups want to reconquer Athas, and the sorcerer-kings have been get ready for this for centuries.

My theory is we will see as a teaser a spin-off working as a spiritual sequel, with the same crunch and look, but some changues in the lore or background.

Some times in the past I suggested a crossover Dark Sun - Jackandor.

 

[Demetrios1453]

I enjoyed the metaplot, but I completely understand those that don't.

Novels were the main culprits here - before 5e, and especially in 2e and 3e, they were pushing out new FR novels by the cartload, which caused all sorts of metaplot chaos. Now that that has been cut back severely to the periodic Drizzt novel, it would be much more manageable, especially if things moved forward at a very slow pace. One thing 3e did is that every few years they would do an update in one of the setting books on what had happened recently in the setting when they moved the date forward a few years; but that was only necessary since so many novels and adventures were coming out each year. Honestly, if they do finally release a full-fledged FR setting book during or after the 2024 edition update, they could probably move the date to say 1496 DR or so, mention some of the events of the 5e adventures, and probably leave it be for a decade or so.

 

[humble minion]

Yeah. Hopefully the metaplot trend stays dead and buried.

A-frigging-men.

I understand the business rationale of having a metaplot when novel sales were what kept TSRs lights on, novels drove metaplot, and novels with bigger, more explosive events sold more. But it was unbelievably corrosive to the quality and usability of the game line.

 

[Henadic Theologian]

Can you spot the difference between fictional things that can't, don't, and have never happened in the real world vs factual things that have, did, and continue to happen in the real world?

People can't really get bent out of shape about life-sucking undead, because it's clearly fictional. People can and will get bent out of shape about depictions of slavery...especially if those depictions are in any way whitewashed.

People can get bent out of shape over anything.

 

[delericho]

Honestly, if they do finally release a full-fledged FR setting book during or after the 2024 edition update, they could probably move the date to say 1496 DR or so, mention some of the events of the 5e adventures, and probably leave it be for a decade or so.

If it were me, and given the fact that the market is now so thoroughly dominated by new fans, I'd take the opportunity to pick a date (some time after the most recent update), decide how they want the world to look, and then write a new history for the world that pays lip service to the big events of the past but doesn't put much detail into them (that is, the Spellplague happened, but don't bother describing just what it changed where or why).

(But the key thing there is that I'd decide how I wanted it to look first, and then revise the history to suit. So if there's some nation that was wiped out in the 4e update but that I wanted back, I'd happily ignore that 4e update.)

And once that was done, I'd freeze it as is (or as close to it as they can manage) - no Realms Shaking events for 6e, or whatever new editions are called. Cut Drizzt and the movies loose and let them do their own thing, but for the game it stays were it is.

The end result would be similar to the position with Eberron - there have been a very small number of updates to the lore since it was first published, but the calendar has stayed the same.

 

[Parmandur]

Novels were the main culprits here - before 5e, and especially in 2e and 3e, they were pushing out new FR novels by the cartload, which caused all sorts of metaplot chaos. Now that that has been cut back severely to the periodic Drizzt novel, it would be much more manageable, especially if things moved forward at a very slow pace. One thing 3e did is that every few years they would do an update in one of the setting books on what had happened recently in the setting when they moved the date forward a few years; but that was only necessary since so many novels and adventures were coming out each year. Honestly, if they do finally release a full-fledged FR setting book during or after the 2024 edition update, they could probably move the date to say 1496 DR or so, mention some of the events of the 5e adventures, and probably leave it be for a decade or so.

Thing is, they want to keep selling those Sword Coast Adventure books. They aren't "things that happened in the Forgotten Realms" as in metaplot, they are fields of quantum probability waiting to be collapsed at the table, much like Eberron's big potential events.

The Forgotten Realms of the future may always br on the precipice of the chaos of the 1490's, waiting for a group of Adventurer's.