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

 

[Remathilis]

The gods of the Realms have no bearing on Eberron, whether or not the Eberron gods exist or not. When someone on Eberron dies, they aren't taken by Kelemvor. Instead, they go to whatever the name of the Eberron afterlife plane is; I forgot. .

Dolurrh.

Edit: ninja'd

 

[Maxperson]

Yes, 5e did. Quite upsetting.

My making Eberron "isolated" from factually existing Forgotten Realms gods, they killed the tone of the Eberron.

No. No those gods are not in Eberron, nor do they have anything do with Eberron. The setting of Eberron knows nothing of those gods and vice versa.

 

[Maxperson]

You never have to. Absolutely nobody but you is saying that you have to include everything they publish.

Go back and re-read what I've said. You clearly don't understand it if that's your answer.

 

[Bolares]

Dolurrh.

Edit: ninja'd

that's what you get for badmouthing rules lawyers!

 

[Parmandur]

Which is good, but the MM says that alignment is mutable if you want it to be. Otherwise, what's in the book is the default.

Sure, that's the compromise right there: alignment (which has no gameplay effexts) offered as a default example which has no binding effect.

 

[Maxperson]

To be fair... Tasha didn't say that dropping the elf prerequisite didn't count on FR

It didn't. And the subclass involved changes to how the subclass works, which would also count for FR. That said, everything in Tasha's is optional, so even though it recons the class, the DM doesn't have to engage it.

 

[Parmandur]

I want for it to be so that when I've done the work to figure out what is canon for my game, I don't have to redo the work when they release a product that has lore on the Realms.

But isn't that the goal of this stated policy, to remove the perceived burden?

 

[Yaarel]

The gods of the Realms have no bearing on Eberron, whether or not the Eberron gods exist or not. When someone on Eberron dies, they aren't taken by Kelemvor. Instead, they go to whatever the name of the Eberron afterlife plane is; I forgot. And if a person from Eberron decides to planeshift, they're going to end up on one of the 12 Eberron planes, not the Great Wheel (or World Tree or World Axis or anything else).

There's no crossover unless you want there to be--and if you wanted there to be crossover, you could have it even if the books said it was actually impossible. After all, it was impossible for Dark Sun to cross over to any other setting--but there used to be a whole Dark Sun domain in Ravenloft.

For example, the Forgotten Realms gods like Corellon, Lolth, Gruumsh, Archdevils like Asmodeus, are called out as factually existing in the Eberron setting.

Sometimes the connection is bizarre, like the elves of Eberron came into existence from the blood of the Forgotten Realms god Corellon, but the primordial dragons of Eberron cloned these elves so they could develop in Eberron without the influence of Corellon.

Basically, the Eberron setting was thrown into a dumpster fire, simply by making Forgotten Realms factually exist.



By the way the WotC "canon" imposes Forgotten Realms gods into everything. For example, when the Players Handbook describes the drow subrace, there is no hint that "Lolth" is only a Forgotten Realms god that might not exist. She is simply canon for all canonical settings, whether players like this or not.

The WotC canon lacks setting neutrality.

 

[Bolares]

It didn't. And the subclass involved changes to how the subclass works, which would also count for FR. That said, everything in Tasha's is optional, so even though it recons the class, the DM doesn't have to engage it.

yeah, but the subclass is so much better even the most die hard FR lore fan should complain

 

[Remathilis]

that's what you get for badmouthing rules lawyers!

That's the problem with you guys; always quick with the answers!