| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| mastermustard |
Posted - 22 Mar 2015 : 20:55:08
For the past couple of years the number of novels released has bottle-necked. The same thing happened to Eberron; They got down to four book releases per year, before dropping off the map completely.
Will this be the fate of the Forgotten Realms as well? |
| 30 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Gary Dallison |
Posted - 06 Apr 2015 : 20:13:38
Well George said what I wanted to about the latest 5e products (although I quite enjoyed Undermountain 2, however I haven't read it since I was 15), but didn't because it might be perceived as moaning and making digs at wizbro.
Realmslore to me is not finding out that Laeral is the new open lord of waterdeep (truly inspired work there, must have taken all of 3 minutes to think that one up), it is finding out who really orchestrated the downfall of Eaerlann like in Cloak and Dagger, or finding out another piece of history of Khelben and Laeral like when she ruled Stornanter and that mage was her lover and therefore may have been Khelben in disguise, and all of that in the history of a floating throne now buried deep beneath the waves of the Trackless Sea like in Lost Empires. Its finding out how the yuan-ti got into the western heartlands in the Serpent Kingdoms book. But when you farm out the adventures to third parties with lots of experience in producing generic adventures but have little interest in FR beyond getting paid you cannot expect them to come up with inspired and top quality lore.
Lore makes an area come alive not provide a basic bit of information about the area of which we no nothing else. Lore should spark the imagination and provide a hundred ideas for play that revolve around that lore. Sometimes lore is as small as a two line comment but that usually happens only in the context of larger information (so finding out that fire giants arrived on an island where frost giants now live - that's lore, but first we need to know quite a bit about the island). Nothing much is sparked about Waterdeep by saying Laeral is the open lord. It gives me nothing about her current state, her motivations, etc. Now if they had given a cryptic two line bit about her intention to revive Khelben then that would have my interest (even if it was something as simple as she had been seen several times in the company of a raven haired mage). It shows me what she is doing gives me ideas for how she might go about her goal, sparks seeds of adventure.
Could you imagine the outcry if the 3e campaign setting had been released where the only information provided about each area was the bit at the beginning of each geographical grouping which provides the type of government, the population figures, the imports and exports, and the religion. I think WoTC's head offices might have been burned down for such an act and yet here we are over a decade later with many people happy to get less than that because they are so starve for some decent information/products.
Like George I will not pay for a paltry two line piece of lore about who runs a shop in a tiny town that has no connection to the rest of the world or who lives in house 12a in the same tiny town with no connections to go with it. FR is all about connections, its what makes it come alive. Maybe I've been spoiled by the previous editions but why pay for dog food when you have been eating fillet steak for years.
But what does all this have to do with novel sales and production and whether they will ever recover. Unfortunately the two are inextricably linked as far as most people are concerned. People like reading realms novels because it is part of the history/future of the realms that they can then play in (much to my dislike). If the adventures and sourcebooks (that they aren't making) don't do well for whatever reason then the novels likewise will not do well. When production/sales falls on one side it falls on the other, maybe not in equal amounts, but in a niche market like this one any fall is bad (and sometimes for many years).
Unless someone decides to take a chance on the brand then the decline is a negative feedback loop. Put less in, get even less out. If there are only 6 novels for 5e then that is only 6 products to get people interested in playing. If none of those captured the imagination of people then they will not buy the adventures. For those that are DM's if they did not like the 2 adventures then they will probably not buy the novels to find out what else happened in the world.
Almost all publishing companies have or are embracing the digital age (in fact almost all companies in general are embracing digital technology). Those that aren't are doomed to failure. Even if I did want to buy the latest stuff I wouldn't because I cannot afford the price of them and I have nowhere to put them in my house filled with children's toys.
And i'll probably edit all this away in a few minutes because its just moaning about how much I hate wizbro, but to be honest they aren't (or maybe can't) helping themselves. |
| hashimashadoo |
Posted - 06 Apr 2015 : 18:07:38
I could go on and on about Hasbro's financials (it and Paizo are the only companies whose financial reports I care about) and how Wizards of the Coast relate to them (Hasbro doesn't publish reports for its subsidiary companies so it's quite involved) but put very short:
Unless you collect Magic cards of some stripe or are a young (preferably female) child, Hasbro doesn't particularly care about your opinion right now. |
| Mournblade |
Posted - 06 Apr 2015 : 17:45:19
Steelmen, Miners Shipwrights, and Sailors...
Forgotten Realms yarn spinners
|
| George Krashos |
Posted - 06 Apr 2015 : 14:07:42
quote:
Originally posted by Shadowsoul
I would bet my vast wealth that the D&D brand is not as valuable as they think it is.
I wouldn't take that bet because I'm sure you're right. TSR/WotC/Hasbro has been holding onto the the great "dream of D&D" for a long time. That dream of course is big score, mainstream Hollywood movies and television. Gygax couldn't pull it off (and for all accounts got taken for a ride in trying) and his successors have failed miserably in that regard also. But it's still a potential possibility and that's why Hasbro is holding onto its IP (very tightly from what I understand, anecdotally) and seeing what plays out. Hasbro doesn't need D&D and aside from standard corporate cost cutting and revenue demands, has left WotC to its own devices. The issue of course is that D&D likely doesn't generate a huge profit or revenue stream - not one that would make Hasbro sit up and take notice. So it's a poor country cousin to the big, core aspects of the company and not given anywhere near the level of support that would see some of the requests in this thread come to fruition.
I don't think it's surprising at all that WotC have implied that they are operating under a new business model in terms of the D&D brand. In truth, I suspect that they had no choice. The outsourcing of the 5E FR adventures speaks to me of a lack of resources and ability to create and produce a product line of substance in house and the silence about future releases and product lines is in my book simply an indicator that they don't know themselves just what they'll be doing this or next year.
The remaining D&D WotC employees are in my opinion in a very delicate place now. Their heavy reliance on freelance companies (not individuals) is bound to generate some interesting questions from the bean counters upstairs ("So now that the core books are done, just what is it you 'do' now? Manage our IP and delegate to externals? What is it about your RPG expertise that is important in that management function?). That was always a precarious balancing act for WotC employees in the past. In simple terms, they had to justify their existence, which translated into managing, designing and writing D&D products. As such, they were loath to give too much stuff to freelancers because with that came inevitable questions. In the 5E environment, with seemingly only a management function occurring, I don't think it augurs well for some employment futures and certainly doesn't augur well for the Realms.
If WotC cared about the RPG Realms, they'd be publishing some material that has been in their hot little hands for a fair amount of time now and asking people with FR 'cred' like Eric Boyd to get on board and write great products. With the utmost respect to Kobold Press, I'd back Eric and Ed to churn out a better FR adventure series than they ever could. That hasn't happened and doesn't look like it will any time soon. I bought "Murder in Baldur's Gate" and haven't bought any of the following FR adventures. They remind me of various average FR products like "The Great Glacier, "Cormyr", "Swords of the Iron Legion", "Hordes of Dragonspear", "Ruins of Undermountain II" etc etc - all set in the Realms, but essentially bland and generic enough that they could be set just about anywhere. That's not what a great FR product is all about in my book, and given that I have a whole bookshelf of FR products and a hard drive full of realmslore, I don't need to invest in (to me) uninspiring FR products. Thinking about it, I can honestly say that I'm not sure WotC can actually provide me with a realmslore 'fix' anymore. Not like they did with products written mostly by Ed, Steven and Eric. To me, they are and will always be the gold standard. Now pretty certain that we'll never see their like again.
-- George Krashos
|
| Ayrik |
Posted - 06 Apr 2015 : 08:37:26
I was in a bit of a steely mood when I wrote that, lol. |
| froglegg |
Posted - 04 Apr 2015 : 17:36:30
quote:
Originally posted by Ayrik
quote:
Lilianviaten
3) I don't know where old favorites like Cunningham or Niles have drifted off. They have been published in fantasy since working for FR, so why no FR novels?
I think this question answered itself.
If you have what it takes to make it big, be successful, and create worlds ... why lock yourself into toiling small, being trapped in somebody else's crowdy little world, and accepting whatever scraps they can afford to toss to you?
WotC suffers from a lot of bad rep. It doesn't even matter whether they deserve it or not, but they're a panicky publishing peanut in a scary big mean world filled with more riches and terrors than they can hope to grasp. When authors can do better then I don't fault them for doing better - who wants to work more to gain less?
Ayrik, your words are as hard as steel.
John |
| Firestorm |
Posted - 04 Apr 2015 : 09:28:02
quote:
Originally posted by ZeshinX
It would be nice to see WotC mend fences with Kemp. Loved his books. No idea what created the rift there, though I'm sure it's neither one side nor the other that's the mustached villain.
Do I think we'll ever see a resurgence to something like the Golden Age? No. Not in the novels, and not in the brand as a whole. D&D, as a brand, will never see a return to glory like it knew in the past (the 1e-3e era). It will continue, of that I have no doubt, but it will never again see the proliferation of content it once knew (for many reasons, both good and bad, that have been discussed at length about these hallowed halls).
Getting paid below industry standard. Neither side was in a fight over creative issues or anything. |
| xaeyruudh |
Posted - 04 Apr 2015 : 06:30:47
From what we've seen of its past stewards, no, probably not. D&D still has immense potential, though... they just need a few people who don't have the hangups and ego trips that TSR and WotC have suffered from in the past. They might be reaching those people now, or any day now. After 32 years I'm still hanging my hat on D&D, and it's not out of desperation. 
I do think now is the time for someone to step up and knock their socks off, though. They need some brilliant ideas, and their willingness to gather and consider fan feedback, and outsourcing, suggests that they're ready to hear some outsider thoughts. The window of opportunity is now.
(He says, trying to pull the gates open to let out the beast...) |
| Shadowsoul |
Posted - 04 Apr 2015 : 02:44:55
quote:
Originally posted by Matt James
This is the Hasbro-effect, but not for the reasons many people believe (i.e. evil empire corporation). When they took over WotC, there were several lines of business they knew nothing about, or how to manage: Gaming conventions, novels, and role-playing games.
Gen Con: Acquired by Peter Adkinson as part of the WotC transaction. Hasbro knew nothing about gaming conventions and really had no interest in taking it over.
Novels: Kept due to it being wrapping in the intellectual property of the D&D brand.
RPG: D&D is more valuable as a brand than it is as a tabletop roleplaying game. Remember, at the time, there wasn't the current lawsuits over the IP required for making motion pictures, and other similar shows. Hasbro likely had an eye for this line of business, and rightfully so. The D&D brand is massive--and coming off of the successes of LotR, Hasbro was likely licking their lips as the possibilities.
We are a niche inside of a niche. The numbers don't support what we came to know in the 90s and early 2000s. The industry is shifting, evolving, and won't likely ever be the same.
I would bet my vast wealth that the D&D brand is not as valuable as they think it is. |
| Shadowsoul |
Posted - 04 Apr 2015 : 02:43:10
I'd like to see a bit more about Narfell and Raumathar.
I would also like to see more novels written about past events such as Phalorm for example. |
| Roseweave |
Posted - 03 Apr 2015 : 18:37:24
Yeah, it's possible to do a lot of good research, like I'm doing at the moment and like I did with the Romani/Gurs, so I hope people don't feel too intimidated to try. Though it's also important to encoruage writers from those cultures to get involved.
Being Irish, I'm trying to research my own folklore as it tends to be something that's exoticised and referenced a lot(like how a lot of Irish/Gaelic words are used as "Fae"/Elven ones) so I'm trying to introduce some of those elements into my realms fics. For example the character I play is a Leanan Sídhe, though it's mostly background info since it's not massively relevant to the plot, but it does inform her abilities(she has a lot of buff, enabling type powers to "inspire" people with) and her vampirish abilities have come up a few times. Leanan Sídhe are often presented as malevolent Succubus like characters but it's not always the case.
The same with "Banshees". Bean Sídhe literally just means "fairy woman" or "woman of the mounds" though in particular Fae referred to by that title were often heralds of sorts, and told of impending deaths of the fmailies they were attached to. They were also often well versed in magic. The Queen of the Bean Sídhe, Clíodhna is strongly associated with the Blarney stone.
In my NTU fics I have a university for monsters/people with out of control powers, and it's run/protected by three Archfey; one based on/the grand-daughter of the Queen of the Bean Sídhe(Clíodhna II), one based on the Nine Tailed Fox Tamamao-no-Mae, and one based on La Santa Muerte/La Catrina and similar "loving death" type depictions.
Aside from the usual common Realms monsters(Orcs, Gnolls etc.) there are some more diverse/unusual creatures like an Aziza(hairy african gnomes), a Yuki-Onna etc. one of the teachers is a dryad clearly of African origin too, and there's a Weeping Willow dryad who of course was originally planted(and has the appearance of) someone from Shou. |
| sno4wy |
Posted - 03 Apr 2015 : 14:56:22
quote:
Originally posted by Roseweave
i feel like the realms could benefit from a more diverse writer base, new blood etc.
they need to focus on places like Rashemen(and the Unapproachable east in general), Zakhara, Maztica(now it's returned), Kara-tur, but from the perspective of people that understand the real world cultural influences a bit better(and know how to mesh them with fantastical ones).
I echo this sentiment. I was really impressed with how well Troy Denning did in Dragonwall (an older series, The Empires trilogy) in portraying Kara-Turan culture and how well it reflects real ancient Eastern Asian culture. I grew up in a traditional Chinese family with a diverse ancestry and dealt with the implications that all of that entailed, so I have an unfortunate range of experiences that even most Chinese people don't have. I was really surprised by how much of Denning's work rang true to me, I have to admit that I didn't expect it to do so (because it's set in a fictional world, because Mr. Denning isn't Asian, and other silly reasons). At the same time, I felt that his book weaves the fantastical elements into the cultural ones just enough without making either seem stretched or far-fetched. I think too much of the cultural stuff would be boring, since it'd become too much like a historical recounting, but I do miss the fantasy setting extending beyond the Westernized tropes, even though I do love Faerun. |
| Ayrik |
Posted - 03 Apr 2015 : 10:32:06
I suppose I would enjoy reading Larloch's Laboratory Logbook: Labors and Lamentations of a Laconic Lich. Especially if it had a few chapters about, uh, Larloch hanging out in Ravenloft. |
| Roseweave |
Posted - 03 Apr 2015 : 05:10:04
I wrote a story set in Thesk about a Gur family, though it's a bit shaky and not 100% Canon to the campaign:
https://app.box.com/s/zdjaagrdd31ksivhhjww
The rest of my stuff is mostly set in Waterdeep sorta so not all that imaginative but with a very diverse group of characters who tell their stories. |
| Artemas Entreri |
Posted - 03 Apr 2015 : 03:07:26
quote:
Originally posted by Roseweave
i feel like the realms could benefit from a more diverse writer base, new blood etc.
they need to focus on places like Rashemen(and the Unapproachable east in general), Zakhara, Maztica(now it's returned), Kara-tur, but from the perspective of people that understand the real world cultural influences a bit better(and know how to mesh them with fantastical ones).
Yes, Yes, Yes! Expand beyond Faerun a bit for novels please! |
| Roseweave |
Posted - 03 Apr 2015 : 02:51:11
i feel like the realms could benefit from a more diverse writer base, new blood etc.
they need to focus on places like Rashemen(and the Unapproachable east in general), Zakhara, Maztica(now it's returned), Kara-tur, but from the perspective of people that understand the real world cultural influences a bit better(and know how to mesh them with fantastical ones). |
| ZeshinX |
Posted - 02 Apr 2015 : 19:31:14
From what I've seen of Hasbro/WotC handling of D&D....it's now just a brand to be exploited. They build the base, then....well, pimp it out to others to actually develop. We've seen/heard virtually nothing from WotC as far as long term plans, other than to say they have one and are exploring ideas. Everything that's been released outside of the Core rules has been a 3rd party studio working under the label of WotC, and not actually WotC.
Therein, I think, lies the likely near-future for this edition of D&D (and the Realms). D&D will be pimped out for others to build on. There seems to be little interest in anything beyond that. I'm more than willing to believe WotC HATES that as much as most of its consumers of D&D do. D&D seems to be treated like an under-performing toy line than a profitable, but niche, market. I'd like to believe WotC would be taking a very similar approach to Paizo if it could, but likely have direction from Hasbro (or their interpretation of dictates from Hasbro) to make as much as possible with as little spend on creating it as possible.
While the product outside the Core rules thus far is subject to everyone's own personal tastes, I can honestly say I've found it to be almost universally crap. I don't see anything wrong with putting out adventure/storyline modules and such, but not at the cost of nothing for those less inclined to slave their imaginations to them. I build my own adventures, so these modules are useless to me at their price point (I'm not spending $40+ for a few pages of lore/class/race/spells/item content). I'd like to see the Core game expanded. More options for the classes (like additional specializations, different core abilities, etc....akin to Pathfinder archetypes and the like). Build the foundation stronger kind of material. Inspirational material. That will get my dollars.
At this point though, it seems D&D is more brand than game in the minds of its owners. |
| xaeyruudh |
Posted - 02 Apr 2015 : 19:00:30
I'm a huge fan of the 192 page Magic of Faerun style replacing hardcovers. Smaller books, and more of them, could be even better. I mean hardcovers are nice, it's not that I hate them. But softcovers are totally fine, and if they're less expensive to produce then jump on that! Plus, Champions of Ruin and Dragons of Faerun and the Waterdeep hardback all had only 160 pages.
If they're going to print books, I think it's important to eliminate or drastically reduce the interior art, and ditch the watermarks... and woe betide the fool who wastes pagecount with advertisements. Focus on maximizing lore, and quality control on that lore.
Personally, though, I think digital releases are the way to go due to the lack of publishing expense. Doesn't have to be pdfs; could be some kind of Kindle/Nook thing or whatever. However, pdfs are a far superior choice over anything that forces customers to buy additional devices. Contrary to popular opinion, we don't even all have smartphones, and we don't all have electronic reading devices either.
Mostly they need to get away from the idea that novels need to cost 25 bucks and sourcebooks need to cost 50. It's never been true that books have to be expensive, and it's going to continue getting less-true. As prices go up, purchases go down; it's not rocket science. Give us engrossing novels and lore-packed sourcebooks in $5 pdfs, and the vast majority of DMs and players will happily buy them. You'll have more people buying everything related to their favorite settings just to have a complete collection of lore, because they can justify spending a little more when each purchase is just a tiny bite. That doesn't happen much when books cost $30, $40, $50 apiece. Even at $8 for a novel, I stopped buying every single one that came out.
Content > form, and money talks screams its head off. |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 02 Apr 2015 : 17:31:30
I keep looking at Paizo, myself, and wondering why WotC can't adopt a similar model.
I'm not asking for monthly supplements, the way Paizo is cranking them out, in addition to novels, comics, Adventure Paths, and regular modules (all of which is available on pdf, save for the comics)...
But for 3E and 4E, WotC embraced the hardcover. And we didn't get a huge number of those, and they weren't frequent.
I think a schedule of 4-6 softcover sourcebooks a year, each 64 to 96 pages, and possibly a hardcover or two, should be eminently do-able. It's less than what Paizo is doing, but it's better than getting just a novel or two here and there.
And like Paizo, they don't have to focus on just specific areas. They can also focus on some of the myriad power groups of the Realms, some of which have only been covered once in prior lore, or just mentioned in passing. We can get books focusing on races or racial groups, like a general book on elves or something like Serpent Kingdoms. And while it is true that a lot of areas have already had extensive coverage, most of that was a century ago, game-wise, and could stand to be updated.
I know that all of this takes resources, but there's a reason the adage "it takes money to make money" exists. And Paizo has shown that it's possible to be successful with a high production schedule; surely, the company that created and until recently dominated the RPG industry can do something similar. |
| Gary Dallison |
Posted - 02 Apr 2015 : 16:23:05
I agree with much of that except that the year is and always will be somewhere between 1300 and 137x
And i see that they still are not embracing pdfs, which is a very bad and backwards move. |
| xaeyruudh |
Posted - 02 Apr 2015 : 16:05:52
And I'm guessing WotC knew nothing about those same things when they acquired D&D from TSR. They were the M:TG people... and should still be, imo. RPGs are nothing like CCGs, and WotC is CCGs.
They need a DM running the overall D&D department, somebody who is crazy about lore-rich settings in general and FR in particular running the overall FR department, etc. It seems they couldn't find that second one, because they completely botched the 3e map and critically fumbled Shade and the phaerimm... and regardless of whatever fun parts might exist in the 4e Realms, the Spellplague shouldn't have happened here. They should have created a new setting for the 4e Realms; they still would have gained all the new customers who are excited about encounter powers and earthmotes, without losing any fans of the Realms. No need for hindsight; any of us (or our 6 yr old kids) could have told them that in advance. Instead of *keeping* all the best designers who come knocking, WotC (and possibly TSR before that) has developed a habit of "losing" great artists and designers.
Hasbro needs somebody who eats, breathes, and sweats D&D in charge of running WotC (or rather, whatever group is going to be publishing D&D, because WotC needs a CCG fanatic running their main line), and somebody who goes Full Geek over lore running the Realms. They need people like Jeff Grubb and Steven Schend. People who appreciate Ed instead of trying to marginalize or steamroll him. People who work with designers and authors, instead of talking down at them... to be fair, I've never met Jeff or Steven so I don't know what it was like to work with them, but I've also never read a single complaint about them from authors or designers, even now that they're no longer at TSR/WotC and people could hypothetically say whatever they want. Instead, WotC has elevated people who want to blow stuff up. People who can't listen. Egos who can't play nice with others. Bean counters.
There is no place in the entertainment industry for greed. There's plenty of money to be made, but it doesn't work when that's the goal. Inexpensive games pull customers in, Fun keeps them coming back for more and generates good will, which brings in more customers because they share it with all their friends, and the smaller the profit margin on each product the more money comes in.
With all respect to Matt, I don't think the industry has to evolve away from a full schedule of sourcebooks and novels. I agree that the industry is shifting, but it doesn't mean that a virtual blackout on Realms products is inevitable. If money is no object, they can produce more. And if they do it inexpensively (because money is always an object) every sale will generate a small profit, so whether they sell a thousand copies or a million copies each product will be successful. WotC's weaknesses seem to include "if it's not shiny nobody will buy it" and "if it doesn't generate $X on the first weekend it's a fail." Oh and also "screw the artists and authors."
We may see less in the way of physical books and more Kindle and Audible types of stuff. We might see more outsourcing. Those aren't automatically bad shifts/changes; we should be judging them on how the results add to our campaigns. Our fondness for physical books is just that... a preference, perhaps. What really matters is what's between the covers, and that can be presented in different ways; it behooves Hasbro to go with the one that offers the lowest price to the customer while still offering some profit margin. Doesn't really matter how small the profit margin is... the smaller the better in some ways, because it increases the opportunity for transparency. "See, this is what our costs are, and this is what your cost is; you're getting a good deal, and we're doing alright." Can't do that when $30 out of a $50 retail price is profit.
I still believe in my prediction that the trickle of publications will increase as 5e sales solidify and a new stockpile of art and articles and books is accumulated and sorted into the desired order, and most importantly as Hasbro sees that the crew at the helm of 5e are more responsible than those who directed 4e.
Unless, of course, Hasbro has bigger problems and their Gringotts vault is empty. But there's no reason to think the sky is falling, yet. We're impatient for lore, and I suspect WotC likes us that way because we're more likely to buy anything/everything that comes down the pipe, but it's coming.
In the meantime, become your own designer. Play in the sandbox... cuz that's what it is right now. The year is 1500, and the Realms is whatever you want it to be.
Fire up your imagination, and give it some gas. You might find yourself sitting in a Lamborghini. |
| Matt James |
Posted - 02 Apr 2015 : 14:00:49
This is the Hasbro-effect, but not for the reasons many people believe (i.e. evil empire corporation). When they took over WotC, there were several lines of business they knew nothing about, or how to manage: Gaming conventions, novels, and role-playing games.
Gen Con: Acquired by Peter Adkinson as part of the WotC transaction. Hasbro knew nothing about gaming conventions and really had no interest in taking it over.
Novels: Kept due to it being wrapping in the intellectual property of the D&D brand.
RPG: D&D is more valuable as a brand than it is as a tabletop roleplaying game. Remember, at the time, there wasn't the current lawsuits over the IP required for making motion pictures, and other similar shows. Hasbro likely had an eye for this line of business, and rightfully so. The D&D brand is massive--and coming off of the successes of LotR, Hasbro was likely licking their lips as the possibilities.
We are a niche inside of a niche. The numbers don't support what we came to know in the 90s and early 2000s. The industry is shifting, evolving, and won't likely ever be the same. |
| Caolin |
Posted - 02 Apr 2015 : 05:46:46
quote:
Originally posted by silverwolfer
Am sick of waiting. Better be a Damn floidgate of books once they finalize 5e
Finalize 5E? What exactly does that mean? Seems pretty finalized to me. I mean, sure they'll release more rule books. But they'll do that until 6E.
Nah, I'm all but positive that the current release regimen and the stable of writers are what we've got. It's a shame too. The large number of voices the Realms had was what kept me coming back. I honestly don't want to see every FR novel every year be about tieflings, Drizzt, or Elminster. |
| mastermustard |
Posted - 02 Apr 2015 : 01:27:35
quote:
Originally posted by silverwolfer
Am sick of waiting. Better be a Damn floidgate of books once they finalize 5e
I hope that that's all this is. I don't play tabletop D&D, I just read and collect the novels (Eberron and FR) fairly religiously, and if novel support stays as it is for both settings I may have to find a new hobby. |
| Artemas Entreri |
Posted - 01 Apr 2015 : 20:02:04
quote:
Originally posted by Shadowsoul
I really get tired of the same old books and same old characters to be honest. I want to read more about characters we have heard of by name but know nothing about.
I'd carry this further to say I'm tired of the same old settings. Any book set in Cormyr, Sembia, or the Sword Coast automatically has one strike against it for me. |
| silverwolfer |
Posted - 01 Apr 2015 : 19:45:36
Am sick of waiting. Better be a Damn floidgate of books once they finalize 5e |
| Shadowsoul |
Posted - 27 Mar 2015 : 23:24:03
I miss the novels that weren't about RSE's and just focused on small things going on in the Realms. I loved the Lost Library of Cormanthyr and similar such books. I really get tired of the same old books and same old characters to be honest. I want to read more about characters we have heard of by name but know nothing about. |
| Ayrik |
Posted - 25 Mar 2015 : 02:24:20
quote:
Lilianviaten
3) I don't know where old favorites like Cunningham or Niles have drifted off. They have been published in fantasy since working for FR, so why no FR novels?
I think this question answered itself.
If you have what it takes to make it big, be successful, and create worlds ... why lock yourself into toiling small, being trapped in somebody else's crowdy little world, and accepting whatever scraps they can afford to toss to you?
WotC suffers from a lot of bad rep. It doesn't even matter whether they deserve it or not, but they're a panicky publishing peanut in a scary big mean world filled with more riches and terrors than they can hope to grasp. When authors can do better then I don't fault them for doing better - who wants to work more to gain less? |
| CorellonsDevout |
Posted - 24 Mar 2015 : 23:15:12
quote:
Originally posted by Lilianviaten
quote:
Originally posted by Krafus
I'm also among those who believe we won't see a return to the glory days of 10-12 new FR novels a year. 5 novels a year seems to be the new norm, with two of those by Salvatore. And with the D&D staff at WotC apparently at its lowest number ever, I don't think they could handle 10-12 new FR novels a year in addition to developing and overseeing the overall D&D line even if they wanted to.
This saddens me greatly, as for me the books of Erik Scott de Bie and Paul Kemp were exactly what I wanted from FR novels now that I'm in my thirties. From my POV, de Bie and Kemp wrote R-rated novels that I really enjoyed, unlike the perpetually PG-13 stuff of Salvatore. This shouldn't be viewed as a knock against Salvatore, who is obviously still very popular and profitable for WotC, as evidenced by the fact that they have him writing two novels a year. In fact, he used to be my favorite author. But that was twenty years ago, and now I prefer works that have more adult material and deeper characterization than Salvatore provides.
And that was formerly the great thing about FR. You had a lot of brilliant writers with different styles. Erin Evans and RAS both recently wrote novels centered in Neverwinter. Both wrote great novels, but I got something different out of the city from each author. Same with De Bie and RAS both tackling Luskan, or Evans and Ed giving us different takes on Cormyr.
That applies to races also. RAS does a brilliant job with the drow, but I equally loved what Elaine and Lisa Smedman have done with them. Same goes for different takes on gods, organizations (like the Zhentarim, etc.) Variety is what made FR great.
I agree. I miss Elaine, Smedman, de Bie, Kemp, Johnson. They had great stories going, and they added flavor. I love Erin's work, and I will continue to read Ed and RAS, but I don't want to just depend on those three to get my novel fix. And if they are the only ones producing novels, that puts a lot of pressure on them. |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 24 Mar 2015 : 20:25:58
quote:
Originally posted by Artemas Entreri
quote:
Originally posted by Lilianviaten
[quote]Originally posted by Krafus
Variety is what made FR great.
It is, but at the same time I can't help but think that the Realms novel line could have been soooo much more. How cool would it have been to see novels/trilogies set in Zakhara and Kara-Tur?
They did originally plan some Kara-Tur novels, but they were scrapped without ever being announced. It's the reason we have some entries in Hall of Heroes that aren't described anywhere else, like Doin Sanehiro. |
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