The Sundering of D&D

shadzar · Post by **shadzar** » Wed Aug 07, 2013 12:54 pm

. http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/26417.html .

Wizards of the Coast is launching Dungeons & Dragons: The Sundering, a transmedia gaming event that spans game and fiction products, aggressively integrates organized play and mobile gaming into product development, and incorporates a licensing stream tied to the event.

thoughts on Forgotten Realms, direction D&D is heading, anything?

Drachasor · Post by **Drachasor** » Wed Aug 07, 2013 1:15 pm

I thought the Dungeons & Dragons: The Sundering was something that arrived with 4th edition.

I shall look at the article now.

Edit after having read the article: Seems like a standard coordinated product launch. Though I don't know why they always need to blow up the Realms every time they launch a new version of D&D. At this point I think I'd just prefer a Retcon or something.

RobbyPants · Post by **RobbyPants** » Wed Aug 07, 2013 3:19 pm

Largely unrelated (or is it!?), but I like how this has the same name as one of the worst mechanical aspects of 3E.

Parthenon · Post by **Parthenon** » Wed Aug 07, 2013 3:33 pm

At the end of this story arc, Abeir and Toril will be separate again, and many of the things that happened when they crashed together will go back to the way they were before. So magic will be much like it was before the Spell Plague. Markings that marked spell-plagued people and animals will fade and go away.

This really is retconning everything away isn't it? I don't really give a shit about Forgotten Realms, but does this mean that they are pretending 4th edition didn't happen?

Wait, what the fuck, they have an official DMPC paladin that tells you where to go and what to do, and they have all their adventures designed so you can write back and tell them what achievements you unlocked?

This is the first campaign that we’re aware of that is announced as being compatible with 3.5E, 4E and Next rules.

Random thoughts on applying the D&D brand to mobile gaming... one of the things about mobile gaming is the ability to frequently keep up to date and add your input into an ongoing thing from anywhere.

You could have a game app where you create a PC from the current D&D rules and together with other people go through a hack and slash automated adventure. The PCs automatically go through the adventure, but every now and then you can all vote on things like where to go and what adventure to take, and every 15 minutes you get some action points you can spend to improve your chances.

shadzar · Post by **shadzar** » Wed Aug 07, 2013 3:49 pm

didnt they try that with DDi, and failed. they couldnt or wouldnt keep things up to date as they were fixed? also does this mean little apps would replace organized play since so many other things are going on, they, as Nathan said in Forbes, are moving away from D&D being a TTRPG?

so D&D will take the path of Warhammer and the future of some D&D world will be directed by the actions of ALL the players via some sort of Horus Heresy or something?

Tumbling Down · Post by **Tumbling Down** » Wed Aug 07, 2013 3:51 pm

"The Sundering" is the shittiest, most generic name for anything, ever.

Rawbeard · Post by **Rawbeard** » Wed Aug 07, 2013 4:25 pm

WotC aren't capable to do online/digital stuff to save their lives. this should be fun to watch.

nockermensch · Post by **nockermensch** » Wed Aug 07, 2013 5:46 pm

Whoever imagined this name is a genius. "D&D: The Sundering" is the best possible name for a happening that will destroy D&D.

Rommie · Post by **Rommie** » Wed Aug 07, 2013 9:08 pm

I don't know what's funnier: D&D: The Sundering or Horace Heresy.

shadzar · Post by **shadzar** » Wed Aug 07, 2013 9:48 pm

sorry. fixed it now to correctly read Horus Heresy. though it likely doesn't change the ridiculousness of it.

Corsair114 · Post by **Corsair114** » Wed Aug 07, 2013 10:15 pm

First campaign to cover 3.5E, 4E. and 5E is to be called "The Sundering.

Theme-naming a-go-go, baby!

That aside, I'm pretty sure the baby's already too far out the window with bath water to recover it when it comes to 3.5E for WotC. 4th was a clusterfuck *before* the Heroes of Places product revamp and, following a fairly close reading of the material, a bigger clusterfuck afterwards (related mostly to the way it interfaces with "normal" 4E classes). As for 5E/Next, well, has anyone seen anything that makes it look like it'll be anything other than another 4E? That is, a fair number of good ideas in a vacuum slapped together in a way that could be described as "It'll probably be worthwhile in the long run but I've done no actual testing so hopefully it doesn't accidentally summon Cthulhu when people read it!"

codeGlaze · Post by **codeGlaze** » Thu Aug 08, 2013 1:14 am

nockermensch wrote:Whoever imagined this name is a genius. "D&D: The Sundering" is the best possible name for a happening that will destroy D&D.

The irony is fantastic.

CCarter · Post by **CCarter** » Thu Aug 08, 2013 3:39 am

Its a stupid idea that is unlikely to fix any of the problems with the setting (which is to say that people who liked the Realms liked all the convoluted backstory). However, the brand equity of FR is a solid zero at this point so I think they have nowhere to go but up. I think the only question really is whether they'd do better putting their effort into a completely all-new setting (..maybe one that's suspiciously similar to the old FR..).

Fuchs · Post by **Fuchs** » Thu Aug 08, 2013 5:50 am

They should do a reboot, not trying to fix the mess they made with 4E.

nockermensch · Post by **nockermensch** » Thu Aug 08, 2013 1:35 pm

CCarter wrote:Its a stupid idea that is unlikely to fix any of the problems with the setting (which is to say that people who liked the Realms liked all the convoluted backstory). However, the brand equity of FR is a solid zero at this point so I think they have nowhere to go but up. I think the only question really is whether they'd do better putting their effort into a completely all-new setting (..maybe one that's suspiciously similar to the old FR..).

The way I see their move, it's an attempt to make the market start caring again about their creations. You can see this in how they hammer Drizzt's name again and again during the interview. It's clearly a "hey, I used to love this shit!" nostalgia based effort.

At the same time, they're timidly trying to figure if they can "make magic" again and create new beloved NPCs, as with that paladin that they also push.

A new setting just wouldn't have the nostalgia draw that FR has and WotC just can't risk a "eh, whatever" market reaction by this point.

Surgo · Post by **Surgo** » Thu Aug 08, 2013 3:41 pm

Jesus Christ they should just reboot realms back to where it was with 3E or even 2E or something when people cared about it. At least they realize how horribly they screwed the pooch with that one, turning one of their highest-value products to shit (not that I don't think FR was not already horrible, but people did like it a lot).

shadzar · Post by **shadzar** » Thu Aug 08, 2013 9:42 pm

. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2W__zxJroio .

love how Jim Carrey's Riddler is standing behind what appears to be Elminster in this video...

infected slut princess · Thu Aug 08, 2013 11:04 pm

Wotc person wrote:You may remember when the Spell Plagues began, the two worlds of the Forgotten Realms, Abeir and Toril, crashed together. That created both geographic changes (the map of the Forgotten Realms and Faerun actually changed due to that collision), and also changed the way magic works. It changed the pantheon of the gods. The Sundering is all about those two worlds separating--coming apart--and the process of that separation is really the story that we’re telling over the next year. At the end of this story arc, Abeir and Toril will be separate again, and many of the things that happened when they crashed together will go back to the way they were before. So magic will be much like it was before the Spell Plague. Markings that marked spell-plagued people and animals will fade and go away.

It’s really about moving the Forgotten Realms forward, but also about bringing it around to the most beloved and most fondly remembered Forgotten Realms.

Translation: "The whole 4e Spellplague was a hugely stupid idea. We really are idiots. We have to reverse it somehow to try and get back some fans."

I get sick pleasure out of watching teh Forgotten Realms get kicked around and abused.

CCarter · Post by **CCarter** » Thu Aug 08, 2013 11:48 pm

nockermensch wrote:
CCarter wrote:Its a stupid idea that is unlikely to fix any of the problems with the setting (which is to say that people who liked the Realms liked all the convoluted backstory). However, the brand equity of FR is a solid zero at this point so I think they have nowhere to go but up. I think the only question really is whether they'd do better putting their effort into a completely all-new setting (..maybe one that's suspiciously similar to the old FR..).
The way I see their move, it's an attempt to make the market start caring again about their creations. You can see this in how they hammer Drizzt's name again and again during the interview. It's clearly a "hey, I used to love this shit!" nostalgia based effort.

At the same time, they're timidly trying to figure if they can "make magic" again and create new beloved NPCs, as with that paladin that they also push.

A new setting just wouldn't have the nostalgia draw that FR has and WotC just can't risk a "eh, whatever" market reaction by this point.

They already killed FR. Care factor is zero.
The 4E setting advanced the timeline by a century, and wiped most of the kingdoms off the map. Its a very precise, very detailed setting - the GM doesn't have to think for themselves because with enough supplements the PCs visit a town and you already know the local rulers, the city's chief exports, the names of the most popular three inns, and that they had a doppelganger plague last Wednesday.
As with, say, Star Trek, its now really hard to write new adventures or materials without contradicting the existing canon, but still the resources there are the point of there being an FR. Even advancing the timeline a century wipes out a huge part of the setting, and AFAIK the sundering will still be post-spellplague and thus can't undo that. 4E also retconned various parts of the older setting, like deciding that 'Abeir' was a parallel world that re-merged with Toril instead of being just part of the worlds full name, inserting pre-fab Dragonborn and Tiefling empires which hadn't been listed in any of the existing sourcebooks of ancient empires, inserting a war between gods and primordials that was inconsistent with there being an overdeity, and so on.

The only things left after they had finished screwing the setting last time were Driz'zt and a couple of place names, and I don't think there's any coming back from that. They obliterated its geography, its history, its religion, its magic, killed 98% of the NPCs, and by the time they were done it just might as well be a different planet anyway.

shadzar · Post by **shadzar** » Fri Aug 09, 2013 4:06 am

Time of Troubles, Time of Tragedy, now Time of Turmoil.....

you knwo what? my FR still has never had Elminster do anything outside his tower, and the Harpers stay out of way of the PCs. Elistrae dances around nude everywhere though....

nonw of this nonsense really affcts people that didnt use new FR material. how will this all affect new D&D players? will they give a damn to go back and read all the FR history and give a shit? my 1st edition FR boxed set still works and hasnt magically changed because of a spellplague or anything else.

i wonder why Greenwood keeps sucking D&D cock, instead of just writing novels and let D&D owners fuck up whatever way they are going to? he participates in this nonsense over and over like he has no balls.