Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Caolin Jul 09, 2015 10:17:15	In the past I could easily get away with not playing the actual game and still feel like I was getting a good story.  with an average of 10-12 novels per year I got plenty of Realms to fill my day.  But now?  I'm getting at best 4 novels a year and those are focusing on pretty much 3 locations and 3 main groups of characters.  It seems that all of theaction is happening within the Adventurers League format.....which requires playing the game.  I gave 5E a shot late last year and I enjoyed myself for a few months.  But normal play hours goes from 5-7 in my area and that's just not doable for me.  Basically, it's impossible to keep up any sort of a regular gaming schedule.   So that is leaving me with the feeling that I'm being left out.  My love of the Realms is slipping fast and I'm beginning to pick up other interests within the fantasy world.  I can forsee myself not buying anymore DnD novels at some point in the future if things remain as they are.  I'm pretty sure this will fall on deaf ears with the WoTC folks and I'm sure most of you who frequent here won't share my opinion on this.  But I felt I should vent in a lame attempt to salvage my lost love of the Realms.  I've been slogging through Spellstorm and it's been frustrating.  It's like I'm just going through the motions until The Winds of Winter arrives.
#2 Irennan Jul 10, 2015 5:16:50	You're not the only one feeling left out. The only updated lore that we're getting is little bits from novels and Ed himself. There's the lore in their AP, but it is extremely narrowed down to what is strictly necessary to run the adventure, and nothing more. No FRCS, no lore articles only few novels (and 50% of them, quite literally, are Drizzt). I just hope that they will write at least a few articles, because this is really discouraging. It just seems that they don't actually care about developing FR lore anymore.
#3 dadocollin Jul 10, 2015 11:01:58	I feel you.  I used to run the Book Club here in the Community and gave up at some point.  It was moved to Goodreads and looks like it's withering away there as well.  This is tough because WotC has never published sales, which means we have no way of telling why the novel line was abruptly cut off.  Having followed it for some time, this is my best surmise about what happened:   (Caution: This is just my recollection and interpretation.  Some of this may be completely unfounded and the timeline may be confused in parts.)   1. Duirng the height of 3rd edition, we were getting lots of novels - Dragonlance, Forgotten Realms, Eberron, etc.  You typically saw them published two ways.  The established authors would be given a trilogy (Salvatore, Greenwood, Kemp, Byers, Baker, etc.) and the newer authors were part of a four book series with a general theme (The Wilds, the Dungeons, and so on).  There would be a short story book published along with one of the trilogies.  Only the highest-selling like Salvatore would get hardcover releases.   At some point, this must have stopped panning out.  My guess is too many books, too fast.  Fantasy readers must have gravitated elsewhere. That led into:   2. Fewer novels. Dragonlance ends. 4th edition arrives.  The four book series stop.  It's mainly the trilogies by the big names and unrelated one-offs by new voices.  There are some themed sets like the Waterdeep series, but in general, one-off books are published and if they sell well, they get a sequel (books like Unbroken Chain).  Only a small number get a sequel.  Even fewer get a third book.  Less risk overall for WotC, but less continuity in the stories.   Things start going poorly for D&D.  There's a series of disasters with 4th edition (completely unrelated to the novel line).  Hasbro turns the screws.  There are major changes on the editing team such as the loss of long-time editor Phil Athans at some point during that run.   3. Even fewer novels are published with less continuity.  WotC finally enters the e-Book game way too late and decides to issue some new releases, many of them sequels (which makes little sense besides lowering the risk factor even further) as e-Book only titles.  This is obviously not a success and more and more readers leave the line.  5th edition looms.   Hasbro trims the D&D staff waaaaaay down.  At this point, there may be one person (Nina Hess?) still involved as a full-time staffer with the fiction line.  Editing, like much of the game writing, is going to contractors (a theme popular in the publishing world).  And that brings us to:   4. The Sundering.  WotC decides to stop all fiction lines.  No more Eberron.  No more Dark Sun.  No more Nentir Vale.  There's a switch to an all-hardcover series.  Six authors are found who must save the Realms and the D&D novel line.  All hardcover releases.  With any luck, best sellers, a repeat of War of the Spider Queen.  It looks like the plan is to launch a new series from each of these six books.  That plan, to all appearances, doesn't entirely pan out.  Salvotore keeps on keeping on, two books a year, but fans seem to be tiring of the monotony.  Is there too much Drizzt too fast?  Erins Evans and Ed Greenwood both get new books (and appear to have another in the works each), but how are they selling?  Kemp, Byers, and Denning don't get follow up deals.  It seems WotC is only focusing on books they think can bring the biggest bang for the buck.   I don't think you're missing much in the Adventure Paths.  I bought Elemental Evil just because I was also starved, but there wasn't a lot of Realmslore in there.  At this point, I've gone back to reading some older Realms and Dragonlance and hoping for the best!
#4 Mirtek Jul 13, 2015 15:39:02	Actiually Troy gets a follow up novel. Throne of the Dead, originally scheduled for December but now that Erin's novel is delayed until December Troy's novel has been pushed back into March 2016
(Reply to #4) dadocollin	Mirtek wrote:
#6 Caolin Jul 17, 2015 20:44:19	I'm actually curious on how good the Sword Coast game coming up will be.  If it's a great game, it could suck me right back into the Realms and potentiall be a big boast to the IP.