A couple links to the Candlekeep.com forums with the relevant info, as relayed by the mysterious Hooded One (THO):
http://forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=19841&whichpage=4#463287
Well, as Ed explained it to me at a recent convention, Halruaan magical shields went up, making teleportation and scrying impossible and clouding most divination magic into chaotic uselessness . . . and when the Spellplague hit, many Halruaans died went magic briefly "went wild" and structures collapsed, in-flight effects failed and gravity took over, active magics turned chaotic, and so on. At the same time, many wizards went insane or got brain-burned or were killed when caught in their own spells going chaotic . . . and a lot of the surviving Halruaans assumed the realm was under attack and cast or activated all of their appropriate "rainy day" defenses - - so MORE shields went up, many of them twisted or going wild as time passed . . . so Halruaa was effectively cut off from the rest of Faerûn. And caught in mid-dimensional segueing between Abeir and Toril (and not the entire country as a neat whole unit, but bits and pieces of it in a very localized fashion). Which in turn meant more wild magic and the leakage of other magics from elsewhere through it, and MORE defensive spellcasting, and . . . an increasing "no go zone" from the POV of those nearby in Toril.So it doesn't so much "blink" as it disappears into/behind impenetrable mists of tangled magic (old comics readers, think of all of those weird panels drawn in elder Doctor Strange issues), for a time.
To emerge with many structures devastated (think of many World War II cities after heavy bombing), the populace scattered, weary, and wary . . . and even more determined to be isolationalist.
Have I got it right, THO? Ed?
Yeah I read that on Candlekeep and it was very encouraging. My only concern is that this fantastic information actually make it into a FRCS of some kind. From what we are hearing from WotC, this is unlikely to happen. 
Maybe Ed will put some kind of "Update to the Realms" as a pdf on his website or something for us to download.
Baptor wrote:
I like this take on Halruaa, I just hope that we'll see more of it (very unlikely, since Harluaa is one of the ''forgotten'' regions of the Realms, but one can hope).
WotC has not announced they will not produce a 5E FRCS.
Irennan wrote:
Because people who are on the fence and may decide to buy their products to support an eventual FRCS could be alienated by this announcement, especially because after hearing all the promises and fanfare for the Realms, getting a ''LOL, write your own lore or use what you already have'' and very little info on the new Realms would feel like being lied to (to some people, at least). Alienating any possible customer (when they could avoid that happening for another 1-2 years by simply saying ''maybe/ in the far future'') is a stupid move for any corporate, unless they are sure that whatever choice led to that would bring more buyers than those who left/were turned back.
Irennan wrote:
FYI: I am Jeremy Grenemyer over on the Candlekeep forums.
Irennan wrote:
Mr_Miscellany wrote:
From this article: http://www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/game/1238/feature/9410/page/1, Nathan Stewart, Brand Director for Dungeons & Dragons confirms the following, "The Forgotten Realms is the universe that we at Wizards of the Coast are focusing our storytelling in for the foreseeable future."
Good news. 
Tip of the hat to EN World for pointing this out:
http://www.enworld.org/forum/content.php?2366-More-on-SWORD-COAST-LEGENDS-Campaign-Tools-Starting-Races-and-Fascinating-Strategic-Alignment-Stuff!#.VO975sbqk7A
I get what Mr Miscellany is saying here, as well as what Wizards and Mike Mearls is trying to convey.,..which is (I'm paraphrasing too!):
...that the Forgoten Realms isn't gonna fall by the wayside, it is actively going to be worked on and possibly supported by various different way other than a book...meaning, other than a FRCS
For example,
The new Elmental Evil adventure is set in the Realms,
A couple of novels may be thrown out there...
The new Sword Coast video game is set in the realms,
A new DiceMasters expansion pack "Battle of Faerun" is coming out soon,
And I'm sure there's a lot of little side products like this coming out of the pipe works.....
(Who knows, they might even release a cute little Elminster stuffed plush pillow teddy bear or something like that!)
All of this sort of frill, is...sounds cool. Maybe even worth checking out. But it isn't lore. It isn't an update to what the Sundering is supposed to have fixed. And it just isn't what most of us on these boards expect from WoTC as professional buisness model. If they think that outsourcing to Wizkids and Kolbold Press and Gale Force Nine, and doing all these other little projects are gonna impress us, they are mistaken.
However, I will be buying the Sword Coast video game, as well as DiceMasters (only because I have a friend that swears by it), and if they release a Drizzt stuffed animal, heck, I'll be buying that too! So they have me as a customer...ive been a customer...they got my money for sure. But I am a sort of an unhappy customer. Because the one thing I really want (please Santa!)...the one thing that everyone on this board and over at Candlekeep is raving and drooling about, (which Realms' deity do we gotta pray to in order for this to happen?) ...the single most important thing they could do, in addition to and concurrently with all other little side gimmicks they got planned, to make us feel that warm fuzzy, tingling feeling inside...
...they have absolutely no plans on doing.
Well, we don't actually know that for a fact.
Let's be careful, lest we drive people away right when the Realmsneeds them the most.
May the gods bless you Miscellany...
Cause I just don't know how you can keep so optimistic about things. I don't mean to be a thorn in here and naysay against the Realms..i love the Realms!
but I just don't think it's a good idea to sit on these boards, kiss WoTC's ass, praise them for doing such a wonderful job, and letting them think we're all happy with the state of the Realms as it currently is. The way I see it is, there may not even be a Fogotten Realms anymore....(and it ain't my fault)
Fo instnce, the new expansion pack for a game called DiceMasters came out the other day! Behold, it's a Dungeons & Dragons theme or expansion or whatever you do or however you play it, you now have cards and dice and things for that game involving old school D&D iconic monsters like dragons and behollders and such, many of which are also Forgotten Realms characters as well. (I think the game is sorta like the video game, Marvel vs Capcom, and you'll be able to have Drizzt Do'Urden do battle with Spider-Man or something along those lines...)
The game itself is fun and all but what gets me, is that the expansion pack is dubbed, "the Battle of Faerun" ...a clear reference that somehow this is supposed to be one of the wonderful ways that Wizards and possibly Ed, is working on the Realms. That's sad because I don't see a FR logo on it. I don't see a FR logo on Prince of theApocolypse or Tyranny of Dragonns. Somewhere in time, I stopped seen FR logos altogether. In 4e they mentioned that a certain book was the Forgotten Realms Campaign setting or that Neverwinter was set in the Forgotten Realms, but gosh, I haven't seen an updated FR logo since 3.x!!
Wht happened?!
Believe it or not, but I think they are slowly doing away with the idea of being a special niche setting known as the FR and from now on, much like how Gotham City is the default setting for Batman, I think that the default setting for D&D is going to be The Forgotten Realms (Faerun). And yes, I've read what Mearls said about, "it being news to him" when asked if the FR was the default setting in 5e (Lies!) But from what I see unfolding, and according to Mearls, is that they want D&D to compete with, not only Pathfinder, but all other forms of entertainment as well, Monoply, PlayStation 4, NBA, ...they're looking for better brand recognition (for the D&D brand overall) and I think they believe that by branching out into dice games, card games (like how Pathfinder got into Munchkin), and anything else under the sun, they will build a better brand. It's as if they were screaming to the world, "hey, people of planet earth, I know you like your World of Warcraft, and Call of Duty, and your Pokemon, and your this, and your that....but we want you t know that we exist too!...and were fun.....and we got dragons...and goblins...and magic swords....and a cool drow with a panther...come check us out too," they want people to be D&D to be a recognizable name much like Zelda, and if that means, only bringing up the FR name up only to mention that it's the continent where things happen, then so be it.
I could be wrong here, but the name of the game is making money...it's turning heads of kids and teens that wouldn't normally be turned. And it is most definitely not, catering to thier existing fan base. They already got us by the balls, and they know it.
KlaudisRex wrote:
The default setting for D&D in 5th edition is all of the settings.
It's unfortunate that WotC has decided to emphasize the D&D brand to the point that the Realms logo gets obscured, because the incongruity on my damn bookshelves is really noticeable, but the bright side is this: when people think D&D, they are largely going to think Forgotten Realms--like they used to think of Greyhawk, come to think of it.
But unlike Greyhawk, the Realms is not going away or being minimized. WotC have stated unequivocally that the Realms is where their collective focus lies for the foreseeable future.
You're right that D&D is about making money, but I don't agree that WotC are not catering to their existing fan base. They've been acquiring feedback for quite some time now to make the new Fifth Edition, via their website. Fan feedback shaped the new game.
Remember too: TSR was just as guilty as WotC of monetizing. It's my hope WotC is more successful at it.
Mr_Miscellany wrote: