#i liked how Bruenor came around too that was good

[tiny-huts]

I finished the companions! Drizzt half dead on a mountain seeing his friends like hey guys I think Dahlia gave me more concussions than I thought she did or I am dead

[bc-johnson]

IP Freely

One of the really interesting things about this WotC / OGL thing (if it ends up coming to pass), is how it exposes a way they’ve shot themselves in the foot. I mean, other than the obvious.

Since you can’t copyright game mechanics (though I’m sure they’ll try to sue everyone anyway), D&D has two things remaining: brand recognition, and IP.

Their brand recognition is going to be the real hurdle, because it’s stronger now than anytime in the past, really. They’re about as close to mainstream as they’ve ever been. They got a Chris Pine movie coming out. They’re in the “generic” phase of popularity, where “playing D&D” is shorthand for the entire tabletop experience in all but the minds of the nerdliest of nerds (I include myself in this group, Deadlands4Ever!).

I’m not sure surmounting the brand recognition is possible for any new game (at least not on a short time scale), which is where the battle is going to be fought. Pathfinder has the strongest play, probably, if they can survive the legal fees they’re about to be assailed with. Sounds like Kobold Press is making some moves, too, and more power to them. Good luck, everyone.

However, WotC could have had an enormous second weapon in their arsenal, one they’ve systematically dismantled since around 3rd edition: their IP. Nowadays, I doubt many new players know anything about the D&D IP, and I don’t mean that in a grognard / gatekeepy way. I mean, the company used 3rd, 4th, and much of 5th (with exceptions) to wipe their own IP away in the name of ease of use. Which obviously worked for them - they clearly have the new player base they were looking for.

But, believe it or not, D&D used to have big iconic characters. Elminster and Tanis Half-Elven and the Dragon of Tyr. Fiction books on the best seller list. Spinoff game lore books in the dozens about each setting, packaged in full boxes with maps. Branded video games that introduced huge groups of non-dice rollers to places like Baldur’s Gate and Sigil. They had a mainstream Saturday morning cartoon show, for chrissakes.

Somewhere around 3e, though (when WotC took over), they started to seem embarrassed of their own IP. They released fewer novels, they alienated their own authors. They stopped making campaign settings (leaving 3rd parties to occasionally do it, but with little support or marketing), letting Dragonlance, Spelljammer, PlaneScape, Dark Sun, and Ravenloft wither on the vine. Generic Fantasy World A and B became the primary setting (Greyhawk in name only for 3e, the wildly beige “Points of Light” setting for 4e).

They certainly stopped trying to make movies or cartoons with their IP. Video games set in D&D worlds became thin on the ground, mostly just a half-hearted MMO no one remembers.

Why wasn’t there a Drizzt movie or cartoon? According to Telegram, the character sold 35 million novels and was on the New York Times Best Seller list dozens of times.

5e tried to make a course-correction. In the rulebooks, you started to see names like “Bruenor Battlehammer” in rules examples instead of the generic “Tordek” and “Mialee.” Curse of Strahd was probably the strongest IP exercise, single-handedly resurrecting Ravenloft and one of the brand’s most iconic villains for millions of new players.

But even these attempts have been lacking any real teeth. Ravenloft eventually got an anemic “Van Richten’s Guide” fully five years after Curse of Strahd became popular, a book that lacked sufficient detail for a true campaign setting - or sufficient flavor to excite newcomers. Dark Sun remains on a shelf. Dragonlance only recently started getting attention, but even those books have been premade campaigns pretending to be campaign settings. Spelljammer is probably their most notable effort in 5e, which actually came with multiple setting books, probably a callback to the heyday of Spelljammer (when D&D loved introducing you to new worlds).

But this isn’t about campaign setting books, though that shit contributes.

It’s more that WotC spent the past two and a half decades making D&D as generic as humanly possible, without all of the flavor and characters of their most interesting settings, and burying all of their actually valuable IP.

And now that people are looking to jump ship, the company has nothing more than branding to lean on.

I hate to say “I told you so,” but, well, shit. Turns out all those cool stories and settings hundreds of people worked on and millions of people loved had some value or whatever.

[artemis-entreri]

[[ A new title appeared on publication websites today. Timeless by R. A. Salvatore is slated to be released on Sep 18, 2018 through HarperCollins. Earlier, a book synopsis was posted with the page count, book dimensions and ISBN on Edelweiss’ entry for Timeless, but it has since been taken down at Salvatore’s request. 

Before it disappeared, the synopsis read:

At long last, New York Times bestselling author R. A. Salvatore returns with one of fantasy’s most beloved and enduring icons, the dark elf Drizzt Do’Urden, in an all-new trilogy full of swordplay, danger, and imaginative thrills Centuries ago, in the city of Menzoberranzan, the City of Spiders, the City of Drow, nestled deep in the unmerciful Underdark of Toril, a young weapon master earned a reputation far above his station or that of his poor house. The greater nobles watched him, and one matron, in particular, decided to take him as her own. She connived with rival great houses to secure her prize, but that prize was caught for her by another, who came to quite enjoy the weapon master. This was the beginning of the friendship between Zaknafein and Jarlaxle, and the coupling of Matron Malice and the weapon master who would sire Drizzt Do’Urden. R. A. Salvatore reveals the Underdark anew through the eyes of Zaknafein and Jarlaxle—an introduction to the darkness that offers a fresh view of the opportunities to be found in the shadows and an intriguing prelude to the intriguing escapes that lie ahead in the modern-day Forgotten Realms. Here, a father and his son are reunited and embark on adventures that parallel the trials of centuries long past as the friends of old are joined by Drizzt, Hero of the North, trained by Grandmaster Kane in the ways of the monk. But the scourge of the dangerous Lolth’s ambitions remain, and demons have been foisted on the unwitting of the surface. The resulting chaos and war will prove to be the greatest challenge for all three.

There’s still much uncertainty, and the many questions abound can only be answered definitively with officially released information as the release date draws closer. Salvatore and anyone else in the know are bound by NDAs to not reveal anything, be it confirmation or denial. When asked about the appearance of this new title, Salvatore had this to say:

This kind of placeholder has been put up a dozen times before for me (even in negotiations, a publisher will often slot a potential book) and I've never heard a peep.

Furthermore, James Lowder added:

To further emphasize that nothing can be known for certain currently, Lowder explained:

When asked why the placeholder already has a name, Lowder further explained:

However, here is what we do know, some of which are recaps of things that I’d already shared in the past:

- Wizards of the Coast stopped renewing novel contracts in 2016, leading many to believe that the Forgotten Realms novel line was officially dead. The total number of novel releases had already been massively cut down from what they were in the past. There was no news of anything on the horizon following the  “final” book releases from Erin M. Evans, Ed Greenwood, and R. A. Salvatore. Furthermore, these books had conclusive tones, which further supported the theory that novels were being stopped. It wasn’t until late last year, October 6, 2017, did D&D Director Nathan Stewart reveal in a Fireside Chat session that new fiction was definitely forthcoming. Aside from this, there’s been no information.

- Timeless will be published by HarperCollins, whose website includes “drizzt” in the URL (see above screenshot from HarperCollins’ website, Harper Voyager). This would be the first time that we’re seeing an official Forgotten Realms novel published by someone other than WotC. While WotC and TSR before it published their own novels, WotC is owned by Hasbro, which is a game company that probably isn’t the best suited for (or most interested) in novel publication. WotC has licensed its intellectual property through other publication companies in the past, and it’s not unusual for a game company to license its novels to other publishers.

- In the past, there had been Forgotten Realms novels that were similarly previewed and set up for publication, but ended up never released to the public (i.e. Shores of Dusk). Work had always been put in to the point of draft manuscripts first.

- Hero was released on October 25, 2016, and along with Maestro, released on April 5, 2016, offset the March/September release schedule for the biannual Drizzt book releases by a month. Timeless, slated to be released on September 18, 2018, would recommence the original publication schedule. Salvatore takes a little under a year to write a novel, and the release date is for 7 months from now.

- Salvatore has long expressed interest in writing a Jarlaxle and Zaknafein prequel, however publication of such a work had been rendered difficult by both the termination of the novel contracts as well as WotC’s stance on focusing in the current timeline moving forward and not backtracking to revisit older lore. However, workarounds to this policy do exist, in which past lore was revisited alongside present lore, as seen in Ed Greenwood’s Elminster in Hell. 

So, what does all of this mean? Here is my personal take on it. Please note that the following is SPECULATION. While I try to make my most educated guesses, I don’t know any more than what I’ve presented already in this post.

I believe that we are indeed seeing the return of the Drizzt franchise. The drow ranger generates revenue, and so long as people continue buying the books, which it looks like they will for the foreseeable future, it would make good business sense to milk the franchise for all that it’s worth. Salvatore also likely wouldn’t need to prepare as much as he usually does when writing a new book, he probably has Jarlaxle and Zaknafein prequel material already written, so it’s just a matter of splicing that into new material that he writes of Jarlaxle, Zaknafein and Drizzt adventuring together, which the now-deleted synopsis suggests will happen in Timeless.

The fact that a release date and a plotline have both been announced most likely means that there is a legally binding contract that exists. Whether Salvatore has signed it yet or not is another matter. It also makes a lot of sense for WotC to contract an experienced book publisher to handle their future novel releases. This allows them to satisfy the consumer base that demands more novels, gather revenue from this consumer base, and not have to delegate as many resources to handling something that they’re not as well-equipped to handle as a company that’s completely set up for it. It’d be a win-win all around for them.

The timeline for the “present time” as described in the synopsis for Timeless is a little odd, because while the mention of demons aligns with the Rage of Demons storyline and where Hero left off, it’s pretty old as far as the current Forgotten Realms setting is concerned. The world has moved far away from the threat of the demon princes to frost giants and then the death curse in Chult. While it isn’t unusual for the Drizzt books to drag behind the “current” campaign setting of the Realms, and it even makes sense for it to do so especially with two years away, it’s still a little strange, given WotC’s stance. Furthermore, a lot of loose ends were wrapped up, some of them all too cleanly and conveniently, that the thought of starting anew is a bit awkward and contrived. For instance, when we last saw, Catti-brie is pregnant with Drizzt’s child, and to me, it seems unlikely that he’d leave her side even if it is to fend off the threats to the world. The Companions of the Hall have their own lives now, with Regis settling down with his beloved Donnola Topolino and Bruenor ruling Gauntylgrym with his twin queens at his side. The Companions of the Hall might not assemble, for the synopsis suggests that it’s only Jarlaxle, Zaknafein and Drizzt going out and about, but if the CotH were to rise and be the heroes they were once more, they, like Drizzt, would be uprooting themselves to once again pursue the habits of a previous life, which I think is very unlikely. But, much of Salvatore’s plot choices have stopped making sense to me for a while now, so I suppose we’ll just have to wait to see how that goes. 

I can’t help but feel a sense of dread at how much this new endeavor is an act of fan service. Similar to Drizzt’s fight with Grandmaster Kane, in which he shouldn’t have had a chance at all, Drizzt, Jarlaxle and Zaknafein traveling together to fight the forces of evil seems to be more of that cool thing that people want to see rather than making logical sense. As always, I hope that I’m proven wrong. ]]

[fishoutofcamelot]

Ask and ye shall receive ;)

Dagonet used to think being a castle guard would be exciting. Adventurous. The closest his wax wings could climb towards that glorious sun called knighthood.

He did not, however, expect it to mostly consist of sitting around playing dice games for hours on end.

At this point, he was almost hoping someone would try to kill the king. Was that a treasonous thought? Yes. But Dagonet was too bored to care.

At least he has Pelleas though - Sir Pelleas of Monmouth, that is, grandson to Geoffrey of Monmouth. And despite having the intellect expected of such a relation, he was also one hell of a scamp.

The thing about Pelleas is that he wasn't a guard. Not even close. He had a fancy cape and a title and his own special knightly quarters. And yet, when he wasn't on patrol or at the training pitch, Pelleas was playing dress-up with spare guard armour and pretending to be one of them.

At first it annoyed the hell out of Dagonet. "Let's play dice, Dag", "watch how many pickled eggs i can fit in my mouth, Dag", "what do you suppose is down in the cave you're always guarding, Dag?" Goodness, it never seemed to end with Pelleas.

That's the other thing about Pelleas. He was very, very, very talkative. How no one had caught onto his little costume swap game, Dagonet would never know.

Well, that's not entirely true. All the guards had figured out about Sir Pelleas the Knight Who Likes To Pretend He's A Guard So He Can Pester Dagonet All Day. And since he's a rather welcome distraction from the montony of guardhood, no one has dared rat him out.

And Dagonet could only be grateful for that. While he despised Pelleas in the very beginning, he slowly grew to value his boredom-curing presence.

Of course, Pelleas was no longer the only interesting person in Camelot. Now there was Merlin.

"I'll wager fifteen," said Bruenor with that toothy grin or his, leaning casually on his spear.

"You're insane," Dagonet retorted with a scoff. "You really think Gaius of all people will sell him out to Uther? Gaius?"

A familiar voice cut in from his left. "I wager thirty that he confesses to Arthur right when the prince is on his deathbed."

Dagonet didn't bother turning to face the person who had just spoken, for he knew exactly what he'd see: guard armour surreptiously slipped onto a tall, muscular body, a pair of brown knee-high boots, and the cockiest grin from here to Gedref.

Bruenor guffawed. "Confess? But he'd be insane to do such a thing!"

"And we know he certainly is," Dagonet quipped. "He's a sorcerer in Camelot, serving the prince, and hasn't once sought his blood. I know if I were in his place I'd either kill Arthur or kill myself. And yet here we are, four months later, and neither of them are dead. If Merlin is anything, he's bloody mental. While it makes me nauseous to agree with Pelleas, he might be right."

Bruenor and Pelleas both laughed.

"Oh, speaking of," said Pelleas. "Did you see the tournament?"

Bruenor whistled. "I thought the prince was a goner for sure. Innic wagers twelve silver saying Merlin's the one who saved him."

Dagonet snorted and rolled his eyes.

"And Innic is always right," Pelleas said with a smirk. But before Bruenor could add anything else, Pelleas clapped him on the shoulder and said, "Now - before I forget, I came here to relieve you. I'm taking over the next half of your shift today."

Bruenor chuckled, glanced knowingly between Pelleas and Dagonet, and passed his spear off to the disguised knight without complaint. "About time you showed up."

"Too soon, i say," Dagonet teased, to which Pelleas playfully punched his arm.

As Bruenor ambled away Pelleas cleverly shot back, "Oh please. If you had your way I'd never leave."

"Never leave your room, perhaps. Then I wouldn't have to see your ugly face again."

Pelleas took up post on the other side of the closed doorway. They were guarding the throne room today, even though it was empty.

"Ah," he said with a wink. "Then perhaps you would like to see my ugly arse instead?"

Dagonet's lips curled into a grin. "Are you finally admitting your arse is ugly, Sir Pelleas?"

From the look in his eyes, Pelleas had an especially saucy retort queued up - but unfortunately, Dagonet would never get the chance to hear it. Because just as Pelleas opened that large, chapped mouth of his, the prince's manservant came running up to them. Speak of the devil and he shall appear, as they say.

"Hi Dagonet," Merlin chirped, a bit winded. "Hi Pelleas." Aside from the guards and the chamberlain, Merlin was the only other person who had pieced together Pelleas's guard-related hobbies.

"What's going on, Merlin?" asked Dagonet.

It took a few moments for Merlin to catch his breath well enough to respond. Good grief, someone really ought to give this poor lad some strength and endurance training. From the twinkle in his hazel eyes, Dagonet could tell Pelleas was considering it.

"I...I need a favour," he said. "A possibly very big and very -"

"Well, get on with it then," Pelleas prompted. "I might have all day, but Dag doesn't."

"Right. Dagonet...you like dogs, right?"

Dagonet would later regret saying yes. Because it is that exact answer that led to him and Pelleas spending the next four hours sitting at the outskirt of the training pitch and feeding little cubes of meat to a moody yet affectionate hound.

"He's probably conjured by magic somehow, isn't he?" Pelleas guessed.

"Almost definitely."

"Come to think of it, he looks a bit like that one dog statue that used to be in the courtyard."

"The one that went missing yesterday?"

Pelleas smirked. "The very same. So i take it we're keeping him, aren't we?"

"I am, yes," Dagonet said. "You need not concern yourself, Pelleas. You have too many responsibilities as it is without throwing a dog into the mix."

"You won't be able to support yourself and a dog on just a guard's salary," said Pelleas. His usually cocky tone had neutralized into something far more sincere than Dagonet was used to. "Meanwhile i have more money than i know what to do with. Please, Dag. Let me help."

There was a newfound softness in Pelleas's deep, intelligent, mirthful eyes. The sort of softness you find yourself sinking into after a long day. The kind of softness that sings of compassion, concern, and affection. The kind of softness Pelleas only let Dagonet see.

Dagonet groaned. He hated receiving handouts. But since it was Pelleas... "Fine. But we have to name him first."

Without missing a beat, Pelleas said, "Bagdemagus."

Also without missing a bit, Dagonet hissed, "Absolutely not."

They ended up naming the dog Bagdemagus.

so that whole archive of old merlin pics just came out and

are these the guard boyfriends that adopted the statue that merlin turned into a dog in valiant? where is their fic? what is their ship name? what did they name the dog?

these are all very important questions