Editing Forgotten Realms (section)

=== Edition updates ===
The 4th edition update to the Forgotten Realms brought massive lore changes which were "tied to a number of other design philosophies" and the Forgotten Realms "simultaneously had become a grittier setting, on the edge of collapse, while also becoming a more fantastic one, full of wonder and mystery".<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|last=Appelcline|first=Shannon|title=Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide (4e) - Wizards of the Coast {{!}} Product History|url=https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/57376/Forgotten-Realms-Campaign-Guide-4e|access-date=2020-06-30|website=DriveThruRPG|language=en}}</ref> Jason Wilson, for ''[[VentureBeat]]'', highlighted that unlike the Time of Troubles cataclysm, the 4th edition Spellplague cataclysm was "one players never embraced in the same manner as the earlier disaster".<ref>{{Cite web|last=Wilson|first=Jason|date=2015-10-19|title=Sword Coast Legends isn't last generation's D&D — and that's sometimes a bad thing|url=https://venturebeat.com/2015/10/19/sword-coast-legends-review/|access-date=2020-06-30|website=VentureBeat|language=en-US}}</ref> Shannon Appelcline, author of ''Designers & Dragons'', wrote:

<blockquote>[The 4th edition] ''Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide'' may be the most controversial D&D book ever produced by Wizards. That's entirely due to the large-scale destruction of the Realms. Similar updates have been tried by other companies — to reinvigorate settings, to make them more accessible to new players, or to make them more adventuresome. [...] It never seems to go well, because old fans feel left behind. With that said, some folks did love the changes, because the setting was now more playable, more accessible, more fantastic, and more PC centered. [...] Meanwhile, a series of adventures and novels called ''The Sundering'' (2013–2014) reversed many of the 4e changes to the Realms, but without rebooting the timeline. Instead, the Realms continues to evolve and advance, as it has since its earlier days.<ref name=":4" /></blockquote>

R. A. Salvatore was also publicly unhappy with the 4th edition changes to the Forgotten Realms:<ref>{{Cite web|last=Grabianowski|first=Ed|date=October 2, 2014|title=R. A. Salvatore and Erin M. Evans Bring War to the Forgotten Realms|url=https://io9.gizmodo.com/r-a-salvatore-and-erin-m-evans-bring-war-to-the-forgo-1640573706|access-date=2020-06-30|website=io9|language=en-us}}</ref> <blockquote>[B]asically, we authors were handed a document and told how things were going to be. We were asked our opinions, but they mattered very little – the changes were being driven from a different direction. [...] To have characters that have built such a strong history, then have that upset on the orders of someone else was very disconcerting. I will admit that the abrupt changes forced me into an uncomfortable place, and from that place came some of the better things I've written, but I very much preferred the way it was done this time, with 5th Edition and the changes, where we, the authors, were told what was happening to the game and asked how we could make the world and the lore live and breathe it.</blockquote>Christian Hoffer, for ''[[ComicBook.com]]'', reported that Wizards of the Coast's 5th edition publishing strategy, which focuses on the Forgotten Realms and newer intellectual property for campaign settings, has created a rift in the fan base where some "feel that this push for new players has come at the cost of keeping the game's current players sated" by not updating campaign settings that "predate the Forgotten Realms". Hoffer highlighted that Wizards of the Coast has a much slower publication schedule than with previous editions with a focus on quality and profit and "the D&D teams knows that they have plenty of great campaign settings in their back pocket and are either actively developing more settings or have ideas for them further down the line".<ref>{{Cite web|last=Hoffer|first=Christian|date=January 25, 2020|title=The Divide Brewing Among Dungeons & Dragons Fans|url=https://comicbook.com/gaming/news/dungeons-and-dragons-exandria-wildemount-dragonlance/|access-date=2020-06-30|website=ComicBook.com|language=en}}</ref>