The Sundering: What does it mean for future of Forgotten Realms Novels?

Let me start by saying that if you don't read fantasy novels, specifically those based around the Forgotten Realms, then this post isn't for you.  Stop here and come back next time.  No offence intended, I can't imagine that you will appreciate this rant.  That being said:

I have been reading Forgotten Realms novels since I was very young...The very first FR novel, Darkwalker on Moonshea was published in 1987, when I was 8 years old, and I think I discovered the series in 1990...starting with Ed Greenwods Spellfire, so I would have been roughly 11 years old, meaning I have now been reading these stories for about 25 years...I believe I own a copy of every novel, novella, and e-book ever produced in the series...which amounts to a lot of shelf space in my condo, we're talking over 200+ volumes.  The Realms have always been my gateway drug to other great fantasy, fueling my discovery of authors like Tolkien, Terry Pratchett, and George R.R. Martin, but I always return to the Realms enjoying a treasured reunion with favored characters, or familiar locations.  After 200 novels, you start to feel like you have a pretty solid knowledge of the source material.

I just finished reading The Herald, by Troy Denning, 5th in The Sundering series of 6 novels released by Wizards of the Coast to help transition the Forgotten Realms out of the mess created by the introduction of 4th Edition Dungeons and Dragons and the Spellplague.  The Sundering is supposed to coincide with the release of D&D Next, which is the latest edition of Dungeons & Dragons soon to hit store shelves.  At the same time D&D Next was announced, Wizards announced that The Forgotten Realms would be one of the official campaign settings used to usher in the new game mechanics.  I haven't played D&D for at least 15 years, but I still appreciate the feel of the fantasy world originally created by Ed Greenwood.

Back to the point, while I enjoyed the book, and it was nice to see Denning return to the campaign setting after a long absence, it is the lack of future novels that concerns me.  Ever since the interweb became a thing, Wizards of the Coast has forecast its upcoming releases schedule on their website roughly six months in advance.  It has been a great way for fans to get a glimpse of what is coming down the line.  Before that, all you could hope for were press pages at the back of the books, which weren't always reliable.  However, ever since news of The Sundering was first released, there have been almost no other titles announced for the series.  Ed Greenwood's conclusion The Herald which is out in June of 2014 is the only title slated for release.  Does this mean the end for the long lived novel line???

Logic says no.  The only other novel that has been released during The Sundering is R.A. Salvatore's Night of The Hunter, which is slated as the first of a trilogy of novels featuring fan favourite, Drizzt Do'Urden and the newly re-united Companions of The Hall.  Drizzt now has 28 novels devoted just to him, and each new release pretty much guarantees Salvatore another spot on the NY Times best seller list.  So we "know" that there are at least 2 more as of yet untitled novels featuring everyone's favorite Drow Ranger, but is that it for the series?  Does the introduction of D&D Next mean the end of the Forgotten Realms novel line?  Or will Wizards of the Coast announce a whole new array of authors to continue the saga once The Herald releases in June?

Only time will tell.

Lords of Waterdeep: A D&D based Board Game

Not that long ago I had the chance to attend a board game night and sample a bunch of really cool new games.  Today I had the opportunity to revisit the game that I was actually most impressed with.  That game was Lords of Waterdeep.
Set in the Forgotten Realms Campaign setting of Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, Lords of Waterdeep  dispenses with  all of the role playing elements of D&D in favour of a very slick, multi-turn based round centric play system.  You don't need to know anything about D&D to pick up and enjoy this game, but if you are a fan, you will appreciate a few of the finer points.
Sidebar: I played alot of D&D in Elementary and High School.  Make that that ALOT.  It was actually Advanced Dungeons and Dragons 2nd Edition, and all most exclusively set in The Realms, and while I preferred to play, I DM'd most of the campaigns that I was involved with.  I haven't played in over 12 years, mainly because I can't find a group of people with the same interests and availability.  So now that we have established that I was (am) a huge nerd, with legit nerd street cred, back to Lords of Waterdeep.

The game mechanics work like this:  Each player controls a faction of a secret society within Waterdeep, which faction you choose has no impact on game play, other than deciding the colour of your DnDeeple.  Each player also randomly selects one Lord Card that grants bonus's at the end of the game for completing specific Quest types. At the beginning of the game you have 2 agents that you can use to generate resources and complete quests.  In order to complete quests, you must first generate a supply of resources to add to your pool.  These resources include Gold, and hirelings.  Specifically you are trying to recruit followers of the 4 basic character classes: Warriors, Wizards, Clerics, and Rogues.  Each class of hireling is designated by a different coloured cube.  Resources are earned by assigning an agent to a specific location on the game board.  After an agent has been assigned and the resources collected, you have the option of completing a quest, assuming that you have the required resources.  There are different categories of quest cards, including Piety, Commerce, Warfare, Arcana, Skulldugery, and each Quest requires different resources to complete and offers different rewards.
Agents can also be assigned to build new buildings which add new and interesting elements to the game play.
There are also Intrique cards which shake things up a little bit, adding a fun and often surprising dynamic to the game play.

The artwork of the box, game board, and various cards are done by the same folks who design game supplements for the current edition of D&D, so it all feels right.  As someone who has been very immersed in Realms Lore over the years, I appreciated the short blurbs on all of the quest cards, many of which tie into well known plot points from the various Realms supplements that have been published over the years.  Of course, a player who was new to the genre wouldn't really be missing anything, as none of this affects the actual game play.
The game continues for 8 turns, and the winner is decided by a combination of total points acquired, bonus points awarded by the players secret lord, and the amount of minions, and gold remaining at the end of the game.  Today we played with 5 players,  2 of whom were new to the genre.  Everyone picked up the game play mechanics very quickly, and I think we all had a lot of fun.  Each time I have played this game I have found myself taking a very different strategy, and I enjoy the fact that, much like D&D, the game changes dramatically based on the actions of the people you are playing with.
This is a wicked board game that I will be adding to my personal collection very soon!  Especially since a little interweb research tells me that they have just published a 6 person expansion.