User:Ir'revrykal/Canon/Minsc & Boo's Journal of Villainy

An article examining the canon merits of the 5e accessory Minsc & Boo's Journal of Villainy.

Key

 * No conflict with established lore
 * Iffy but not a direct conflict
 * Conflicts with established lore

Introduction
Minsc & Boo's Journal of Villainy (MBJoV) is an accessory published by Wizards of the Coast on the digital distribution platform DMsGuild (also known as DrivethruRPG). It is written by James Ohlen, who heads up WotC's video game development studio. He was also lead designer on the Baldur's Gate series of video games, and MBJoV is intended in part as a follow-up to the story of those games. The product description says the release is meant to support the Extra Life charity. Other Extra Life products by Wizards of the Coast are typically published using WotC's own DMsGuild account, just like MBJoV. Most of these products are considered canon to the Forgotten Realms, unless they are specifically stated not to be canon or are otherwise not relevant to the Forgotten Realms.
 * Link to product page

One difference between MBJoV and other Extra Life accessories lies in the branding. Other products use the official "D&D" dragon logo, while MBJoV uses the generic "DMsGuild" logo used by other unofficial sources published on DMsGuild. Another notable difference lies in the product's copyright notice:

"This work contains material that is copyright Wizards of the Coast and/or other authors. Such material is used with permission under the Community Content Agreement for Dungeon Masters Guild. All other original material in this work is © 2021 by James Ohlen (Arcanum Worlds) and published under the Community Content Agreement for Dungeon Masters Guild."

Other Extra Life accessories simply mention that the work and material within are copyright Wizards of the Coast. This difference in the copyright notice indicates that MBJoV is, in part, copyright James Ohlen. It is possible that MBJoV was not intended to be published by WotC originally, and that the DMsGuild branding and aberrant copyright notice are artifacts from that.

It's important to note that MBJoV is a re-working of an earlier, unofficial accessory written by the same author titled Heroes of Baldur's Gate (HoBG). A lot of the same sections from HoBG reappear in MBJoV, and a lot of the art (which is professional-grade) is re-used. The major difference between the two sources from an in-universe perspective is that HoBG is set in the 1360s DR while MBJoV is set in the 1490s DR.

Preface

 * p. 4


 * This section implies, in an in-universe manner, that MBJoV is a re-working of HoBG that has been edited by Volo.

Introduction: Heroic Stories

 * pp. 5–6


 * This is an OOU section.

Athkatla

 * p. 8


 * The population number given here agrees with the 4E FRCG.
 * The population percentages given (90% human, 8% halfling, 2% other) are not identical with the ones given in Lands of Intrigue (LoI) (90% human, 10% other), but this is not an unreasonable change.
 * The list of religions mostly agrees with the 3E FRCS, with the notable omissions of Bane and Chauntea, and the addition of Helm, Lathander, and Milil.
 * "Oligarchy, led by the Council of Six". This conflicts with the 4E FRCG and the 5E SCAG which both state that Athkatla is ruled by the Council of Five. The Council of Six was the old governing council referenced in older sources. This is not a simple mistake, however, but rather new lore. The 4E FRCG states "In theory, a highly successful independent house could claim a spot on the council and make it a Council of Six as it once was." MBJoV follows up on this by mentioning that House Havarian has ascended to the Council of Five to make it Six. The other councilors mentioned agrees with the list given in the 4E FRCG.
 * The commerce overview largely agrees with the 3E FRCS.
 * The remainder of this page is unproblematic. The description of Athkatlan and Amnian society agrees with other sources. The description of Amnian fashion is paraphrased from LoI. There is a neat reference to the practice of "straking", first mentioned in Volo's Guide to Baldur's Gate II (VGtBG2).


 * p. 9


 * The list of societal ranks is taken from LoI.
 * All the dates and events referenced in the History section are sourced from LoI.


 * p. 11


 * The "Golden Rule" is paraphrased from LoI. The remainder of the Laws section largely agrees with other sources. The detail on King Dhanar's ban on arcane magic echoes VGtBG2. Interestingly, Volo's Guide does not date King Dhanar's decree, so the author has cross-referenced his name with the Timeline section of LOI. Neat!
 * The section on the Cowled Wizards is uncontroversial. Their secret chambers under "Jane Lane" is new lore.
 * The 1298 DR date for the Shadow Thieves' exile from Waterdeep agrees with The Grand History of the Realms (tGHotR).


 * p. 12


 * The section on the Shadow Thieves is unproblematic. The Shadow Council is mentioned in print in at least one other sourcebook, City of Splendors: Waterdeep.


 * p. 13


 * A bunch of tables. Nothing controversial here. Athkatla apparently has a neogi merchant. Neat!

Baldur's Gate

 * p. 14


 * All the information in the list at the start of this section is taken almost verbatim from Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus (DiA).
 * Everything else on this page is uncontroversial. The name of Balduran's ship, the Wandering Eye, is new lore.


 * p. 15


 * Nothing controversial here. The events of Murder in Baldur's Gate (MiBG) are referenced.
 * The section on The Dukes references the downfall of Duke Thalamra Vanthampur in DiA. The Council of Four has a position open, and newcomer Eo Ashmajir is vying for the job&mdash;this is new lore.


 * p. 16


 * The remainder of The Dukes section is not controversial.
 * The founding date of the Flaming Fist is stated to be 1345 DR. This agrees with the video game Baldur's Gate: Siege of Dragonspear, but the date has otherwise never appeared in print.


 * p. 18


 * The history of the Flaming Fist references several events mentioned in Gold & Glory and the Maztica trilogy. Neat! Everything else on this page is fine.


 * p. 19


 * Rilsa Rael is mentioned. She is alive per DiA, so this is fine.
 * Sorcerous Sundries is a front for Edwin Odesseiron and the Red Wizards of Thay. This does not gel particularly well with the shop's description in both MiBG and DiA, both of which say the owner is Rivalen Blackhand. It is of course possible that Rivalen is on the Thayvian payroll somehow, but overall this is somewhat iffy.
 * Adventurers can buy magic items at the High House of Wonders if the High Priest of Gond deems them pious enough. This is not particularly controversial.

Suldanessellar

 * p. 20


 * The list at the start of this section does not notably conflict with other sources. Bodhi's full name is Bodhi Irenicus, apparently.
 * The description of Suldanessellar largely agrees with VGtBG2 and LoI, with the addition of lore from the video game Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn (SoA). Notably, the lore surrounding Ellesime as ruler of the elven realm was introduced by SoA and is echoed here.
 * Jon Irenicus and Bodhi are not dead, but rather stuck in their own Domain of Dread. They haunt the Material Plane version of Suldanessellar and try to lure travelers into the Shadowfell. This is new lore but by no means implausible.


 * p. 21


 * The note from Volo suggests the in-universe title of VGtBG2 is Volo's Guide to the Lands of Intrigue.


 * p. 23


 * The House of the Horn and House of the Moon are locations from SoA that have previously never been mentioned in print.

Ust Natha

 * p. 24


 * Outside of SoA, the dubiously canon Baldur's Gate trilogy of novels, and a brief mention in tGHotR, Ust Natha has never been mentioned, certainly not in print. It follows that most of the lore presented in this section is either new or based on SoA.
 * Ust Natha is given an approximate location in the Underdark, and a position relative to the surface world. A minor touch, but somewhat neat.
 * The city description is mostly new lore, but there is nothing particularly controversial here. The Zhentarim and Shadow Thieves have trading posts in Ust Natha, which makes sense.
 * Ust Natha is endangered by a nearby nest of phaerimm and is ruled by House Despana.
 * Phaere Despana is still the matron mother of House Despana, indicating she was not killed during SoA.


 * p. 25


 * House Despana has branches in many drow cities, the largest of which is in Ust Natha. House Despana has recently been forced out of Rilauven, so the archmage Malavon Despana has joined forces with the Ust Natha branch. A neat nod to Icewind Dale.
 * The prison of Carcerus is shared with other drow settlements. It connects to Carceri and is run by demodands. New lore but not implausible.


 * p. 26


 * The most exclusive purveyor of magical goods in Ust Natha is an aboleth. A nod to SoA, no doubt.