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Critical Role The New D&D Book Is 'The Explorer's Guide to [Critical Role's] Wildemount!' By Matt Mercer

It looks like Amazon has leaked the title and description of the new D&D book a day early (unless it's all a fake-out by WotC) -- and it's a new D&D setting book called The Explorer's Guide to Wildemount; it's the Critical Role campaign setting, penned by Matt Mercer!

It looks like Amazon has leaked the title and description of the new D&D book a day early (unless it's all a fake-out by WotC) -- and it's a new D&D setting book called The Explorer's Guide to Wildemount; it's the Critical Role campaign setting, penned by Matt Mercer!

Wildemount%2C_Version_20%2C1.png

image from Critical Role wiki

There's no cover image yet, so we're stuck with the "Coming Soon" image.

This book appeared without a title on Amazon last week, and a 'reveal' date of January 9th, which was then later delayed until January 13th. Amazon appears to have jumped the gun a day early.

Here's some information about Wildemount, which is a continent in the same world as Critical Role's other setting, Tal'Dorei. It is described by the official wiki has having "real-world Eastern European influence.... The Dwendalian Empire takes inspiration from 15th century Russia as well as Germanic nations in Central Europe (e.g., Prussia). Xhorhas has a more 13th-century Romanian flair. Outside of Wynandir, on the edges of the Dwendalian Empire, the cultures and peoples of those regions display a distinctly 14th-century Spanish flavor."

HOW DO YOU WANT TO DO THIS?

A war brews on a continent that has withstood more than its fair share of conflict. The Dwendalian Empire and the Kryn Dynasty are carving up the lands around them, and only the greatest heroes would dare stand between them. Somewhere in the far corners of this war-torn landscape are secrets that could end this conflict and usher in a new age of peace—or burn the world to a cinder.

Create a band of heroes and embark on a journey across the continent of Wildemount, the setting for Campaign 2 of the hit Dungeons & Dragons series Critical Role. Within this book, you’ll find new character options, a heroic chronicle to help you craft your character’s backstory, four different starting adventures, and everything a Dungeon Master needs to breathe life into a Wildemount-based D&D campaign…
  • Delve through the first Dungeons & Dragons book to let players experience the game as played within the world of Critical Role, the world’s most popular livestreaming D&D show.
  • Uncover a trove of options usable in any D&D game, featuring subclasses, spells, magic items, monsters, and more, rooted in the adventures of Exandria—such as Vestiges of Divergence and the possibility manipulating magic of Dunamancy.
  • Start a Dungeons & Dragons campaign in any of Wildemount’s regions using a variety of introductory adventures, dozens of regional plot seeds, and the heroic chronicle system—a way to create character backstories rooted in Wildemount.
Explore every corner of Wildemount and discover mysteries revealed for the first time by Critical Role Dungeon Master, Matthew Mercer.

Critical Role's other setting, Tal'Dorei, was published a couple of years ago by Green Ronin. This brings the list of settings in official D&D books to five: Forgotten Realms, Ravnica, Ravenloft, Eberron, and Wildemount.

UPDATE! Barnes & Noble has the cover (but not the title or description).

9780786966912_p0_v2_s600x595.jpg
 

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gyor

Legend
That's because most of what the Second Sundering did was reset the setting back to the late 3.5 version, with a few tweaks from the Spellplague Era. Seriously, if you have been following the various APs and reading between the lines, the setting is as close to reset as possible without literally saying "that didn't happen."

  • Elminster, Drizzt and the companions, Laeral and the sisters, Murt and Durran, Volo, Dragonbait and Arcus, Minsc and Boo, and nearly every other important NPC has survived due to magic, elfdom, or other form of immortality. I think the only victims are bit part players, and Blackstaff.
  • Likewise, most of the villains made it out 100 years later no worse for wear. Artemis, Jaraxle, Manshoon, Halaster, Xanathar, and plenty other's made it out just fine, not even including the various liches, demon lords, dragons, and other ageless types. Again, Fzoul might be the only permadead foe.
  • Nearly all geographic changes were reversed; from restoring the Sea of Fallen Stars to fixing Chult, to returning missing areas from the landswap. Futher, nearly every nation that suffered setbacks are "on the mend" and the few that changed (like Myth Drannor or Etruril) are returning back to classic.
  • All the dead or misssing deities? Back. Even those who died before the Spellplague are back.

All of this was intentional to make 1400 as close to 1300 as possible so that older material would work again and come as close to making an "evergreen" version of the setting possible. With a few tweaks, there is little in Dragon Heist or Descent into Avernus that couldn't be done in the 1300's. "Today" is nearly interchangable with yesterday by design".

No, so much no, that is a massive misunderstanding of the Sundering and it's effects on FR.

Yes part of the Sundering OOC was to reverse some of the changes that folks didn't like, but it wasn't a retcon and they made sure to keep alot of the coolest parts of the 4e realms, plus the history and the fall out was still intact, plus some new elements were introduced.

Dambrath, Vaasa, Eltguard, Mulhorgm, Semphar, and a few other nations did not change much from their 4e changes at all, for example Vaasa js still ruled by the Warlock Knight who still mine their Primordial for Star Iron, Dambrath has not reverted back to Crinti rule, but is still Lycantrope heavy, Semphar is still ruled by Dragons.

Tymanther is reduced in size, but all the coolest parts are still there like it's cities, but now it has an Immortal former God in Dragon Turtle form protecting it's harbour, and has attracted the Support of Enlil and is at war with a Returned Unther that just had war with an Abeiran Empire of Genasi, before returning. Even Gilgeam 2.0 is very different in appearance and style.


Mulhorand is back, but no slavery and it has to reintergate jts dispora, including it's own returned people from Abeir along with folks that fled to other parts of Toril. And Ra, who was dead since BEFORE 1e's time period is back. There has been no edition were Ra was alive and unmerged with Horus until now. Not to mention its in the process of rebuilding, which means the info on its cities from 3.5e is useless because most of those cities were destroyed, so its new ones being rebuilt now, mostly. Skuld may or may not have survived, I don't know, it wss runoured to have been destroyed in the Spellplague, but no one could find it in 4e, plus the Return of Mulhorand suggests it survived. Oh and there is no Planar Barrier to distract the Mulhorandi Gods so Mulhorand is one scary nation to its enemies.

Then there the unmentioned nations like Nathlan, we don't know what state it is in.

And while yes a lot of fan favourite NPCs survive the Spellplague and Sundering from 3.5e, alot of 4e favourites also survived, like Farieh and Havilar, and Mehan.

So this mixed needs details. Plus Kara Tur, Zakhara, and Maztica have barely been touched since 2e.

So no, they aren't interchangeable at all, heck even Waterdeep isn't interchangeable, major changes such as the Open Lord, the status of the Statues, and more is different.
 

gyor

Legend
Nentir Vale doesn't have a huge amount of that, though: you have to go through a looooot of material to get some little nuggets. The Dawn War and the pantheon thereof is really the most upfront part of the Setting.

Which is why it likely makes sense to just drop Nerath into Exandia, along side Tal Dorelie and Wildemount.
 

gyor

Legend
Reminder that E:RftLW has extremely little information in it beyond the continent of Khorvaire. Having a Forgotten Realms version of that book would still not cover the "non-European" areas of the world as you frequently pitch.

It has some, more then the SCAG and it doesn't have to be a complete FR clone of E: RftLW, just the basic concept, but with Priorities that make sense for FR.
 

teitan

Legend
Which is why it likely makes sense to just drop Nerath into Exandia, along side Tal Dorelie and Wildemount.

not happening. I don’t think WOTC will give up their IP to a third party. This is still a licensed product and I don’t think it will take away from a possible campaign setting in the fall anymore than the AcQ book did.
 

gyor

Legend
to be fair the original Eberron book only covered Khorvaire, Sarlona and Xendrix wasn’t all that detailed until the Secrets of Sarlona & Xendrik books. It was still a larger part of the setting than the SCAG.

Really the SCAG is more comparable to Wayfarer's Guide to Eberron then to Eberron: Rising From the Last War.
 

teitan

Legend
And Exandria’s monster lore, cosmology, etc isn’t actually the same as Nentir Vale. It’s got most of the same gods by name, but they aren’t exactly the same, the cosmology is similar but unique, and you need only look to Drow to see monster lore that is wholly different from Nentir Vale.

ehhh they have the stereotypical under dark, spider worshipping drow and then they have the drow of the Kryn Dynasty. One is very much classic D&D and the other is an interesting new take but their origins are still very much in the classic Elf history vein.
 

gyor

Legend
not happening. I don’t think WOTC will give up their IP to a third party. This is still a licensed product and I don’t think it will take away from a possible campaign setting in the fall anymore than the AcQ book did.

You assume they care a lot more about Nerath then I think they do. Dropping it in Exandia would explain why it wasn't in the Survey, and explain why Exandia uses the Dawn Pantheon.
 

Remathilis

Legend
No, so much no, that is a massive misunderstanding of the Sundering and it's effects on FR.

Its not a literal reboot, its an effective reboot. What the 2nd Sundering did was allow a lot of older material to be functionally compatible with only minor adjustments, verse the massive ones needed to make anything work in the SP era.

For example, most of Dragon Heist would play effectively the same if you subbed Mirt for Larael and ignored the statue changes (they are both fairly minor elements of DH). Compare that to using the Myth Drannor box set in the SP, which you can't because THERE IS A LIVING CITY WHERE THE RUINS ONCE STOOD.

I mean sure, there are still some changes; the 4e version is not ignored utterly and I actually like some of the 4e elements like Tymanther, but I'm not naive enough to see that what 5e did was try to push the reset button while keeping choice elements of the 4e run, (just like bringing back Bhaal and Myrkul from their prior-to-2e deaths is a retcon without reset). Honestly, its probably the best version of FR we've had if only for the fact its not overly tied to metaplot-hand-holding and much of the setting is partially backwards compatible.
 

teitan

Legend
You assume they care a lot more about Nerath then I think they do. Dropping it in Exandia would explain why it wasn't in the Survey, and explain why Exandia uses the Dawn Pantheon.
Still not happening. I don’t think WOTC would even have a say. Sorry.
 

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