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).

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Whizbang Dustyboots

Gnometown Hero
RIP to the worlds of Greyhawk, Mystara, Dragonlance, Dark Sun, Spelljammer, and Birthright. It's been years, if WotC were ever going to do anything significant with these settings, it would have been done by now. Guess fans of those settings are forever on their own using stuff published back in the day...
I didn't expect half of those -- Mystara, Spelljammer or Birthright -- to ever reappear, any more than I expect Jakandor to reappear. They just don't have sufficient audience.

That said, I don't get why WotC doesn't roll out a setting basics document to DM's Guild for each, maybe one setting every six months. (And, for that matter, their even more minor settings, like the Knights of the Silver Dragon novels, etc.)

I am mildly surprised that we've gone this long without Dragonlance reappearing. Aren't they still releasing novels for it?
 

Tales and Chronicles

Jewel of the North, formerly know as vincegetorix
Not really interested in the setting itself, but MM generally has good ideas when it comes to player options. They are just always messy and dont really fit the design of 5e (many PF-ism, weird penalty for using features not that powerful, overly complicated features etc). With the help of the designer of 5e, I think it could be a fun book for the players options.

I just hope that they give us a more generic name for Dunomancy for other setting.

And the setting has a nation of Tieflings and a nation of Dragonborn, for those who would like to poach it for their Nentir Vale game or even a FR game set close to Thyrmanter.
 


Urriak Uruk

Gaming is fun, and fun is for everyone
The problem is WotC is the only one that can do 5E versions of the settings they own. So fans of the existing properties are depending on WotC for an update.

This is mostly true. WotC does allow people to create 5e settings on DMsGuild if they are supplementary to already officially released products.

So that means you can't create content for Dragonlance, Planescape, Dark Sun, and most settings including Planeshift.

You can create content for Forgotten Realms, Eberron, Ravnica, and most interestingly Ravenloft (but not Greyhawk despite GoS).

Now you may think, "The settings already released already have setting books, so why would someone make a 3rd-party one," yes that's true... and no it's not.

It's true for Ravnica, because that setting really doesn't have much material beyond what's in its book. But Ravenloft only has Barovia covered, FR mostly only has the Sword Coast covered, Eberron has Khorvaire covered.

There is a project on DMsguild now trying to fill in those holes in Ravenloft with its "Ravenloft Gazzetteer" (see Sithicus here Ravenloft Gazetteer: Sithicus - Dungeon Masters Guild | Dungeon Masters Guild). Keith Baker is working on material to cover things like Eberron underwater. I believe Ed Greenwood is working on something for FR as well.

To my knowledge, there is no reason why one couldn't make a setting book for all of the non-Khorvaire continents. I suspect FR has trickier rules regarding Al-Qadim and Kara-Tur (which may or may not be considered there own thing) but it would be worth giving them a call to ask.
 

Remathilis

Legend
Well this went from "peaked interest" to "wait and see". I have Eberron, FR, and Ravnica settings, I don't know if I need Taldorei on top of that. That said, they are promising subs, spells, races and other goodies that are always in demand and having more inspiration is welcome. It's going to depend a lot on what exactly is in it, but it's not a deal breaker yet.
 

dave2008

Legend
RIP to the worlds of Greyhawk, Mystara, Dragonlance, Dark Sun, Spelljammer, and Birthright. It's been years, if WotC were ever going to do anything significant with these settings, it would have been done by now. Guess fans of those settings are forever on their own using stuff published back in the day...
Not likely. WotC has been pretty honest about their plans and they said they want to get to old settings. Not a commitment mind you, but it seems to me it is still in their plans. Heck, the first old setting just came out a few months ago.
 



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