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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Parmandur

Book-Friend
Yep. And each of the settings can be sold to new fans, but I think the best way to do so for most of them is with a Campaign, not a gazetteer.

Yup, they did not sell Eberron on nostalgia, they sold it on the Setting being cool. Same would definitely work for the flavorful old favorites: they weren't nostalgia trips when TSR introduced them, no need to limit them.
 

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doctorbadwolf

Heretic of The Seventh Circle
Is Conan esque grimdark a thing the broader D&D fanbase is interested in?
Post apocalypse is almost always popular. Grimdark in general is basically the zeitgeist right now.
Conan is popular enough to drive an ongoing marvel book.

so, probably. The point is, though, that nostalgia isn’t needed. It has a very strong identity. It will either sell on that, or it won’t sell.
 

Reynard

Legend
Post apocalypse is almost always popular. Grimdark in general is basically the zeitgeist right now.
Conan is popular enough to drive an ongoing marvel book.

so, probably. The point is, though, that nostalgia isn’t needed. It has a very strong identity. It will either sell on that, or it won’t sell.

I don't see it. Which doesn't mean anything. What do I know? I just can't really think of any grimdark fantasy besides Abercrombie that is in the popular culture right now, especially in a swords and sandals kind of way. The Witcher has strong horror elements and is bloody, but it also has a wry, dark sense of humor. It's almost a Warhammer show in that way.

Maybe I am overthinking how hard it will be for the average nascent gamer to look at Brom's shirtless gladiators and think, "Yeah, I want to be that guy." When I look around in online spaces filled with millenials and zoomers, I see something cheerier with a more early modern/steampunk aesthetic. Even if not cheerier, I feel like something like Carnival Row fits the current trends more than Conan.

But, again, I am probably totally off base.
 

doctorbadwolf

Heretic of The Seventh Circle
Believe it or not....some of the players in my area would say "Conan?"
Sure. But again, I’m not trading on nostalgia. Conan-esque doesn’t sell because you reference Conan. It sells because a strong bastard adventuring in a blasted landscape and fighting terrible monstrous sorcerers/tyrants/whatever just appeals to people.

Most of what separates Conan from Mad Max is accents and tech level.
 

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