D&D 5E WotC Announces New Critical Role Hardcover Adventure

Call of the Netherdeep will be out in March 2022. This adventure is set in Exandria and is for character levels 3-12. Interestingly, it also bears Critical Role branding at the top and bottom of the cover.

This is the third Critical Role D&D hardcover. The Tal'Dorei Campaign Guide came out in 2017, and the Explorer's Guide to Wildemount came out in 2020.

Darrington Press, CR's publishing arm, also announced the Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn in July of this year with a release date of late 2021/early 2022.

An epic Critical Role campaign for the world’s greatest roleplaying game.

The greed of mortals has awakened a powerful entity long thought destroyed. For eons, this mighty champion of the gods has been imprisoned in the darkest depths of Exandria. His name has been forgotten, as have his heroic deeds. Languishing in despair, he calls out for new heroes to save him.

Inspired by the campaigns of the hit series Critical Role, this adventure begins in the Wastes of Xhorhas and leads to the glimmering oasis-city of Ank’Harel on the continent of Marquet, and from there into a sunken realm of gloom, corruption, and sorrow known as the Netherdeep. Above it all, the red moon of Ruidus watches, twisting the fates of those who have the power to shape the course of history.

Critical Role: Call of the Netherdeep contains seven chapters of thrilling adventure, new creatures and magic items, and a poster map of Ank’Harel.

• First major adventure module within Critical Role’s world of Exandria, taking players from levels 3-12.
• Multi-continental story that spans the scarred Wastes of Xhorhas, introduces the continent of Marquet, and eventually plunges players into the Netherdeep—a terrifying cross between the Far Realm and the deep ocean.
• Bursting with lore and all new art depicting Exandria.
• Includes new magic items and creatures and introduces new rival NPCs.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

I would hold your reigns a bit there. The Curse of Strife for Goblinkind is problematic, and something I am guess Matt regrets at this point. It is the quintessential 'they have no choice but to be evil because of what they are' justification. When I first saw it, I found it out of place in the CR materials, and ... very interesting as I also had a similar origin for orcs, goblins, etc... in my world (the Gods didn't give them complete free will) that I have been addressing over the past few years. I've been waiting for Matt to address it more distinctly on stream.

Yes, that is problematic. However, Explorer's Guide to Wildemount walked it back a bit by having a whole nation full of goblinoids that had broken free of the curse, and Matt Mercer is aware of the problematic nature of this and will likely address it in the future. It's less problematic than certain parts of the FR and similar settings was more my point. Didn't mean to say that there was absolutely nothing problematic about it, more that it was better at approaching this topic in general than the FR is.

 

[BRayne]

They can break the Curse of Strife 'offscreen' to end it (or have it be something that happens in Campaign 3), but it is established in the lore as existing, and as being real in explicit opposition to the Curse of Ruin. I was shocked that Matt didn't push the campaign towards haveing Veth/Knott get an opportunity to end it somehow. If there is a goblinoid PC in this next game, I will bet it will be tackled early in the campaign.

The Curse of Ruin was established in the lore as existing and being real in the Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting until it wasn't anymore in EGtW, Curse of Strife could easily get the same treatment

 

[EthanSental]

I wonder if they are using fan art in the book like the Wildemount book. Fun to see but some was high school amateurish at best and not consistent in visual appeal.

 

[darjr]

I wonder if they are using fan art in the book like the Wildemount book. Fun to see but some was high school amateurish at best and not consistent in visual appeal.

I think it's been stated that art from fan artists is included. I'm not sure it'll be in the same way as the previous book.

 

[Scribe]

I agree that it's a pretty standard fantasy world, but it does have quite a few more special things going for it, being:

1. How it treats the different races. It doesn't have the problematic treatment of Drow, Orcs, Gnolls, and similar races that Greyhawk, FR, or Mystara have. It's a kitchen sink, and it's fair to the different races in it. And unlike Eberron, which just says "Hey, you can include this race if you want, but you have to figure it out", it has a clear spot in the world for nearly every D&D 5e race from both the PHB and Volo's Guide to Monsters.
2. The Gods are locked away. This lets the Lesser Idols/Demigods take the spotlight, and although the gods objectively exist (unlike Eberron and Ravnica), they're not as present as they are in the Forgotten Realms. This lets players have fun in the world without godly meddling.
3. It's new, so it doesn't have a ton of lore bogging it down. Sure, it has the hundreds-of-episodes show if you really want to watch that, but they're not essential to playing in the world. It just has way less lore that you have to wrap your head around, which is a huge boon that it has over the Forgotten Realms and even Eberron.

So, yes, it's pretty standard, but it does have quite a few things about it that none of the other official 5e settings have going for them.

So, pretty much what I envisioned Wizards needed to do, or desired to do, to get away from its history.

Several folks here have said they want a 5.5/6.0 'new setting' instead of retcon's and changes to the existing ones, and this is it.

1. "Your races can be whatever."
2. "Gods dont have a direct say, so are not a problem for your race's choices/behaviors."
3. "Canon, what canon?"

Continuing to lean into this setting, would let Wizards embrace the crowd that is into a setting like that in a nice little feedback loop.

Get the merchandising group on the phone and order up some toys/books/comics/funko's, and you are good to go.

 

[darjr]

So, pretty much what I envisioned Wizards needed to do, or desired to do, to get away from its history.

Several folks here have said they want a 5.5/6.0 'new setting' instead of retcon's and changes to the existing ones, and this is it.

1. "Your races can be whatever."
2. "Gods dont have a direct say, so are not a problem for your race's choices/behaviors."
3. "Canon, what canon?"

Continuing to lean into this setting, would let Wizards embrace the crowd that is into a setting like that in a nice little feedback loop.

Get the merchandising group on the phone and order up some toys/books/comics/funko's, and you are good to go.

I think the toys and such are already being done. Wizkids miniatures and toys and I thought I saw Funko figures already. Comics already and an Amazon serious.

I do think this relationship with Wizards is good for both of them and probably will continue.

Is it unique that WotC is printing this adventure while simultaneously CR's imprint is making (remaking) the Tal'Dore setting book?

 

[darjr]

Beadle & Grimm's

Have they announced a boxed set for this yet?

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

So, pretty much what I envisioned Wizards needed to do, or desired to do, to get away from its history.

And to just grow as a hobby in general.

Several folks here have said they want a 5.5/6.0 'new setting' instead of retcon's and changes to the existing ones, and this is it.

I would love a completely new setting for D&D 6e to fit the changes in lore and mechanics that are inevitably going to happen, but I don't think it's Exandria. Exandria would be great, but I don't think it's an option for this. WotC doesn't own the rights to Exandria, Critical Role does. So long as WotC doesn't have the rights to a setting, I'm 90% certain that they're not going to make that their core setting.

1. "Your races can be whatever."
2. "Gods dont have a direct say, so are not a problem for your race's choices/behaviors."
3. "Canon, what canon?"

More like this:
1. The races are (more or less) treated equally/non-problematically, as Culture/Upbringing is what makes someone evil, not their race.
2. I think that this is just an objectively good change. No one likes it when your players are supposed to be the heroes, but a literal Deus Ex Machina from the setting's gods saves the day. That's just not fun and doesn't promote good storytelling.
3. Not what I said. It doesn't have much canon, because it's new and not much info about the world exists.

Continuing to lean into this setting, would let Wizards embrace the crowd that is into a setting like that in a nice little feedback loop.

Get the merchandising group on the phone and order up some toys/books/comics/funko's, and you are good to go.

I definitely could see the relationship between Critical Role and WotC get closer and there being more collaborations in the future, but I highly doubt that they'll do much more than that.

 

[Yenrak]

I would hold your reigns a bit there. The Curse of Strife for Goblinkind is problematic, and something I am guess Matt regrets at this point. It is the quintessential 'they have no choice but to be evil because of what they are' justification. When I first saw it, I found it out of place in the CR materials, and ... very interesting as I also had a similar origin for orcs, goblins, etc... in my world (the Gods didn't give them complete free will) that I have been addressing over the past few years. I've been waiting for Matt to address it more distinctly on stream.

What's the problem with the Curse of Strife?

 

[Parmandur]

I think the toys and such are already being done. Wizkids miniatures and toys and I thought I saw Funko figures already. Comics already and an Amazon serious.

I do think this relationship with Wizards is good for both of them and probably will continue.

Is it unique that WotC is printing this adventure while simultaneously CR's imprint is making (remaking) the Tal'Dore setting book?

I mean, it is a unique relationship in the history of the game, all around. Nearest similarities I can think of are Ed Greenwood selling the Forgotten Realms, his longtime home game, based on the popularity of his magazine articles, and the Lankhmar products.