Explorer's Guide to Wildemount
Watch: 3/29/20 @7pm Est
Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount provides everything you need to play D&D on the continent of Wildemount (set within the world of Exandria, the setting for the hit show Critical Role)—a land of war, betrayal, and swashbuckling adventure.
Comprised of four regions, Wildemount provides endless potential for adventure in a land of brewing conflict and incredible magic. Rising tensions boil over into all-out war between the politically dubious Dwendalian Empire and the light-worshiping wastefolk of Xhorhas, supplying a vibrant backdrop for any D&D campaign to explore.
Crit Nation, thanks for joining us today here at the “Crit Academy” studios where everything is made up and your rolls don’t matter. Yup, that’s right; your rolls are like Wildemount without the Mighty Nein!
Segment: Crit Nation Feedback: Let’s talk about Blank!
5 of the Strongest DnD Classes and 5 of the Weakest
Give Away: Loresmyth: Modular Dungeon Tiles - Arcania
Modular dungeon tiles are an easy way to create your own beautiful digital maps. The Arcania lets you make dark, shadowy dungeon map, rich with the fumes of arcane secrets.
Winner: horusofoz
Didn’t win? Np, head to www.critacademy.com/loresmyth a free set of digital terrain and much more.
Segment: Main Topic: Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount
Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount provides everything you need to play Dungeons & Dragons on the continent of Wildemount (set within the world of Exandria)—a land of war, betrayal, and swashbuckling adventure.
Uncover a trove of new options usable in any D&D game, featuring subclasses, spells, magic items, monsters, and more, rooted in the adventures of Critical Role—such as Vestiges of Divergence and the possibility manipulating magic of dunamancy.
Start a 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.
30 new monsters and 1 new vehicle
12 races
10 subraces
3 subclasses for two new schools of magic and one martial archetype
70 unique items
15 spells
2 new backgrounds
Adventure Module and Gazetteer includes:
Wildemount Gazetteer: Descriptions of factions and locations of Wildemount, the pantheon of Exandria (including fantastic adventure hook and ideas to inspire your campaigns).
4 Short Adventures: Tide of Retribution, Dangerous Designs, Frozen Sick and Unwelcome Spirits
Hollow One: A character who perishes in the course of a campaign might return as a Hollow One, created by the mysterious forces that scar the land. This is a supernatural gift that bestows upon a character special traits. Most notable is cling to life. A feature that allows you to regain 1 hit point during a death save of 16 or higher.
Dunamis: Life is an extended series of choices, each choice a branch. When crossroads is approached, with many different paths, a choice is made, a path sparks to life, while the others fade, their energy of potentiality diffusing into the multiverse.
Echo Knight: A mysterious and feared frontline warrior of the Kryn Dynasty, the Echo Knight has mastered the art of using dunamis to summon the fading shades of unrealized timelines to aid them in battle. Surrounded by echoes of their own might, they charge into the fray as a cycling swarm of shadows and strikes.
Manifest Echo: The knight can magically manifest an echo of themselves to assist them in battle.
Dunamancy Spells: Let’s talk about the gravity magic in this book. Hell yeah!
Gravity Sinkhole. A sphere of crushing force forms at a point the caster can see within range and tugs at the creatures there. Dragging them toward the center of the sphere. Sweet!
Give Away: Jeff Stevens: Villains and Lairs II!
Revolutionize your game with this collection of 28 villainous NPCs, from small fry to world-ender, eight of which include maps and details of their lairs. Sinister side-quests, terrifying overlords, bounties, one-shots and more lie in wait for you inside. Villains and Lairs II
Winner:
Didn’t win? Np, head to www.critacademy.com/jeffstevens to get V&L’s 3 Free
Give Away: Jeff Stevens: Encounters on the Savage Seas II!
Revolutionize your game with this collection 16 mini-adventures and includes NPCs, locations, new creatures, and magic items to add to your nautical adventures.
Winner: ben.woolfe
Didn’t win? Np, head to www.critacademy.com/jeffstevens to get Encounters on the Savage Seas III Free
Segment: Unearthed Tips and Tricks! (We give you creative content for your next adventure)
Character Concept:
Kyle Stoeckig
Oh, Not Again
The character has lived many, many lives but has no recollection of them. The only time they remember anything is when they begin an encounter with something that killed them previously. At which point they say, "Oh, not again!" They have no knowledge of any resistances, immunities or tactics of any creature that killed them because they were always the first to die. However, the player can choose a fun and memorable death that their character previously had.
Examples:
Sees a bugbear for the first time. "Oh, not again! I had my arms ripped off by one of these things and slowly bled out last time."
A trap inside a lock goes off. "Oh, not again! I choked to death on poisonous gas the last time this happened."
Approaches a gelatinous cube. "Oh, not again! I was eaten alive by the one of these the last time."
Monster Variant:
Desert Sharknado from Travis Pace.
Origin: Dust Mephits/Air Elemental
From a distance it looks like just another twister spinning its way across the desert but a closer glance reveals it to be made up of dozens upon dozens of figures caught in an infinite twirl of dust, teeth and claws.
Lore:
After the fall of Netheril, The Great Sand Sea of Anauroch was left in turmoil. War was a constant and during one of these battles two powerful druids faced off in an epic duel. One harnessed great power over winds and weather itself and created a massive swirling tornado of wind and sand to rip the enemy forces apart while the other used her affinity for animals and summoning to build an army of lesser elementals (Sand Mephit) and powerful beasts (Bulette) to attack head on. During the battle something unexpected happened. The weave of magic was still unstable and a spike in magical essence caused the two forces to fuse together and form a new threat that brought destruction to both sides. Ever since that swirling torrent of wind, sand, elementals, and beasts has since roamed the Anauroch desert leaving a trail of destruction in its wake.
Stat block is the result of mashing up a Greater Air Elemental and Dust Mephit with swarm rules and added sharks (Bulette) so the players hopefully catch the joke. Only balance problem is the CR, the Elemental was a CR 9 to start with but I nerfed the AC down 4 to match a Dust Mephit, and dropped Str/Dex scores down 2 each as well as the damage die by about 5 damage per attack on average. With the double HP and Bulette ADDS I think it should still hover around the 7-9 CR range.
New Features:
Huge Size.
Swarm. The swarm can occupy another creature's space and vice versa. The swarm can't regain hit points or gain temporary hit points. The swarm inflicts half damage when reduced to half its hit points or fewer.
Initiative 20: A Bulette is flung 15' out of the elemental in a random direction and lands prone. The Bulette only has 1 HP once it lands and may act on the turn it is ejected.
Whirlwind (Recharge 4–6): Each creature in the elemental’s space must make a DC 15 Strength saving throw. On a failure, a target takes (4d10 + 2) bludgeoning damage and is flung up 20' away from the elemental in a random direction and knocked prone. If a thrown target strikes an object, such as a wall or floor, the target takes (1d6) bludgeoning damage for every 10 feet it was thrown. If the target is thrown at another creature, that creature must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or take the same damage and be knocked prone. If the saving throw is successful, the target takes half the bludgeoning damage and isn’t flung away or knocked prone.
Encounter:
Unwilling Creation
The players receive a mysterious message that comes with a flood of information be it through a series of flashing images in their mind, a string of pictures on their phones, a letter with jumbled words and text that suddenly teleports in front of them a series of distorted audio through their comms or even around their general area. Though many elements aren’t clear there is a sense of fear from someone seemingly innocent and vulnerable, perhaps child like. attached to it with seemingly jumbled pieces of a puzzle. The only thing that was clear was two words and almost seemed to come from a child, “Help me.” Should players choose to try to piece the clues together it can lead to a mystery that leads to a wizard's workshop, a lab of a corporation, or even the basement of a psychologically questionable scientist. This will lead to the players finding someone or something new such as a sophisticated computer AI who may be sentient, a magically grown homunculus, a child who was subjected to experiments that manifested psychic gifts. Whatever the players discover regardless of the intentions of the capture, they have discovered something new, something potentially extremely dangerous, and it wants out.
Magic Item:
Dispelling Stone (EGW)
Wondrous item, very rare
This smooth, rainbow-colored, egg-shaped stone can be thrown up to 30 feet and explodes in a 10-foot-radius sphere of magical energy on impact, destroying the stone. Any active spell of 5th level or lower in the sphere ends.
Dungeon Master Tip:
Legendary Adventuring Groups
Enhance your campaign world by including the exploits of other renown adventuring parties. Whether it's Vox Machina, the Mighty Nein, or a previous group that the party had run in the past.
Player Tip: Don’t be a Dick
Powerful Allies and Rivals Relationships (EGW)
Even before your characters adventuring career began, they had allies who supported them. Your allies may have been so devoted to helping you they are indispensable companions. Oftentimes these start out as close friends or family members.
Example of a Rival:
You thought you killed this family member, whether by accident or otherwise. YOu never expected to see them again, but now they’re out for your blood.
Ally: This family member caused you to have a horrible accident when you were a child. They still feel incredible guilt, which they would do anything to assuage.
Closing: Please join us on our next episode we will be discussing Pokemon Pokedex 5e: Kanto
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Keep your blades sharp and spells prepared heroes!