You're doing a great job. She also has considerably more hit dice than you would expect a PC of her level to have - 10d10+30 (85 hp) at "level 4". No, not really. It may not display this or other websites correctly. Although the adventure doesn't really do water until Cael Morrow, it's very important that players understand the way that underwater adventuring changes the game by the time they get thereafter all, you might want to encourage them to take up Ruidium weapons (and, on that note, I might actually end up making a Ruidium Focus item to accommodate my pyromancers*so I'll post that here once I've decided whether or not I'll alter the text that much by adding a new item). The Cerberus Assembly are a group of powerful magic users that have spread their influence into every aspect of Dwendalian culture. The Netherdeep is "an underwater realm of gloom, corruption, and sorrow" in Exandria and described as "a terrifying cross between the Far Realm and the deep ocean". Introductions, Continued. Preorder Call of the Netherdeep and Unearth Exclusive Perks! The Aurora Watch is the Kryn Dynastys armed forces. Allow the character to play an actual ogre, as-written in the. (The Rivals may or may not agree, but its probably a good idea to have them use the PCs ideas frequently. Published on March 15, 2022, Last modified on November 14th, 2022. We've had three MTG centric books. Corrupted with power. Although its interesting in theory that the rivals can get the MacGuffin and kickstart the plot with the players following along, I think it can lead to really unsatisfying gameplay if the first major plot development happens off-screen. Critical Role: Call of the Netherdeep packs a great story, engaging gameplay, interesting characters, and unique mechanics into a neatly wrapped adventure. And so forth. This warped and wild land was the realm of evil Betrayer Gods during an era known as the Calamity, when Gods roamed the Earth and fought for dominion. First major adventure module within Critical Role's world of Exandria, taking players from levels 3-12. Privacy Policy. One thing that is both to this adventures credit and sometimes a little bit of a headache for a DM is the myriad possible ways given chapters can end. Ill admit something here. Conclusion. The rivals attack the characters. Off the top of my head and in order of easiest to hardest: yeah, 1 or 2 depending on what sort of ogre-ish-ness the player is looking for. The rivals are handled really well in this chapter. Critical Role: Call of the Netherdeep is the first major Dungeons & Dragons adventure book set inside the world of Exandria. Encounter distance, in particular, is very useful to know in this race, as most of the Grotto is very dark, and that helps a certain octopus or school of quippers sneak up on your players. Concluding that this isnt any of their business and exiting the campaign to go do other things. Call of the Netherdeep introduces seven new common magic items to reward your party with. It was first mentioned in the announcement of the upcoming Critical Role: Call of the Netherdeep and is one of the adventure's significant settings. Dark SunGreyhawk.Planescape.SpelljammerZendikar in MTGliterally anything else? Part of what makes Critical Roles world of Exandria so enticingis the dynamic, morally gray factions that vie for power across the lands of TalDorei, Wildemount, Marquet, and beyond. What Dungeon Masters Should Know About Ruidium From Call of the Netherdeep. The rivals allow the characters to deal with Alyxian in whatever manner they see fit, fighting alongside them if need be. An ancient hero and demigod sends messages and visions . The Netherdeep is an extremely interesting final dungeon due to the fact that it is almost entirely underwater. It offers rival adventurers, setting information and a climactic battle that doesn't have to . Privacy Policy. Uniquely Critical Role: Call of the Netherdeep tells the story of not one, but two adventuring parties. Before Elder Ushru finishes his explanation and monologue, take some time to pan the camera out and see the rivals preparing. The lead-up to the Netherdeep allows players to understand the difficulties of underwater exploration and combat, and provides adequate time for the party to prepare. Theres a festival going on with plenty of small competitions to let the players show off their talents like a pie eating contest or solving riddles. Third, the adventure struggles with the lack of a clear, actionable agenda for much of its length. But, my players seem intrigued by the mystery, and I like the introduction for the character. That aside, Alyxian hasnt really done much yet. The nomadic clans lived in strife for centuries, only able to establish small bastions of civilization within the harsh wilderness. After the Betrayer Gods were defeated during the Calamity, all gods left the world of Exandria in an event called the Divergence. Call of the Netherdeep introduces rival NPCs that will challenge the player characters as they adventure around Exandria. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. Very little work, very few balance issues. They dont require huge new structures or lots of new content to implement. Players beware, spoilers lie ahead! Similar to the closing ceremony, this is a bit of calm before the grotto race, so it shouldn't overstay its welcome, but it has an important place in the sequence. Seeing as ranged weapons get disadvantage on attacks while underwater, ranged builds could be in for quite a rude awakening once they get to the final portion of the adventure. This interesting dynamic was actually explored in our own adventure, The Heroes of Karatheon. Call of the Netherdeep is an adventure for the 5th Edition of Dungeons & Dragons (5e) that takes a deep dive into Critical Roles World of Exandria. Its presence can be found everywhere, from TalDorei to Wildemount and Marquet. Anything roughly in the ballpark of big, tough, and strong would work. Ill keep you guys updated on my thoughts about the Apotheon as I continue to run and my players unravel the mystery! About the Campaign. Once your players have been chosen for the race, this should be the part where it begins to amp up. A little bit of fluff can go a long way to make your PCs feel special, rather than involved in a scripted cutscene. Just acts as a light source (which is very easy to get anyway) and allows martials to bypass resistance to nonmagical damage, which is a nice evening factor without making anything particularly overpowered. Whats the verdict onCall of the Netherdeep? It also helps players get acquainted with underwater combat, which is a big part of this adventure. I love the grim, gritty tone and prefer it to the upbeat, happy-go-lucky vibe of. Just let your players be creative if they want to, and it'll let them feel clever and satisfied about getting a leg up on the rivals. This will cause the rivals to receive the vision of Alyixan, and the players are expected to play catchup and try to steal the jewel back. They have specific responses to each of the contests outcomes which helps them come alive. However, I believe the adjustments should be done on an individual basis. This part of the adventure isnt just the standard exploration of a big gloomy space. Learn about them here. Players start the adventure in Jigow, a small city in the Wastes of Xhorhas that is mainly populated by competition-loving goblins and orcs. All News Dungeons & Dragons Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition Pathfinder Starfinder Warhammer 2d20 System Year Zero Engine Industry News Reviews Dragon Reflections. Horse racing regulatory and safety officials as well as representatives from Churchill Downs will gather in an emergency meeting Tuesday following a tragic series of horse deaths at the famed home . Sandbox Playstyle with Plenty of Direction. Outside of writing for Arcane Eye, Mike spends most of his time playing games, hiking with his girlfriend, and tending the veritable jungle of houseplants that have invaded his house. That said, if anyone has had their PCs succeed at a fast pace and ignore the fight, Id love to hear how your game went! This being D&D, theres still an epic battle waiting at the end of the Netherdeep. Anyone feel like there is maybe a little too much Critical Role contentand not enoughother fantasy lore? None of the NPC rivals are made like a PC. The main settlements within the Dynasty are the following: Rosohna. And sometimes the PCs should be able to change their minds. It's not in playtest, it was already included in the Tal'dorei Campaign Setting: Reborn, which was published by Critical Role's own publishing house , and nothing in the description for Call of the Netherdeep says that they're releasing any new subclasses, just creatures and magic items. The world of Exandria from Critical Role includes the continents of Issylra, Marquet, Tal'Dorei, and Wildemount. STEP 1: ROLEPLAY TRUTHFULLY, PLAY ACTIVELY. Get over there and click on every single NPC until one of them gives you another blue dot., Or, even more minimalistically, the Get Quest button from Puzzle Quest . I really like the carnival-style introduction that weve seen in this book and. A number of factions are introduced that all have an interest in working with the party. The latter is what my campaign will likely end up being. Unify and protect the citizens of the wastes to expand their borders and control. Additional race options appear in Monsters of the Multiverse, with bugbear, duergar, goblin, hobgoblin, kobold, lizardfolk, minotaur, . Arent an annoying burden on the campaign because theyve decided to help the party out, thereby slowing down and trivializing combat encounters. Critical Role: Call of the Netherdeep Can You Change Fate? The story begins with a friendly rivalry between these two parties as they compete at the local Festival of Merit in Jigow. I played a a half ogre back in 1st edition days. I think thats very bad advice. So, if you ask me, seems like anyone could take that and just roll up a character as normal. There are very few go here and do that experiences in the book, and when these do crop up, theyre after the party has actively made a choice to involve themselves or when everything has been accomplished in an area. Dragons and Critical Role offers an adventure through the setting of the show and the mind of one of its doomed legends. Outside of these bastions of civilization, the Aurora Watch travels the wilderness, slaying deadly beasts that roam the wastelands. This guide has been written for players about to start the Call of the Netherdeep adventure, to aid with character creation. The Cobalt Soul is a group of monks, clerics, historians, and researchers that follow the teachings of Ioun, the God of Knowledge. Critical Role Comes Roaring Out Of The Gate To Start 2022. The Iothia Moorland to the south of the Kryn Dynasty has tribes that include humans, goblins and orcs/half-orcs, with the occasional aasimar or genasi. However, due to shipping delays, the hardcover was later released in Europe on April 5, 2022. You could just rename the Goliath race to be "Ogre" and be done with it. The Kryn Dynasty is led by drow, and the majority of inhabitants of Dynasty settlements are monsterfolk such as bugbears, goblins, hobgoblins, and orcs/half-orcs, as well as a few tieflings, humans, and dragonborn. (This is relatively unlikely without rewriting some stuff early in the campaign, but its still a possibility.). Magic resistance got sorted out. One of the rival adventurers in Call of the Netherdeep is Maggie Keeneyes, an ogre. Worship of the Betrayer Gods is forbidden, however there are cults who still do. I would say no. This is a deeper problem with the structure of Call of the Netherdeep that extends beyond the Rivals, but its specifically problematic here because a rival is someone who competes with you to achieve a common objective; for superiority in a common activity. Heres the campaign blossoms out into three smaller storylines. If they are on the playerss side, theyll turn on the servant and help them keep the artifact. The greed of mortals has awakened a powerful entity long thought destroyed. The three groups maintain a delicate balancing act with each other to ensure that none of the others gain too much power and influence. What's one thing you want more than anything else? Rivals who follow the characters into the Heart of Despair behave in one of two ways, depending on their attitude toward the characters: Friendly or Indifferent Rivals. The easiest way to move up the political ladder in the Dwendalian Empire is to harness powerful arcane abilities. Sure, Matt owns his Setting, but when he is publishing a book with WotC then they have final say on anything in the book they publish. In the city of Bazzoxan, the Aurora Watch fights a never-ending battle against demons and fiends that pour out of a portal to the Abyss found deep within the ruins of a dark temple. In order toprepare you for Call of the Netherdeep, this article outlines the conflict at the center of the wastes of Xhorhas, one of the campaigns primary destinations, as well as the factions involved. The trigger for the discovery of the prayer site to Sehanine is the Moonshark dying. The campaign covers levels 3 to 12 and features a quest to save one of Exandrias greatest heroes from a prison of his own making. Some inhabitants of Blightshore that died rose again as hollow ones. Fill out the form below to receive Escape From Mt. There are many other races that have migrated to the Dynasty, however, and all are welcomed into the light of the Luxon. Take a romp through an orc and goblin town andtrack down stolen goods ahead of an annual festival! Just think about the immediate follow-up question from the players: And what do we do when we get there?. Personally, I would run the rivals as relatively friendly for the first portion of the adventure and then have them turn on the party at the end of the dungeon crawl through the Betrayers Rise.