After Wizards of the Coast let slip the announcement of a new Dungeons & Dragons sourcebook, fans have been speculating as to what it could be about. As it turns out, Dungeons & Dragons isn't resurrecting old settings or adventures, but rather going somewhere entirely new; Wizards of the Coast announced their partnership with beloved D&D show Critical Role, for the creation of the Explorer's Guide to Wildemount sourcebook.

Critical Role has lead the wave of renewed enthusiasm for D&D since it began airing in March of 2015, a show comprised of popular voice actors playing the game, captained by DM Matthew Mercer. When the show began, Mercer didn't use an already existing D&D 5e campaign setting for his game: he created the world of Exandria, including the current setting of the show's campaign 2, Wildemount.

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The Explorer's Guide to Wildemount will actually be Critical Role's second published sourcebook, but its first, Critical Role: Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting wasn't an official part of the 5th edition universe. This new book, on the other hand, will join D&D 5th edition canon when it releases, formally linking Exandria with the Forgotten Realms, Eberron, and any other campaign settings that join the 5th edition family. Not only does the Explorer's Guide thoroughly establish the setting of Wildemount, but it also contains beginner adventures, plot hooks, and new player options to unlock. Among those options are the Echo Knight fighter subclass and the Dunamancy school of magic--along with a whole bunch of creature stats and magic items, of course.

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Before the book's reveal, many fans speculated that it would bring back an old, well-loved campaign setting from previous editions of D&D such as Planescape or Spelljammer. Those both remain very much a possibility for future releases--the Explorer's Guide to Wildemount hasn't delayed any such projects, but merely introduces something new to the classic multiverse. The book isn't intended just for existing fans of Critical Role; it's written in such a way that someone who had never watched the show once could still enjoy Wildemount and craft homemade adventures without issue.

D&D has been such an influential element of my life, of who I am, and to have contributed to it in this way is beyond words,” Mercer wrote. “I set out to create this book not as a tome specifically for fans of Critical Role, but as a love letter to the D&D community as a whole...I wanted this to be a book for any D&D player, regardless of their knowledge of (or appreciation of, for that matter) Critical Role. I made this for ALL of you."

The Explorer's Guide to Wildemount releases on March 17 and is available for pre-order now, while Dungeons & Dragons remains as vast and accessible as it's been for decades.

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Source: Reddit