For manyDungeons and Dragonsfans, watching the game’s explosive popularity over the past few years has been a dream come true. What was once confined to shadowy basements and spare bedrooms has grown into a relatively-accepted icon of nerd culture.Dungeons and Dragonshas become an expansive landscape of creativity and exploration, a place where anyone can create whatever they want.
The only real limit inD&Dis the mind of the player. An inability to improvise or play pretend is effectively a death sentence for the game, inevitably leading to drab dialogue and boring campaigns. On the flip side, there are those that play the game professionally, a dream for many young Dungeon Masters and PCs out there. These groups knowhow to roleplay like professionalsand make a world pop. One such group, Critical Role, helped give rise to the game’s newfound mainstream popularity in the first place.
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Helmed by Dungeon Master Matthew Mercer, Critical Role has been a multi-year endeavor with multiple campaigns, well-written characters, and deep story-telling. It’s no small wonder then thatCritical Role is getting an official campaign setting.Explorer’s Guide to Wildemountwill expand on what fans have seen in the show, adding more lore, magic, and plenty of other tidbits for those that want to have their own adventures in the setting.
For fans of Critical Role, it’s incredible. Extra insight into the mind of Matthew Mercer, quite possibly the best Dungeon Master to have ever lived, is well worth checking out. But the effect that Wildemount will have onD&Das a whole is far more important. There is no shortage ofofficialDungeons and Dragonscampaign settingsout there, but there’s something truly special about what Critical Role has created.
Explorer’s Guide to Wildemountraises the possibility of other popularDungeons and Dragonsshows to get their own official settings. A simple search of “Dungeons and Dragons"on any podcast service will reveal countless different shows of friends sitting around playingD&D.Not many of them come close to thepopularity of Critical Role, but they do have their merits. Any one of them could bring custom monsters, new subclasses, magic, and a lot more to the game.
If Wizards of the Coast wanted to, it could open the floodgates for talented creators to publish their own official campaign settings. With Critical Role getting that kind of treatment, not to mention theCritical Role animated show, it isn’t inconceivable that more and more groups will begin campaigning to do so. Mercer is a great storyteller and improviser, and Critical Role has become something of a cultural phenomenon, so it’s in a unique position right now. However, ifExplorer’s Guide to Wildemountproves to be successful, there’s a good chance more settings like it will pop up down the line.
By moving forward withExplorer’s Guide to Wildemount,Wizards of the Coast is acknowledging just how much of an effect these shows have had on the game itself. Sure, other prominent creators have gone on to have content officially published in the past, butExplorer’s Guide to Wildemountfeels like a much greater degree than what fans have seen before. There are endless creators and shows that could get the same treatment, fromBrennan Lee Mulligan andDimension 20to TheAdventure Zone,Harmon Quest,and countless others.
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If anything,Explorer’s Guide to Wildemountsets a bar for other shows to try and attain. A new level of prominence and quality that, if achieved, may mean an induction into theDungeons and Dragonshall of fame. Having a show’s setting immortalized as an official piece ofDungeons and Dragonscontent is the greatest honor a Dungeon Master could hope to achieve, and one that few ever will. Iterating so heavily onhomebrewed content that it deserves to be recognized by Wizards of the West Coast is a massive undertaking, but for those willing to commit, the reward is certainly worth it.
There will, undoubtedly, be more shows trying to replicate Critical Role’s success now. With that, it seems pretty likely that more shows will attempt to get settings immortalized on store shelves. It’s an incredible achievement for Mercer and the rest of the show’s cast, one that will remain significant for years to come.
If anything, it will be wonderful to see where Critical Role goes next. Fans have grown used to the show’s presence and prominence. If anyDungeons and Dragonsgroup is capable of leading the masses through the uncharted waters of the game’s future, it’s Critical Role.
