Critical Role: Call of the Netherdeep is a new Dungeons & Dragons campaign book created in partnership with Wizards of the Coast. It marks a turning point in the relationship between Critical Role and WotC as up until recently the two properties had been noticeably separate. This new adventure book will have many D&D fans wondering if this means WotC and the Critical Role team will be working together on more projects in the future.
The great setting of Critical Role’s D&D games, named Exandria, is purposely separate from that of D&D’s primary setting of Faerûn. This is because Matthew Mercer’s homebrew world was founded initially using Pathfinder, a different franchise. When Matthew Mercer adapted the team’s home game for steaming, they switched to D&D 5th Edition for ease of use. In 2017, two years after first airing, Critical Role released the Tal’Dorei Campaign Setting with Green Ronin Publishing, although it was and still is not official WotC material. In fact, Critical Role has gone out of its way at times not to reference official D&D or Pathfinder material, even going so far as to rename the pantheon of gods for Exandria.
Call of the Netherdeep will be the second time Critical Role and WotC have brought out an official Dungeons & Dragons campaign book together. The first project the two teams worked on was Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount, a sourcebook that allowed players and DMs to bring aspects of Exandria into their home games. This new campaign book is an exciting prospect for fans of Critical Role and D&D players in general.
Detailed Critical Role Lore In Call Of The Netherdeep
Call of the Netherdeep looks to be a lore-rich adventure for players and will take characters up to level 12. Players will have to face off against warring factions, some familiar to Critical Role fans such as the Cobalt Soul. In contrast, others are introduced in this adventure, such as the secret society of the Consortium of the Vermilion Dream. The book also provides a brief overview of the background of the Critical Role world of Exandria and, specifically, its two moons: Catha and Ruidus.
Catha is the primary moon and most similar to our own, operating on a monthly cycle. Ruidus is Exandria’s smaller secondary moon which obits in a six-monthly cycle and is red in color. Ruidus will play a part in the story of this adventure as the WotC website states: “Above it all, the red moon of Ruidus watches, twisting the fates of those who have the power to shape the course of history.” The adventure itself will take place over multiple continents in Exandria. Players start in the campaign two setting of Xhorhas before traveling to the continent of Marquet. The Netherdeep of the title is a new area described as an eerie place and a cross between the deepest oceans and the D&D plane of the Far Realm.
One of the most interesting concepts Call of the Netherdeep introduces is a rival adventuring party for players to compete against. These rivals will level up alongside the player’s party to emphasize the notion of time passing which is a clever way to keep players invested and focused on the main plot. Over the course of the adventure, the players will continually meet up with their rivals, and how the players interact with them will influence how this rival party will develop.
Possibility Of More Official D&D Projects With Critical Role
So what does all this mean for future projects between D&D and Critical Role? As stated previously, this is only the second time the two have worked together on an official basis. The first time was the sourcebook Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount, which introduced new subclasses to official D&D but an entire adventure book is a significant step toward future projects.
Call of the Netherdeep has its fourth chapter taking place in Ank’Harel, a city in Marquet previously visited by Vox Machina in campaign one. The current campaign with the newly named Bells Hells also takes place on the continent, in and around the city of Jrusar. This opens up the interesting prospect that some creatures, locations, or even events from Call of the Netherdeep could be seen in campaign three of Critical Role.
The description of the Netherdeep as a cross between the deep ocean and the Far Realm is an intriguing one. In D&D, the Far Realm is a terrifying place as the extradimensional plane often drives those who visit it insane, which means using D&D madness rules for various consequences for players. Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything even includes a table DMs can roll on for different effects the Far Realm can inflict on players. However, the most interesting part is that the Far Realm exists outside the known D&D multiverse.
Utilizing a place similar to the Far Realm Call of the Netherdeep could open up the possibility of Exandria joining the D&D multiverse. This idea is not as absurd as it sounds, as there is precedent for Critical Role and official D&D content to crossover. In Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus, players can meet Arkhan the Cruel, who has in his possession the Hand of Vecna, which was gained during Joe Manganiello’s two-episode guest appearance during campaign one of Critical Role.
Joe Manganiello gained the powerful artifact for Arkhan in campaign one, episode 114, “Vecna, the Ascended,” where Arkhan chopped his own hand off to attach the Hand of Vecna to himself after helping Vox Machina defeat the would-be god. Descent into Avernus acknowledges Critical Role by having Arkhan with the Hand, therefore unofficially making Exandria and the events there canon. Call of the Netherdeep could expand on this, hopefully being the first of many official D&D adventure books set in Exandria and its own planes of existence.
Critical Role has always had a good rapport with the wider D&D community and with those working at WotC, such as Chris Perkins, who has guest-starred on Critical Role twice. Call of the Netherdeep opens up a lot more than standard gameplay as the book represents a more meaningful relationship between Critical Role and Dungeons & Dragons. Call of the Netherdeep is an exciting first adventure book from Critical Role and Wizards of the Coast. With so many opportunities for crossover adventures, it hopefully won’t be the last.
