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Critical Role: Call of the Netherdeep

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Critical Role: Call of the Netherdeep is a campaign and adventure module published by Wizards of the Coast. First teased at D&D Celebration on September 26, 2021 by Chris Perkins,[3] the book was released in hardcover and digital formats on March 15, 2022. However, due to shipping delays, the hardcover was later released in Europe on April 5, 2022.[4]

Overview[]

The adventure, intended to run through levels 3 through 12, begins in Xhorhas, progresses to Ank'Harel, then moves into a new location: the Netherdeep, described as "a terrifying cross between the Far Realm and the deep ocean". Under the watchful gaze of Ruidus, twisting the fate of those who can change history, adventurers seek to release a forgotten champion of the gods, thought destroyed but instead awakened in his prison in the depths of Exandria.[5]

The book also includes statblocks for new magical items, including those allowing characters to survive in underwater environments, and new mechanics on running a party of rival NPC characters.[5][6]

The adventure includes a diagram of Cael Morrow and the Netherdeep marked with the date 836 PD, implying that the adventure takes place in that year.[7] In response to fan questions, James Haeck suggested the adventure is concurrent with Campaign Two (which is set in 835–836 PD), but could be set at any time.[8]

Contents[]

The Apotheon's Call[]

Avandra, Corellon, and Sehanine are beseeched by their champion, known as the Apotheon, who was thought to be lost after a battle with Gruumsh during the Calamity but was instead shunted into a rift between worlds after "the Apotheon's connection to Ruidus flared to life".[9] The gods are able to transport the Jewel of Three Prayers to one of locations where the Apotheon originally prayed for help during the Calamity. The main narrative hook of the module is that the discovery of the Jewel allows the Apotheon to send a vision pleading for help to the player characters. Over the course of the module, the adventurers retrace the steps the Apotheon's took during the Calamity from locations he received the blessing of gods to the location of his final battle to uncover the mystery of the visions and potentially even save the Apotheon.[9]

Main locations[]

The module begins in Jigow, a coastal town in Xhorhas, during the Festival of Merit. The last contest of the festival is a race which occurs in the nearby Emerald Grotto; within this grotto is the Jewel of Three Prayers at the prayer site to Sehanine.[9][10][11] To uncover more about the Jewel and the Calamity, the adventurers are drawn to Bazzoxan. There the adventurers will encounter Taskhand Verin Thelyss along with agents of the various factions. This military outpost faces incursions of demons from the Betrayers' Rise; the dark temple also contains the prayer site to Avandra.[9][12][11]

The various allies and enemies the adventurers have made will determine why and how they travel to Ank'Harel, a city on the continent Marquet.[13][11] Once in Ank'Harel, the adventurers will be pulled further into various faction missions.[14][11] These missions will eventually send the party to the sunken ruins of Cael Morrow, which contains a temple to Corellon, and then ultimately into the Netherdeep.[15][11]

The Rivals[]

The player characters, over the course of the module, encounter a rival adventuring party. Ayo Jabe leads a party consisting of Dermot Wurder, Maggie Keeneyes, Irvan Wastewalker, and Galsariad Ardyth.[9][16] The rivals level up as the player characters advance in the story.[17] Matthew Mercer highlighted that mechanically the inclusion of rival adventurers adds a "ticking clock to the narrative".[18] The players have a spectrum of options from pushing the rivalry to the extreme to befriending the rival party.[18][11]

The Factions[]

The adventurers encounter three main factions during this module. Each faction has different goals and reasons to be interested in uncovering more about the Apotheon, Ruidium and the Netherdeep. The adventurers must ally with a faction to progress on their own goals.[9][14][11]

  • Allegiance of Allsight: a Marquesian archeological guild based in Ank'Harel that conducts research on ancient history and ruins.[19] The leadership of the faction are "focused on uncovering the secrets of Cael Morrow, the sunken ruins beneath" Ank'Harel.[20]
  • Consortium of the Vermilion Dream: a secret society based in Ank'Harel obsessed with the red moon Ruidus; its members are comprised of occult scholars from across Exandria. Due to the expensive nature of its research, the Consortium is heavily profit-driven and aggressive in selling the arcane services of its members.[20]
  • Library of the Cobalt Soul: an order publicly dedicated to the search for and preservation of knowledge along with making it as accessible to the public as possible.[21] The Ank'Harel branch is focused "on rooting out evil in the city's civilian factions"; they are concerned about the Ruidium weapons used by the Consortium of the Vermilion Dream and they share resources with the Allegiance of Allsight on the investigation of Cael Morrow.[20]

Endings[]

The module presents the Dungeon Master with three possible endings: the best ending, the neutral ending, and the worst ending. These endings are shaped by player actions especially with choices made in the multi-phased final battle.[22][23][11] The module also outlines how the rivals, the factions, and the gods react to various endings. This establishes the world state moving forward if groups decide to continue playing past the end of the module.[22]

D&D Adventurers League[]

Upon the release of Call of the Netherdeep, both it and the previously published Explorer's Guide to Wildemount were adapted for the D&D Adventurers League, Wizards of the Coast's official organized play program.[24][25]

In March 2022, Wizards of the Coast licensee Baldman Games began running an online ticketed Alternate Campaign featuring two Critical Role starting adventures: "Frozen Sick" (from Explorer's Guide to Wildemount) and "Cold Rush" (DDALCA-03). Baldman Games also initially ran the Call of the Netherdeep Alternate Campaign where the book was broken up into four hour segments for digital play.[26][27]

Gallery[]

Credits[]

Development on Call of the Netherdeep was led by Matthew Mercer and Chris Perkins with contributions from James Haeck. Hannah Rose also worked on the adventure.[1][28] The full list credits includes:[29][30]

Related interviews[]

References[]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Critical Role Logo Hype: Call of the Netherdeep, Our Dungeons & Dragons Adventure Module Is Available for Pre-order Right Now! on CritRole.com
  2. ↑ See Call of the Netherdeep. Appendix F: Poster Map. Current map of Ank'Harel and Cael Morrow is dated as 836 PD.
  3. ↑ Hoffer, Christian. "Dungeons & Dragons Gives Tease About First 2022 Book" (September 27, 2021).
  4. ↑ Hoffer, Christian (February 16, 2022). "Dungeons & Dragons Announces Delay for European Release of New Critical Role Book". ComicBook.com. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Critical Role: Call of the Netherdeep" on the official Wizards of the Coast Dungeons & Dragons website. Archived from the original on December 28, 2021.
  6. ↑ Spangler, Todd. "Critical Role Official D&D Book 'Call of the Netherdeep' Due Out in Early 2022 " (October 12, 2022). Variety.
  7. ↑ See Call of the Netherdeep, p. 224. The map is from the Allegiance of Allsight, which only gains access to the Netherdeep between missions 5 and 6, which are separated by one week; see pp. 102–103.
  8. ↑ See Twitter logo James J. Haeck (@jamesjhaeck) on Twitter: "To me, this book is set concurrent with campaign 2, but COULD be set at any time." (2022-03-16). (backup link)
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 See Call of the Netherdeep, pp. 4–15.
  10. ↑ See Call of the Netherdeep, pp. 19–35.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 11.6 11.7 Wieland, Rob (March 14, 2022). "A Look Inside 'Call Of The Netherdeep'". Forbes. Retrieved September 16, 2024.
  12. ↑ See Call of the Netherdeep, pp. 49–75.
  13. ↑ See Call of the Netherdeep, p. 75.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 See Call of the Netherdeep, pp. 77–119.
  15. ↑ See Call of the Netherdeep, pp. 121–137.
  16. ↑ See Call of the Netherdeep, pp. 187–194.
  17. ↑ Hoffer, Christian (February 10, 2022). "Dungeons & Dragons Reveals New Monster, New Mechanics for Call of the Netherdeep". ComicBook.com. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Chapman, Matt (November 22, 2021). "Critical Role: Call of the Netherdeep". Dragon+ (40). Archived from the original on November 23, 2021.
  19. ↑ See Explorer's Guide to Wildemount, p. 18.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 See Call of the Netherdeep, pp. 81–84.
  21. ↑ See Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn, pp. 58–59.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 See Call of the Netherdeep, pp. 183–186.
  23. ↑ Zambrano, J. R. (March 16, 2022). "D&D: Call of Netherdeep's Final Encounter Is A Memorable Boss Fight Done Right". Bell of Lost Souls. Retrieved September 16, 2024.
  24. ↑ Twitter logo D&D Adventurer's League (@DnD_AdvLeague) on Twitter: "Critical Role: Call of the Netherdeep as well as the previously released Explorer's Guide to Wildemount will be adapted for play in D&D Adventurers League when the new book releases!" (2021-10-12).
  25. ↑ See "Adventurers League Adaptation Guides Version 2.4" (effective February 28, 2024), pp. 5–14 or the archived copy of the "Adventurers League Critical Role Pack Version 1.0" (May 14, 2022), pp. 1–17.
  26. ↑ "Virtual D&D Weekends - March 2022". Yawning Portal. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on March 16, 2022.
  27. ↑ Hall, Charlie (2022-03-16). "Here's how to play D&D's new Critical Role adventure online". Polygon.
  28. ↑ Twitter logo Hannah Rose (@wildrosemage) on Twitter: "I'm beyond honored and, moreover, SO EXCITED to have worked on this INCREDIBLE adventure." (2021-10-12).
  29. ↑ Call of the Netherdeep at the CritRole.com US shop.
  30. ↑ See Call of the Netherdeep.

Art:

  1. ↑ Full cover wrap, by Minttu Hynninen (source). Used with permission.
  2. ↑ Official art of Exandria's moons, Ruidus and Catha, viewed from Xhorhas, by Kent Davis (source). Used with permission.
  3. ↑ Concept art of the rival party, by Shawn Wood (source). This page contains unofficial Fan Content permitted under the Wizards of the Coast Fan Content Policy. Not approved/endorsed by Wizards. Portions of the materials used are property of Wizards of the Coast. ©Wizards of the Coast LLC.
  4. ↑ Depiction of a vision of Alyxian, the Apotheon, by Andrew Mar from Critical Role: Call of the Netherdeep, p. 34. This page contains unofficial Fan Content permitted under the Wizards of the Coast Fan Content Policy. Not approved/endorsed by Wizards. Portions of the materials used are property of Wizards of the Coast. ©Wizards of the Coast LLC.
  5. ↑ Depiction of Ayo Jabe's adventuring party on the road in Xhorhas, by Robson Michel from Critical Role: Call of the Netherdeep, p. 42. Used with permission. This page contains unofficial Fan Content permitted under the Wizards of the Coast Fan Content Policy. Not approved/endorsed by Wizards. Portions of the materials used are property of Wizards of the Coast. ©Wizards of the Coast LLC.
  6. ↑ Depiction of Ayo's party arriving in the Netherdeep, by Robson Michel (source). Used with permission. This page contains unofficial Fan Content permitted under the Wizards of the Coast Fan Content Policy. Not approved/endorsed by Wizards. Portions of the materials used are property of Wizards of the Coast. ©Wizards of the Coast LLC.
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