WotC Confirms ‘Critical Role’ Is Not A ‘New’ Or ‘Classic’ D&D Setting
Ray Winninger, Head of D&D, spoke out about where the new Critical Role adventure Call of the Netherdeep fits with WotC’s “setting goals.”
Shortly after the news broke that Wizards of the Coast’s first new adventure book, Critical Role: Call of the Netherdeep, was set once more in Matt Mercer’s world of Exandria, the community began to wonder how that fit into WotC’s plans for new and classic settings.
Specifically, WotC is on record stating that it’s got two “classic settings” in the works for the next year or so, as well as at least one “new setting in development” in the same time frame. With a new book taking place in Exandria, players wondered if Exandria was one of those categories. WotC was quick to clarify that it wasn’t, as head of D&D Ray Winninger pointed out on Twitter:
This is not one of the "classic campaign settings" or "new settings under development" I referred to. There are still two classic settings coming next year, and one the following year.
— WinningerR (@WinningerR) October 12, 2021
This is not one of the “classic campaign settings” or “new settings under development” I referred to. There are still two classic settings coming next year, and one the following year.
So there you have it. Exandria is its own thing– which makes a lot of sense. It’s being developed with WotC, but the lead writers are folks outside of WotC’s official staff, including Matt Mercer, who created the setting in the first place, and James Haeck, former lead writer for D&D Beyond. It’s a lot of the same folks from The Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount, the official setting book for Exandria.
Call of the Netherdeep does however take players somewhere we haven’t been before. Now we’re getting to see a world influenced by the second (some say evil) moon of Exandria. It blends deep undersea worlds with the cosmic horror of D&D’s Far Realm to bring you slithering tentacles and atmospheres that ooze malevolence. Probably a few malevolent oozes as well.
You can find out more about Exandria in The Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount if you want to prep for it. And if you want to learn more about Marquet–you’ll have your chance next week when Critical Role’s Campaign 3 begins.
Happy Adventuring!
