Critical Role campaign book is required reading for fans of the show

From the people behind Critical Role Tal’Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn is a new book by Darrington Press that lets you play your own adventures in the world of the long-running Dungeons & Dragons actual play series. It is set 20 years after events in Tal’Dorei Campaign SettingThe original production was published by Green Ronin Publishing, 2017. This latest offering asks the following question: Which battles will the next generation face?

It answers that question in a beautiful, hardback book filled with gorgeous illustrations of places, people, and points of interest across the fictional continent of Tal’Dorei. The book comes also with an 18×24 inch folded-out map. It was drawn by Andy Law, a cartographer. Shown on the map are all the key cities, such as Emon, the human centre of Tal’Dorei, and Whitestone, set within the vast mountain ranges to the north-east. This visual package is amazing and transports you to another world.

Dungeon Masters get a true peek behind the curtain at Matthew Mercer’s creative process descending into the complete history of Tal’Dorei, the original setting for Vox Machina, the first of Critical Role’s three main campaigns. And I do mean complete. The book includes hundreds of years of war, strife, and battles – and that’s only the beginning.

The original has 150 pages more than it had. Tal’Dorei Reborn You have much greater freedom and control over this area. Despite covering the history of Tal’Dorei, there is so much more depth this time around as you are taken through the wars of yesteryear, as well as the current alliances and evils that have arisen after Vox Machina.

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Tal’Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn teases the emergence of the League of Miracles – a mysterious group of mercenary mages who have filled their ranks with necromancers, cultists, and blood mages. Having helped Emon rebuild, they have established themselves as a real force in Tal’Dorei, to the point that one of their magical constructs, an Ardranach, is displayed prominently on the cover. Entire campaigns can explore the League and what their true goals are in Tal’Dorei.

But it isn’t just the League. The Clasp, a guild of thieves, has also risen to prominence in Tal’Dorei. After their efforts to subvert the Chroma Conclave in Emon, the Clasp has been transformed from heroes to cut-throats over the last 20 years. Tal’Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn Also, it reveals what happened to the original Vox Machina cast with an extensive where-they are-now section.

Andy Law/Darrington Press

You can be sure of this. The Silmarillion of campaign settings, and it’s clear to see the sheer amount of work that Mercer, James Haeck (who worked with Mercer on the original book) and veteran D&D Designer Hannah Rose put a lot of effort into this book. The authors hand you keys in true Sandbox style and encourage you to take a drive. It can seem overwhelming at first but it provides DMs with a great sense of freedom. Tal’Dorei is their playground and they can do whatever they like in it.

Instead of a linear campaign that lasts for years, DMs can choose narrative hooks from a wide range. You can make these hooks into whatever you want. They are often inspired from the locales and the legends. This gives you a starting point for your imagination. These hooks range from the Lucidian Coast’s Hareth Val Bardo struggling with night terrors and violent urges, to helping a key character from Vox Machina find his daughter after she disappears in the dungeons of Castle Whitestone.

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There is no adventure that’s free from adversity. There is a rogues’ gallery to choose from, including Ashari Stoneguards, Cutthroats, and the punishingly difficult Forge Guardian. There’s plenty available for adventurers of all levels to take on in battle. The challenge ratings range from 3 to 27 with most settling between 12 and 18. There are minions you can use in smaller encounters, but these aren’t as interesting and players starting on lower-level campaigns would perhaps benefit from the book’s more scalable bosses.

While Tal’Dorei Reborn uses D&D’s 5th edition It can be used as a base, but you are also welcome to apply the rules of other fantasy RPGs. Of course, many of the playable characters and enemies include stat blocks and abilities based on 5th edition, so if you want to use another system you’ll need to do some homework.

This book is not system-agnostic, but it’s a well-constructed world with many interesting characters and tales to share. It can even be used as a coffee table book during Thursday night livestreams. Tal’Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn It is worth the price of $49.99. This is simply a must have for fans of the series, even if it’s just to delve deeper into the world Vox Machina calls home.