Geek Kingdom
The Explorer's Guide to Wildemount
Liam Lavoie
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My name is Liam Lavoie, bringing you another issue of… GEEK KINGDOM!
Before we start, I just want to say that I’m really sorry for not writing anything last month. I had the article all written out, but there was a mix up and it didn’t get published. Well, don’t worry, I’m back to talk about…
EXPLORERS GUIDE TO WILDEMOUNT!
What is Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount?
Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount is a supplement to the popular tabletop role-playing game (RPG) system Dungeons and Dragons, released back in 2020. It is based off of the second season of popular series Critical Role, where famous actors play a (not-so) friendly game of D&D. It has a huge fan base and, while I’ve never tried an episode due to the length of the episodes (4 hours!? No thanks!). However, I've heard good things about it, and this book received lots of hype. This review will cover each chapter of the book, before coming to a final conclusion. So, strap yourselves in, this is going to be a bumpy ride!
CHAPTER 1: THE HISTORY OF WILDEMOUNT
The history of Wildemount is so complicated it would take up an entire issue, so I’ll sum it up as quickly as possible: a being known as the Luxon creates creatures on a rock in space then goes to take a nap. Then, the gods show up to populate said rock with humans, elves, etc. And they called it Exandria (Wall-Mart was their second choice).These people grow, but then almost get destroyed by the rock people, splitting the gods who want to save them, and the gods who want to try again on another rock. They fight and the world ends. Years later, the populace of Exandria come out of hiding and rebuild the world. Yeah. That’s the best I could do. But anyway, the pantheon is composed of gods from other settings, such as Tiamat, Bahamut, Pelor, Tharizdun, Correlen and Lolth. The lesser Idols section is composed of newer deities which are really unique and interesting, such as Naviask, a Balor demon turned fey, and the Arms of the Betrayers, sentient weapons made by the evil gods during the war I mentioned. Overall, the lore is really good, but the pantheon could use some originality.
CHAPTER 2: FACTIONS AND SOCIETIES
This part talks about the different factions of Wildemount, and there are many! Here's a basic rundown: The Dwenalian Empire is the United States. You know ‘em, you hate ‘em. The Kryn Dynasty is the church of scientology. Do some research, they're really similar. The Clovis Concord is the British cannon fodder in the Pirates of the Caribbean. They also have a pirate problem. The rest really aren't that important. These are just the key players in the whole of Wildemount, and the continent is at war. Oof. Overall, the factions are well detailed, and I like the fact that there are LGBTQ+ npcs in these factions, which makes me happy that D&D is catching up with modern standards.
CHAPTER 3: THE WILDEMOUNT GAZETTEER
This is the largest section of the book and, YIKES, is it big! But, don’t worry, it’s all beautiful, juicy details which bring this setting to life. Each town, city, mountain and ruin are explained in loving detail which makes your head spin with ideas. Better yet, most areas come with premade plot hooks for all levels, giving the dungeon master (DM) a nice storyline to follow while also giving them a choice in maps, monsters and resolutions, making this section great for building adventures. Coupling this with the wonderful Heroic Chronicle, which we’ll get to in the next chapter, allows for the DM to create wonderful stories. Isn’t that what D&D is all about? It also leaves some parts intentionally missing for the DM to make their own mysteries, so one group's Wildemount will probably be different than another group’s Wildemount. I love this setting so much, I could set all my campaigns here and never get bored!
CHAPTER 4: PLAYER OPTIONS
Unfortunately, this book isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. Here, we start to get to the low points of the book. All the races here are reprints, and the beginning of the chapter forgets to mention that the Tabaxi are in here. This is fine, meaning that you don't have to pick up Volo’s Guide to Monsters which is a plus. However, the subclasses are where the book starts to falter. Now, the echo knight is amazing and unique, with a fun gameplay loop and some broken mechanics, but the two wizard subclasses are a little dull, and the PHB ones have more use.
Now the spells….THIS gets to me. The spell list is dull, useless, and most spells revolve around dealing tiny amounts of damage, rerolling dice or pushing enemies, which is incredibly situational. The heroic chronicle, on the other hand, is ASTOUNDING! It gives a ton of options for character backstory, can give the players an extra 1up with things like a periapt of health, at-will speak with animals and even lycanthropy. It also gives the DM even more fun plot hooks to work with and is very customisable. This is the best feature of the book. There isn’t a lot to say about the 2 new backgrounds, other than they’re new backgrounds. Overall, this section was okay.
CHAPTER 5: ADVENTURES IN WILDEMOUNT
This is the worst part of the entire book. In my opinion, the first and last adventures (Tides of Retribution and Unwelcome Spirits) are wonderfully designed even though Unwelcome Spirits should be played at a higher level than 1-3. It's the middle two which suck. They are super railroady, lack player input and just finish as “welp, it’s over”. I suggest just using the ones I recommended or using the included plot hooks in chapter 3 to make your own. Believe me, you’ll get more satisfaction out of a homebrew game than using one of these.
CHAPTER 6: MAGIC ITEMS
Most of the magic items are really cool, like the Duskcrusher, Luxon Beacons and the Arcane Cannon. I would definitely use them in my campaign. The main parts are the vestiges of divergence. These are legendary magic items that were created during the big war mentioned in the first chapter. They seem normal, but in reality they gain more power through character development, which is an amazing idea and prompts more roleplay sequences. However, if your group isn’t into that kind of stuff, they become kind of boring. There are also a lot of dull, useless items that do nothing. Not great.
CHAPTER 7: BESTIARY
I like the bestiary, but there isn’t a lot to it. I would have preferred fewer magic items and more monsters. The ones there are though are fun, unique, varied and can be used for all levels. All the art is fresh and unique, bringing each of these devilish monsters to life. This is my second favorite part of the book.
I think the book is extremely detailed and I love it for that. However, all the boring player options and lackluster items definitely drag this book down. On the other hand, if you're doing this for the setting, go for it! Otherwise, you should spend your money on Xanathar’s Guide to Everything: a far better book for player options.
SCORE: 7.5
OKAY
NEXT TIME: EVERHOOD!
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