Fans of Dungeons and Dragons and Critical Role got a special treat at the start of the week with the announcement of the upcoming Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount, a new 5E Dungeons and Dragons campaign setting guide book based on the continent of Wildemount in Critical Role.
Along with new monsters, new deities, and a new family of magic titled Dunamancy, the Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount features three new subclasses – the Echo Knight, the Chronurgist, and the Graviturgist. These three classes all make a focused use of the magic of Dunamancy, a style of magic based on the manipulation of gravity and time with an emphasis on control and alteration.
The Chronurgist, as the name implies, deals primarily with the forces of time and alters them to suit their needs. Several high-ranking members of the Kryn Dynasty, the nation responsible for the creation and progression of Dunamancy, are Chronurgists.
Manipulating time isn’t something new to Dungeons and Dragons, of course. Spells like Slow and Haste are responsible for altering time for whatever the caster needs. There are similar spells being added in with the Chronurgist, but they’ve been taken a step further.
Mercer doesn’t go into too deep of detail – we’ll have to wait for the release of the Explorer’s Guide on March 17th for that – but he explains a few spells that will be arriving. The dungeon master gives the examples of locking a target into stasis, which is a spell that has already been added into Critical Role and utilized by the wizard, Caleb. Another example was locking a spell to be given to an ally and released later, which can bring a whole new mechanic to the battlefield.
The Chronurgist is a subclass of the Wizard class, and has a heavy focus on support, as the Graviturgist does. While many of the abilities may be utility based – boosting allies, slowing or stunning enemies, – these utilities can be used for devastating assaults as well.
There’s still plenty more to come out as we wait for the Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount, but few things are more interesting than the new subclasses. The addition of Dunamancy has the potential to drastically change Dungeons and Dragons, and the classes coming that wield it will add a new dimension to what was already a game with infinite potential.
We won’t see the release of the Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount until March 17th, but make sure you check with your local game store to preorder the guide!
