Tal’dorei Campaign Setting Reborn Hits D&D Beyond
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Critical Role supplement is the first official third-party product to be made available on D&D Beyond
Originally published in 2022, the Tal’dorei Campaign Setting Reborn is a DnD 5e sourcebook set in Exandria, the sprawling campaign world popularized in the Critical Role actual play series. Now, the book is being made available as a digital version on D&D Beyond. And while this might be great news for fans of Critical Role, the implications for the larger TTRPG community are huge.
Below we break out all the details.
What is Tal’dorei Campaign Setting Reborn?
The Tal’Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn is a sourcebook compatible for DnD 5e that was originally released in 2022 from Darrington Press (the official publishing arm of Critical Role). The material presented in the book is set two decades after the conclusion of Critical Role Campaign 1, which featured the popular Vox Machina characters.
The book itself is essentially a guide to the continent of Tal’Dorei, and contains information on the various regions, along with story hooks, expanded character options (including 9 subclasses and 5 backgrounds), new creatures and new magic items. Not surprisingly, it was written largely by Matt Mercer, with contributions from the Critical Role cast.
As with all third-party DnD materials, however, it wasn’t a product that Wizards of the Coast was actively promoting, as the content was created under the Open Game License (OGL), which allows third-party publishers to produce content using the DnD 5e rules. As such, the book was only only from either Amazon or Darringon Press (with both print and PDF options available).
Why is the Book’s Release on D&D Beyond Such a Big Deal?
As of this writing, there are really on two ways that a third-party DnD publishers can release their works: The first is releasing it on their own website, which is the preferred method mostly for large publishers like Kobold Press, Green Ronin or Darrington Press. The second option is to publish it via online content platforms, with DriveThruRPG and DMsGuild being the largest (in the case of DMsGuild, it’s the only place where creators can legally publish content related to specific DnD settings such as the Forgotten Realms and Dragonlance, with Wizards of the Coast receiving a percentage of profits).
Official Wizards of the Coast digital content, however, has remained in a separate, siloed publication stream, with D&D Beyond being the primary distribution method. The release of the digital version of Tal’Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn on D&D Beyond is therefore a significant change, since it marks the first time that Wizards of the Coast has opened up the platform to any form of third-party content.
Of course, the book isn’t just a random supplement from an obscure publisher. It’s a major supplement from Critical Role, a pop culture phenomenon that has in many ways reinvigorated the DnD brand with its podcast, merchandise, videos and spin off series on Amazon. It’s also not an indication that Wizards of the Coast is going to open D&D Beyond to any and all third-party publishers (Hasbro purchased D&D Beyond in April of 2022 for a whopping $146 million and as such is particularly touchy about what appears on the platform).
That being said, it could be a sign of thawing tensions between DnD third-party publishers and Wizards of the Coast after the OGL debacle. In this sense, opening up D&D Beyond could be a huge boon to creator’s revenue and to WotC’s reputation.
Final Thoughts
It’s great to see Wizards of the Coast publishing third-party content on D&D Beyond, even if it is from a massive brand like Critical Role. It remains to be see, however, if other third-party content will be given a similar treatment on D&D Beyond or if this is merely a one off.
We’ll be keeping a close eye on this story in the days ahead. In the meantime you can purchase the digital version of Tal’Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn from D&D Beyond.
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Ollie Delano is a Staff Writer who lives in Chicago, Illinois where he majored in Journalism at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. He’s been playing Dungeons & Dragons for over 10 years and currently plays in a weekly game group where he rolls way too many natural 1s and chugs way too much Mountain Dew. His favorite D&D campaign setting is Eberron and his favorite character to play was a Tiefling rogue named Draxiss who enjoys both literal and figurative backstabbing.
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