Critical Role Presents: Call of the Netherdeep (D&D Adventure Book) (D&D Critical Role)

First off, I want to note that this book did not come damaged, have ink smearing, or any other physical issues unlike some of the previous D&D book releases. So 5/5 on that.Secondly, I wanted to say that one of things I have been wanting for a while (like many people) was a full campaign book in the world of Exandria. The previous books released (the official canon D&D book, Explorer's Guide to Wilde mount; and the two, non-canon D&D book Tal'Dorei campaign settings) gave out a lot of lore but not many pre-written stories in the world of Exandria. Or at least not many mid-to-high level stories. So up until now, a lot of the work was on the DM to provide extended campaigns in the land of Wildemount/Tal'dorei. I'm hoping that with this new book, all DMs (experienced and new-comers) will be able to just jump into the magnificent world of Exandria and enjoy the stories created by Matt Mercer, and everyone at Critical Role & WotC.All that said, as this book just came out, I have not run a campaign based on this book yet - so I don't have anything to say on how easy or hard this book is to DM. So most of my review will be from just going over what's actually in the book.And with that, it cuts right to the chase... There are a couple intro pages to give you as the DM enough Background, but it quickly dives into this 167 page campaign (the other pages are for the magic items and bestiary).There are seven chapters leading adventurers from level 3 to 13 - meaning this will probably provide enough content for a couple months to a year or so depending on the players and DM.One thing I like is the way that the Explorer's Guide to Wildemount book is a good gateway into this story. If you don't have that book and want to use the full Exandria world, I would recommend getting it. It gives a lot of additional background info allowing the players to customize their characters based off of the Exandria setting and start at level 1. If you don't want or get that book, then starting from level 1 might take some additional planning on the DM - if that is something you want to do. Otherwise, starting at level 3 will be nice for most players as you should already have your subclass chosen from the the start.There are many environments and settings that will give players a decent mix of variety when playing in this campaign. From multiple continents, to both overworld & underwater encounters, characters will travel around Exandria exploring unknown realms and untold adventures in this Critical Role campaign.Based on my count, there are 24 new creature Stat blocks (not including the rivals) and 4 previously released monsters that are all in the Explorer's Guide to Wildemount; there are also 15 new rival Stat blocks as well. I really enjoy the amount of new underwater monsters in this book, I feel like they will give a lot more options for any ocean-based encounters and can easily be added into sea-faring adventures like Ghosts of Saltmarsh.While there are no new classes or races, there are about 11 new magic items and 1 previously released items. Without spoiling the story, there are a handful of items, ranging from common rarity to legendary, that the players can come across throughout the story.One major part of this book is the fact that the players choices really impact the story. There is an entire rival party (run by the DM) that can help or hinder their party. And the book clearly states when to involve the rivals and how they could respond to the players actions. This is all based on the various "Rivals" & "Rival Impressions" story sections throughout the book. I feel like it would have been interesting to potentially weave a two party campaign into this, but I understand that not all DMs have that much time on their hands.As far as bringing this story into your campaign goes, that might prove to be a little difficult seeing as this takes player from a low to medium-high level. I can easily see how the rival party idea can be brought into your own stories - as well as specific encounters/monsters/items/etc. But if you want to run the whole entire story (similar to other long campaign books) and merge it with your own homebrew story, that could become difficult unless you add your own story on at the beginning or end of this campaign.There are multiple endings (good, neutral, bad) that can happen, so there is some post-campaign stories to be told, but those would need to be made up by the DM. So if your party really wants to reach level 20, that is all on the DM to write/setup the rest of the story.Summary: This campaign book provides a lengthy story with plenty of new adventures, items, and monsters - all set in the world of Exandria. There are plenty of new story and encounter ideas that can be pulled into other canon/homebrew campaigns if so desired, while also providing a complete, engaging new experience for new and old D&D players alike.If you want the full Critical Role / Exandria experience, I would highly recommend starting this campaign with the EGtW book and potentially add in elements from their own Tal'dorei campaign setting book. Both of these book add a lot of lore and character customization options for this world - allowing for a more immersive CR experience.Side note: As Matt Mercer said in one of his interviews for it, if you are a player character, help your DM out and buy this for them if you want to play it. xD

This book is a great addition to my Exandria D&D 5e collection of source materials. There is all the information you would need to run the campaign, and there are plenty of things to cherry pick for whatever adventure you may be TTRPGing. There are great NPCs, with that grow as your party grows. There are monsters and items to add to your adventure. Beautifully illustrated, well written all around. A great book of source materials.

This campaign is a ton of fun for experienced and curious players. If you're party is not curious and purely focused on slaughtering everyone on sight this is not your campaign! I also would not recommend for a beginner DM. Between the large sprawling cities, different quest lines, and having to maintain another party on the side including relationships with the players' party, even as far as at an individual level If you choose, can be incredibly overwhelming for even some seasoned DM's. Despite the background work and planning needing to be done before each session, the brilliance in the campaign really shines when players start to ask questions. While many books tend to give plenty enough descriptions to allow imagination to take hold, this book provides mountains of information about every location. Curious players will not be disappointed with the amount of side activities and hidden gems they can find if they take the time to explore.

I've been enjoying CR content since late 2015, but haven't really consider myself a "Critter"I am just recently starting Campaign 3 and never saw C2. That said... this is amazing.The art is fantastic, the writing is top notch and makes the villain come to life in a way that I have only seen from good portrayals of Strahd, and it has a creative design reminiscent of some of Matt's best work. (Not claiming it was or wasn't Matt's idea, just that it feels true to form, perhaps making it even more impressive if it wasn't)

What can I say? Critical Role hit it out of the park with this official D&D 5th Edition crossover, just like they always do. This is a great companion volume to Tal'Dorei Reborn and the Exandria D&D books, and I 100% recommend it to anybody who enjoys Critical Role or D&D.

Book is great. I used it to help me prep when I did not have internet access or did not want to stare at my phone/computer. The story has some work for the DM to, especially with trying to get players interested in the story. It is assumed the players want to go on the very linear story and that is provided for them. There are tools in the Explorer's Guide to Wildemount that help with this a little better. The book production quality is not the greatest as my first book had water damage and the second the seam started coming off within a month. This is common with WoTC quality of books though.

Very well organized for running the campaign, with the information you need right at hand. I hate the ones where it refers you to an appendix or whatever and you're constantly flipping pages. Here the tables, stats, whatever, and exactly where they are called for. You can tell this was play tested by people who actually play the game. It's a fun adventure. Definitely worth it.

Just getting this module started at my table, and so far everyone is very excited to play in Exandria. This book is so thorough. Add your own flair or run it as is; either way you'll have happy players. No where near Matt's level of voices, but I'm already having a blast and we just started.