The world of Exandria that Matthew Mercer, CCO, and DM of Critical Role, has built is expansive and highly detailed. From the tropical shores of Rumblecusp to the bustling streets of Emon Exandria is a living breathing world filled with creatures, mysteries, and history. It's the history of Exandria that looks to be explored in the upcoming short streaming series Exandria Unlimited: Calamity. This third edition of Exandria Unlimited sees a new guest DM at the table leading a party through the events of The Calamity.
The DM for Exandria Unlimited: Calamity will be Brennan Lee Mulligan (Dimension 20, Dropout). Cast members will include regular Critical Role cast Sam Riegel, Travis Willingham, and Marisha Ray. Returning to the Critical Role table is Aabria Iyengar, the DM who led the previous two seasons of Exandria Unlimited, and newcomers to Critical Role; Lou Wilson, and Luis Carazo. While the previous campaigns and spin-offs have told stories of adventurers new to the world bright-eyed and bushy-tailed Exandria Unlimited: Calamity will instead tell the stories of six powerful heroes from the final moments of The Calamity.
The Calamity in the history of Exandria is the culmination of the war between the Prime Deities and the Betrayer Gods. The amazing enlightened Age of Arcanum, where magic was focused in study, shifted as the people turned to war creating incredibly destructive spells. The Calamity itself ceased after the Betrayer Gods were banished to their dark, evil realms, and the Prime Deities chose to seal themselves away behind the Devine Gateways to protect the people of Exandria that they watched over. The Calamity left only one-third of the population of Exandria alive, but from there the people were able to rebuild into the world we see through the eyes of Vox Machina, the Mighty Nein, and Bells Hells.
From what we know of The Calamity fans can expect these seasoned adventures to likely begin their adventure at a much higher level, though that has not been confirmed. There's all kinds of lore available about The Calamity through the Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn, Explorer's Guide to Wildemount, or even the recently released Critical Role: Call of the Netherdeep that references the specific hero Alyxian, who came to be known as the Apotheon. The trailer also points to the story taking place on one of the many floating cities of Exandria, whether this is a known city like Aeor, an important location of Campaign 2 of Critical Role, or Zemniaz will also have to be seen.
This four-part mini-series will be streamed via Critical Role's Twitch and Youtube on Thursday, May 26th, at 7pm Pacific. If you're a subscriber to the Twitch channel a VOD will be available as soon as the stream has concluded, or will be available the following Monday via YouTube. It will also be available on all podcasting apps a week after airing.
