Imagination is a strange & wonderful thing.
Imagination drives innovation and inspires communal creation. For this geeky theater kid, imagination was my solace.
Since before my granny began reading me to sleep with The Lord of the Rings and Piers Anthony at the age of seven, I found myself simultaneously lost in, and empowered by, imagination. From playing make-believe with my brother in our rainy, Florida yard as children, to mowing through video game RPG after RPG, I found myself drawn into stories, especially those I could shape alongside my friends. It wasn’t until I was introduced to Dungeons & Dragons during my freshman year of high school that I found an experience that entwined everything I loved about storytelling, collaboration, theater, and creativity. I began building worlds for my friends to play in and filling notebooks with strange ideas, quirky NPCs, and mediocre story threads (hey, everyone has to start somewhere). I had found my favorite pastime, one that continues to lift me up and shape who I am today.
All these years later, through a magical series of circumstances, a group of gaming friends and I began streaming our home game of D&D on the internet under the name Critical Role, expecting little to no interest after spending nearly a decade in web media being told anything longer than five minutes has little value to the “ADHD generation.” These myths were rapidly proven wrong, and our home game swelled into a community, then into an unanticipated phenomenon that has become something so deeply wonderful and important to me, and it seems, many others across the world.
It is through the original campaign following the exploits of the adventuring party Vox Machina, with myself helming the narrative as the Dungeon Master, that I began crafting the continent of Tal’Dorei and the world of Exandria for my friends to explore. Expanding this world with each heroic venture my friends took on, each unique facet of their characters' stories enriching this realm that otherwise existed entirely in my head, Exandria began to grow and mature, feeling at times like it was taking on a life of its own. By the end of that journey, as the heroes of Vox Machina completed their majestic tale, we all knew we had created something special. However, that was but the first of many tales we wanted to weave.
A second campaign began shortly thereafter, this time taking place in the neighboring continent of Wildemount, a land bound by dark history, political struggle, and dangerous secrets simmering beneath the surface of everyday life. Now knowing the complexity my players were willing to engage with, I developed Wildemount on a scale and level of intricacy I had not previously attempted. I excitedly watched as this region of Exandria took shape, and it was here the Mighty Nein (as they came to be called) began their adventures, which they currently continue to the day of my writing this foreword. Wildemount expanded into a vast, complex, and delightful setting that I continued to grow more and more proud of. Then the incredible opportunity arose to collaborate with Wizards of the Coast to bring this setting to you in printed form.
I have been nothing short of humbled and ecstatic at this chance to be a part of something so important to me. It has been a profound honor to bring our world into the D&D multiverse and invite you to come play and create in it. Exandria continues to be one of my proudest achievements, with Wildemount my most accomplished aspect of this world to date. This continent is ripe with adventure and mystery. To work with such talented people to make this campaign a reality is a joy I never thought I’d get to experience. Wildemount began with Critical Role, but this book is an invitation for you and your friends to make this world your own.
I invite you all to come to Wildemount. Wander the dangerous valleys of Western Wynandir, sail up and down the Menagerie Coast, brave the wastes of Xhorhas’s scarred lands, and explore the ancient secrets in the regions beyond these war-embroiled realms. Follow the paths of the Mighty Nein or blaze your own trail. This is your Wildemount now.
Matthew Mercer, Dungeon Master of Critical Role
