Critical Role may be on a hiatus until the hang can get back together in person, but that doesn't mean Dungeons and Dragons players can't head to Wildemount on their own. The Explorer's Guide to Wildemount offers dungeon masters everything they need to know to start an adventure on the mysterious continent and some new subclasses offer some exciting possibilities for players to explore.
Although a lot of the attention may immediately go to the new list spells and the two new Wizard subclasses, it's not just magic-users who get to have all the fun in Wildemount. The power of Dunamancy can also be harnessed by the most-skilled martial characters in Exandria and the new Echo Knight Fighter subclass brings that potential to Dungeons and Dragons PCs.
Fighters in D&D have the opportunity to spec into a special Martial Archetype a few levels into the game. At launch those options were limited to Champion, Battle Master, or Eldritch Knight but additional books like Xanathar's Guide to Everything and now The Explorer's Guide to Wildemount have expanded the options. Fighters who the ability to summon a sort shadow clone will want to check out this option.
What is the Echo Knight?
"The fighter takes many forms in Wildemount, from the grizzled mercenary who earns their keep by the might of their blade, to the dedicated soldier who fights for the banner of their homeland, to the hearty treasure hunter whose skill with a weapon is their finest asset."
Echo Knights specialize in summoning a sort of shadow clone of themselves that they can use to gain the upper-hand in many combat scenarios. Players have the ability to swap positions with their echo, make a weapon attack from their echo's location, or even have their echo jump in front of an attack that is targeting an ally.
The powers aren't limited to just combat use either. At later levels, the Fighter gains the ability to enter a trance and use their echo as an extended avatar. The fighter becomes deaf and blind in their actual location, but can see and hear through their echo for up to 10 minutes. This has some fantastic potential for RP and for scouting purposes, so players should be able to get a ton of use out of the new powers.
When can my fighter become an Echo Knight?
Like most classes, the Fighter gets to make a big decision a few levels into the campaign that help set the tone for their playstyle going forward. At level 3, Fighters decide on a Martial Archetype, not to be confused with their Fighting Style which is decided at level 1. The Archetypes unlock special features and abilities and help guide the Fighter towards their ideal role in combat in mid and higher levels. The Echo Knight is a new option and offers the martial class the ability to channel the powers of Dunamancy in combat, rather than by casting spells.
At 3rd level, a fighter gains the Martial Archetype class feature described in the Player’s Handbook. The Echo Knight is a new option for that feature.
Can my Echo be used for flanking?
No. Your echo is not actually a creature occupying a space on the map. Instead of thinking of your echo as another version of yourself on the map, think of it as the potential for another place you could be. The fighter is harnessing the potential energy of other timelines and interacting with it, they are not actually existing in two places at the same time.
That said, it's always perfectly reasonable for a DM to make some house rules changes and allow this sort of behavior.
Is this subclasses available on DnD Beyond?
Yes, but your dungeon master will have to allow Critical Role content for the campaign. Also, you'll either need to own the Explorer's Guide to Wildemount or your DM will have to digitally own the book and have content sharing turned on for the campaign.
What is Dunamancy?
One of the primary hooks of the Wildemount setting is the new type of magic - Dunamancy. This magic has to do with looking forward at potential outcomes and branches of decision-making. Most of the powers related to messing with time or gravity. It's a very interesting new toolset to play around with and most of the new spells introduced in this book connect to Dunamancy in one way or another.
Can I use these subclasses outside of a Wildemount campaign?
The magic of Dungeons and Dragons is you can basically do anything that your dungeon master agrees makes sense in their current campaign. Assuming the DM approves these subclasses, there's no reason that you can't work together to come up with a compelling story about why the powers exist in The Forgotten Realms, Theros, or any other D&D setting.
Be sure to check back in the near future for more Dungeons and Dragons news, updates, and strategy guides. Until then, roll well, adventurers!
Dungeons and Dragons: Explorer's Guide to Wildemount is available now as a hardcopy or digitally on DnD Beyond.