Exandria

Screenshot of Exandria, by Cyarna Trim from "Exandria: An Intimate History" (Sx61) at 5:09.

## General Information

### **Satellites**

Catha
Ruidus

### **Primary inhabitants**

Humanoids

**Exandria** is the name of the world on which most events of *Critical Role* take place. Exandria exists in a Material Plane, although it features connections to other planes of existence, such as the portals to the elemental planes guarded by the Ashari.

## **History**

*Main article: History of Exandria*
Since the gods first came to Exandria, there have been three distinct ages: the Founding, the Age of Arcanum, and the Post-Divergence. The events of *Critical Role* take place in the third age. For a timeline of Exandrian history as it is now known, with dates, see the article Timeline.

## **Calendar**

*Main article: Calendar of Exandria*
An Exandrian year lasts 328 days over the course of 11 months. Each day is 24 hours in length and the 7 days of the week are named Miresen, Grissen, Whelsen, Conthsen, Folsen, Yulisen, and Da'leysen.

## **Geographic characteristics**

### **Continents**

**Tal'Dorei**
Previously known as **Gwessar**, Tal'Dorei is a northern continent which contains the Republic of Tal'Dorei, as well as the elven realm of Syngorn, the dwarven stronghold of Kraghammer, the city-state of Whitestone and far to the south, the hobgoblin empire of the Iron Authority.
**Issylra**
A continent northwest of Tal'Dorei that contains the region of Othanzia, which includes Vasselheim and Pyrah.
**Marquet**
A continent to the south of Issylra and southwest of Tal'Dorei. Before the Calamity, it was lushly forested. Centuries after the Divergence, it is covered mostly with desert landscapes and mountainous terrain, sheltering rare bastions of civilization. One-third of Marquet is covered with deserts.
**Wildemount**
Located to the east of Tal'Dorei, this continent contains the trade-oriented Clovis Concord to the west along the Menagerie Coast, the austere Dwendalian Empire within Western Wynandir, and the secretive Kryn Dynasty in Eastern Wynandir.
Wildemount's Draconia is far enough east of Tal'Dorei's Whitestone that, in Horisal (winter in the northern hemisphere), when teleporting from Whitestone two hours into daylight, one arrives around sunset in Draconia. The two places are, relative to each other, "on the entire opposite side of the planet."
Domunas / **The Shattered Teeth**
During the Age of Arcanum, the continent of Domunas held the town of Toramunda which later split into the flying city of Avalir and its terrestrial sister city Cathmoíra. The landmass was destroyed on the eve of the Calamity, leaving behind the Shattered Teeth. Centuries after the Calamity, the Shattered Teeth is an archipelago of 43 islands southeast of Tal'Dorei, beyond a fog bank called the "Fool's Curtain".
During the apogee solstice of 843 PD, when the red moon Ruidus was fixed in the sky above central Marquet, the moon could not have been seen from central Wildemount. However, it could be viewed from the Demithore Valley in central Issylra, and could barely be seen from Zephrah in eastern Tal'Dorei.

### **Oceans**

* **Frigid Depths:** The cold ocean to the north of Issylra, Tal'Dorei, and Wildemount.
* **Lucidian Ocean:** A vast ocean to the south-east of Tal'Dorei and south of Wildemount, containing the Shattered Teeth.
* **Ozmit Sea:** The sea separating Tal'Dorei from Issylra and Marquet to its west.

Matt Mercer confirmed that there are unexplored territories and civilizations in Exandria under the sea.

### **Underdark**

The Underdark is a vast subterranean region that exists below the continents of Exandria. A dark and hostile place, the Underdark is almost a world unto itself, with civilizations, monsters, politics, economies, and threats that may interact only sporadically or indirectly with the surface world. Notably, the Underdark has significant connections to the Far Realm, from which many aberrations emerge.

### **Equator and tropics**

Three days into a four-day journey from Emon southwest to Vesrah, the characters were said to still be heading toward the equator. Marisha Ray or Laudna made an offhand comment that the city of Jrusar is "right on the equator", which if taken literally would mean most of Marquet is just to the south of the equator.

The following places are described as tropical:

**Southern Wildemount and the Lucidian Ocean**

* Whitedawn Lagoon, south by southwest of Xhorhas
* The Menagerie Coast
	+ The Vezdaweald
	+ The Plumgroves
	+ Feolinn
	+ Quoraska Jungle
	+ Nicodranas
* The Swavain Islands
	+ Bisaft Isle
	+ Vide Cay
	+ Rumblecusp
	+ Urukayxl

**Marquet, the Hespet Archipelago, and the Islands of Anamn**

* An unidentified place near the west coast of Marquet
* The Bay of Gifts
* Glintshore
* Vesrah

## **Satellites**

Exandria has two moons, named Catha and Ruidus. Though often depicted close to each other, Catha and Ruidus have different orbits and can appear in different points in the sky.

### **Catha**

*Main article: Catha*
Catha is similar in appearance to Earth's Moon, though it is closer to Exandria and appears larger in the sky. It has a 30 to 40 day cycle during which it waxes and wanes.

### **Ruidus**

*Main article: Ruidus*
Ruidus appears smaller in Exandria's sky due to its further distance from the planet, and its reddish-purple, maroon-brown color contributes to a dimmer glow. Lycanthropy is relatively unaffected by this moon in comparison to the closer moon. It has a very slow orbit, taking around six months (up to 182 days) for a revolution, and is visible for about half of the year. Myths and rumors about Ruidus abound. Some believe it to be either pre-creation from when the elements themselves were consuming all of Exandria. Others believe it may have not originally existed, but was a creation of the Betrayer Gods, and was some sort of long-running mysterious plot that was cut short during the end of the Calamity. There is a standard belief in various cultures across Exandria of it being an entity of ill-omen.

## **Sun, stars, and constellations**

Exandria rotates around a star at the proper distance to allow life on the planet's surface; this star is the Exandrian Sun, often associated with the Dawnfather and, to a lesser extent, with the Everlight.

Moreover, in the night sky there are numerous visible stars, much more distant, which due to their arrangement in the firmament form constellations with associated stories in different cultures of the world. The known Exandrian constellations are:

* **The Imprisoned**: Constellation visible in the sky of Tal'Dorei, and associated with mysterious spirits cursed by the Moonweaver, according to legend. Both star spirits and the constellation itself can grant magical powers to mortals.
* **Surrac's Shield**: Constellation visible in the sky of Tal'Dorei, a four-starred diamond with a fifth star in its center. It was used by the leaders of the Qoniira Tetrarchy to calculate where to establish their cities, arranging the main settlement and the four satellite cities that surrounded it in the same way as the five stars of the constellation.

## **Languages**

Many different languages are spoken across Exandria. Common is the most widely spoken among humanoids, though most races also have their own language.

## **Map gallery**

### **Official maps**

Official map of Eastern Exandria by Andy Law.

* Tal'Dorei
* Wildemount
* In-game map of Exandria

### **Fan-made maps**

* Exandria (Speculative)
* Eastern Exandria
* Marquet

### **Known and unknown Exandria**

Matthew Mercer has confirmed that the information reflected so far in books and maps shows the "known Exandria", leaving open the possibility that there are continents and/or island formations to be discovered. Furthermore, he has revealed that there are territories and civilizations under the sea or in the Underdark.

## **Presence in 5th Edition**

Outside *Critical Role* and its own sourcebooks the world of Exandria has been mentioned in various books and adventure modules within Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition:

* The first mention was made in *Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus*, as the world where Arkhan the Cruel got the Hand of Vecna, a reference to Joe Manganiello's role at the end of Campaign One.
* In *Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden*, the Flotket Alps of Wildemount are suggested as a possible alternative location to run the adventure, instead of using the world of Toril.
* In *Candlekeep Mysteries*, different worlds and cities are offered to place the large library where the main plot of the book is focused. One of those worlds is Exandria, offering as examples of good locations the Soltryce Academy of Rexxentrum and the Cobalt Reserve in Westruun.
* In *The Wild Beyond the Witchlight*, two NPCs are mentioned as people that arrived to the domain of Prismeer in the Feywild, coming from "the world of Tal'Dorei": Klee Westerly, a nonbinary human; and Hogus Pinsworth, a male stout halfling commoner.

## **Notes**

* Matthew Mercer confirmed that it would take "a number of weeks" to go by ship westward from Issylra to the eastern edge of Wildemount (the Miskath Strand), possibly implying there were no land masses between the two.

## **External links**

* Fan-made interactive globe of Exandria on Map To Globe. Map created by West Haberlein.
* Fan-made interactive map of Tal'Dorei and Wildemount by Red Giant Maps.

## **Trivia**

* Matt confirmed that Exandria was the world he had worked on and developed the most, and that he didn't expect it to grow this much. He has also stated that he would like to make his worldbuilding more collaborative.
* The metal rod attuned to Exandria that Allura Vysoren used to cast *Plane Shift* looked like a spiraling iron rod with a cerulean coloration, although it is unknown if every rod attuned to the Material Plane would look like that, or if the appearance has any connection with the specific world in this plane.

## **References**

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 See *Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting*, p. 41.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Matthew Mercer explained that Exandria is the name of the world and it has two moons (source).
3. ↑ Artagan explains, "This is but one of many Prime Materials."  See "Blessing in Disguise" (2x95) at 17:53.
4. ↑ See "*Critical Role* Panel w/ Matthew Mercer and Mary E. McGlynn from MomoCon" from 32:58 through 34:30.
5. ↑ Matthew Mercer confirmed that Exandria is the world, Issylra is a continent, and Othanzia is a region in Issylra.
6. ↑ See *Explorer's Guide to Wildemount*, p. 159.
7. ↑ See "Excelsior" (E3x01) at 2:41:44.
8. ↑ See "A Warm Welcome to Marquet and Campaign 3!" on CritRole.com.
9. ↑ See "The Frigid Doom" (1x64) at 3:14:22.
10. ↑ See "Excelsior" (E3x01) at 1:36:46.
11. ↑ See "Fire and Ruin" (E3x04) at 6:00:04.
12. ↑ See *Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting*, p. 98.
13. ↑ Matt refers to the Tishtan excavation site in central Marquet and to the geologically active area around the Truscan Vale (the Bromkiln Hills and Mount Mentiri) in central Wildemount, but he may be saying more generally that Ruidus can't be viewed from anywhere in Wildemount while it is over central Marquet.  See "Somewhere Out There" (3x59) at 0:59:31.
14. ↑ See "The Apogee Solstice" (3x51) at 4:28:43.  The players did not learn they were in the Demithore Valley until "Somewhere Out There" (3x59).
15. ↑ See "Aid of the Tempest" (3x66) at 1:18:32.
16. ↑ See "*4-Sided Dive*: Kiss and Tell" (4SDx16) at 1:18:10.
17. ↑ See the Critical Role panel from London's MCM Comic Con at 59:00.
18. ↑ See, for example, Matt's discussion of the illithid after they were freed from K'Varn's influence.  See "Talks Machina Fireside Special: Q&A with the *Critical Role* Cast" (Sx33) at 52:42.
19. ↑ See "Onward to Vesrah" (1x87) at 13:10.
20. ↑ See "Growing Bonds and Teasing Threads" (3x06) at 3:32:07.
21. ↑ Stretching from the coastline is "this dense tropical forest".  See "With Great Power..." (2x94) at 3:23:35.  See also 3:34:38.
22. ↑ It is a "tropical region." See *Explorer's Guide to Wildemount*, p. 6. See also pp. 8 ("sunny, tropical"); 43; 59 ("lush, rain-swept, tropical"); 197 ("Tropical fruits"); and 206.
23. ↑ See *Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn*, p. 146.
24. ↑ A "bright and sunny tropical forest [...] full of vibrant tropical flowers and birds". See *Explorer's Guide to Wildemount*, p. 77.
25. ↑ It is "filled with [...] swaying tropical trees". See *Explorer's Guide to Wildemount*, p. 71.
26. ↑ "Tropical weather". See *Explorer's Guide to Wildemount*, p. 65.
27. ↑ An "incredibly dense tropical jungle". See *Explorer's Guide to Wildemount*, p. 75.
28. ↑ Features the "simple pleasures of the tropics". See *Explorer's Guide to Wildemount*, p. 68.
29. ↑ "[S]easide heat in this tropical region of the continent".  See "Frigid Propositions" (2x109) at 1:18:28.
30. ↑ A more "tropical environment" than even the Menagerie Coast. See *Explorer's Guide to Wildemount*, p. 17.
31. ↑ Bisaft Post is "a tropical escape" even for Clovis Concord citizens. See *Explorer's Guide to Wildemount*, p. 60.
32. ↑ Has a valley with "an enchanted tropical forest." See *Explorer's Guide to Wildemount*, p. 78.
33. ↑ Artagan describes Rumblecusp as "fairly tropical".  See "A Tangled Web" (2x77) at 3:22:56.
34. ↑ Reaches "an uncomfortable tropical temperature."  See "Ghosts, Dinosaurs, and Stuff" (2x102) at 1:01:02.
35. ↑ "It is a beautiful tropical day."  See "The Ruined Sliver" (2x104) at 1:59:09.
36. ↑ Features various "jungle, tropical trees".  See "Dangerous Liaisons" (2x37) at 3:01:48.
37. ↑ "You are very much in tropical weather."  See "Welcome to the Jungle" (2x38) at 12:03.
38. ↑ "You can see what looks to be a cluster of tropical trees [...] some elements of it seem tropical".  See "Devoutness and Dicks" (2x107) at 1:29:17.  See also 1:00:28.
39. ↑ There are tropical trees at Dalen's Closet.  See "One Year Later..." (1x95) at 1:09:09.
40. ↑ Tropical fruits are found around Marquet's northern shores.  See "Dalen's Closet" (Sx47) at 45:28.
41. ↑ "You do catch the occasional sour smell of a tropical flower."  See "Cloak and Dagger" (1x68) at 1:16:19.
42. ↑ The "city seems like the middle of this distant, tropical paradise."  See "Tangled Depths" (1x88) at 1:06:48.
43. ↑ Matthew Mercer stated that Exandria has two moons.  See "The Midnight Chase" (2x03) at 0:51:48.
44. ↑ 44.0 44.1 44.2 Matthew Mercer described Exandria's two moons (source).
45. ↑ See "Manifold Morals" (2x74) at 1:35:24.
46. ↑ See "Refjorged" (2x76) at 1:44:26.
47. ↑ Matthew Mercer clarified that the distant moon doesn't affect lycanthropy compared to the closer moon (source).
48. ↑ See "Chasing Nightmares" (3x11) at 2:56:37.
49. ↑ See "Manifold Morals" (2x74) at 1:37:56.
50. ↑ Matthew Mercer commented on Sarenrae's role on Exandria and her relationship with other gods.
51. ↑ See *Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting*, pp. 84–85.
52. ↑ See *Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn*, p. 115.
53. ↑ See "*4-Sided Dive*: Kiss and Tell" (4SDx16) at 1:16:59.
54. ↑ See *D&D: Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus*, 5th ed., p. 112.
55. ↑ See "Vecna, the Ascended" (1x114) at 5:32:05.
56. ↑ See *D&D: Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden*, 5th ed., p. 8.
57. ↑ See *D&D: Candlekeep Mysteries*, 5th ed., p. 1.
58. ↑ See *D&D: The Wild Beyond the Witchlight*, 5th ed., p. 156. See also page 176
59. ↑ See "A Long Walk of Reflection" (3x62) at 4:47:07.
60. ↑ See Chatting with Matthew Mercer at 6:05.
61. ↑ See "The Eve of the Red Moon" (3x81) at 2:20:35.

**Art:**

1. ↑ Screenshot of Exandria, by Cyarna Trim from "Exandria: An Intimate History" (Sx61) at 5:09. Used with permission.
2. ↑ Official art of Catha and Ruidus, by Clara from Exandria: An Intimate Appendix - Ruidus and the Gods. Used with permission.
3. ↑ Official art of Catha and Ruidus over Xhorhas, from *Critical Role: Call of the Netherdeep*, by Kent Davis (source). Used with permission.
4. ↑ Official map of Tal'Dorei, by Andy Law from *Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn*. This file is a copyrighted work. Its use in this article is asserted to qualify as fair use of the material under United States copyright law.
5. ↑ Official map of Wildemount, by Deven Rue from *Explorer's Guide to Wildemount*. This page contains unofficial Fan Content permitted under the Wizards of the Coast Fan Content Policy. Not approved/endorsed by Wizards. Portions of the materials used are property of Wizards of the Coast. ©Wizards of the Coast LLC.
6. ↑ Official map of Exandria from "The Fate-Touched" (1x103) at 3:18:47. This file is a copyrighted work. Its use in this article is asserted to qualify as fair use of the material under United States copyright law.
7. ↑ Fan made speculative map of Exandria, by West Haberlein (source). Used with permission.
8. ↑ Fan made detailed map of Tal'dorei and Wildemount, by West Haberlein (source). Used with permission.
9. ↑ Fan art of a speculative map of Marquet, by Niko Vanhala (source). Used with permission.