A young elven wizard is on a pilgrimage to the Grandfather Tree, and she has hired the Champions to escort her.

The wizard has foreseen an acorn falling from the tree - an extraordinary and truly rare occurrence - and she hopes to collect the holy relic to take to Silverymoon.

Yet as the party ventures forth, the very forest itself resists them, while elves from the Feywild and the Underdark seek to claim the acorn for themselves...

The Running 3 introduces Krydle, the charismatic half-elf rogue of the Heroes of Baldur's Gate, and brings back Spurt and Catti-brie. Players have until Monday, May 4th at 12PM Pacific to complete their event unlocks and objectives.

Year 3 Champion: Krydle

A Charismatic Leader, a dashing thief and poet, Krydle is the quintessential rogue with a heart of gold. A resident of Baldur's Gate, Krydle rejects the upper city political machinations of his estranged father Coran, but nevertheless has familiarity of the city's nobles and their schemes, as well those of the city's criminal network. Certainly a handy chap to know...

Krydle is a DPS and Support Champion. His legendary charm buffs other Champions based on their charisma, and his Thieves Cant ability amplifies this buff for each rogue in the party. When you want to add Krydle to your formation, you can swap him with Celeste (Slot 2).

For more information about Krydle, check out the Idle Champion Spotlight: Krydle dev blog!

Year 2 Champion: Spurt

Spurt the Kobold Inventor is crafty and quick with his hands. He builds improvised weapons in the hope of gaining some new advantage in combat. Spurt never knew he would have such lasting appeal when he met a mighty group of adventurers in a cave, but here we are. Packed to the gills with his "awesome" inventions this clever kobold brings his 11-days of life experiences to the Champions, along with a really cool 'Centi-pult'!

Spurt is a Kobold Inventor and Support Champion. He buffs the formation through his Centipede Net, Wa-spiration, and Pack Tactics abilities. Spurt can also perform a Heroic Sacrifice to boost his buffs! When you want to add Spurt to your formation, you can swap him with Nayeli (Slot 3).

For more information about Spurt, check out the Idle Champion Spotlight: Spurt dev blog!

Year 1 Champion: Catti-brie

"When I first laid eyes on Catti-brie, she had just punched a rather menacing fellow who was threatening to break every bone in my body. She hit the lout with such surprising force that he flopped to the floor like a sackful of mullet. Over the years, I’ve come to call her a friend. Underneath Catti-brie’s rough exterior lies a heart of gold. She cares deeply for her friends and will protect what she holds dear without fail. If she takes a shine to you, be sure to count your lucky pennies, because her enemies rarely fare well for long."
~Volothamp Geddarm

Catti-brie is a DPS and Support Champion. Her Powerful Draw and Critical Hit abilities help her deal damage at long range, while her Mark for Death weakens enemies. When you want to add Catti-brie to your formation, you can swap her with Minsc (Slot 7).

Year Three Variants

• Split Up — Champions cannot be placed adjacent to each other.
  Reach Area 75.


• The Early Bird Gets The Acorn — Only Champions in slots 1-7 can be used.
  Reach Area 125.


• Krydle's Posse — Krydle starts out in slot 4 and can not be moved, removed, or swapped out. Only Champions with a Charisma (CHA) score of 12-16 can be used.
  Reach Area 175.

Year Two Variants

• Delusions of Grandeur — Spurt and his Centipult start in the formation, taking up two slots. The Centipult launches centipedes at random enemies, enraging them and increasing their speed and damage.
  Reach Area 75.


• Elves are Wild — All Elves (Elf, Eladrin, Drow) & Half-Elves in the formation have their attack speed increased. Drow enemies now have armor. Additional Eladrin spawn in each area, and they are immune to damage until after they attack.
  Reach Area 125.


• Alignment Askew — Champions are all affected by different debuffs based on the formation's alignment.
  Reach Area 175.

Year One Variants

• The Wolves in the Woods — Werewolves randomly spawn and attack the party, each with special abilities. Catti-brie's silver arrows deal double damage/hits to these creatures.
  Reach Area 75.


• Critter Companions — Two forest critters take up slots in the formation, increasing the damage of adjacent Champions by 400% moving around every 25 areas.
  Reach Area 125.


• Catti-alone — Catti-brie is the only Champion available for this mission. Her damage increases by 40% per area, stacking multiplicatively, her attack speed is greatly increased, and her Ultimate ability cooldown is reduced to 10 seconds.
  Reach Area 175.

See the in-game FAQ for more information!

It's a once-in-a-human-lifetime event: an acorn from the ancient Grandfather Tree will soon fall into the forest below. These acorns are among the holiest of relics, and a young Harper wizard has recruited the Champions to help them make the journey to recover this prize for Silverymoon.

However, as the party makes their journey towards the Grandfather Tree, the very forest itself seems to fight their advance. Eladrin from the Feywild, the plane of Faerie, attack the party — and Drow from the Underdark soon show up as well...

The Running 2 introduces Spurt, the Kobold Inventor played by Chris Perkins on Critical Role, and brings back Catti-brie, Human Fighter and Companion of the Hall. Players will have until Monday, May 13th, 2019 at 12:00pm PDT, to unlock them!

New Champion: Spurt

Spurt the Kobold Inventor is crafty and quick with his hands. He builds improvised weapons in the hope of gaining some new advantage in combat. Spurt never knew he would have such lasting appeal when he met a mighty group of adventurers in a cave, but here we are. Packed to the gills with his "awesome" inventions this clever kobold brings his 11-days of life experiences to the Champions, along with a really cool 'Centi-pult'!

Spurt is a clever Kobold Inventor and Support Champion. He buffs the party with his Centipede Net, Wa-spiration, Pack Tactics, and Heroic Sacrifice abilities.

When you want to add Spurt to your formation, you can swap him with Nayeli (Slot 3). For more information about our latest Champion, check out the Idle Champion Spotlight: Spurt dev blog!

Returning Champion: Catti-brie

"When I first laid eyes on Catti-brie, she had just punched a rather menacing fellow who was threatening to break every bone in my body. She hit the lout with such surprising force that he flopped to the floor like a sackful of mullet. Over the years, I’ve come to call her a friend. Underneath Catti-brie’s rough exterior lies a heart of gold. She cares deeply for her friends and will protect what she holds dear without fail. If she takes a shine to you, be sure to count your lucky pennies, because her enemies rarely fare well for long."
~Volothamp Geddarm

Catti-brie is a DPS and Support Champion. Her Powerful Draw and Critical Hit abilities help her deal damage at long range, while her Mark for Death weakens enemies.

Balance Update: Catti-brie can now cause double, triple, or higher crits if her crit chance is above 100%. At 100%-199% crit chance she will always crit, with a chance to hit for double crit damage. At 200%-299% crit chance she will always double crit, with a chance to cause 3x crit damage. These higher crits show a (xN) in their hit text, with the N being the crit multiplier that was applied. When you want to add Catti-brie to your formation, you can swap her with Minsc (Slot 7).

Year Two Variants

• Delusions of Grandeur — Spurt and his Centipult start in the formation, taking up two slots. The Centipult launches centipedes at random enemies, enraging them and increasing their speed and damage.


• Elves are Wild — All Elves (Elf, Eladrin, Drow) & Half-Elves in the formation have their attack speed increased. Drow enemies now have armor. Additional Eladrin spawn in each area, and they are immune to damage until after they attack.


• Alignment Askew — Champions are all affected by different debuffs based on the formation's alignment.

Year One Variants

• The Wolves in the Woods — Werewolves randomly spawn and attack the party, each with special abilities. Catti-brie's silver arrows deal double damage/hits to these creatures.


• Critter Companions — Two forest critters take up slots in the formation, increasing the damage of adjacent Champions by 400% moving around every 25 areas.


• Catti-alone — Catti-brie is the only Champion available for this mission. Her damage increases by 40% per area, stacking multiplicatively, her attack speed is greatly increased, and her Ultimate ability cooldown is reduced to 10 seconds.

See the in-game FAQ for more information!

Welcome to our latest Champion Spotlight design blog!

Today, we're going to go into detail on our newest Champion: Wulfgar, Son of Beornegar - A Human Barbarian, and a member of the Companions of the Hall!

Wulfgar will be available in our final Year One Event, Brightswords, launching TOMORROW (September 12th)! I hope this blog will give you all you need to know about our latest Champion.

How you can unlock Wulfgar:

Wulfgar is unlocked by playing Brightswords, a limited-time event launching on September 12th and running until September 24th. Once you unlock Wulfgar, he swaps with Tyril or Barrowin.

Who is Wulfgar:

Wulfgar is the final piece to the Companions of the Hall team that started with Bruenor in the base game, and continued with the introduction of Catti-brie and Regis as event champions, and Drizzt as an evergreen champion. With Wulfgar as the final Event Champion of Year One, the Companions of the Hall - made famous through R.A. Salvatore's bestselling Legend of Drizzt series - is now complete!

Wulfgar started his life in the north as the flag bearer of the barbarian Tribe of the Elk. He was bested in the assault on Ten-Towns by Bruenor Battlehammer, who decided his punishment would be five years and a day of service. Bruenor grew to love the tall barbarian, eventually seeing him as an adopted son. At the end of his service, Drizzt Do'Urden taught Wulfgar the ways of combat and Bruenor crafted for him a mighty warhammer, named Aegis-fang. This magical warhammer bears the symbols of three of the Dwarven Gods: Moradin, Clangeddin, and Dumathoin. It is specifically attuned to Wulfgar and magically returns to his hand upon telepathic command.

Wulfgar's Design:

We approached Wulfgar as the final piece of the Companions of the Hall formation. We wanted to make sure that he was strong on his own, but when placed with the Companions, the team shines.

Martial Training: We began by looking at his backstory and how he would want to work with all of the companions. Immediately, we landed on his Martial Training ability - the idea that since Drizzt taught him how to fight, he and Drizzt have been able play off each other and capitalize on their combat strategies. Whenever one of them kills an enemy, both of them increase their damage for 10 seconds. As a note, this is a one-time boost that lasts for 10 seconds. If the bonus is already in place and either of them get another kill, it just resets the countdown to 10 seconds.

Barbarian Smash: Wulfgar's base attack is second to none. He jumps out and smashes the nearest GROUP of enemies with a chance to stun them all for 5 seconds. Stuck at your wall and your tank can't take all the attacks? Bring Wulfgar in to help you clear them out. As we continue to talk about his abilities, you'll notice a lot of them deal with stunned enemies. Wulfgar is your expert at stunning, but his abilities will also work against enemies stunned by other Champions. He's like bringing the Xanathar to a Binwin fight. Oh? Too soon? Sorry. . .

Companion Abilities: Everyone knows that the adventuring party is always strongest when they are together, right? Well, we wanted to hammer that idea home with Wulfgar, who has an ability tied to each Companion. If they are in the formation, the ability is active. If they aren't, it isn't.

• Bruenor: Increases the effect of Bruenor's Rally ability for each stunned enemy.
• Regis: Stunned enemies drop more gold if Regis is in the formation.
• Catti-brie: Increases the chance of Catti-brie's critical hit ability against stunned enemies.
• Drizzt: Because Martial Training wasn't enough Drizzt/Wulfgar buddy cop fun, we also added an ability that increases Drizzt's damage against stunned enemies.

Smash 'n Grab: Wulfgar wields a GIANT magical warhammer that Bruenor created and called Aegis-fang. Not only does it magically reappear in his hand after he throws it, Wulfgar really loves smashing things with it. With his Smash 'n Grab ability, Wulfgar deals more damage against armored enemies. If he does enough damage with his attack to remove a chunk of the hit-based armor, he also increases the damage of all Champions for 10 seconds. This will hopefully help a few more Champions get in on the armor-breaking fun!

Flag Bearer: Wulfgar's damage is increased against stunned enemies. When he stuns an already stunned enemy, all Companion abilities are buffed for the duration of the stun. Acererak should really have thought twice before coming to this plane.

Wulfgar's Specializations:

As noted above, Wulfgar really wants to smash things. If he can't kill them outright he wants to stun them so the rest of the Companions have something to do. His specializations allow you to choose how he maximizes his abilities depending on the formation you have. His three specialization choices are based on the deity symbols that adorn his mighty warhammer:

• Clangeddin's Will: Choosing Clangeddin, the dwarven god of war, will increase Wulfgar's damage by 400%
• Dumathoin's Will: Choosing Dumathoin, the dwarven god of buried secrets, will increase the chance of Wulfgar's attack stunning ALL enemies in the attack area by 10%
• Moradin's Will: Choosing Moradin, the dwarven god of creation, will increase the duration of Wulfgar's stuns from his Barbarian Smash basic attack by 2 seconds.

Each of these specializations will help you augment how Wulfgar (and the rest of the Companions function in your formation. Try them all out to see which one works best on any given adventure. Don't forget, you can also change your choice mid-game by using a Potion of Specialization.

Wulfgar's Ultimate Attack:

Aegis-fang is unleashed with Wulfgar's ultimate attack. He throws Aegis-fang at the most distant enemy, dealing damage to and stunning all enemies in that line for 10 seconds.

Wulfgar's Equipment

Slot 1: Warhammer

• Wulfgar's warhammer increases his damage.

Slot 2: Hair Clip

• Wulfgar's dwarven hair clip shows the weight of his dwarven upbringing, increasing his damage.

Slot 3: Dagger

• Wulfgar's Dagger increases the effect of Martial Training ability.

Slot 4: Tribe of the Elk Banner

• Wulfgar's Tribe of the Elk banner increases the effect of his Smash 'n Grab ability.

Slot 5: Dragon Scales

• The trinkets Wulfgar collected from his battle against Icingdeath increase the damage of his Ultimate Attack.

Slot 6: Wolf Cloak

• Wulfgar's Wolf Cloak reduces the cooldown on his Ultimate Attack.

TL;DR- Final Wulfgar Thoughts

Wulfgar is the final piece to the Companions of the Hall puzzle. He focuses on stunning enemies he can't outright kill, and buffs the rest of the Companions of the Hall if he (or anyone else) stuns enemies. We're looking forward to seeing what new formations pop up now that he has been introduced! We'll be watching the discussion online and on discord to see how well he's received, so let us know what you think on Facebook, Twitter, or on the official Discord!

A young Harper wizard has recruited the party to help her journey to the Grandfather Tree, a holy site for elves and other creatures. She has foreseen an acorn falling from the tree and wishes to take the holy relic to Silverymoon. However, the Grandfather Tree's acorn will not be easily won. The very forest itself opposes your quest, and no sooner have you entered the High Forest than the party is set upon by all manner of fey and forest creature...

The Running is our eleventh limited-time event, running until Tuesday, May 15th at 12:00pm PDT, and introducing Catti-brie, the Human Fighter!

New Champion: Catti-brie

"When I first laid eyes on Catti-brie, she had just punched a rather menacing fellow who was threatening to break every bone in my body. She hit the lout with such surprising force that he flopped to the floor like a sackful of mullet. Over the years, I’ve come to call her a friend. Underneath Catti-brie’s rough exterior lies a heart of gold. She cares deeply for her friends and will protect what she holds dear without fail. If she takes a shine to you, be sure to count your lucky pennies, because her enemies rarely fare well for long." ~Volothamp Geddarm

When you want to add Catti-brie to your party, you can swap her with Minsc.

The Running Variants

• The Wolves in the Woods — Werewolves randomly spawn and attack the party, each with special abilities. Catti-brie's silver arrows deal double damage/hits to these creatures.


• Critter Companions — Two forest critters take up slots in the formation, increasing the damage of adjacent Champions by 400% moving around every 25 areas.


• Catti-alone — Catti-brie is the only Champion available for this mission. Her damage increases by 40% per area, stacking multiplicatively, her attack speed is greatly increased, and her Ultimate ability cooldown is reduced to 10 seconds.

Features:

• Added the The Running event, our eleventh limited-time campaign event! The event will run until Tuesday, May 15th at 12:00pm PDT.
• Added a new Champion: Catti-brie.
• Added a new event Divine Favor: Rillifane Rallathil's Favor.

See the in-game Change Log for more information!