At the mouth of the River Mirar in the northwest of the Sword Coast lies the port city of Luskan, also known as the City of Sails. Officially governed by the five High Captains, Luskan is actually secretly run by Jarlaxle Baenre and the Bregan D'aerthe.

And they need your help.

While celebrating the Summer Solstice with a smaller scale version of Waterdeep's Dragondown festival, Luskan has managed to draw the attention - and the wrath - of a Bronze Dragon and their kin...

Dragondown 6 introduces BBEG, the Drow Necromancer villain from Deerstalker Picture's 1 for All, and brings back Merilwen, the Wood Elf Ranger from Oxventurers Guild and Selise Astorio, Human Paladin of the Rivals of Waterdeep. Players have until Monday, June 19th at 12PM Pacific to complete their Dragondown 6 unlocks and objectives.

New Champion: BBEG

BBEG is the Big Bad Evil Guy, a Drow necromancer who believes immaculate planning will always lead to success. Unfortunately, his constant failures contradict this conviction. BBEG likes to monologue and taunt his opponents, leaving his summoned zombies to engage directly in combat.

BBEG is a support and speed Champion that chews the scenery so much he breaks through the 4th wall. As the Big Bad Evil Guy of the Awful Ones campaign, this necromancer stands back and lets his less intelligent zombie minions do the hard work. His strength lies in being able to railroad the Champions through to more exciting parts of the adventure. Once unlocked, you can find this Drow necromancer in Slot 3 opposite Nayeli.

For more information on BBEG and his abilities, check out his Champion Spotlight!

Year Six Variants

Roll For INT-ish-a-tive!: Attempt to calm down a very angry bronze dragon with a very angry BBEG. BBEG starts in the formation (Slot 5) and can be moved, but not removed. You may only use BBEG and/or Champions with an Intelligence of 12 or lower.

Reach Area 75.

Herding Cats: Attempt to calm down a very angry bronze dragon and a bunch of cats. BBEG starts in the formation (Slot 5) and can be moved, but not removed. Every second, a cat spawns and moves toward a random champion. When the cat reaches the champion, they are stunned for 3 seconds because of overwhelming cuteness. The cats can't be attacked. Stunned Champions cannot attack, but their formation abilities remain enabled.

Reach Area 125.

It Was Me All Along!: Attempt to calm down a very angry bronze dragon with BBEG's favorite meat shields! BBEG starts in the formation (Slot 5) and can be moved, but not removed. You may only use Lawful Champions, Evil Champions, or Champions with a total ability score of 78 or less.

Reach Area 175.

Much more detail and information can be found in the game! Enjoy!

At the mouth of the River Mirar in the northwest of the Sword Coast lies the port city of Luskan, also known as the City of Sails. Officially governed by the five High Captains, Luskan is actually secretly run by Jarlaxle Baenre and the Bregan D'aerthe.

And they need your help.

While celebrating the Summer Solstice with a smaller scale version of Waterdeep's Dragondown festival, Luskan has managed to draw the attention - and the wrath - of a Bronze Dragon and their kin...

Dragondown 5 introduces Merilwen, the Wood Elf Ranger from Oxventurers Guild, and brings back Selise Astorio, Human Paladin of the Rivals of Waterdeep, and Nova, the knowledge-hungry Genasi Warlock from High Rollers: Aerois. Players have until Monday, June 20th at 12PM Pacific to complete their Dragondown 5 unlocks and objectives.

I. Merilwen

Merilwen is at home in nature, happy to speak with animals or plants at the first opportunity. She's always ready to pull out her trusty bow, or turn into a cat, to get out of many tough situations. With a fierce loyalty to her friends, and to nature itself, she'll call upon the moon to deal with anyone who gets on her bad side. And if you're really unlucky, you might stumble into Merilwen's Meatgrinder. Spoilers: it's a very bad time.

Merilwen is a Support and Gold Find Champion who increases the damage of all Neutral Champions, and when she transforms into a cat, she increases the attack rate of adjacent Champions. Her gold find and ultimate are both improved when she is combined with other members of the Oxventurers affiliation. She can be added to the formation by swapping her out with Celeste (Slot 2).

For more information on Merilwen and her abilities, check out her Champion Spotlight!

Year Five Variants

• A Neutral Position - Merilwen starts in the formation and can be moved, but not removed. Only Neutral Champions (on the Good/Evil axis) can deal damage.
  Getting to Know Merilwen: Merilwen increases the damage of Neutral champions. Use a Neutral DPS Champion to make the most of this!
  • Reach Area 75.

• Cat Nap - Merilwen starts in the formation and can be moved, but not removed. Champions' normal attack cooldowns are increased by 3 seconds. Merilwen's Wild Shape ability starts out unlocked and has a +300% bonus to attack speed cooldowns.
  Getting to Know Merilwen: Merilwen's cat form makes nearby Champions attack faster. Use this to your advantage!
  • Reach Area 125.

• Loyal Friends - Merilwen starts in the formation and can be moved, but not removed. Her Ultimate starts unlocked and its cooldown takes half as long. Only Champions with an Affiliation can be used, and Oxventurers Guild Champions do 400% more damage.
  Getting to Know Merilwen: Merilwen's ultimate grows stronger with other Oxventurers Guild Champions. Try it out if you have already unlocked some of them
  • Reach Area 175.

At the mouth of the River Mirar in the northwest of the Sword Coast lies the port city of Luskan, also known as the City of Sails. Officially governed by the five High Captains, Luskan is actually secretly run by Jarlaxle Baenre and the Bregan D'aerthe.

And they need your help.

While celebrating the Summer Solstice with a smaller scale version of Waterdeep's Dragondown festival, Luskan has managed to draw the attention - and the wrath - of a Bronze Dragon and their kin...

Dragondown 4 introduces Selise Astorio, Human Paladin of the Rivals of Waterdeep, and brings back Nova, the knowledge-hungry Genasi Warlock from High Rollers: Aerois, and Korth, the ruthless Lizardfolk Fighter. Players have until Monday, June 21st at 12PM Pacific to complete their 4 unlocks and objectives.

For more information about Year 4 Events and how they work, please check out our Year 4 Events Dev Blog.

I. New Champion: Selise

With steadfast confidence and a knowing smirk, Selise is ready to jump into battle whenever necessary, though afterward, she may pine for a hot bath. She keeps her wife’s ring on a chain around her neck and her well-worn Psychomancy shield on her arm. Despite losing her connection to her God after dispatching the one she swore vengeance upon, Selise continues to try to help those in need, even if sometimes she takes the morally gray path.

Selise knows a thing or two about using her shield, and can change her stance with that shield to buff the party in a variety of ways. When you want to add her to your formation, you can swap her with Arkhan (Slot 12)

II. Selise’s Stats

Race: Human	Alignment: Lawful Neutral
Class: Paladin	Gender: Female
Age: 42	Affiliation: Rivals of Waterdeep

STR: 19	DEX: 11	CON: 11
INT: 15	WIS: 13	CHA: 15

Role: Tanking and Support
Eligible for Patrons: Strahd von Zarovich, Zariel
Slot: 12 (Arkhan)

Selise's Design

Using her Divine Sense to detect enemies around her, Selise can leverage that knowledge to better prepare for battle. She prefers to be in the front lines of a formation, increasing the damage of those behind her and offering extra buffs depending on her current shield stance. When the time is right to strike, her Thunderous Smite will decimate an entire group of foes!

For more information on Selise and her abilities, check out her Champion Spotlight!

Year Four Variants

• Stalwart Supporters — Selise starts in the formation. She can be moved or removed. Only Champions with STR of 13 or higher can be used.
  Getting to know Selise: Each time you trigger her ultimate attack, she switches shield stances. Each shield stance (Aggressive, Wall, Deflect, and Last Resort) changes the way her normal attack works, and also how Divine Sense buffs Champions in the two columns behind her.
• Reach Area 75.

• Tears of Tyr — - Selise starts in the formation. She can be moved or removed. While in outdoor areas, rain falls, increasing the speed and attack damage of enemies by 100%. Champions' base attack cooldowns are increased by 1 second. Only Champions with a WIS of 13 or higher can be used.
  Getting to know Selise: Keep Selise in her Aggressive shield stance to keep Champions attacking as quickly as possible!
• Reach Area 125.

• The Endless Claws — Selise starts in the formation. She can be moved or removed. Crawling Claws appear in each area (3 after the first wave). They deal 200% additional damage. When a Crawling Claw is destroyed by anyone other than Selise Astorio, it immediately respawns and continues its attack! Crawling Claws do not count towards quest progress, nor do they drop any gold.
  Getting to know Selise: Her Last Resort shield stance is optimal for this variant, as it has a small AOE. Using her ultimate to switch between Last Resort and Aggressive shield stances will trigger Thunderous Smite, allowing her to attack even more enemies and clear the field of Crawling Claws!.
• Reach Area 175.

For information on previous years' variants, check out the Dragondown 3 blog.

This relentless paladin will protect those she cares for, and her shield is just as deadly as it is defensive!

Selise Astorio is a human paladin who started on her path of vengeance after the death of her wife. During her travels she joined the Rivals of Waterdeep despite her initial misgivings, and now does what she can to protect them with all of her considerable power. She joins the Champions, as well as her fellow Rival Shaka, next week during Dragondown!

I. Selise

With steadfast confidence and a knowing smirk, Selise is ready to jump into battle whenever necessary, though afterwards she may pine for a hot bath. She keeps her wife’s ring on a chain around her neck, and her well worn Psychomancy shield on her arm. Despite losing her connection to her God after dispatching the one she swore vengeance upon, Selise continues to try to help those in need, even if sometimes she takes the morally gray path.

Selise knows a thing or two about using her shield, and can change her stance with that shield to buff the party in a variety of ways. When you want to add her to your formation, you can swap her with Arkhan (Slot 12)

II. Selise’s Stats

Race: Human	Alignment: Lawful Neutral
Class: Paladin	Gender: Female
Age: 42	Affiliation: Rivals of Waterdeep

STR: 19	DEX: 11	CON: 11
INT: 15	WIS: 13	CHA: 15

Role: Tanking and Support
Eligible for Patrons: Strahd von Zarovich, Zariel
Slot: 12 (Arkhan)

III. Selise's Design

As the founder and Director of I Need Diverse Games, part of the development team behind Into The Mother Lands, and a prolific writer and consultant on a variety of projects, we were very excited to work with Tanya DePass to bring her Rivals of Waterdeep character to life in Idle Champions! Selise Astorio has gone on an amazing, complex journey over the last 10 seasons of the show, and it was important to reflect that in the multiple ways she has to protect her fellow Champions.

Using her Divine Sense to detect enemies around her, Selise can leverage that knowledge to better prepare for battle. She prefers to be in the front lines of a formation, increasing the damage of those behind her and offering extra buffs depending on her current shield stance. When the time is right to strike, her Thunderous Smite will decimate an entire group of foes!

IV. Selise's Abilities

Basic Attack

• Sword and Board — Selise leaps out and attacks the nearest enemy. This attack has a bonus effect based on her current stance:
  • Aggressive: Bash the enemy before attacking them, stunning them for 2 seconds. This can cause hits- and armor-based enemies to take two hits.
  • Wall: Take 25% less damage from all attacks for the next 5 seconds.
  • Deflect: Damage all enemies in a small AOE if Reflective Shield is chosen and gain one charge of deflection for each enemy hit.
  • Last Resort: Damage and knock back all enemies in a small AOE.

Formation Abilities

• Divine Sense — Selise increases the damage of Champions in the two columns behind her by 100%. This ability has a bonus effect based on Selise's current shield stance, which can be changed by using her Ultimate Attack:
  • Aggressive: Champions affected by Divine Sense have their base attack cooldowns reduced by 0.5s.
  • Wall: Champions in the same column as Selise take 25% less damage from melee attacks; this stacks multiplicatively with Selise's normal attack Wall-stance buff on herself.
  • Deflect: Champions affected by Divine Sense take 25% less damage from ranged and magical attacks.
  • Last Resort: Selise's overwhelm point is increased by 15.
    

• Shield of Psychomancy — While in Aggressive stance, every 4th attack instead of her normal attack, Selise will toss her shield in an arc targeted at the farthest enemy. It deals damage and stuns all enemies hit for 2 seconds, and the effect of Divine Sense is increased by 50% for each enemy hit until Selise attacks with Shield of Psychomancy again or changes stances.

• Vow of Vengeance — While not in Aggressive stance, Selise increases the effect of Divine Sense by 100% for each enemy attacking her, stacking additively.

• Thunderous Smite — When switching from Last Resort to Aggressive stance, Selise channels the divine power of Tyr and attacks a random enemy with her sword, dealing BUD-based AoE damage and BUD-based chaining lightning damage from the enemy struck to five nearby enemies. This effect can only trigger every 180 seconds.

Specializations

• Relentless Avenger — While in Wall stance, Selise cannot be stunned. Any enemy that attempts to stun Selise is instead stunned themselves for 4 seconds, if they can be stunned.

• Reflective Shield — While in Deflect stance, Selise can deflect ranged and magical projectiles back at the enemies that shot/cast them, completely negating their damage and dealing 6 seconds of BUD-based damage. She can deflect one attack for each charge of deflection she has, and gains deflection stacks by attacking while in Deflect stance.

• Mithral Skin — While in Last Resort stance, Selise takes less damage the more damaged she is. At 80%+ health she takes normal damage, but below 80% she receives a damage reduction bonus equal to 80% - her current health percentage.

• Tyr's Eyes — Increase the range of Divine Sense to affect the three columns behind Selise rather than just two.

Ultimate Ability

• Shield Stance — As a stalwart tank, Selise knows a thing or two about using a shield. She can subtly change her shield stance to buff the party in different ways depending on what the situation calls for. Using this ability rotates her stance through the following options in order, then looping when reaching the end: Aggressive -> Wall -> Deflect -> Last Resort

Champion Rebalance

Selise Astorio received the following changes as part of an update on October 8th 2021:

• Increase to the duration of her Wall Stance damage reduction buff to 10 seconds
• Increase the base effect value of Vow of Vengeance from 100% to 200%
• Update to happen in version 406+ : Last Resort stance also increases the effect of Vow of Vengeance by 200%

V. Selise’s Equipment

Slot 1: Global DPS	Slot 2: Global DPS	Slot 3: Increase Max Health
Slot 4: Divine Sense	Slot 5: Shield of Psychomancy	Slot 6: Ultimate Cooldown

VI. Conclusion

We’re excited to continue to bring the Rivals into our Champion roster, and can’t wait to see Selise offering her tanking and support abilities in your formations! If you want to find out more about all the Rivals of Waterdeep you can check out their shows as livestreams or podcasts!

What do you think about Selise? If you have feedback, let us know in a Community Q&A or Champion feedback post on the Idle Champions Subreddit, on the Steam forums, or on the Official Idle Champions Discord!