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 4 introduces Shaka, Tiefling Celestial Warlock of Rivals of Waterdeep, and brings back Krydle, the charismatic half-elf rogue of the Heroes of Baldur's Gate, Spurt, the beloved shortlived Kobold. Players have until Monday, May 10th at 12PM Pacific to complete their The Running 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: Shaka

As a member of Rivals of Waterdeep, Shaka is always looking for the latest adventure and the latest puzzle. His party has encountered mysteries and foes throughout Waterdeep, Candlekeep, Icewind Dale, and Avernus. Their base of operations is located in the Trollskull Manor in Waterdeep where a brain in a jar named Brian stands watch.

Shaka is here to help, using his keen intellect to solve the Celestial Puzzle and bolstering his allies with Celestial Resistance. When you want to add him to your formation, you can swap him with Makos (Slot 9).

II. Shaka’s Stats

Race: Tiefling	Alignment: Neutral Good
Class: Warlock (Celestial)	Gender: Male
Age: 29	Affiliation: Rivals of Waterdeep

STR: 10	DEX: 16	CON: 15
INT: 16	WIS: 13	CHA: 16

Role: Support & Healing
Eligible for Patrons: Mirt the Moneylender, Vajra Safahr, Strahd von Zarovich, Zariel
Slot: 9 (Makos)

Shaka's Abilities

Shaka is a Support and Healing Champion. He can boost damage with A Celestial Puzzle, provide shielding with Celestial Resistance, and further amplify his abilities through specialization choices.

If more direct action is needed, Shaka can summon a Wall of Light as his Ultimate Ability and choose to Blind or Disintegrate enemies. The Blinding Wall of Light will push enemies away from the formation and cause their attacks to miss, while the Disintegrating Wall of Light will kill or damage those attempting to do his friends harm!

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

Year Four Variants

• The Web Was On The Wall — Giant Spiders appear in each area. Whenever a Champion destroys a Giant Spider, they become webbed (stunned) for 3 seconds. Gold Find is reduced by 99%.
• Reach Area 75.

• Shaka's Puzzle — Shaka starts in the formation, he can be moved. Only Shaka and the Champions who match the tag for their slot from Shaka's A Celestial Puzzle ability can deal damage; Shaka's A Celestial Puzzle starts out unlocked.
  Getting to know Shaka: Shaka's main ability is A Celestial Puzzle. It will tag 4 random slots with a specific tag. When you solve the puzzle and place a Champion that matches the tag, A Celestial Puzzle buffs the damage of the entire party by 100%. Match all the tags to give your party the biggest boost.
• Reach Area 125.

• Lolth's Blessing — A Drow Wizard spawns in each area, with the Blessing of Lolth: 8 armored hit points that must be cleared before they can be killed. While the Drow Wizard is alive, all Drow enemies deal 300% additional damage and move 100% faster.
• Reach Area 175.

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

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, everyone! I'm here to chat with our newest "Champion": Spurt the Kobold Inventor. Some of you may remember him from his 20-minute epic guest spot on Critical Role, played by none other than Chris Perkins himself!


I'm Spurt. Can we be friends?

I'm an adventurer!

Spurt, we're getting off track.

AHHHHH! You're really loud.

How's this?

Much better. Have you seen my skunk, Pepe? He smells real nice.

Spurt. . .

That’s me!

You're here to tell us what makes you cool and why the Idle Champion fans will love you!

I eat my own poo.

Sigh. What makes you a great adventurer?

I like to explore and make weapons out of stuff.

A Champion for those less fortunate.

Less fortunate than me?

What's that on your stick?

This is Stingy. He's a scorpion that stings.

A scorpion on a staff, that's a pretty formidable attack!

He once stung a Goblin in the eye.

OK, and what other cool inventions do you come with?

I have a centi-pult. It throws centipedes.

Oh? And what else?

I can put rot grubs in your mouth when you're sleeping!

No thanks, Spurt.

I have a wasp's nest in a bag.

That makes sense. We normally get into a bit more detail though. How is your kit built? What is your focus: DPS, Support, Gold Find, or Tanking?

I think I’m a tank.

Did I read this correctly? You worked with the Mighty Nein?

The Mighty What?

You're only 11 days old?

Hey, did they say I died?!?

Nevermind that. Which Champion are you excited to work with?

The big one that pukes is pretty cool.

His name is Donaar.

Donut?

When are you joining the Idle Champions?

Huh?

OK. How about an easy one. What are your stats?

OH! I have the biggest stat block. Bigger than a dragon’s!

Race: First	Class: INVENTOR!	Alignment: Askew
Weak: 7	Fast: 15	Don't Eat That: 12
Dum: 8	Smarts: 7	Level of Drool: 8

Um, are you sure about those? Those don't look like actual stats.

I'm 11 days old. What do you expect?

Fair enough. What should I list as your top tier ability?

I die well.



I think that's enough foolishness for today. You heard it here first: Spurt, the Kobold Inventor will be joining the Champions in an upcoming event! At least he thinks he will.


I win!