How far would you go to celebrate foolishness?

Festival of Fools is a time-honored tradition in Sword Coast communities. Townsfolk engage in the usual gluttonous consumption of food and drink during the festivities, but they also play pranks on each other.

Unfortunately, one prankster has decided to play a practical joke on a Frost Giant nearby...

Festival of Fools 7 is our first Events 2.0! It introduces The Dark Urge, the Dragonborn Sorcerer from the 2023 Game of the Year - Baldur's Gate 3. This DPS Champion is ready to spread evil across the Forgotten Realms with the rest of the Absolute Adversaries. It also reintroduces Dhadius, the Human Wizard from the Betrayal at Baldur's Gate board game. You can learn more about the rework to Dhadius below. Also, you can choose three of eight previous Champions to unlock over the course of Festival of Fools 7!

Note: Going forward, Adventure Variants information will now be found in the corresponding Champion's Spotlight. This change is being made so that all information about a Champion and their adventures can be found in one place.

Table of Contents

• The Dark Urge
• Dhadius
• Flex Champions
• Events 2.0

The Dark Urge

The Dark Urge remembers nothing but a path paved with blood. Unimaginable cruelty whispers from within. Can he escape it? Would he even want to?

The Dark Urge is a DPS Champion who counts the number of enemies he has slain. Like the other Absolute Adversaries, he has a mind flayer tadpole in his head, and his damage increases as more Champions with tadpoles are added to the formation. Will you choose to embrace his murderous urges, or fight against them? That choice will be made once you unlock them in seat 11 opposite Jamiliah.

Learn more about The Dark Urge in our Champion Spotlight!

Dhadius

Dhadius is a mage of legendary status and acclaim...at least, in his own mind. Being an egomaniac, he seeks out esoteric lore and rare magical secrets so he may know things that the 'common fools' do not. Dhadius hails from Luskan in the north, where he is a member of the Arcane Brotherhood, an infamous group of wizards, and is determined to let it be known far and wide that he is a wizard to be respected and feared.

Dhadius has been reworked to modernize his kit and give him some additional formation niches that he may be able to slot into. We've buffed up his abilities and altered his equipment so that his powerful magic is better utilized and encourages more experimentation. This glass cannon can be unlocked in seat 5 opposite Calliope.

Learn more about the changes coming to Dhadius in our Reintroduction Spotlight!

Flex Champions

Flex Slots allow players to unlock additional Champions and earn chests during events, choosing from a pool of retired Champions associated with the event. This pool of retired Champions includes the Champions from previous years of the event as well as some Champions whose events have been retired. This events Flex Slot pool includes:

Events 2.0

Event Changes

Events 2.0 is a significant update to the events system in Idle Champions. Because players will now be able to unlock more Champions, content, and rewards through Events 2.0, we are increasing the duration of events from 12 days to 21 days. Events will typically begin on the first Wednesday of each month and run for three weeks. Content updates for Idle Champions will occur on the Wednesdays outside events.

Along with the Event duration change we are reducing the number of annual events, shifting from 17 annual events down to 12. Long term, we plan to retire the Midwinter, Greengrass, The Running, Midsummer, and Brightswords events. However, as we transition over to the new Event 2.0 schedule, there will be a Greengrass event in April 2024.

Quality of Life Updates

As part of the Events 2.0 update, we are also making several quality of life updates:

• Bounty Contracts used outside of events will award Event Tokens for the next event.
• Event adventures, variants, and free plays no longer cost Event Tokens to start.
• Event Tokens are now only used to purchase Event Chests directly (free plays no longer need to be grinded to obtain extra chests).
• Event Tokens left over once an event ends will automatically be converted to Champion chests.
• Retired Champions may come out of retirement.
• Event Boons are granted to players who purchase specially marked event-related DLC during an event. There are four tiers of Event Boons that offer buffs to Champion Damage, Gold Find, Champion Health, Click Damage, and Speed. These buffs increase with each tier of Event Boon. Additionally, the first purchase that grants an Event Boon will also unlock the Supporter Slot.

To learn more about what is changing with Events 2.0 check out our Blog Post! Join our amazing community with any of the links below:

• The Idle Champions Subreddit or Steam forums.
• The Official Idle Champions Discord.
• Our YouTube Channels: Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms and CNEGames.
• Our social media: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok!

"Behold the dance of death."

With a haunted past that he cannot remember, The Dark Urge has been left with only cursed dreams and bloody cravings. This may be an opportunity to write their life anew and craft a brighter future. Or they can carve new memories filled with vicious murder and the cruel glee of slaughter.

I. The Dark Urge

The Dark Urge remembers nothing but a path paved with blood. Unimaginable cruelty whispers from within. Can he escape it? Would he even want to?

The Dark Urge is a DPS Champion who counts the number of enemies he has slain. Like the other Absolute Adversaries, he has a mind flayer tadpole in his head, and his damage increases as more Champions with tadpoles are added to the formation. Will you choose to embrace his murderous urges, or fight against them? That choice will be made once you unlock them in seat 11 opposite Jamiliah.

Check out our Champion Spotlight embedded below for a quick overview of The Dark Urge's abilities, and read on to get all of the details!

II. The Dark Urge

Race: Dragonborn	Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Gender: Male	Pronouns: He/Him
Age: Unknown	Affiliation: Absolute Adversaries	Class: Sorcerer

STR: 8	DEX: 13	CON: 15
INT: 12	WIS: 10	CHA: 17

Role: DPS

Eligible for Patrons: Mirt, Vajra, Strahd, and Zariel

Seat: 11 (Jamilah)

III. The Dark Urge's Abilities

Basic Attack

The Dark Urge has two normal attacks: a melee attack in his regular form, and a melee attack while in his Ultimate Slayer form.

• Murderous Slash - The Dark Urge moves up to the closest enemy and attacks all nearby enemies with a slash of his dagger.

• Slay - The Dark Urge (in Slayer form) moves up to the closest enemy and attacks all nearby enemies with vicious swipes of his claws, dealing ultimate damage.

Passive Abilities

• Dark Inheritance - The Dark Urge is eligible to start in all adventures, even if the Patron, Variant, or other restrictions would say otherwise. He also does not interact with any Champion abilities or variant effects that are based on age.

Formation Abilities

• The Urge - Each time the Dark Urge defeats an enemy, he gains a Murder stack. The Dark Urge increases his damage by 0.1% for each Murder stack he has. Stacks persist between adventures.

• Ceremorphosis - Your formation gains one Ceremorphosis stack due to the mind flayer tadpole in the Dark Urge's brain. The Dark Urge increases his damage by 100% for each Ceremorphosis stack, stacking multiplicatively.

• Living on the Edge - The Dark Urge has 6 Outcast stacks, minus 1 stack for each adjacent champion that does not have the DPS role. The Dark Urge increases his damage by 100% for each Outcast stack, stacking multiplicatively.

Specializations

The Dark Urge's first Specialization picks his subclass.

• Storm Sorcery - The Dark Urge's Murderous Slash attack is empowered by lightning. This increases the range by 200% and deals up to 800% more damage to enemies based on how close they are to him.

• Draconic Bloodline - The Dark Urge's damage is increased by 200% for each Dragonborn Champion in the formation, stacking multiplicatively.

• Divine Soul - The Dark Urge increases the number of The Urge's Murder stacks he gains each time he defeats an enemy by 200%.

The Dark Urge's second Specialization is a choice between embracing or resisting the Urge.

• Embrace the Urge - The Dark Urge unlocks the Form of the Slayer ultimate, and deals 100% more damage for each Evil Champion in the formation, stacking multiplicatively.

• Resist the Urge - The Dark Urge's alignment becomes Lawful Good, he unlocks the Wither's Resurrection ultimate, and deals 100% more damage for each Good Champion in the formation, stacking multiplicatively.

Ultimate Ability

The Dark Urge has two ultimate attacks, depending on if you Embrace or Resist the Urge.

• Form of the Slayer - The Dark Urge moves to the enemy's side of the screen and transforms into the form of the Slayer for 15 seconds. While in this form, Sceleritas Fel joins the formation in the Dark Urge's spot while the Dark Urge is in the Ultimate form and is immune to damage. The Dark Urge gains a new melee attack that deals Ultimate damage.

• Withers' Resurrection - Withers appears in the back of the formation and raises his right hand. All enemies take 1 Ultimate hit and are pushed back to their side of the board with a shockwave, all knocked out heroes briefly glow white and are resurrected to full health, and all heroes are immune to damage for 15 seconds. This Ultimate automatically triggers if The Dark Urge is knocked out. After the duration ends, Withers disappears.

IV. The Dark Urge's Epic Equipment

Slot 1: The Dark Urge DPS	Slot 2: The Urge	Slot 3: Ceremorphosis
Slot 4: Living on the Edge	Slot 5: Specializations	Slot 6: Ultimate Cooldown

V. The Dark Urge's Adventure Variants

How Many Die Today? - Save the village from a foolish prank gone wrong with The Dark Urge!

• The Dark Urge joins the formation. He can be moved, but not removed.
• Only Champions with the DPS role can deal damage. (clicks still deal damage)
• Each wave spawns an Intellect Devourer. They don't drop gold or count towards quest progress.
• Getting to know the Dark Urge: The Dark Urge's damage is boosted by the number of enemies he has defeated, and this persists after you complete adventures.
• Area Goals:
  • Tier 1: Complete Area 75.
  • Tier 2: Complete Area 250.
  • Tier 3: Complete Area 600.
  • Tier 4: Complete Area 1200.

Time for Bloody Murder - Save the village with some high damage heroes!

• The Dark Urge joins the formation. He can be moved, but not removed.
• You may only use Champions with the DPS role and/or members of the Absolute Adversaries or Heroes of Baldur's Gate affiliation.
• Getting to know the Dark Urge: The Dark Urge deals more damage when he is near the edge of the formation or next to DPS Champions. How will you maximize his damage?
• Area Goals:
  • Tier 1: Complete Area 125.
  • Tier 2: Complete Area 350.
  • Tier 3: Complete Area 800.
  • Tier 4: Complete Area 1400.

Rampage or Redemption - Save the village while deciding to fight or embrace murderous urges!

• The Dark Urge joins the formation. He can be moved, but not removed.
• You may not use Neutral champions unless they are members of the Absolute Adversaries affiliation.
• Each wave spawns an armored Mind Flayer. They don't drop gold or count towards quest progress.
• Getting to know the Dark Urge: The type of Champions that associate with The Dark Urge depends on if he embraces or fights against his urges. Which one will you choose?
• Area Goals:
  • Tier 1: Complete Area 175.
  • Tier 2: Complete Area 450.
  • Tier 3: Complete Area 1000.
  • Tier 4: Complete Area 1600.

VI. Conclusion

Did you put The Dark Urge on the path to redemption? Or did you revel in his murderous side? Let us know all about it:

• The Idle Champions Subreddit or Steam forums.
• The Official Idle Champions Discord.
• Our YouTube Channels: Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms and CNEGames.
• Our social media: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok!

At the beginning of the very first year of Idle Champions, Dhadius the Scarlet joined the Champion roster. Originally from the game Betrayal at Baldur's Gate, this arrogant wizard proudly launched his Chromatic orbs from the formation. But over time he has not been taken as seriously as he thinks he should be, so he now becomes our first Champion to be reworked so he can finally get the respect he craves!

I. Dhadius

Dhadius is a mage of legendary status and acclaim...at least, in his own mind. Being an egomaniac, he seeks out esoteric lore and rare magical secrets so he may know things that the 'common fools' do not. Dhadius hails from Luskan in the north, where he is a member of the Arcane Brotherhood, an infamous group of wizards, and is determined to let it be known far and wide that he is a wizard to be respected and feared.

Dhadius has been reworked to modernize his kit and give him some additional formation niches that he may be able to slot into. We've buffed up his abilities and altered his equipment so that his powerful magic is better utilized and encourages more experimentation. This glass cannon can be unlocked in seat 5 opposite Calliope.

Check out our Champion Spotlight embedded below for a quick overview of Dhadius' abilities, and read on to get all of the details!

II. Dhadius

Race: Human	Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Gender: Male	Pronouns: He/Him
Age: 57	Affiliation: None	Class: Wizard

STR: 8	DEX: 12	CON: 10
INT: 18	WIS: 9	CHA: 11

Role: DPS and Support

Eligible for Patrons: Strahd

Seat: 5 (Calliope)

III. Dhadius' Abilities

Basic Attack

• Chromatic Orb - Dhadius tosses a Chromatic orb with a random element (acid, frost, or fire) at the nearest enemy.

Formation Abilities

• Skill Empowerment - Increase Dhadius's damage and the damage of Champions with 14 or more Intelligence within 2 slots of Dhadius by 100% for each Champion in the formation affected by this ability, stacking multiplicatively.

• Practice Makes Perfect - Enemies hit by a Chromatic Orb are debuffed based on the orb's type (acid, frost, or fire). Each debuff increases the damage of subsequent orbs of the same type by 400%, stacking multiplicatively. Enemies can have up to 5 debuffs of each type; debuffs do not expire.

• Chromatic Wonder - Dhadius keeps track of the total number of sets of all three orb types he has cast in the current area. Dhadius increases the effect of Skill Empowerment by 100% for each set, stacking multiplicatively and capping at 20 stacks.

Specializations

Dhadius' first Specialization determines whether or not he works with Magic users or non-magic users:

• Together In Magic - The effect of Skill Empowerment is increased by 100% for each Champion in the formation with a Magic base attack, stacking multiplicatively.

• Apart in Magic - The effect of Skill Empowerment is increased by 100% for each Champion in the formation that does not have a Magic base attack, stacking multiplicatively.

Dhadius' second Specialization determines what he focuses on:

• Empowered Orbs - Chromatic Orbs now do AOE damage and deal 400% more damage.

• Empowered Empowerment - Increase the effect of Skill Empowerment by 200%

• Use Smaller Words - Dhadius reduces the required Intelligence of Skill Empowerment to 12 and higher.

Ultimate Ability

• Magic Missile Barrage - Dhadius wildly fires off a large number of magic missiles. The number of magic missiles starts at 10 and increases by 1 for each enemy on the screen. Each missile hits a random enemy, so not necessarily every enemy will be hit.

IV. Dhadius' Epic Equipment

Slot 1: Together In Magic and Apart in Magic	Slot 2: Global DPS	Slot 3: Skill Empowerment
Slot 4: Practice Makes Perfect	Slot 5: Chromatic Wonder	Slot 6: Ultimate Cooldown

V. Dhadius' Achievement and Adventure Variants

Achievement:

• Smart Companions - Complete 100 areas while Dhadius is buffing everyone in the formation with Skill Empowerment.

Adventure Variants

Frightful Weather

• In areas where it is snowing (excluding boss areas), your party will take 1.7% of their max health as unavoidable damage every second.
• Area Goals:
  • Tier 1: Complete Area 75.
  • Tier 2: Complete Area 250.
  • Tier 3: Complete Area 600.
  • Tier 4: Complete Area 1200.

Light in the Darkness

• Several slots in the formation are taken up by floating magical torches.
• Area Goals:
  • Tier 1: Complete Area 125.
  • Tier 2: Complete Area 350.
  • Tier 3: Complete Area 800.
  • Tier 4: Complete Area 1400.

A Wise Endeavour

• Only champions with a wisdom score of 13 or more, plus Dhadius, may be used.
• Area Goals:
  • Tier 1: Complete Area 175.
  • Tier 2: Complete Area 450.
  • Tier 3: Complete Area 1000.
  • Tier 4: Complete Area 1600.

VI. Conclusion

Does new and improved Dhadius live up to his own hype? Let us know what you think:

• The Idle Champions Subreddit or Steam forums.
• The Official Idle Champions Discord.
• Our YouTube Channels: Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms and CNEGames.
• Our social media: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok!