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!

Behold the evil architect behind everything! The horrific lich surrounded by zombies who has been responsible for all the terrible things that The Awful Ones have...

...no, not familiar? Never seen him before? Then it's time for you to witness, and maybe this time remember, the Big Bad Evil Guy!

I. 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.

II. BBEG's Stats

Race: Elf (Drow)	Alignment: Lawful Evil
Gender: Male	Pronouns: He/Him
Age: 500
Affiliation: None (but Awful Ones adjacent)	Class: Wizard

STR: 10	DEX: 13	CON: 8
INT: 18	WIS: 15	CHA: 12

Role: Support, Speed

Eligible for Patrons: Mirt, Strahd

Slot: 3 (Nayeli)

III. BBEG's Design

Every Dungeon Master wants to craft a story that is entertaining and engaging. But what happens when your players stop paying attention? Pat, the DM of the Awful Ones from 1 For All, is understandably frustrated by this lack of recognition. Despite his best efforts crafting an extremely powerful and memorable antagonist for his campaign, no one seems to recall who BBEG is, or be challenged by him in any battle.

As the sworn enemy of the Awful Ones, BBEG will follow them into any adventure that any of them are eligible for. He uses his Chill Touch to strike at the most healthy enemy on the field, and summons shambling zombies to attack anything they come across. The Awful Ones provide a great source of fresh corpses for his undead army, so the more of them there are in the formation, the faster he can summon his minions. BBEG, believing himself to be the smartest, strategically surrounds himself with less intelligent minions to boost his own perceived brilliance as the Evil Overlord, increasing the damage of Champions with an Intelligence of 12 or less.

BBEG wants to get the adventure over with as quickly as possible, so he'll increase his damage bonus for each potion that is active, and reduce the next area's quest requirements if the formation plows through the current area quickly enough. His Specializations will further boost that damage buff depending on the types of companions he is surrounded by. Fill the formation with Evil Champions and pick Powergaming, or Champions with a total ability score of 78 or less to choose Min-Maxing, or use a bunch of Lawful Champions and pick Rules Lawyering. If that still isn't fast enough, he will appeal to his eldritch lord Balgronuuth for the ultimate power to summon two zombies at a time instead of just one!

Show the other Champions just how epic and incredible BBEG can be, and maybe they'll remember him the next time he joins the formation!

IV. BBEG's Abilities

Basic Attack

• Chill Touch - BBEG conjures a spectral hand over the enemy with the most health and touches it, dealing one hit.

Passive Abilities

• Awful Nemesis - As the sworn enemy of the Awful Ones, BBEG is eligible for any adventure that any of them are eligible for. However, they still don't remember who he is.

Formation Abilities

• Evil Overlord - BBEG increases the damage of all Champions with an Intelligence of 12 or less by +100%.

• Homebrew - BBEG increases the damage bonus of Evil Overlord by 100% for each active potion, stacking multiplicatively.

• Rise, My Minions! - Every 10 seconds BBEG creates a plodding zombie that appears in front of the front-most column and slowly moves across the screen from left to right. It takes 30 seconds for a zombie to plod from its spawn point to the right-side of the screen where it despawns. Zombies persist with area changes. Enemies near the zombie take 0.2 second worth of BUD-based damage per second.

• Sources of Corpses - The time it takes for Rise, my Minions! to summon a zombie is reduced by 2.5 seconds for each Awful Ones affiliation member in the formation, and the damage bonus of Evil Overlord is increased by +25% for each summoned zombie, stacking multiplicatively, with buffs applying to the pre-stack value.

• Railroad - If the current area is completed (for the first time) in 5 seconds or less, BBEG reduces the next area's quest requirements by 25%.

Specializations

• Powergaming - BBEG increases the damage bonus of Evil Overlord by +200% for each Evil champion in the formation, stacking multiplicatively and applied multiplicatively.

• Min-Maxing - BBEG increases the damage bonus of Evil Overlord by +150% for each Champion with a total ability score of 78 or less in the formation, stacking multiplicatively and applied multiplicatively.

• Rules Lawyering - BBEG increases the damage bonus of Evil Overlord by +100% for each Lawful champion in the formation, stacking multiplicatively and applied multiplicatively.

Ultimate Ability

• Balgronuuth's Undead Horde - Balgronuuth's symbol appears in the air for 30 seconds. While the symbol is in the air, every time Rise, my Minions! summons a zombie, it summons two instead of one.

V. BBEG's Epic Equipment

Slot 1: Evil Overlord	Slot 2: Homebrew	Slot 3: Rise, My Minions!
Slot 4: Sources of Corpses	Slot 5: Specializations	Slot 6: Ultimate Cooldown

VI. Conclusion

There's no way you can forget who the BBEG is now! Tell us what you remember most about his exploits during out Community Q&A or Champion feedback post on the Idle Champions Subreddit, on the Steam forums, or on the Official Idle Champions Discord!

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.

This is the tail of a druid who might look cute, but when her friends are in danger there's no kitten around! She's a fur-midable opponent who can cause a cat-astrophe to her enemies!

Merilwen is a Wood Elf druid with a penchant for puns and a love of all things nature! She joins her fellow Oxventure Guild members Rust on the Harbour, Corazón and Prudence in the Idle Champions roster during Dragondown 5.

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).

II. Merilwen's Stats

Race: Elf (Wood)	Alignment: True Neutral
Class: Druid (Circle of the Moon)	Gender: Female	Pronouns: She/Her
Age: 101
Affiliation: Oxventurers Guild

STR: 12	DEX: 17	CON: 15
INT: 14	WIS: 20	CHA: 11

Role: Support, Gold Find
Eligible for Patrons: Vajra and Strahd
Slot: 2 (Celeste)

III. Merilwen's Design

It was delightful to work with Ellen Rose on the design Merilwen, and bring this nature loving fan of puns to Idle Champions! Merilwen is our fourth Champion from the Oxventure crew from Outside Xbox and Outside Xtra, so it was especially fun to dig into the ways she could interact with the other Oxventurer's Guild members.

Merilwen is fiercely loyal to her friends, and to nature itself, which she demonstrates in all the ways she supports the formation. She prefers A Neutral Party, not those who lean good or evil, so she increases the damage of all Neutral Champions. While in her elf form, Merilwen will hurl Punishing Puns at enemies to increase the damage A Neutral Party can do, and will attack enemies with a magical Poison Spray. But she can also stop attacking and Wild Shape into a cat, using her Distracting Cuteness to inspire those adjacent to her to attack faster. And the more Oxventurers Guild Champions that have joined her in the formation, the more Liquidity she'll have to increase everyone's gold find.

Merilwen's Specializations encourages her to pick one thing to focus on. She can cause additional damage by making enemies Stink like Skunk, increases gold find because she Treasures her Friends, or further increases the rate of attacks of her adjacent allies in her Mew-will-wren form. All of this support is a huge help to the formation, but sometimes Merilwen wants to join the battle in epic fashion with Merilwen's Meat Grinder! This Ultimate Attack causes stone spikes to shoot out of the ground to cause massive damage, and if other Oxventurer's Guild members are part of the formation they'll help make her Ultimate even more deadly!

IV. Merilwen's Abilities

Basic Attack

Merilwen has two attacks depending on if she's in cat or elf form:

• Distracting Cuteness — Merilwen does not attack while in cat form.

• Poison Spray — Merilwen attacks a random enemy with a magical spray of poison.

Formation Abilities

• A Neutral Party — Merilwen increases the damage of all Neutral (along the good/evil spectrum) Champions in the formation by 100%.

• Liquidity — Increase gold find by +100% for each Oxventurers Guild Champion in the formation, stacking multiplicatively.

• Wild Shape — At the start of each non-boss area, Merilwen takes on the form of a wild cat. She no longer makes normal attacks, but the attack speed cooldown of every adjacent Champion is reduced by 0.5 seconds. If there are ever 15 or more enemies on the screen, Merilwen transforms back to her normal form and starts attacking until the party switches areas.

• Punishing Puns — While in her elf form, Merilwen boosts A Neutral Party by +100% for each enemy, stacking additively.

Specializations

• Stink Like Skunk — Merilwen's normal attack makes hit enemies stink like skunk, taking extra damage every second for 5 seconds.

• Treasures her Friends — Merilwen gains an Encouragement stack each second that an enemy is not defeated. For each Encouragement stack, the gold find of Liquidity is increased by +100%, stacking additively. When an enemy is defeated or the party changes areas, the stacks are reset to 0.

• Meow-il-wen — Merilwen's Wild Shape attack speed cooldown reduction is increased by 1 second and persists when she is in her elf form.

Ultimate Ability

• Merilwen's Meat Grinder — Stone spikes come out of the ground with a 30 second duration. Enemies in the area take massive damage over time while in the area. Secondary effects are triggered based on if other Oxventurer's Guild members are part of the formation:
  
• Corazón: Enemies affected by Grease in the spike area take +200% damage from all sources.
• Prudence: Prudence's glee stacks are set to maximum.
• Rust: Gold find is increased by +1000% for 30 seconds.

V. Merilwen's Epic Equipment

Slot 1: Global DPS	Slot 2: A Neutral Party	Slot 3: Liquidity
Slot 4: Punishing Puns	Slot 5: Ultimate Damage	Slot 6: Ultimate Cooldown

VI. Conclusion

Whether grinding enemies to mulch or inspiring allies as a cat, Merilwen has plenty of powers that we're excited to see her deploy! Tell us all about how much you are enjoying having Merilwen in your formations on the Idle Champions Subreddit, on the Steam forums, or on the Official Idle Champions Discord!

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!

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 3 introduces Nova, the knowledge-hungry Genasi Warlock from High Rollers: Aerois, and brings back the ruthless Lizardfolk Fighter, Korth, and the legendary Dwarf Fighter/Barbarian, Binwin Bronzebottom. Players have until Monday, June 15th at 12PM Pacific to complete their event unlocks and objectives.

Year 3 Champion: Nova V'Ger

Nova V'ger has a voracious appetite for knowledge; she needs to know anything and everything about anything and everything. Her magic powers have been gifted to her by a mysterious entity called Tiangong. She dreams of travelling to the stars and discovering the location of the true genasi homeworld.

Nova is a Tank and Support Champion who understands that knowledge is power. She buffs her most intelligent allies for each monster killed, protecting herself with her Hexblade, Tiangong. When you want to add Nova to your formation, you can swap her with Jamilah (Slot 11).

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

Year 2 Champion: Korth

Raised as a gladiator in the pit arenas of Kara-Tur, Korth has since traveled the world studying fighting styles and the art of war. Korth is infamous for his skill and efficiency in battle – and for his ruthlessness, as he never spares the lives of his opponents. Those who cross Korth's path do so at their own risk.

Korth is a Support Champion who marks enemies he hits. Attacking marked enemies can increase Champion damage, lower cooldowns, and grant temporary shields. When you want to add Korth to your formation, you can swap him with Celeste (Slot 2).

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

Year 1 Champion: Binwin Bronzebottom

Binwin Bronzebottom was a member of a rather infamous adventuring group/company, until he left to spend more time with his family. A grumpy and headstrong dwarf with a penchant for springing traps rather than disarming them, if he's not the first into battle then he's disappointed. There's nary a door, tankard, or acid pit that hasn't felt the wrath of Binwin Bronzebottom at one time or another. These days, when he's not adventuring with the likes of Drizzt and Minsc, Binwin leads a small group of incompetent and eminently replaceable minions through perilous adventures.

Binwin is a celebrity dwarf and DPS Champion, played by Scott Kurtz on Acquisitions Incorporated and now the leader of Binwin's Minions. Binwin deals extra damage to objects and armored enemies, and he gains extra attacks whenever adjacent allies attack enemies before he does. When you want to add Binwin to your party, you can swap him with Nayeli (Slot 3).

For more information about Binwin, check out the Year One Champion Balance Update dev blog!

Year Three Variants

• Failed Perception — Only Champions with WIS 14 or lower can be used. Whenever an enemy spawns, there is a 25% chance that it will be an illusory enemy, and won't count towards quest progress or drop gold. When an illusory enemy is killed with a normal attack, the Champion that killed the enemy is stunned for 4 seconds.
  Reach Area 75.


• Tranced Travellers — Two of the slots in your formation are affected by a magical spell that's causing folks around Luskan to start snoring! The affected slots change every 15 seconds by moving to a random adjacent slot. Heroes in affected slots must concentrate on not falling asleep, so they do not attack and all their formation abilities and ultimate abilities are disabled.
  Reach Area 125.


• Dolgrim Incursion — Only Champions with INT 14 or higher can be used. Nova begins in the formation and cannot be moved or swapped out. Two Dolgrims appear with each wave of monsters. They drop no gold and do not count towards quest progress. Dolgrims have increased movement speed and their damage is increased by 400%.
  Reach Area 175.

Year Two Variants

• It's All Going To Be O.K. — Only Champions with an 'o' or 'k' in their name may be used.
  Reach Area 75.


• Korth's Kobold Kleanup Krew — Korth begins the Adventure in your formation with his Lizardfolk Tactics upgrade unlocked. Armored kobolds attack the formation. These kobolds are invulnerable until marked by Korth.
  Reach Area 125.


• Durable Dragon — When the Dragon boss in area 50 is defeated, she immediately resurrects with additional armor hits (+20%), attack speed (+25%) and damage (+33%). She gains additional resurrection (and stacking bonuses) for every 50 areas completed (resurrects once in area 50, twice in area 100, three times in area 150, etc.).
  Reach Area 175.

Year One Variants

• Awaken the Beasts — Beasts move much more quickly and deal far more damage.
  Reach Area 75.


• Binwin's Minions — Two of Binwin's Minions take up slots in the formation, decreasing the damage of adjacent Champions by 90% with the exception of Binwin, whom they buff by 400%. Binwin's Minions move to different slots in the formation every 20 areas.
  Reach Area 125.


• Untrusting — The bronze dragon doesn't trust you to return her egg, so she continuously sends her Wyrmlings to keep an eye on you. Four different varieties of Wyrmling spawn at random.
  Reach Area 175.

See the in-game FAQ for more information!

Nova V'ger is a curious Air-Genasi Hexblade Warlock making her debut during Dragondown 3. Nova joins her companions on the Idle Champions roster, the Heroes of Aerois; Aila, Qillek, and Sentry.

I. Nova V'Ger

Nova V'ger has a voracious appetite for knowledge; she needs to know anything and everything about anything and everything. Her magic powers have been gifted to her by a mysterious entity called Tiangong. She dreams of traveling to the stars and discovering the location of the true genasi homeworld.

Nova is played by Kim Richards, a member of The High Rollers D&D crew, based in the UK. The High Rollers stream each week at the High Rollers Twitch page. For more info on Nova, the High Rollers crew, and the homebrew world of Aerois created by professional dungeon master Mark Hulmes, check out the High Rollers Aerois wiki.

Nova is a Tank and Support Champion who understands knowledge is power. She buffs her most intelligent allies for each monster killed, protecting herself with her Hexblade, Tiangong. When you want to add Nova to your formation, you can swap her with Jamilah (Slot 11).

II. Nova's Stats

Race: Air-Genasi	Alignment: Chaotic Good
Class: Warlock (Hexblade)	Gender: Female
Age: 20	Affiliation: Heroes of Aerois

STR: 7	DEX: 16	CON: 16
INT: 15	WIS: 8	CHA: 20

Role: Tanking, Support
Eligible for Patrons: Vajra Safahr, Mirt the Moneylender, and Strahd von Zarovich.

III. Nova's Design

It's always fun to work closely with a creator to make their character come to life, and Kim Richards was no exception. Kim provided us with a depth of material to draw from, including information about Nova's backstory that has still yet to be discovered on High Rollers(!). Like Kim, we've had a great time adding a bit of a science-fiction spin to D&D spells and abilities -- for example, turning 5E's Warlock Invocation, Tomb of Levistus, into Failsafe.

As a Champion, Nova is an explorer and a scientist, so we wanted to highlight those qualities in her Idle Champions design. Her main abilities focus around discoveries related to the internal anatomy of monsters and bosses, and sharing that knowledge with the party in the form of buffs to other intelligent party members.

With the addition of the final member of the Aerois team, Lucius Elenasto in Simril 4, Nova received updates to her Formation Abilities and her Aerois Synergy

IV. Nova's Abilities

Basic Attack

• Dissect — Nova leaps out and slices through the nearest enemy with Tiangong. The slash produces a spark of green flame. If her attack kills the enemy, and the enemy is a normal mob, it is guaranteed to drop a monster heart (once as Curiosity is unlocked).

Formation Abilities

• Curiosity — Nova is intrinsically curious about the world around her. When monsters are killed, there is a chance she will collect a trophy from it. Trophies augment her abilities and reset every run. Bosses always drop monster brains, which provide big buffs but only drop once per boss per run. Normal monsters have a 10% chance to drop monster hearts, which can be farmed indefinitely and provide smaller buffs.

• Discovery — Nova increases the damage of the five Champions in the formation with the highest Intelligence score by 100%. In the case of a tie for fifth place, all Champions with the given INT score are affected. This effect is buffed by 0.1% for each monster heart she has collected (stacking additively and then applying multiplicatively), and 10% for each monster brain she has collected (stacking multiplicatively and then applying multiplicatively).

• Close Encounters — Nova increases the effect of Discovery by 100% for each enemy attacking her and each point of enemy/boss enrage, stacking additively and then applying multiplicatively.

• Slow — Nova's attacks slow the movement of enemies she damages by 50% for 5 seconds. Enemies that are Slowed by this ability deal half damage to Nova. This effect does not stack if it is applied again before it expires, but the cooldown is refreshed.

• Failsafe — When Nova becomes Overwhelmed, Tiangong creates a protective barrier around Nova, giving her 250 points of temporary HP and stunning her until the shield is broken or she is no longer overwhelmed. This can only trigger once per area (changing areas resets it so it can happen again). The amount of temporary HP granted is increased by 5.75% for each monster brain she has collected, stacking multiplicatively.

• Protective Field — Nova increases the max health of all other Champions by 25% of her base max health.

• Cosmic Resonance — Heroes of Aerois are automatically buffed by Discovery and are not included in the calculations for highest INT score.

• Aerois Synergy — Nova contributes to the Aerois Synergy Pool as follows: 60% per Champion buffed by Discovery (multiplicative). Discovery is then increased by 25% of the total Aerois Synergy Pool.

Specializations

• Mass Appeal — Discovery — now applies to the top eight Champions by INT score, up from the top five.

• Journaling — Increase the effect of Discovery by 100%

Ultimate Ability

• Activate Tiangong — Nova levitates up in the air as Tiangong floats in front of the formation, releasing three waves of blue energy that deal big damage (each deals 1/3rd of her stated ultimate damage) to all enemies. The damage is increased by 1% for every 20 monster hearts Nova has collected, stacking additively.

V. Nova's Legendary Equipment

Slot 1: Global DPS	Slot 2: Global DPS	Slot 3: Max Health
Slot 4: Buff Discovery	Slot 5: Ultimate Damage	Slot 6: Ultimate Cooldown

VI. Conclusion

What do you think about Nova? 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!

The City of Sails, Luskan, needs your help! While celebrating their annual Summer Solstice festivities, the Luskans have somehow drawn the ire of a powerful Bronze Dragon and their kin. It's up to you to save them...

Dragondown 2 introduces Korth, a ruthless Lizardfolk Samurai, and brings back Binwin Bronzebottom, legendary Dwarven Fighter and Barbarian. Players will have until Monday, June 24th, 2019 at 12:00pm PDT, to unlock them!

New Champion: Korth

Raised as a gladiator in the pit arenas of Kara-Tur, Korth has since traveled the world studying fighting styles and the art of war. Korth is infamous for his skill and efficiency in battle – and for his ruthlessness, as he never spares the lives of his opponents. Those who cross Korth's path do so at their own risk.

Korth is a Support Champion who marks enemies he hits. Attacking marked enemies can increase Champion damage, lower cooldowns, and grant temporary shields. When you want to add Korth to your formation, you can swap him with Celeste (Slot 2).

For more information about our latest Champion, check out the Idle Champion Spotlight: Korth dev blog!

Returning Champion: Binwin Bronzebottom

Binwin Bronzebottom was a member of a rather infamous adventuring group/company, until he left to spend more time with his family. A grumpy and headstrong dwarf with a penchant for springing traps rather than disarming them, if he's not the first into battle then he's disappointed. There's nary a door, tankard, or acid pit that hasn't felt the wrath of Binwin Bronzebottom at one time or another. These days, when he's not adventuring with the likes of Drizzt and Minsc, Binwin leads a small group of incompetent and eminently replaceable minions through perilous adventures.

Binwin is a celebrity dwarf and DPS Champion, played by Scott Kurtz on Acquisitions Incorporated and now the leader of Binwin's Minions. He excels at destroying objects and armored enemies, able to attack multiple times through his Extra Attacks ability. When you want to add Binwin to your party, you can swap him with Nayeli (Slot 3).

Year Two Variants

• It's All Going To Be O.K. — Only Champions with an 'o' or 'k' in their name may be used.


• Korth's Kobold Kleanup Krew — Korth begins the Adventure in your formation with his Lizardfolk Tactics upgrade unlocked. Armored kobolds attack the formation. These kobolds are invulnerable until marked by Korth.


• Durable Dragon — When the Dragon boss in area 50 is defeated, she immediately resurrects with additional armor hits (+20%), attack speed (+25%) and damage (+33%). She gains additional resurrection (and stacking bonuses) for every 50 areas completed (resurrects once in area 50, twice in area 100, three times in area 150, etc.).

Year One Variants

• Awaken the Beasts — Beasts move much more quickly and deal far more damage.


• Binwin's Minions — Two of Binwin's Minions take up slots in the formation, decreasing the damage of adjacent Champions by 90% with the exception of Binwin, whom they buff by 400%. Binwin's Minions move to different slots in the formation every 20 areas.


• Untrusting — The bronze dragon doesn't trust you to return her egg, so she continuously sends her Wyrmlings to keep an eye on you. Four different varieties of Wyrmling spawn at random.

See the in-game FAQ for more information!

Summer Solstice celebrations in Faerûn sometimes feature ceremonial bonfires and charms that attempt to 'tame' or 'drive down' dragons. These mock-spells and chanted prayers are performed even by non-clergy, as the sun sets after dusk. Unfortunately, it looks like these rituals are not working this year: somehow the village of Luskan has drawn the ire of a bronze dragon and its kin...

Dragondown is the thirteenth limited-time event for Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms. The event starts today and runs until Monday, June 25th at 12:00pm PDT, and introduces Binwin Bronzebottom, Dwarven Fighter/Barbarian!

New Champion: Binwin Bronzebottom

Binwin Bronzebottom was a member of a rather infamous adventuring group/company, until he left to spend more time with his family. A grumpy and headstrong dwarf with a penchant for springing traps rather than disarming them, if he's not the first into battle then he's disappointed. There's nary a door, tankard, or acid pit that hasn't felt the wrath of Binwin Bronzebottom at one time or another. These days, when he's not adventuring with the likes of Drizzt and Minsc, Binwin leads a small group of incompetent and eminently replaceable minions through perilous adventures.

When you want to add Binwin to your party, you can swap him with Nayeli or Gromma.

Dragondown Variants

• Awaken the Beasts — Beasts move much more quickly and deal far more damage.


• Binwin's Minions — Two of Binwin's Minions take up slots in the formation, decreasing the damage of adjacent Champions by 90% with the exception of Binwin, whom they buff by 400%. Binwin's Minions move to different slots in the formation every 20 areas.


• Untrusting — The bronze dragon doesn't trust you to return her egg, so she continuously sends her Wyrmlings to keep an eye on you. Four different varieties of Wyrmling spawn at random.

Features:

• Added the Dragondown event, our thirteenth limited-time campaign event! The event runs until Monday, June 25th at 12:00pm PDT.
• Added a new Champion: Binwin Bronzebottom, Dwarven Fighter/Barbarian.
• Added a new event Divine Favor: Waukeen's Favor.

See the in-game Change Log for more information!