It's the day before Shieldmeet and the Open Lord of Waterdeep has gone missing. Nobody has seen Laeral Silverhand in days, and it is imperative that she be found before the meeting with the Masked Lords begins.

At the behest of the Blackstaff, the Champions are sent to discover what happened...

Midsummer 6 introduces Vin Ursa, a Plasmoid Fighter/Rogue Bounty Hunter - and CNE Original! It also brings back Valentine, the Reborn Half-Elf Sorcerer from The Black Dice Society, and Ellywick Tumblestrum, the Gnome Planeswalker and Greatest Bard in the Multiverse. Players have until Monday, August 7th at 12PM PDT to complete their event unlocks and objectives.

New Champion: Vin Ursa

Vin Ursa is one of the deadliest bounty hunters in Wildspace. Raised by a community of Autognome thieves and trained by a former Xaryxian assassin, Vin is an expert at completing dangerous jobs. To keep her skills honed, she spends much of her off time in the Arena of Blood. If there's one thing you should hope for in Wildspace, it's to avoid ending up on the wrong side of her L.A.S.E.R. sight.

Vin Ursa is a Support and Gold Find Champion who builds up a ledger of Favored Foes as you progress through an adventure. She supports the formation in capturing her Favored Foes and makes sure the extra reward is worth it. Once unlocked, her skills can be hired into slot 7 opposite Minsc.

For more information on Vin Ursa and all of her mental powers, check out her Champion Spotlight!

Year Six Variants

• A New Hope - Search for the absent Open Lord of Waterdeep with Vin Ursa!
  
  • Vin Ursa starts in the formation (Slot 4). She can be moved, but not removed.
• Only Champions in the front two columns can deal damage.
• Complete Area 75.

• The Menagerie - Search for the absent Open Lord of Waterdeep against foes of every type.
  
  • Vin Ursa starts in the formation (Slot 5) with her Bounty Hunter and ultimate abilities unlocked. She can be moved, but not removed.
• Each wave, an extra monster with a random monster type spawns. It drops no gold nor does it count towards quest progress.
• Every 10 areas, all monster health is increased by an additional 100%, stacking multiplicatively.
• Complete Area 125.

• Journey's End - Search for the absent Open Lord of Waterdeep with the Good, the Bad, or the Neutral.
  
  • Vin Ursa starts in the formation (Slot 5). She can be moved, but not removed.
• Only Champions from the most represented alignment(s) on the good/evil axis can deal damage.
• Complete Area 175.

Join our community and discuss these new updates in these spaces:

• 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!

See in-game for more information!

It's the day before Shieldmeet and the Open Lord of Waterdeep has gone missing. Nobody has seen Laeral Silverhand in days, and it is imperative that she be found before the meeting with the Masked Lords begins.

At the behest of the Blackstaff, the Champions are sent to discover what happened...

Midsummer 5 introduces Valentine, the Reborn Half-Elf Sorcerer from The Black Dice Society, and brings back Ellywick Tumblestrum, the Gnome Planeswalker and Greatest Bard in the Multiverse, and Beadle & Grimm, the purveyors of the Pandemonium Warehouse and owners of the Giant's Bane Tavern. Players have until Monday, August 1st at 12PM PDT to complete their event unlocks and objectives.

I. New Champion: Valentine

Valentine was once a social butterfly, nightlife connoisseur, and princess of a shady family business until her life ended in sudden tragedy. Through the mysterious will of Bluetspur, Valentine was given a second chance at life, though no miracle comes without consequence. Now she wanders the domains of dread with her companion Tatyana, in search of purpose and power.

Valentine is a Support and Gold Find Champion who takes hold of any incoming positional formation abilities, and uses her telepathic powers to broadcast and boost them, making those abilities more deadly! When you want to add her to your formation, you can swap her with Calliope in slot 5.

For more information on Valentine and all of her mental powers, check out her Champion Spotlight!

Year Five Variants

• Tregrum's Day Out - Search for the absent Open Lord of Waterdeep with Tregrum, a perfectly normal black cat. Champions might be a bit distracted by this absolutely normal cat.
  • Complete Area 75.

• Stunning Teamwork - Valentine joins the search for the missing Open Lord of Waterdeep, helping keep monsters stunned so the Champions can push forward!
  
  • Monsters take 99% less damage when they are not stunned, but stun effects last twice as long.
  • Complete Area 125.

• Positional Play Valentine insists on being the center of attention while the search for the absent Open of Lord Waterdeep continues!
  
  • Non-positional formation abilities, other than Valentine's abilities, are disabled.
  • Complete Area 175.

See in-game for more information!

It's the day before Shieldmeet and the Open Lord of Waterdeep has gone missing. Nobody has seen Laeral Silverhand in days and it is imperative that she be found before the meeting with the Masked Lords begins.

At the behest of the Blackstaff, the Champions are sent to discover what happened...

Midsummer 4 introduces Ellywick Tumblestrum, Gnome Bard, legendary Planeswalker, and the Greatest Bard in the Multiverse, and brings back, Beadle & Grimm, the purveyors of the Pandemonium Warehouse and owners of the Giant's Bane Tavern, and the speedy hero of Baldur's Gate, Shandie Freefoot. Players have until Monday, August 2nd at 12PM PDT to complete their event 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: Ellywick Tumblestrum

Thanks to a lucky draw from the notorious Deck of Many Things, Ellywick Tumblestrum is now the Greatest Bard in the Multiverse! Her magnificent music has dazzled beings across many planes, including royalty from the Feywild. The Summer Queen and the Queen of Air and Darkness were so moved by her performance that they gifted the bard her exquisite instrument, the beautiful lute Morningmist. She tells tales of her amazing adventures at the Witchlight Carnival, aided by her frog companion Groak.

Ellywick is a Support, Gold Find, and Healing Champion who uses the Deck of Many Things to augment her abilities. When you want to add her to your formation you can swap her with Tyril (Slot 10).

II. Ellywick's Stats

Race: Gnome	Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Class: Bard	Gender: Female
Age: 125

STR: 12	DEX: 17	CON: 14
INT: 13	WIS: 12	CHA: 20

Role: Support, Gold Find, Healing
Eligible for Patrons: Vajra, Strahd, Zariel
Slot: 10 (Tyril)

III. Ellywick's Design

Ellywick Tumblestrum is not only a featured Planeswalker in the latest Magic: The Gathering release: Adventures in the Forgotten Realms, she is also a character you may encounter in the upcoming D&D TRPG Adventure: The Wild Beyond The Witchlight. We are so excited to continue the fun that Magic started with Ellywick's debut, and get everyone up to speed on her before you run into her on your next D&D campaign!

When we started to design Ellywick, we had the benefit of learning her backstory from The Wild Beyond Witchlight, but also what her Planeswalker Card would bring to the table. It allowed us to take inspiration from both brands' representations of Ellywick to create our own!

Ellywick is a Support, Gold Find, and Healing Champion who you'll find in Slot 10 (Tyril). Ellywick Tumblestrum is a Gnome Bard, legendary Planeswalker, and the Greatest Bard in the Multiverse. She won that title of 'Greatest Bard in the Multiverse' from a lucky pull from the Deck of Many Things, and her interaction with that iconic Dungeons & Dragons magic item is integral to her Idle Champions design.

Her Specializations allow you to increase the power of one of her abilities and increase the chance of drawing more beneficial cards, while her Ultimate Call Of The Feywild takes direct inspiration from her Planeswalker card, bringing 6 fey creatures forth to heal her allies and harm her enemies.

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

Year Four Variants

• Pixie Trickery - One slot is taken up in the formation by a Pixie riding an intellect devourer, who is along to watch Ellywick do her thing.Each time a boss arrives on screen, all Champions are stunned for 5 seconds. If Ellywick is in the formation, the stun does not take effect.
  Reach Area 75.


• Fey Harmonies — Ellywick starts in your formation. She can be moved. Every area, two Satyrs arrive to harmonize. While any Satyrs are on screen, all enemies can only be damaged by bards. Only Champions with CHA 14 or higher can be used.
  Reach Area 125.


• Draconic Dissonance — Every area five chromatic Dragon Wyrmlings spawn with the second wave. Each type of Dragon buffs the Dragons on screen in a unique way:
  • White - When a Dragon attacks, it heals 20% of its health.
  • Blue - Increase the normal attack cooldown of Champions by .5 seconds.
  • Black - When a non-boss Dragon dies, there's a 25% chance that it immediately respawns.
  • Red - Dragons move 100% faster.
  • Green - Dragons deal 100% additional damage.

If Ellywick is in the formation, one fewer Wyrmling spawns in each area.
Reach Area 175.

See the in-game FAQ for more information!

We are proud to partner with Take This, Parker Games, & Beadle & Grimms to offer these Psychomancer Beadle & Grimm skins, available by donating to the Boxed-In: The Enclosure Experience!"

Content Creator, Gamer, Influencer and Disney XD star Parker Coppins a.k.a. ParkerGames, has set the goal to raise $1,000,000 and vital awareness in an effort to highlight COVID’s impact on mental health.

“By raising awareness of mental health, depression and isolation – how it affects many in the gaming community, my goal will be to reinforce to those who are currently dealing with these issues, that they are not alone” said ParkerGames. “Covid has taken a toll on everyone’s mental health. I felt it was necessary to not only raise much need funds for a great cause, but in my own way help reduce the stigma about seeking support.

From April 19, 2021 to April 29, 2021, Parker will be completely isolated (under professional supervision) inside a 12’ x 9’ plexi-box located in his studio in Harlingen, TX. Each day Parker will provide his fans and over 1M followers updates by live-streaming his experiences, playing video games and encouraging those who can to donate funds to help him reach his goal. Proceeds will benefit Take This a 501(c)(3) non-profit mental health organization providing comprehensive resources and support that is tailored for the unique needs of gamers and the game development community.

• Players and supporters can donate $10+ receive a code to unlock the exclusive Beadle & Grimms Champion and Limited Edition Psychomancer skin (limit one code per unique qualifying donor).
  
• Codes will be sent to donors via email after April 28th at the conclusion of Boxed-In: The Enclosure Experience.


• Parker will also be playing in a D&D game segment featuring Matthew Lillard from Beadle & Grimms, and Dr B from Take This as the Dungeon Master. The game starts on Monday, April 19 at 4:30 PM PT / 6:30 PM CT and ends around 7:30 PM PT / 9:30 PM CT.


• Please be sure to add support@parkerboxedin.com to your contacts, address book, and safe senders list to help prevent your message from ending up in spam.


• Parker will be playing Idle Champions every morning from 6:30 AM PT / 8:30 AM CT to start his day throughout the 10-days.

The entire event will be multi-cast across Parker's YouTube and Twitch channels.

It's the day before Shieldmeet and the Open Lord of Waterdeep has gone missing. Nobody has seen Laeral Silverhand in days and it is imperative that she be found before the meeting with the Masked Lords begins.

At the behest of the Blackstaff, the Champions are sent to discover what happened...

Midsummer 3 introduces Beadle & Grimm, the purveyors of the Pandemonium Warehouse and owners of the Giant's Bane Tavern, brings back the speedy hero of Baldur's Gate, Shandie Freefoot, and the street rogue, Xander Cesso. Players have until Monday, July 27th at 12PM PDT to complete their event unlocks and objectives.

Year 3 Champion: Beadle & Grimm

Beadle and Grimm have been best friends & adventuring partners their entire lives. Together, they have faced the most dangerous foes their realm had to offer and built a respite alongside the frozen north's harsh realities: The Giant's Bane Tavern.

Beadle & Grimm are Support and DPS Champions able to swap places in the formation on demand. The longer that one is in the formation, the more powerful the other becomes when swapped in. When you want to add Beadle & Grimm to your formation, you can swap them with Delina (Slot 8).

For more information about Beadle & Grimm, check out the Idle Champion Spotlight: Beadle & Grimm dev blog!

Year 2 Champion: Shandie Freefoot

Shandie grew up on the rough streets of the Lower City of Baldur's Gate. She quickly learned that if she wanted to survive, she needed to be fast on her feet and even faster with her wit and weaponry. The first time Shandie saw a bowmaster gracefully launch an arrow into a bull's-eye, she knew she had to master archery. With years of practice under her belt, any opponents underestimating this stealthy halfling will soon realize how dangerous she is as a volley of arrows bear down on them unexpectedly from shadowy corners.

Shandie is an agile Support Champion. Her Dash ability can increase formation speed, while Explosive Arrows and Agile Allies offer potent formation buffs. When you want to add Shandie to your formation, you can swap her with Asharra (Slot 6).

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

Year 1 Champion: Xander Cesso

Fascinated by magic at a young age when he lived in an orphanage, but lacking any ability or proficiency, Xander is not terribly good at much of anything, though something about his adorable clumsiness and childlike wonder anytime magic is being used nearby has been known to inspire those around him. Until recently, he was living on the streets of Waterdeep, scraping together just enough to survive. Now, he is a faithful member of your party, always ready to leap into the fray, even if he doesn't really seem to be able to hit much of anything.

Xander is a Support Champion. His Lucky Shot ability has a chance to double quest progress, and his Streetwise ability increases the damage of Champions behind him. When you want to add Xander to your formation, you can swap him with Calliope (Slot 5).

Year Three Variants

• Arvaiss' Next Trap - Every area, a collection of magical monsters attempt to thwart your progress. Once they spawn, their effects are active until they are destroyed.
  
  • Young Red Dragons(Armored) - No other monsters can be damaged until all the Young Red Dragons on-screen are destroyed.
  • Fire Snake - The base attack cooldown for each Champion is increased by 1 second while this enemy is alive.
  • Giant Fire Beetle - While this enemy is alive, all enemies are increased in size by 20%, deal 300% more damage and move at 100% increased speed.
  Reach Area 75.


• Showoffs - Beadle & Grimm are ready to show the Champions how they do things in the frozen north! Beadle starts unlocked and in the formation. They can be moved. Champions can only be used if they meet one or more of the following requirements:
  
  • Strength 18 or higher
  • Dexterity 17 or higher
  • Intelligence 16 or higher.
  
  Reach Area 125.


• A Contest, You Say? - Beadle & Grimm have started some infighting on which method of attacking is best. It's time to answer the question, but the enemies are not going to make it easy on you!
  
  • Enemies have 300% more hit points.
  • Enemies attack twice as often.
  • When an enemy is killed by a type of Base Attack (Melee, Ranged, or Magic) the Champions with the same Base Attack type have their damage decreased by 2% while Champions with the other Base Attack types have their damage increased by 1%.
  
  Reach Area 175.

Year Two Variants

• Dreams of Grandeur — Jenks really wants to meet Vajra Blackstaff. From Area 12 onward, Jenks takes up a slot in your formation.
  Reach Area 75.


• Stay Back — Only Champions that attack with ranged or magic-based attacks can be used.
  Reach Area 125.


• Haunted Past — Only Neutral, Evil, or Champions with a Dexterity (DEX) score of 15 or higher can be used. Shandie beings the adventure in your formation and cannot be swapped out, moved, or removed. Strahd Vampires that can only be damaged by Shandie randomly spawn in non-boss Areas. Luckily, Shandie will prioritize Strahd Vampires over all others and attack twice as frequently when they are present.
  Reach Area 175.

Year One Variants

• Waterdeep Escort — The Waterdeep City Watch Officer insists that he accompany you on your adventure. He fills one slot in the formation, and if he is killed, your DPS goes down by 33% every 10 seconds.
  Reach Area 75.


• Drow Deception — The Drow said they were looking for a wizard, but the Champions seem like a more interesting quarry to chase! A Stealthy Drow Pickpocket appears on every level, and if they reach the formation, you fail the area and have to head back to the previous level.
  Reach Area 125.


• Commander Xander — Xander takes the lead as his childhood wishes of becoming a Hero have come true! Champions not adjacent to Xander have a 50% chance to miss whenever they attack (Xander isn't great at command). Those that are adjacent to Xander attack normally. He does enough missing for everyone.
  Reach Area 175.

See the in-game FAQ for more information!

It's time for the latest Champion Spotlight or should we say Spotlights? It's two-in-one with Beadle & Grimm making their debut in Midsummer 3!

Read on to find out how this dynamic duo swaps in and out to tag team crush their enemies...

I. Beadle & Grimm

Beadle and Grimm have been best friends & adventuring partners their entire lives. Together, they have faced the most dangerous foes their realm had to offer and built a respite alongside the frozen north's harsh realities: The Giant's Bane Tavern.

Beadle & Grimm are Support and DPS Champions able to swap places in the formation on demand. The longer that one is in the formation, the more powerful the other becomes when swapped in. When you want to add Beadle & Grimm to your formation, you can swap them with Delina (Slot 8).

II. Beadle & Grimm's Stats

Beadle

Race: Dwarf	Alignment: True Neutral
Class: Rogue/Wizard	Gender: Male
Age: 91	Affiliation: none

STR: 13	DEX: 17	CON: 12
INT: 16	WIS: 10	CHA: 8

Role: Support, Gold

Grimm

Race: Human	Alignment: Chaotic Good
Class: Barbarian	Gender: Male
Age: 26	Affiliation: none

STR: 18	DEX: 12	CON: 16
INT: 12	WIS: 9	CHA: 14

Role: DPS, Support

Eligible for Patrons: Mirt the Moneylender, Vajra Safahr, Strahd von Zarovich. Read on to understand how!

III. Beadle & Grimm's Design

We were elated to collaborate with Matthew Lillard and Bill Rehor on bringing Beadle and Grimm to Idle Champions. We've interacted with the crew from Beadle & Grimm's at multiple D&D events, and we fell in love with the story that their company was named after their home group's D&D Characters!

When we reached out to them to discuss their characters a bit more, we learned about many of their past exploits, including the tavern they created together: The Giant's Bane Tavern. At some point during the discussion, we decided to challenge ourselves with the design of this pair: what would it mean to have a tag-team set of Champions in one Champion slot?

We started with the idea that their shared Ultimate Attack, Tag Team, would swap Beadle for Grimm and vice versa. That ability (and its name), gave us a north star to look to during design. In every aspect of their character (where possible), they are working together.

Beadle & Grimm have all the advantages of two sets of stats and alignments, but none of the disadvantages, which is why their Inseparable ability allows both of them to be eligible for an adventure, variant, or Patron even if only one of them qualifies!

We are very excited to see what opportunities this opens up for players...

IV. Beadle & Grimm's Abilities

Basic Attack

Their normal attack changes based on who is currently in play.

• Magic Wand (Beadle) — Beadle bonks a random enemy with a wand (dealing half damage). This unleashes two magic missiles that fly out and hit two other random enemies for full damage.

• Giant's Bane (Grimm) — Grimm cleaves through the nearest enemies with his two enormous greatswords.

Formation Abilities

• Get Buff — Beadle and Grimm increase the damage of themselves or the Champions around them.
  • Beadle Increase the damage of Champions within 2 slots of himself by 100%.
  • Grimm Increase the damage of Grimm by 100% for each Barbarian in the formation, stacking multiplicatively.

• Special Order — Beadle and Grimm provide a utility to help the party.
  • Beadle Whenever Beadle damages an enemy that is not at full health, that enemy will drop 25% more gold when it is killed. Does not stack.
  • Grimm Enemies damaged by Grimm take 25% more damage until they are killed (except from ultimates). Can stack additively up to 10 times on a single enemy.

• Long Rest — While Beadle is active, Grimm's buff increases by 1 stack every 10 seconds. While Grimm is active, Beadle's buff increases by 1 stack every 10 seconds. When a Champion swaps out using their Tag Team ultimate, their stacks are reset, and while they're in-play their stacks reduce by 1 every 10 seconds. Stacks are additive.
  • Beadle — Increase the effect of Beadle's Get Buff by 10% per stack.
  • Grimm — Increase the effect of Grimm's Special Order by 10% per stack.

• Inseparable — Beadle and Grimm are so inseparable that if either one qualifies for an adventure restriction based on their tags, ages, ability scores, then both can be used.

Beadle's Specializations

• As Quick As Me — Increase the effect of Beadle's Get Buff by 100% for each Champion with a DEX score of 17 or higher, stacking multiplicatively and then applying to Get Buff multiplicatively

• As Clever As Me — Increase the effect of Beadle's Get Buff by 100% for each Champion with an INT score of 16 or higher, stacking multiplicatively and then applying to Get Buff multiplicatively.

Grimm's Specializations

• Chip Away — Increases the effect of Grimm's Special Order by 100% (up to 50% per stack)

• Strongman Contest — Grimm's Get Buff now also adds a stack for any Champion with a STR score of 18 or higher.

Ultimate Ability

• Tag Team — Their ultimate attack changes based on who is currently in-play.
  • Beadle — Grimm leaps into the fray, smashing a random enemy and all nearby enemies before leaping back into the formation while Beadle teleports into the shadows to recover.
  • Grimm — Beadle teleports into the center of the battle and explodes with arcane magic, damaging and stunning all enemies. He then slips quietly back into the formation as Beadle leaps away for a brief rest.

V. Beadle & Grimm's Equipment

Slot 1: Self DPS buff	Slot 2: Global DPS buff	Slot 3: Get Buff buff
Slot 4: Special Order buff	Slot 5: Long Rest buff	Slot 6: Ultimate Damage buff

VI. Conclusion

What do you think about Beadle & Grimm? 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!