Vestiges of Divergence are legendary relics discovered in Critical Role’s world of Exandria. Heroes of past ages wielded these powerful artifacts during the Calamity, a war of the gods that pitted the Prime Deities against the Betrayer Gods. These magical items have been an important plot point in Critical Role’s actual-play campaigns. With Critical Role's first big adventure book, Call of the Netherdeep, just around the corner, we’re running a refresher course on these dangerous arcane items!

Whether you’re a long time Critical Role fan or entirely new to the world of Exandria, this article will give you valuable insights as to the history behind the Vestiges of Divergence, what Vestiges of Divergence are and how they function, as well as an example of a Vestige provided in Critical Role’s campaign setting, Explorer's Guide to Wildemount.

• Why do Vestiges of Divergence exist?
• The Calamity and the creation of Vestiges of Divergence
• How do Vestiges of Divergence work?
• Sample Vestige of Divergence

Spoiler alert! This article contains spoilers for the first two campaigns of Critical Role.

Why do Vestiges of Divergence exist?

In order to understand the Vestiges of Divergence, you must first understand the event that necessitated their creation, the Calamity.

Exandria used to be a land of wonder and magic. Magnificent fortresses were built in a day with the help of arcane practices, powerful mages used their mastery over life and death to create wondrous creatures, and one mortal mage was even able to ascend to godhood by slaying the previous god of death.

Driven by jealousy and greed at the idea of another mortal ascending to godhood, the archmage Vespin Chloras sought the power of the Betrayer Gods. These deities had been locked in prison-like planes after a previous uprising against the Prime Deities, a group of righteous gods, many millennia before.

Vespin was successful in his attempts to contact the Betrayer Gods. With the gates of their prison open, the evil deities' malice began corrupting the minds of mortals, turning them to evil. Once their forces were rallied, the Betrayer Gods and their legions launched a surprise assault on the fortress city of Vasselheim and were only thwarted due to the direct intervention of the Prime Deities.

The Calamity and the creation of Vestiges of Divergence

With the Betrayer Gods walking the Material Plane and building an army to crush those that opposed them, the Prime Deities aligned themselves with the people of Exandria and went to war.

The Calamity rolled across Exandria, causing destruction on an unthinkable scale. Both sides of the battle saw their divine heroes accept legendary artifacts from their patrons and gods. Not willing to leave their fate in the hands of the gods, archmages forged their own magical items of immense power. When the dust cleared, two-thirds of the population of Exandria had perished, all of the great cities except for Vasselheim had fallen, and the land was left scarred by the cataclysmic forces that the gods and their chosen had wielded.

At a great cost to the Material Plane, the Prime Deities were victorious over the Betrayer Gods. In order to ensure the Betrayer Gods were never again allowed access to the Material Plane, the Prime Deities erected the Divine Gate. This gate prevented any god, including the Prime Deities, from ever physically entering the mortal realm. This event became known as the Divergence.

The powerful artifacts that shaped the devastation of the Calamity were lost, buried in the rubble of this lost age. As the civilizations of Exandria began to rebuild, some of these legendary relics were discovered and have since gone on to impact the lands of Exandria once more. These dangerous magical items are known in Exandria’s current age as the Vestiges of Divergence.

Vestiges of Divergence in the current age

Since Exandria began rebuilding after the Calamity, lost Vestiges have been uncovered across the world. These powerful items, typically in a dormant state, remain a well-kept secret that only those skilled in the arcane arts can identify. The first season of Critical Role follows the adventuring party Vox Machina and their quest to collect a number of Vestiges in order to defeat a group of evil chromatic dragons called the Chroma Conclave.

How do Vestiges of Divergence function?

Vestiges of Divergence are magic items that evolve with their wielder. They have three states that offer increasing levels of power: dormant, awakened, and exalted. When attuned to worthy heroes, Vestiges evolve through these stages when their wielders accomplish significant feats. In order to balance the power of these items with the challenge level of encounters, Vestiges of Divergence typically remain in the dormant state until their wielder reaches 9th level. They usually evolve into the awakened state between levels 9 and 15 and finally achieve the exalted state between levels 16 and 20.

It’s important to note for Dungeon Masters planning on using Vestiges in their games that these magical items don’t just advance as their wielder levels up. Typically, a Vestige of Divergence advances when its wielder experiences a pivotal moment in their journey of self-discovery. This moment can involve success over a mortal enemy, or it could be a profound failure that causes the wielder to learn from their mistakes. The moment could even be a life-threatening situation that requires the intervention of the Vestige for the wielder to survive.

DMs can use the following examples as guidelines for shaping the evolution of a Vestige of Divergence:

• A character overcomes one of their greatest fears, bravely facing an otherwise paralyzing phobia to save a fellow party member.
• A character is beaten within an inch of their life by a long-hated foe. In the face of defeat, they feel a deep, dormant strength grow from within.
• A character loses a close ally in battle, their anguish and fury stirring the power within a Vestige of Divergence.
• A character discovers a facet of their destiny that guides them toward a dangerous cause. Setting aside their fears, they accept their fate and responsibility.
• A character successfully takes vengeance against a rival who has long tormented them.
• A character known for restraint gives in to the amoral, violent urges that a Vestige of Divergence was forged to hone.

Source: Explorer's Guide to Wildemount

Sample Vestige of Divergence: Danoth's visor

Danoth's visor is a Vestige of Divergence from Explorer's Guide to Wildemount.

These mithral-frame goggles with clear diamond lenses were used by the evoker Danoth Oro to spot invisible enemies and scout areas from afar.

Dormant

While wearing the goggles in their dormant state, you can see normally in darkness, both magical and nonmagical, to a distance of 60 feet. Additionally, you have advantage on Intelligence (Investigation) and Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight.

Awakened

When Danoth’s visor reaches an awakened state, it gains the following properties:

You see invisible creatures and objects within 60 feet of you as if they were visible, and you can see into the Ethereal Plane. Ethereal creatures and objects appear ghostly and translucent.

As a bonus action, you can speak a command word and use the goggles to see into and through solid matter. This vision has a radius of 60 feet and lasts for 1 minute. To you, solid objects within that radius appear transparent. The vision can penetrate 1 foot of stone, 1 inch of common metal, or up to 3 feet of wood or dirt. Thicker substances block the vision, as does a thin sheet of lead. This property can’t be used again until the next dawn.

As a bonus action, you can speak a command word to switch the goggles into spyglass mode. While in this mode, creatures and objects viewed through the goggles are magnified to twice their size. Speaking the command word again reverts the goggles to their normal operation.

Exalted

When Danoth’s Visor reaches an exalted state, it gains the following properties:

• You automatically detect illusions you can see and automatically succeed on saving throws against them. In addition, you see a bright aura around any creature that isn’t in its true form.
• As an action, you can cast the antimagic field spell from the visor. This property can’t be used again until the next dawn.

If you’re looking to include Vestiges of Divergence in your game, Explorer's Guide to Wildemount provides a full set of rules for these powerful magical artifacts. The book also provides seven Vestiges that are waiting to be discovered.

Unlock ancient power with Vestiges of Divergence

The upcoming Critical Role adventure Call of the Netherdeep takes place in the world of Exandria, which has been shaped by the Vestiges of Divergence the Calamity left behind. As players explore the wastes of Xhorhas, Marquet, and the Netherdeep in an adventure running from 3rd to 12th level, the ripples caused by these magical items will certainly be felt. We'll keep you posted on details that come out on the adventure!

Mike Bernier (@arcane_eye) is the founder of Arcane Eye, a site focused on providing useful tips and tricks to all those involved in the world of D&D. Outside of writing for Arcane Eye, Mike spends most of his time playing games, hiking with his girlfriend, and tending the veritable jungle of houseplants that have invaded his house.