Critical Role Campaign 4 delves into the brand-new world of Aramán, a world that is vastly different from that of Exandria, where the previous three campaigns were set. In this world, the gods were slain by mortalkind only 70 years ago, magic has gone wild, and we’re left with people having to come to terms with governing themselves without divine intervention. After watching the first episode, I can safely say that award-winning storyteller Brennan Lee Mulligan took the challenge of creating this new world even more seriously than I imagined.
Mulligan and the Critical Role cast, who all contributed to shaping this new setting, took the approach of throwing the audience into the deep end straight away. Because how else are you going to learn how to swim?
There are so many different narrative threads, factions, and people introduced in this first episode that it’s hard to keep track of everything. Many important events are mentioned but not explained, and the same applies to key characters, such as Thjazi Fang and their past. This is all part of the mystique that the Critical Role crew is trying to build around this new campaign, of course, but fans can feel a little lost after the first episode.
That’s where we come in. While there are several unanswered questions that we’re sure are bound to be answered as the campaign unfolds, this is what we know about the world, story, people, and factions of Campaign 4 so far.
The World of Campaign 4
If Exandria is a world defined by deities, Aramán is defined by their complete absence. 70 years ago, the Shapers’ War occurred, and mortals slayed the last of the Gods. The seven lords of creation now gone, mortalkind had to make do by themselves in a new world, rife with unpredictable magic and uncertainty.
Our main location for the first episode is Dol-Makjar, which is situated on the eastern edge of a region known as Kahad. Dol-Makjar is a mountain city that highly regards the revolutionary heroes of the Shapers’ War. The statues of these heroes protrude from the walls of the city, pushing against the surrounding mountains as if keeping them at bay.
While Dol-Makjar is where we start in the first episode of Campaign 4, there are several other locations that are named throughout. The first is the Rookery, which seems to be the more artistic area of the city, where bards, poets, actors, and everything in between live. It’s in this neighborhood that we spend most of our time throughout the first episode of Campaign 4. This is also where Halandil’s theater, the Dithyramb of Azgra, is located.
Further into Kahad is another city called Dol-Rungja, though what is significant about this city has yet to be revealed.
Tir Cruthu is the land of the fairies and a mysterious place beyond the material world. It seems Tir Cruthu has vanished, however, and the door to the world of Faerie has been closed. The meaning behind this hasn’t been revealed, but it does seem to affect Thimble, who has now begun to age since being shut off from that world.
Finally, there is the Mournvale, a land far from Dol-Makjar and where Vaelus and the Sisters of Sylandri reside. It sounds like the realm of the elves, but again, much about it remains a mystery so far.
The Story of Campaign 4
The story begins in the city of Dol-Makjar. At the start of the episode, the Dol-Makjar citizens are gathered for a very important event: the execution of Thjazi Fang. According to the herald, Thjazi is going to be executed for being “a traitor, arcanist, murderer, and open sedition against the city and its people.” Thjazi was once a war hero, but now he is seen as a criminal by the Chamber of Lords-Advisory to the Revolutionary Council.
At Thjazi’s execution, 13 different individuals with a connection to him gather to witness. These are are our main cast for the campaign, consisting of Azune Nayar (Luis Carazo), Occtis Tachonis (Alexander Ward), Thaisha Lloy (Aabria Iyengar), Halandil Fang (Liam O’Brien), Thimble (Laura Bailey), Murray Mag’nesson (Marisha Ray), Wicander Halovar (Sam Riegel), Teor Pridesire (Travis Willingham), Tyranny (Whitney Moore), Sir Julien Davinos (Matthew Mercer), Bolaire Lothaire (Taliesin Jaffe), Kattigan Vale (Robbie Daymond) and Vaelus (Ashley Johnson). A handful of these individuals seek to free Thjazi; however, the plan fails and Thjazi is executed.
Thjazi’s death sets into motion the events of Campaign 4, but everything is tightly connected to the recent history of the world of Aramán. 70 years before the current events, after the Shapers’ War with the last god being slain, mortalkind had to reckon with the question: what now? Magic quickly grew wild and unpredictable without the gods around, and the question about where the souls of the dead go, now that the gods are no longer around to ferry them to the afterlife, still has yet to be answered.
Inevitably, mortalkind banded together and began to build their life anew. However, as predicted, not everyone agreed with what this new world would look like. While we don’t know too much about the War of Axe and Vine, it’s mentioned quite a few times in the first episode, and Thjazi was considered a war hero after that war came to an end. However, two years later, Thjazi struck the Falconer’s Rebellion against the Sundered Houses of Dol-Makjar. The reason why has yet to be clarified, but considering that Thjazi mentions that the “Sundered Houses are stronger than ever,” we can safely assume two things: the Rebellion failed and the Sundered Houses’ authority continues to be absolute in the city of Dol-Makjar.
Furthermore, with magic being “wild”, it appears to be regulated and kept a close eye on. Pretty different from how magic is seen in a much more celebratory light in Exandria.
The People of Campaign 4
As well as our main cast of characters, we’re introduced to several important NPCs in the city of Dol-Makjar.
The first is, of course, Thjazi Fang. A scoundrel, a thief, a rebel, a lover, a brother, a hero: Thjazi is the lynchpin around whom the first episode centers, and we suspect that will be the case for a long time to come. According to his wife, Thjazi was a dashing hero from the War of Axe and Vine (of which we know nothing), an adventuring rogue who, two years after his marriage, “took up the banner of rebellion.” We assume this to be the Falconer’s Rebellion, but the sides of this conflict are not very clear. Apparently, Thjazi’s side fought against House Halovar, House Tachonis, and even his wife’s house, House Royce.
There’s a lot about Thjazi that was unveiled in this episode, but a lot more that still remains mysterious. His fate and life between the Falconer’s Rebellion and the current events are still vague, and they will surely be explained further in the upcoming episodes.
Next are Shadia, Hero, and Alogar. Though the latter has not made an appearance, all three are the children of Halandil Fang. Thaisha Lloy is the mother of Alogar and Shadia, while Hero is the daughter of Halandil and his previous partner, a human woman named Elodie. Alogar in particular seems to be of interest, as he is currently under the tutelage of Sir Julien Davinos, played by Matthew Mercer.
Then there’s Loza Blade, a battle-hardened orc who fought alongside Thjazi during the Falconer’s Rebellion and is the current commander of The Torn Banner, which I assume is some sort of mercenary or at least military group.
A connection of Thjazi’s that isn’t related to war is Aranessa Royce, a noblewoman from House Royce, who married him after the War of Axe and Vine. Two years afterwards, he took part in The Falconer’s Rebellion against the Sundered Houses. However, that doesn’t seem to have cooled her love for her husband, nor her grief at his death.
Last but not least is one of the more fascinating NPCs, and one we personally think viewers should keep an eye on: the Photarch of the Candescent Creed and House Halovar. An older, wizened woman, and the grandmother of Wicander Halovar, her authority in Dol-Makjar appears to be absolute. It is she who, ultimately, decides that Thjazi will be put to death despite previously having reassured Wicander of the opposite. Whatever the real reason for Thjazi’s death, it looks like she and House Halovar have something to do with it.
Factions in Campaign 4
The biggest factions that stand out in the first episode of Critical Role Campaign 4 are, undoubtedly, the Sundered Houses. The Sundered Houses appear to be part of the Revolutionary Council, the governing body of Dol-Makjar, and wield considerable power within the city.
The Sundered Houses introduced in the episode are Tachonis, Halovar, Royce, Einfasen, Cormoray, and March. Halovar and Tachonis seem to be the most powerful houses, with Halovar in particular having a significant amount of power now that they’re also wielding the religious doctrine of the Light under their new religious branch, the Candescent Creed. This is significant because the world of Aramán slayed its gods not too long ago, so it appears that the Creed is trying to fill that religious void.
The Candescent Creed is led by Wicander’s grandmother, the Photarch. Their symbol is a point of light hovering above a pillar, stylized to resemble a sun or a candle. They are eager to spread the message of the Light, but are apparently struggling to do so in the city of Dol-Makjar, who aren’t too enthused by this new religion. What’s interesting about the Candescent Creed is that their priests have aspirants, who are entrusted to their tutelage. The aspirants we’ve seen so far are two demons, which seem to be Aramán’s versions of tieflings, known as Tyranny (Whitney Moore) and her sibling, Enmity. Right now, we don’t know why demons, specifically, are brought under the wing of the Candescent Creed, but we speculate it’s largely to do with proving that if demons can convert to the Light’s teaching, then everyone else should be able to, as well.
However, while Thjazi Fang’s defiance against the Sundered Houses may have led to his death, it doesn’t look as though the Houses are all in agreement or on even level. House Royce, led by Thjazi’s widow, seems to have some serious qualms with what House Halovar did after they shunned seeing her and her attempts at begging for Thjazi’s life.
One lesser house is a vassal of House Royce, House Davinos. Sir Julien Davinos is a childhood friend of Aranessa, and his house lives to serve the Royce. If the Houses did come to blows for whatever reason, we can only assume the Davinos would be right behind Royce. House Lloy, Thaisha’s house, is also mentioned, but considering this “smith-oriented” house wasn’t mentioned during the introduction of the Sundered Houses, we can only assume hers is a lesser house.
The Revolutionary Council is composed of important members from the Sundered Houses, and they are vital to the general goings-on of the city of Dol-Makjar.
Next is the Revolutionary Guard, a military force with its base at The Brethren Hall, likely under the command of the Revolutionary Council. Through Azune Nayar we know that they have a specific position for dealing with magic-related crime and issues: the Arcane Marshal. Furthermore, Occtis Tachonis (Alexander Ward) jokingly pleads with Azune not to lock him up for performing magic, which makes us believe that there is a level of arcane/magic regulation here. Considering one of Thjazi’s crimes was arcanism, and that most who came to his wake were arcanists/occultists, it seems likely that’s the case.
There is also the Torn Banner, a mercenary group led by Loza Blade, and Thjazi was likely a member of (as Loza is mentioned as being Thjazi’s commander). Loza and Teor Pridesire have been helping others from the Torn Banner by taking up contracts here and there, moving from place to place. When they heard about Thjazi’s execution, they traveled as fast as they could to get there.
We only hear mention of the Crow Keepers, the oldest thieves’ guild in Dol-Makjar. Not much more is known about them, outside of them possessing the Stone of Nightsong.
Easily the most fascinating faction reveal of the first episode is the Sisters of Sylandri, who seem to be the keepers of the Stone of Nightsong. Based in the Mournvale, an area far away from Dol-Makjar, it’s unknown what their purpose is outside the worship of their dead goddess, the Shaper of Elves, Sylandri. What we do know is they very much want their Stone of Nightsong back.
Last but not least are the arcanists/occultists of Dol-Makjar. While they don’t have an official faction name, it’s clear that magic is regulated heavily in the city. Halandil’s theater, the Dithyramb of Azgra, is only allowed to go ahead on the condition of safeguarding it against any arcane shenanigans that might unfold.
That’s all we know about the world and lore introduced so far in Campaign 4 of Critical Role. Not surprisingly, there’s a lot to unpack about this new world, and we have more questions than answers. There are still three more episodes to go in Campaign 4’s overture, where we hope to receive some big answers.
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