The Fall of Thjazi Fang, the debut episode for Critical Role campaign 4, is a somber affair. For its many characters, the worst has already happened. But this is just the inciting incident of an epic tale. The scene is set, and it’s filled with grief, love, and tension. Bigger threats – political, magical, and even divine – are on the horizon for Aramán. When our own world feels unfamiliar, even unsafe, the story that Critical Role is setting up feels painfully poignant.
In our recent interview (see video below), Liam O’Brien elegantly summed up the debut episode’s tone. The campaign at large explores “who we will be in the face of massive societal change, both in relation to the somewhat distant loss of the gods that this world has known, and then, right in the present, right at the start, the loss of a very important figure in everyone’s lives”. That figure is the titular Thjazi Fang.
Every player at the table has a hand in making Thjazi Fang feel real. DM Brennan Lee Mulligan presents him as a charming, calculating rogue whose political actions – however righteous the general populace might consider them – have landed him an execution date.
The campaign begins with his death, but the first episode is mostly about exploring his life. Gradually, each of the new characters shows their faces at his funeral. They share stories of the circles Thjazi moved in and the kind of Orc he was. They grieve together. They try to understand how, despite their efforts to intervene, Thjazi died.
Playing Thjazi’s brother, Halandil Fang, O’Brien is at the heart of the mourning procession. He and Aabria Iyengar, AKA Thaisha Lloy, the Druid mother of Hal’s children, display such palpable despair in the early hours of the show. They marry impeccable acting with clever, subtle uses of D&D’s rules that enhance the scene.
It’s not all doom and gloom, of course. The characters may be grieving, but the joy of the players is infectious. Lee Mulligan finds plenty of opportunities to squeeze jokes and slapstick into the scene. God-awful bottles of booze, confused old ladies, and disbelief at rogue Nat 20s all put a bit more pep in the episode’s step.
Plus, a handful of players turn the levity up to 11. Sam Riegel’s blundering Cleric, Wickander, has serious reasons for attending the funeral, but his reformed demon ward Tyranny (Whitney Moore) is determined to party hard. Tyranny brings out a lighter side in Thaisha Lloy that gives her more dimension. She’s also a blast to watch cause chaos.
Between these rollercoaster moments of emotion, Critical Role is brewing many a mystery. What did Tjazi see just before he died that filled him with such fear? Why did the charms placed to protect him fail? Why did Wickander’s noble family promise his safety, only to change their minds at the last minute? Who attacked Thimble (Laura Bailey) and why? What object has Vaelus (Ashley Johnson) come to reclaim from the Fang family?
Perhaps the biggest question of all is ‘what happened to Aramán?’ We know that, 70 years ago, Aramán overthrew its gods. We know at least one war has taken place since then, one in which Thjazi Fang was hailed a hero. We also know that an event called the Falconer’s Rebellion took place, and it ended 12 years ago.
Presumably, this is the rebellion that caused Thjazi to turn against the four noble Sundered Houses – one of which his wife belonged to. Thjazi gave up a privileged life to fight for a cause. We don’t know exactly what that cause was yet, but the chatter of his surviving friends and family tells us that he was considered righteous by many. There are hints that his death was controversial, and that brutal executions of this kind haven’t always been ‘the done thing’ in Aramán.
This aspect of the episode feels most powerful. It reminds us just how quickly a freedom fighter can be rebranded as a criminal – how those in power can reshape a narrative to suit their needs. It also shows us how quickly political movements, which once might have faded into the background of our personal lives, can turn bloody – and bring that violence right to your door.
It’s not hard to draw parallels with the real world. Not when Western political leaders (in the US and the UK, certainly) are cracking down on peaceful protests. Not when anxiety about climate, economy, and politics feels like it’s at an all-time high.
The Fall of Thjazi Fang re-establishes a fact we knew well: Critical Role is a powerhouse of storytelling. The grand tale that campaign 4 is about to tell feels particularly relevant right now.
What did you think of episode one of campaign 4? Let us know in the Wargamer Discord. Or, if you’d like to do some roleplaying of your own, here’s all you need to know about DnD classes and DnD races.