The 5 Sundered Houses of CRITICAL ROLE CAMPAIGN 4, Explained

Critical Role Campaign 4‘s five Sundered Houses have been important all along. After all, Dol-Makjar’s Sundered Houses brought about Thjazi Fang’s death to begin with. And then these Houses became responsible for the destruction of House Royce and House Davinos. But in Critical Role Campaign 4, episode 5, we learn that the entire plot of this campaign’s Schemers table will revolve around the different Sundered Houses and how they interact and impact Dol-Makjar. So, what is a Sundered House? Which Sundered Houses exist in Critical Role Campaign 4? And what do each of the five Sundered Houses stand for? Let’s break it down.

What Is a Sundered House in Critical Role Campaign 4?

In essence, Critical Role Campaign 4‘s Sundered Houses are the houses of nobility in Dol-Makjar. They existed before the Shapers’ War, which saw the death of the gods of Aramán, but some houses have grown stronger and others weaker in the time since, and many of them appear to be trying to bolster their own power during the campaign. The Sundered Houses were given their name because of the losses they suffered in the Shapers’ War. Still—despite these losses, the Sundered Houses are, as mentioned, remain a major source of power.

After the Shapers’ War, the Sundered Houses experienced other wars, such as the War of Axe and Vine, and we don’t yet know what befell them there. But eventually, they met their greatest challenge, the Falconers’ Rebellion, which ostensibly was a revolution led by Thjazi Fang against the Sundered Houses. In this conflict, the 5 Sundered Houses banded together against the revolutionaries.

Now, during the time of Critical Role Campaign 4, the Sundered Houses hold power through their place in the Chamber of Lords-Advisory, which advises the governing body of Dol-Makjar, the Revolutionary Council. It was this council, at the behest of Sundered Houses Halovar and Tachonis, though they might deny it, that Thjazi Fang was executed. In the days after Thjazi Fang’s death, several of the houses move to consolidate their power in different ways throughout Dol-Makjar, as we’ll detail below.

Which 5 Sundered Houses Exist in Dol-Makjar?

Critical Role Campaign 4‘s five Sundered Houses of Dol-Makjar are House Tachonis, House Halovar, House Royce, House Einfasen, and House Cormoray.

Do the Sundered Houses All Agree on Everything?

NO. The Sundered Houses are all out for themselves, primarily. While the Sundered Houses all came together again Thjazi Fang and his revolutionaries during The Falconers’ Rebellion, they were not all on the same side during the Shapers’ War. We learn that House Halovar and House Tachonis were was is called “Priestly Houses,” Sundered Houses that supported the gods during the Shapers’ War. Meanwhile, House Royce, House Einfasen, and House Cormoray were “Rebel Houses,” Houses that wanted to kill the gods. It seems these splits in belief maintain to this day. It’s not clear if Sundered Houses Royce, Einfasen, and Cormoray have any connections, but it certainly seems like the Priestly Houses of Halovar and Tachonis are working together in Critical Role Campaign 4.

House Tachonis, Explained

So, what do we know about Critical Role Campaign 4‘s House Tachonis? Well, as mentioned, we know they were on the side of the gods during the Shapers’ War. We also know they are the house associated with death and shadow. This Critical Role Campaign 4 Sundered House is related to the rites of funeral cremation and associated with the movement of souls from one realm to the next. We see House Tachonis is able to summon the shades of the dead, and they almost tore a hole between the veil of the world of living and the world of the dead. House Tachonis is also known to be a family of sorcerers and necromancers. They even have a castle in the Tenebral Reaches, or the realm of death itself.

House Tachonis’ Ambitions in Critical Role Campaign 4

So far, Sundered House Tachonis has been up to no good in Critical Role Campaign 4. House Tachonis led a massive assault against its fellow Sundered House, House Royce, and wiped out House Royce and its vassal House, House Davinos. House Tachonis is also plotting something with the elven relic, the Stone of Nightsong. They cut out Occtis Tachonis’ heart and replaced it with the stone, but Thaisha Lloy interrupted their ritual, so we don’t know how it would have concluded.

House Halovar and House Tachonis seem to have an alliance in Critical Role Campaign 4, but neither of these Sundered Houses truly cares about the other.

Notable Critical Role Campaign 4 Characters From the Sundered House of Tachonis

Occtis Tachonis, a player character played by Alex Ward, is a member of House Tachonis. While he is a sorcerer and necromancer like the rest of his family, he is very much estranged from them. Occtis was studying at the Penteveral and also travelled with Thaisha Lloy.

Primus and Ethrand Tachonis are Occtis’ father and brother and they seem awful. Primus personally murdered Julien Davinos’ father, while Ethrand killed his brother and put the Stone of Nightsong inside of him. Yikes!

House Halovar, Explained

House Halovar, also known as the purveyors of the Candescent Creed, is another Priestly House in Critical Role Campaign 4. They were originally a family of priests who served Tansul, the god of the sun. Before the Shapers’ War, they had enormous strength, second only to the royal family of the Obridimian Empire, the old ruling body of Aramán before the gods fell. But we learn in Critical Role Campaign 4, that after the Shapers’ War, this Sundered House was almost entirely wiped out. Now they strive to hold onto power, peddling a religion they invented, which worships light, the Candescent Creed.

The Candescent Creed takes in acolytes or aspirants to bolster their own power. They also produce Filament, a highly magical substance. We learn that this “filament” is actually the blood of a celestial of Tansul, Aetheon, the servant/angel of the god they once worshiped, which they keep trapped below their estate, Villa Aurora. As it transpires, this Celestial is also technically Wicandar Halovar’s grandfather—his grandmother Photarch Yanessa Halovar, Scion of the Candescent Creed, and Matriarch of House Halovar used a drop of the Celestial’s blood to wish her son into existence.

House Halovar’s Ambitions

House Halovar wanted for Thjazi Fang to die, but we’re not sure why. Aside from that, they want to use the Candescent Creed to lure as many people under their influence as possible. Photarch Yanessa Halovar also has designs on the D’Antonio family’s lands. She wants Wicandar to marry its current heir, Ebecca D’Antonio, in order to claim them, as she believes the lands possess vineyards with special alchemical properties. The vineyards, she thinks, would yield wine that could dilute and distribute Filament more efficiently.

Notable Critical Role Campaign 4 Characters From the Sundered House of Halovar

Critical Role Campaign 4‘s Wicandar Halovar is our most prominent member of House Halovar, a player character played by Sam Riegal. Wicandar appears to be the only good Halovar around, truly believing in his family’s religion and always looking to the good. His aspirant, the demon Tyranny played by Whitney Moore, shares a sweet bond with him.

In addition to Wick, there’s Photarch Yanessa Halovar, who seeks to bring her family back to power. We also meet Wick’s father, Godard Halovar, who was magically conceived from the blood of Aetheon the celestial. Godard appears to be an angel as well and he has wings.

House Royce, Explained

House Royce appears to be the only good Sundered House around in Critical Role Campaign 4. We come to understand that House Royce has been blessed by the fey and connected to the fey realm. Unfortunately, the door to the realm of Faerie was closed before the campaign began, leading to House Royce’s waning power. House Royce has a castle in a place called the Golden Orchard, which appeared to be a space of both mortals and fey. We don’t know too much about House Royce beyond this, except that Lady Aranaessa Royce was once married to Thjazi Fang. But during the Falconers’ Rebellion, even House Royce sided with the other Sundered Houses against Thjazi Fang.

Much of House Royce was destroyed in an attack on the Palazzo Davinos by fellow Sundered House, House Tachonis, during Critical Role Campaign 4, episode 4.

House Royce’s Ambitions

It feels like House Royce wants peace and justice. They would also like to rekindle the ties between the mortal realm and the realm of the fey.

Notable Critical Role Campaign 4 Characters From the Sundered House Royce

Lady Aranessa Royce, an NPC played by Brennan Lee Mulligan, is our chief known member of House Royce. Lady Aranessa, as mentioned was the wife of the late-Thjazi Fang. She is also the liege and good friend of Matt Mercer’s character, Sir Julien Davinos.

House Royce’s Vassel House, House Davinos

Speaking of Julien, House Davinos is the most notable vassal house we’ve seen so far in Critical Role Campaign 4. House Davinos serves House Royce, but in the Falconers’ Rebellion, Julien’s father, Raimond Davinos, sided with Thjazi Fang over his liege-house. While probably the right moral move, this choice brought shame upon House Royce societally. Julien never forgave his father for it, but unfortunately, Raimond Davinos, and many others of House Davinos, were murdered by House Tachonis before they could talk about it.

House Einfasen, Explained

House Einfasen has so far played a more minor role in Critical Role Campaign 4. This Sundered House is a military-focused House and does not seem to have much magical ability.

House Einfasen’s Ambitions

After Thjazi Fang’s execution, we see that House Einfasen is moving to exert its influence over Dol-Makjar’s Arcane Marshals and Revolutionary Guard, or its security/police force. The Sundered House of Einfasen seems to want to make the Revolutionary Guard into its own private army under its control in Critical Role Campaign 4.

Notable Critical Role Campaign 4 Characters From the Sundered House Einfasen

So far, we’ve met Sir Harondus Einfasen briefly at the headquarters of the Revolutionary Guard. Azune Nayar could immediately tell he was not only seeking power but felt entitled to it and up to no good.

House Cormoray, Explained

Again, we don’t know too much about the Sundered House of Cormoray yet in Critical Role Campaign 4, other than that it contains sorcerers. Additionally, House Cormoray produces wine. In the campaign, we see Lady Amariya Cormoray poking around the Archanade museum where Bolaire works, another instance of a Sundered House beginning to meddle in a Dol-Makjar institution.

Other Things the Sundered Houses Are Up To in Critical Role Campaign 4

In addition to all of the above, the Sundered Houses, at least some of them, seek to stop the use of magic in Dol-Makjar. Via the Chamber of Lords-Advisory, they pushed the Revolutionary Council to ban the use of magic in public markets, and are even trying to ban it in the Penteveral, literally a magic school. We don’t like the sound of that.

The Schemers Want to Turn the Sundered Houses Against Each Other

The Sundered Houses are up to no good, but the Schemers’ Table wants to turn them against one another. Azune Nayar pointed out that a Priestly House had destroyed a Rebel House, and now he wants to convince the other Rebel Sundered Houses they’re next. If they can keep the Sundered Houses from allying together to maintain power, maybe they have a chance to save Dol-Makjar.

More About Critical Role Campaign 4

Critical Role Campaign 4 premieres Thursdays at 7 pm PT on Beacon.tv and is streamed to Critical Role’s YouTube and Twitch channels at that time, with the VOD available for everyone the following Monday at 12 pm PT and podcast episodes available in two parts: the first one week after the premiere, and the second on the following Tuesday.