When Brennan Lee Mulligan begins an episode by repeatedly emphasizing that he’s designed certain encounters to be lopsided and/or intended to kill player characters, you know you’re in for a stressful episode of Critical Role, and that’s exactly what Campaign 4 Episode 37, “Death To Tyrants,” delivered. Having bared it all (literally) amidst an impassioned speech to the Candescent Creed in last week’s episode, Wick is tasked by his grandmother, the Photarch Yanessa, with a deceptively simple objective. He must attend that evening’s performance of KoTher’ai at The Hallowed Round, and publicly disavow his friend Hal.
When the curtain rose on KoTher’ai, though, it became clear that the true Halovar plot wasn’t in place for the end of the play. In the middle of the first scene, assassins launch an attack on Wick’s family box, attempting to kill him before the play has even truly begun. What ensued was nearly three and a half straight (deeply stressful) hours of combat, with Mulligan reaching deep into his bag of tricks to put Wick, Hal, and the rest of the Schemers through a dizzying encounter that ends with the table two players lighter. Did Wick (and Tyranny) escape KoTher’ai alive? We break it down.
The Assassination Plot: Who Tried to Kill Wick, and Why? (The KoTher’ai Ambush)
The evening begins with Hal personally welcoming a number of high-profile audience members to the performance, including orcish Revolutionary Councilman/Shapers’ War veteran Agtzash Splitknuckle. As Hal schmoozes with the local politicians, Wick makes his way to House Halovar’s family box, accompanied by his mother Iris, his father Godard, and his little brother Lioran. This leaves Wick’s older sister, Zebani, the only member of his immediate family conspicuously absent.
The play begins, but for the second performance in a row, things quickly devolve into chaos. Someone in the audience yells “death to tyrants,” and a pair of masked assailants rush the Halovar Box. Though the rallying cry of “death to tyrants” would implicate the assassins as anti-Sundered Houses, the waters of the combat quickly become muddied as Wick’s father, Godard, turns to him and casts the Command spell to order him to “Pray.” This effectively prevents his son from taking actions and bonus actions amidst the incoming attacks.
Azune watches from across the battlefield as things go from bad to worse when a figure in a teal mask casts Hold Person on Wick, ensuring any attacks will be automatic critical hits. Though Hal (who recognizes the mask as having been created by Bolaire for Zebani Halovar) casts Suggestion on one of the assassins (ordering him to restrain the other), the second assailant reaches Wick and successfully makes three attacks against him, bringing Wick to near-death and downing his mother Iris, who had cast Warding Bond to protect him at the beginning of the encounter.
Iris’ futile attempt to save Wick’s life (at the expense of her own), coupled with Lioran’s actions later in the combat, indicate that not all members of House Halovar are aware of and/or involved with the plot to kill Wick, or even about the true nature of their family’s power. Some, like Iris, are just good old-fashioned true believers.
But while Iris and Lioran Halovar may be (relatively) innocent, the KoTher’ai ambush confirms for certain that Wick has fully burnt the bridge between himself and Photarch Yanessa, and that his grandmother has given up on him as the scion of House Halovar. Yanessa and Zebani want Wick dead, and had the ambush gone off successfully, they’d have (literally) killed two birds with one stone: martyring Wick and destroying The Hallowed Round in one fell swoop.
Is Tyranny Free of Her Contract in Critical Role Campaign 4? (Wick’s Gamble and Sam & Brennan’s “Gentleman’s Agreement”)
While the rest of the table began the episode already rolling initiative and in combat, Tyranny (who spent the previous episode debating whether or not to return to The Pit at the behest of her father, Ksha’aravi, the Shadow of Suffering) started “Death to Tyrants” by finishing her conversation with the demon Tsul’rekshi in the depths of Knife and Palette Pigments.
Contrary to Tyranny’s previous understanding, her father isn’t an all-powerful demon lord with the ability to recall her to The Pit by force. He’s simply a shadow of suffering who can’t reach her on the material plane. Thus, Tyranny’s fate (and freedom) is in the hands of the holders of her demonic contract: House Halovar. According to Tsul’rekshi, Wick has the power to release Tyranny from her contract at any time. But if Wick dies before releasing her, the contract automatically reverts to House Halovar—namely, Photarch Yanessa.
Armed with a path towards potential freedom (and having been warned by Tsul’rekshi that Wick would likely perish before the end of the night), Tyranny rushed to The Hallowed Round, arriving just in time to see Wick die at the hands of the Halovar assassins.
In true Brennan Lee Mulligan fashion, though, Tyranny’s arrival at the encounter prompts him to offer Sam a devastating bargain. Because Wick knows that Tyranny will be forever bound to the Halovars if he dies without freeing her, Sam can re-roll Wick’s fatal death save at disadvantage (with the hope of rolling two successes and living), or chose to die and use his final moments to free Tyranny from her contract.
Sam opts to roll the dice (of course) and succeeds—Wick gains a successful death save at the cost of Tyranny’s immediate freedom. Azune arrives at Wick’s side in time to stabilize him with Lay on Hands, but unfortunately for Wick, he’s still not out of the woods, and his sister Zebani casts Greater Invisibility on herself, firing off a pair of crossbow shots without being publicly seen attacking her own brother.
With Wick on death’s door yet again, Brennan offers Sam another choice: use a Shield glyph from Occtis to save himself, or free Tyranny from her contract. This time, Wick chooses to grant Tyranny her freedom, and with her contract to the material plane severed, she begins to return to the pit, but not before giving him advantage on his next death saving throw.
As Tyranny fades out of the mortal world, Tsul’rekshi’s servant Hollis steps out of the shadows and casts Banishment on Wick, sending him to The Pit alongside Tyranny. As Wick fades alongside Tyranny, his little brother Lioran casts Healing Word on him, and a pair of wings sprout from his back before both priest and aspirant vanish from the material plane.
Did Wick Survive, and Where is He Now? (The Pit, Wick’s Wings, and Other End-of-Episode Cliffhangers)
Though he didn’t die in the traditional sense (despite coming close multiple times), Tsul’rekshi’s portent that Wick would die before the day was up wasn’t entirely wrong, as both his spirit and physical body are banished to The Pit. Thankfully, Wick and Tyranny’s journey is far from over, and the pair find themselves standing on an obsidian cliffside opposite Tyranny’s father’s palace.
With a newly-minted pair of feathery angel wings (and a fly speed of 60 feet) Wick ends the episode standing hand-in-hand with Tyranny and staring out over a field where thousands of chained, shrieking celestials turn to him and bow.
While Wick and Tyranny may be safe (for now), the chaos of the combat at The Hallowed Round is far from over: as an incensed Liam O’Brien pointed out in the Beacon-exclusive Cooldown, Hal is still in the middle of making death saving throws, and the immediate aftermath of Wick’s disappearance (and how it’s spun) will prove critical not just for the future of The Hallowed Round, but for the entire political landscape of Dol-Makjar.
Unfortunately for us (and Liam), we’ll have to wait at least a few more weeks to resolve this combat at the Schemers table, as Campaign 4’s west marches style is bringing next week’s episode back around to the Seekers table and their exploits with King Gus in Sloak. What does the future hold for Wick and Tyranny? Will Hal die during his play’s second public performance? Is it Thursday yet?