Critical Role Campaign 4 features an impressive cast of 13 players with Brennan Lee Mulligan leading them all through a story in the world of Aramán. With the size of the cast, they are being split among three tables to start: Soldiers, Schemers, and Seekers. Episode three featured the introduction of the first table, the Soldiers. This table includes Travis Willingham as Teor, Sam Riegel as Wiccander, aka Wick, Whitney Moore as Tyranny, Laura Bailey as Thimble, and Robbie Daymond as Kattigan.
Teor and Kattigan are in fact soldiers who fought in the Falcon Rebellion. Thimble is the former partner in crime of Thjazi Fang. However, Wick and Tyranny are not who one would expect to be among the soldiers. Wick has been sheltered his whole life by his affluent family, and Tyranny has been beside him while in Aramán. While the soldiers have reason to dislike and distrust Wick based on his family, Teor owes him and Tyranny his life, giving them an important protective barrier from the world and the other soldiers.
“Wick and Tyranny Are Not Soldiers”
In an exclusive interview with Temple of Geek, Moore discussed the Soldiers Table. She joked about how Tyranny and Wick are not soldiers. However, Moore did reveal that while the table is full of people who don’t trust each other, they will “come together” and become a team.
Whitney Moore:
“It’s so cool to have characters at a table hate each other and be like, We have to work together. It’s also just, Wick and Tyranny are not soldiers. We’re not. It’s so funny that we’re with them. Because Wick’s got soft hands, Tyranny is just not made of soldier material. But there was this moment in shooting where the group collectively felt like, “Oh, okay, we are a team.” And that moment is so beautiful.
Because, yeah, there are plenty of reasons to hate Wiccander, or there are plenty of reasons to not want us to tag along because who are we, you know? And there’s a moment where we kind of come together, and we’re like, okay, maybe we can do this. Maybe we are more on the same page than we thought. And it’s just one of the things that I love so much about collaborative storytelling. You find ways into intimacy with each other.”
The soldiers not only have built-in conflict among the party, but they will be exploring across Aramán as they chase down those who betrayed the plan to rescue Thjazi. This opens the door to showing Wick and Tyranny a side of Aramán they’ve never experienced before. While Moore will be playing at the Soldiers Table for the foreseeable future, she has already established relationships with other players. Moore is excited to play more with the other eight cast members in the future.
Whitney Moore:
“It’s hard because we want to just keep playing with each other. We’re having so much fun at the Soldiers Table. But I really want to play with [Taliesin Jaffe], I want to play with Marisha [Ray], [Ashley Johnson], I want to play with everybody. I hope that I do get to spend time playing with everyone because they’re all my buds. And they’re all so, so, so talented. I just am having such a great time digging into all of the dynamics. And also, everybody has their own crazy sh-t going on.”
Playing At The Critical Role Table Is All About “[Seeing] What The Story Needs Right Now”
Actual Play is a brilliant combination of improvisation, world-building, and deep character creation. While hours of planning can go into crafting the characters, world, and narrative, at the end of the day it is dictated by choices made in the moment and how the dice roll. Moore explained how she finds the rhythm at the table. She explained not only her approach but also why performers like Rigel stand out.
Whitney Moore:
“I think that if you have improv experience, you know about ‘Yes, Anding’ and making sure that your priority is to make your scene partner look good. I think that my approach, and I think that a lot of players’ approaches, is just to try to read the room. See what the story needs right now. There are actors like Sam who are incredibly good at reading the room and being like, This could use a little chaos, and I’m going to throw a grenade.
That is really not an easy thing to do, because it takes this level of understanding of what the story needs. And it’s not just, I want to call attention to myself and do something crazy. So, I think the approach is [to] know that the biggest job that you have is making your partner look good and know what the story needs.”
“Brennan [Lee Mulligan] Is Writing A Horror Movie”
Moore shared what element of “Critical Role” is most reminiscent of horror for her. And while moments seem to be pulled straight out of a horror movie, the combat seems to be the most terrifying. While Moore has been a part of multiple horror projects, she revealed that she’s most excited to explore comedy and tragedy throughout the campaign.
Whitney Moore:
“I am so afraid of battles that I’m shaking, vibrating, my heart is pumping out of my chest. It’s better than any horror movie. Also, the stuff with Julien’s dad. Brennan is writing a horror movie. It is so insane. The visceral fear that I feel every time we’ve had to roll initiative, I feel like it is a horror movie. And I love it. It’s exhilarating the same way horror movies are.
Weirdly, I think that the thing that I am the most excited to explore is the space of comedy and tragedy because they are hand in hand. I love the fact that we have so many talented players and that I can be a part of a space that really allows room for both because you can’t have one without the other.”
Moore’s adrenaline spike whenever the players roll initiative works for her characters. While not sheltered in the same way that Wick is, she is still relatively new to this world. Traveling with a group of tentative allies on a covert mission is already stressful. Add in unexpected threats that could be deadly Tyranny is in for a ride with this adventure.
“Critical Role Campaign 4” returns November 6. The first four episodes are available now on Beacon. The first three episodes are available on Critical Role’s YouTube, with episode four available on Monday, October 27.
