The Omen Archive

With the Overture now behind us, and the majority of the thirteen Player Characters’ subclasses revealed, this seems like a good time to dive into what we know about their builds so far! There are still quite a lot of question marks across the board, but what we do know is interesting and highlights what to look out for in order to pin down things like backgrounds, proficiencies, and remaining subclasses going forward.

A note before we begin: it is important for our analysis to keep in mind that this campaign is using the 2024 Dungeons & Dragons rules update. This means that each character will be starting out with an Origin feat from their background, and that many species, classes, subclasses, and spells have been reworked in significant ways. With the number of changes that affect the relative strength of older builds, we will be looking first to the officially reworked subclasses and backgrounds in our analysis, except with respect to characters where those seem to have already been ruled out. However, since we know that Chris Perkins and Jeremy Crawford (not to mention Brennan and Matt) are in the building for homebrew assistance, there will likely be further options in play.

All of this to say: while we can make some pretty solid educated guesses, there are a lot of variables at play, and we won’t be able to know many things for sure until they are stated outright. Even more than usual with this kind of post, unless something has been mentioned at the table, it is just a guess!

Azune

Let’s start with Azune, who remains somewhat mysterious. We know of course that his three levels are split between Paladin and Sorcerer, which means he does not yet have any subclasses. Whether the split is 2 Paladin/1 Sorcerer or 1 Pal/2 Sorc is not yet clear.

What we know for certain is that he has the Lucky feat and proficiency in Arcana (he got a 22 on one of his Arcana checks, which would not be possible without proficiency given his +1 INT), and he has the cantrips Message, Guidance, and Mending and the level 1 spells False Life and Detect Magic.

As a human, he has three specific traits: Versatile, which gives him an extra Origin feat; Resourceful, which gives him Heroic Inspiration after each long rest; and Skillful, which gives him Proficiency in one skill of his choice.

The most interesting spell on his list for determining his build is the cantrip Guidance. His use of Guidance implies one of two things: either he has two levels in Paladin and chose Blessed Warrior over a Fighting Style, giving him two Cleric cantrips of his choice, or his second Origin feat is Magic Initiate for either Cleric or Druid. If we see any evidence of a Fighting Style, or if he uses sorcery points (which Sorcerers can only access at level 2), then that would rule out Blessed Warrior. Likewise, if he uses a level 1 spell from the Cleric or Druid list that would not otherwise be available to him as a Paladin or Sorcerer, that would indicate that he has Magic Initiate. We’ll be keeping an eye on this as we move forward.

His confirmed feat, Lucky, could come from the Wayfarer background, which would also give him proficiency in Insight, Stealth, and Thieves’ Tools. But this too we can’t know for sure, since Lucky could be his human (Versatile) Origin feat rather than the one connected to his background. We’re on the lookout to see if he uses Thieves’ Tools or exhibits a Stealth proficiency, since neither of those are Paladin or Sorcery proficiencies but do come with Wayfarer. Of course, as a human, Azune could also come by any of those proficiencies from Skillful, so their presence doesn’t make Wayfarer a sure thing either.

Bolaire

We’re guessing that level 3 Warlock Bolaire has the Fiend Patron subclass, as he has used the spell Command and mentioned having the spell Suggestion, both of which come with that subclass but neither of which is on the broader Warlock spell list. Taliesin being Taliesin, we don’t want to discount the possibility that Bolaire has a custom subclass that simply has some spell crossover with the Fiend patron. If he pulls out Scorching Ray or Burning Hands, however, we can most likely take that as Fiend confirmation. Another thing to look out for would be Dark One’s Blessing, the level 3 Fiend Patron feature that would give Bolaire +7 temporary HP anytime he reduces an enemy to 0 hit points or anyone else reduces an enemy to 0 hit points while within 10 feet of him.

We do know two of his three Invocations. The various Warlock Pacts have been made into invocations as of 2024, and it seems almost certain that Bolaire’s many glass blades are the result of the Pact of the Blade Invocation. The other Invocation Taliesin has mentioned by name: Devil’s Sight, which lets him see in both regular and magical darkness. We also know that Bolaire has proficiencies in Arcana and Religion, since he has a +6 to each of those rolls, and Taliesin has stated he has proficiency in Alchemist’s Tools.

The most interesting question for Bolaire at this time is what species he is, mechanically speaking. As a sentient object, does he have static species mechanics, or do his stats change when he gets a new body? Given that his stats card didn’t change after this occurred in episode 4, and given the messiness that swapping species would cause to his stats, we’re inclined to assume that it’s the former. As he appeared to take his rest without sleeping in episode 2 while having the apparatus flip book pages for him, since no points of exhaustion were mentioned, that leaves us with two species options that do not require sleep, Elf and Warforged. Warforged seems to make the most sense thematically, though the finalized 2024 update of the species will not officially be released until Eberron: Forge of the Artificer comes out next month. Still, Specialized Design, which grants warforged characters one skill proficiency and one tool proficiency, could account for Bolaire’s Alchemist’s Supplies proficiency. As best we can tell, the only other way he could have that proficiency would be the Artisan background, which grants a choice of tool proficiency.

There’s a wrinkle here with some story implications, as well: neither elves nor warforged can be magically put to sleep. That would have to mean that Bolaire was only pretending to be affected by the Sleep spell used to knock him out in episode 4, and that he did not actually go unconscious until the mask was removed from his previous host’s body. It’s also entirely possible that he could be a custom species using warforged as a starting point. We simply do not have enough information to say with certainty, but look forward to finding out.

Halandil

While we don’t know for sure what Hal’s subclass might be, the fact that he has, and seems to intend to wield, the Liar’s Blade seems to imply that he’s a College of Valor bard, as that is the only 2024 Bard subclass so far to grant proficiency in Martial Weapons. However, Hal also has Thaumaturgy, a Cleric cantrip that is not available via any known Bard subclasses, 2024 or otherwise. It could come from Magic Initiate (Cleric) via the Acolyte background, but that seems an odd choice for Hal. It’s entirely possible Brennan allowed the cantrip for flavor or worked with Liam to create a custom background, as Thaumaturgy seems to suit Dramaturgy quite nicely, but it could also be that Hal has a custom subclass.

We don’t know much about Hal’s proficiencies, but we do know that he has proficiency in Insight, as he got a 23 in episode 4 without rolling a nat 20. As for spells, in addition to the cantrip Thaumaturgy, Hal has used the level 1 spells Healing Word, Aid, and Comprehend Languages. These are all Bard spells, so they don’t give us any extra insight as to his subclass or background.

We do know his orcish species features, however: Adrenaline Rush, Relentless Endurance, and Darkvision. Adrenaline Rush allows orcs to Bonus Action Dash up to their proficiency bonus number of times, gaining temporary hit points equal to their proficiency bonus when they do. Relentless Endurance allows orcs to drop to 1 hit point instead of 0 once per long rest.

We have no real indication as to Hal’s background other than that unlikely possibility of Acolyte, but Entertainer seems a strong contender, especially since there is no Song of Rest in 2024 D&D and the Musician feat that the Entertainer background provides is the nearest equivalent, providing Heroic Inspiration on a long or short rest to a number of allies up to the character’s proficiency bonus. When we return to the Schemers’ table, we’ll be keeping a careful eye on Hal’s features and spells to try and figure out what his subclass might be!

Kattigan

Kattigan’s subclass was one of the first we could nail down: since he has an animal companion in Wulferic, he is a Beast Master Ranger. While Kattigan was fearful for Wulferic in episode 6, and Laura mentioned she was having traumatic flashbacks to Trinket’s life being in danger, the 2024 Beast Master has changed significantly from 2014. Namely, if Wulferic dies, so long as Kattigan touches him and expends a spell slot as a Magic action within the hour, he can be revived after a minute with all Hit Points restored. That’s a huge stress reliever. He also has a specific Beast of the Land stat block, rather than making use of a CR ¼ Beast from the Monster Manual. His total Hit Points are also calculated at 5 times Kattigan’s Ranger level, rather than the old method, which is 4 times Ranger level or the HP max of the Beast, whichever is higher. He does still add Kattigan’s proficiency modifier to his saves and throws, but his AC will instead be 13+Kattigan’s Wisdom modifier. It would be 15 either way at this level, but it’s worth noting so we know what to expect as the party levels!

As wolfish as he is in attitude, Kattigan is human like Azune, and should have an extra Origin Feat, as well as an extra skill proficiency. We know that he has a proficiency in Survival and Acrobatics, the level 1 spells Clue and Cure Wounds, and the cantrips Guidance and Spare the Dying. Neither Guidance nor Spare the Dying are Ranger spells, so Kattigan likely either has a Magic Initiate feat or the Druidic Warrior option in lieu of a Fighting Style. In the cooldown for episode 5, Robbie makes a comment about “full druids” and the temptation to spam Guidance, which confirms that if its source is Magic Initiate, it’s specifically Magic Initiate: Druid. We’re inclined to find Magic Initiate likelier than Druidic Warrior, because given Kattigan’s apparent martial bent, it seems unlikely that he would have passed over the option to take a Fighting Style.

There are two main options for Kattigan’s background: Guide and Soldier. We know his second Origin feat is Savage Attacker, used in episode 6, and that Robbie also said in episode 6 that Kattigan’s Intimidation is better than his Persuasion. Since these are both CHA-based skills, that means he has at least proficiency in Intimidation. That proficiency can’t come from his Ranger class, and the background Soldier, which also grants Savage Attacker, is the only background that grants it. Of course, it could also be his human Skillful proficiency; in that case, the likeliest option seems to be the Guide background, which grants Magic Initiate: Druid. Humans make sussing out specifics so tricky!

His use of Clue is also very informative more broadly, since it indicates that at least some third-party sources are available to the players. Clue is a 1^st level spell from the book Valda’s Spire of Secrets, which has a number of other spells we are quite interested in as possible choices for other player characters. That use of non-core sources may be how Kattigan learned Thieves’ Cant, also seen in episode 6, since it is an option on DnDBeyond as a language choice for those other than Rogues via The Griffon’s Saddlebag if that book has been purchased.

Kattigan’s weapon, an atlatl (a type of spear-thrower) with darts magically summoned from Wulferic’s empty quiver, is a cool bit of homebrew. We like the thought process that went into it, shortening the range to 20/40 as a tradeoff for making it more versatile and usable in melee combat as well. With 1d8+4 for damage when used as a ranged weapon we can see nerfed range in exchange for versatility definitely does not mean nerfed damage!

Julien

Julien’s build so far is fairly straightforward, though there is a lot we still don’t know. Like Azune, his multiclassing means that he does not have a subclass yet. Unlike Azune, we do know the level split between his two classes; he has one level in Rogue and two levels in Fighter, as he used both his Tactical Mind ability and Action Surge, both of which come into play at level 2 for Fighters. He has also used two Weapon Mastery properties, new for 2024: Vex for his rapier and Sap for his demi-gauntlet. Together, these make for a pretty brutal combo, giving Julien advantage on his next attack against a creature that he’s hit that turn (deadly in combination with Sneak Attack!) and giving that creature disadvantage on its next attack before Julien’s next turn, respectively. He’s also able to add a third Weapon Mastery, as well as to change out one of his Masteries out on a long rest—both useful if he ends up picking up any new arms.

Speaking of that demi-gauntlet, we noticed that it does magic damage, and that Julien was able to use it for an offhand strike, indicating it must have the Light property. However, attacking with an offhand weapon in the same turn as a main hand weapon requires that both weapons have the Light property, unless a character has the Dual Wielder feat. This is distinct from Two Weapon Fighting, a fighting style that Julien could have chosen, which allows additional damage on the offhand attack. Rapiers do not have the Light property, and the Dual Wielder feat is not available to players until level 4, so rules as written it is not a feat Julien could have. However, Thimble exhibits the same problem: at least one of her needle swords is a reskinned rapier, and she has also made bonus action offhand attacks.

We figure there are three possible explanations, outside player error: either Brennan has ruled that rapiers broadly have the Light property for Campaign 4, Julien and Thimble have special rapiers with the Light property, or Brennan has allowed them both to wave the level 4 requirement of Dual Wielder and take it in lieu of an origin feat. We don’t know Julien’s feats as a human (we’ll discuss Thimble more in-depth later), so it is possible! Regardless of how it’s come about, they both have exhibited the ability to make bonus action off-hand strikes, which synergizes very nicely with Vex.

The only other things we know about Julien are that he has proficiency in Acrobatics, Athletics, and Perception. Between all three of those being options for Fighters and Julien’s human species giving him an extra proficiency thanks to Skillful, we don’t really have much to work with in figuring out his background or his additional Origin feat, outside of the possibility of Dual Wielder discussed above. We’ll just need to wait and see.

Murray

We don’t know Murray’s proficiencies (beyond her expertise in Arcana), nor do we have a sense for her background. However, we do know quite a bit more about the rest of her build! Murray is one of our favorite Wizard subclasses, a Diviner Wizard, and she’s already put her portent die to good use with that natural 20 used to help extract the Stone of Nightsong from Occtis. For those not familiar, Murray gets to roll two portent dice after each long rest and, once per turn, can choose to use them to replace any d20 test for any creature she could see, before the roll is made. That means that the 2 she rolled on her other portent die was also excellent, as low rolls can be used to make enemies fail saves. Let’s hope Marisha’s portent rolls continue to be so fortuitous!

We also know a solid third of Murray’s spell list. For her three cantrips, she has Prestidigitation, Mage Hand, and Message. We also know she has the 1^st level spells Mage Armor, Identify, and Detect Magic, and the 2^nd level spell Hold Person. At level 3, she should have eight more spells in her pocket: her class grants her six more, and her subclass gives her two Divination spells up to level two for free. It’s possible that Identify and/or Detect Magic are subclass spells, since they are from the Divination school, so those eight remaining spells could come from any school of magic.

As a dwarf, Murray has Darkvision; Dwarven Resilience, which gives Poison resistance and advantage on associated saving throws; Dwarven Toughness, which gives her an extra hit point per level; and Stonecunning, which allows her to grant herself Tremorsense for 10 minutes as a bonus action if she is on a stone surface. She can currently do this up to two times per long rest.

We’re very keen to see what other science-coded spellcasting she’ll be doing in the future—and whether she’ll find any fun spells to add to her spellbook in Bolaire’s secret lair. As noted in Kattigan’s section, Valda’s Spire of Secrets is apparently on the table for this campaign, and there are some fun spells in that third party book that seem very well suited to Murray, such as Accelerate/Decelerate, Rumor, and Hangover.

Occtis

Welcome back to the land of the (sorta) living, Occtis! Our young Wizard seems fairly obviously a Necromancer, a subclass that hasn’t been rereleased for 2024 rules just yet but was made available as part of the Arcane subclass playtest materials released as Unearthed Arcana in June 2025. In that version, there were three main changes to the subclass from the 2014 version that are relevant at level 3. Unless there have been significant updates since then, Occtis has resistance to necrotic damage, two extra spells from the Necromancy school, and the Grim Harvest feature, which now activates whenever a leveled Necromancy spell is cast rather than whenever he kills a creature with a spell of any type. In the 2024 version of Grim Harvest, hit points received have shifted from being healing to temporary hit points, and their number is now equal to the spell’s level plus Occtis’ Intelligence modifier. He can also give those hit points to other creatures within 30 feet of him, not just himself. Again, though, the UA version of a subclass often changes before it is finalized, and Brennan and Alex may have chosen to tweak it themselves for this campaign, so we will need to pay careful attention to how those abilities are expressed at the table.

Other things we know about Occtis: we’ve seen that he has Expertise in Arcana, but we have no confirmation of his other proficiencies, nor do we know either of the Origin feats he would have as a human. (He will keep his human traits; Hollow One is a Supernatural Gift, not a species, so it is added on top of the creature’s original species.) It seems a fair bet that he might have the Noble background, and therefore the Skilled feat and proficiency in History and Persuasion, but that’s just guesswork.

We do have a guess for his non-background feat, however, and it springs from his AC. Occtis is sitting with a 16 AC as a level 3 wizard with 16 DEX. With no armor training available to him at this time, that AC should only be a 13. However, if he chose the Magic Initiate: Wizard feat as his second Origin feat via the human’s Versatile, he could choose Mage Armor as his additional 1^st level spell, and therefore cast it without expending a spell slot. Since it would in that case be free, and since the spell lasts 8 hours, Alex could theoretically just have a pre-agreed understanding that Occtis casts it at the start of each day, bringing his AC to 13+DEX. The problem with this theory is that stats cards have not reflected Mage Armor for any other PCs in recent campaigns, including Murray in this one. It would also mean that on long days, it would run out and his stat card no longer be up to date.

Equally or more likely, of course, is that he has something funky going on with his items instead: perhaps some tremendously buffed elven chain, or both a ring of protection and bracers of defense. We have seen other characters with interesting magic items already (Hal and the Liar’s Blade, Thaisha’s Lloy staff, Kattigan and Wulferic’s magic quiver). It’s hard to say for sure, but we look forward to finding out.

As a Hollow One, Occtis should have some abilities familiar to any fans of Campaign 3, sharing Laudna’s Unsettling Presence and Cling to Life. It’s uncertain how his Revenance (i.e. creature type) will be treated mechanically; in Campaign 3, Laudna was susceptible to Features such as Turn Undead, but in rules as written Hollow Ones ping as undead while remaining unaffected by those features. Whether Occtis is playing by RAW or otherwise remains to be seen.

As for Occtis’s known spells, he has used the Wizard mainstay cantrip Firebolt, the 1^st level spells Cause Fear and Disguise Self, and the 2^nd level spells Mind Spike and Spider Climb. We know from Alex’s Fireside Chat that he additionally has a custom-made spell, Summon Undead Critter, which we suspect is similar to the 1^st level Find Familiar. That means we still don’t know two of his starting cantrips, and 7 of his 12 leveled spells.

Teor

Episode 6 gave us our first glimpse of Teor in full action, revealing both his subclass and background (which we are very excited about)! The Guiding Bolt that he used to light up the battlefield is a Cleric spell with only two possible sources, the Acolyte background and the Oath of Glory subclass. Since Teor also used his Savage Attacker feat, we know that he has the Soldier background and therefore is an Oath of Glory paladin. Oath of Glory grants Teor the ability to expend a use of Channel Divinity after casting Divine Smite in order to distribute 2d8+his level temporary hit points to creatures he can see within 30 feet of himself. We got to see him use this Inspiring Smite ability against the Wraith. In addition to the aforementioned Guiding Bolt, Oath of Glory also gives him the 1^st level spell Heroism.

We’ve also noted two proficiencies for Teor, Athletics and Insight. That Athletics proficiency comes from his Soldier background, which also grants him a proficiency in Intimidation.

Presuming that Nama is a reskin of the Leonin species introduced to D&D in Mythic Odyssey of Theros, Teor should have Darkvision; a 1d4+ 3 slashing unarmed claw attack; an extra proficiency of either Athletics, Intimidation, Perception or Survival; and the once-per-rest Daunting Roar feature, a bonus action which causes enemies within 10 feet who fail a DC 13 Wisdom save to become frightened of Teor until the end of his next turn.

Thaisha

Thaisha has given us quite a lot of data points to work with! Thanks to her use of the feature Land’s Aid, we know that she is a Circle of the Land druid, and her use of Misty Step during the assault on Palazzo Davinos further indicates that at that time she had the Temperate Land Circle spell list prepared. This choice can be changed on Long Rest, so we shouldn’t expect Thaisha to always have Misty Step (or Shocking Grasp and Sleep, the other Temperate Land circle spells) at her disposal.

We also know that of the two possible Primal Orders, Thaisha is a Magician, which allows her to add her Wisdom modifier to Arcana and Nature checks. When Brennan called for an Arcana or Nature or Religion check, Aabria stated she had a +6 to the roll. Simple proficiency would have made her modifier for any of these abilities a +3 (+1 Int, +2 Proficiency). If, instead, she added her Wisdom modifier (+5) , we get the stated +6. Additionally, at level 3 Druids generally have only have two cantrips; Thaisha however has used at least three, Druidcraft, Guidance, and Shillelagh (we aren’t fully sure if she actually used Message when talking to Uli or if that was just a joke). Magician also grants a third cantrip, so that’s further evidence for Magician.

We also know from Thaisha’s +7 roll in episode 2 that she has a proficiency in Perception. She’s also rocking a magic item, her Lloy staff, that allows her to use spells otherwise beyond her level, specifically the 3^rd level Plant Growth and Speak with Plants (and with Metal, which is handy since this campaign has been very metal so far).

Her species is quite straightforward as an orc, and we’ve already seen her orcish traits in action in episode 4, with Thaisha using her full allotment of Adrenaline Rush and Relentless Endurance to make her way through the brutal battle at Palazzo Davinos.

There’s nothing yet that indicates a particular background for Thaisha, but for story purposes it could make sense to have her as an Artisan for the Crafter feat, specifically with proficiency in Smith’s Tools to connect her to her family’s metalworking. That’s not the most broadly useful of feats, however, so we would certainly not be surprised if Aabria opted for one of the other more practical backgrounds instead.

Thimble

What we know for certain about our tiniest, Roguish party member: she does NOT have proficiency in Intimidation, she does have proficiency in Insight, Nature, Sleight of Hand, and Survival, she has Expertise in Acrobatics and Stealth, and her species is a reskinned Fairy, giving her access to Faerie Fire and Druidcraft.[1]

We also now know Thimble’s subclass, previously hinted at via her high initiative rolls and Survival proficiency. Thimble is a Swashbuckler Rogue, confirmed by her use of the Fancy Footwork feature in the battle at the Wraith Tree. As with Occtis’ Necromancy, a final 2024 version of this subclass has not yet been published, but there is an Unearthed Arcana version we can look to, published on June 29, 2023 as part of the playtest for 2024. The base Rogue class from that document has a few small differences compared to what ended up in the Player’s Handbook, which is a good reminder not to take the UA version of Swashbuckler as the final word going forward. That said, the level 3 features for Swashbuckler in the UA version are the same as the 2014 version, with changes not becoming relevant until later levels.

In any event, it’s no wonder Laura mentioned she made Thimble difficult to grab: Fancy Footwork prevents a creature from making Opportunity Attacks against her on her turn if she first hits that creature with a melee attack, giving her a way to hit enemies and then slip away without risking reprisal—very useful for a character who we have not yet seen use ranged attacks. Rakish Audacity, meanwhile, allows her to add her Charisma modifier to her initiative rolls, which gives her a +8 total to initiative.

Thimble’s Survival proficiency can’t come from Rogue, which makes it a possible clue to her background. It could come from a background that grants the Skilled feat, such as Charlatan, Noble, or Scribe, but none of those really suit Thimble thematically. What does suit her, and was the only 2024 background available at the time of character creation to directly confer Survival proficiency[2], is the Guide background. This would grant her the Magic Initiate: Druid feat, giving her a couple more cantrips and one more single-use-per-long-rest level 1 spell from the Druid spell list, as well as grant her proficiency in Stealth and Cartographer’s Tools. However, we also know that at least one of Thimble’s needle swords is a reskinned rapier, as mentioned in our discussion of Julien’s off-hand attack. This makes us wonder if she has a custom background that allows her to take the Dual Wielder feat instead.

In any case, Thimble has two weapon masteries. The first, Vex for her rapier, she shares with Julien. We don’t know what she originally has as her second, but on her next long rest, Thimble will be able to retrain her second Weapon Mastery to the one associated with her new scimitar, Nick. Vex and Nick is a very nasty combo of proficiencies for Rogues in particular, since a hit with Vex would give her advantage on her next strike, allowing her to add Sneak Attack damage to her offhand strike with the scimitar if she hasn’t applied Sneak Attack that turn already (a benefit Julien can also enjoy). Nick would make the off-hand strike using a weapon with the Light property (such as the scimitar) part of her Attack action rather than a bonus action, meaning she’d still be able to use her Cunning Action to Dash, Disengage, or Hide. Combining that with Fancy Footwork means she could hit hard, fast, then dart away from enemies without worrying about them getting her for an opportunity attack. We’re starting to understand why Whitney called Thimble terrifying—she looks to be shaping up to be quite the skirmisher!

Of course, Nick isn’t the only fun thing about Thimble’s new blade. The magic +1 scimitar has a once-per-long rest spell it can cast. Since the sword specifically can only enchant objects around Thimble’s size, we suspect the spell being used is Tiny Servant, a 3^rd level spell. If that’s the case, any toy Thimble enchants should have a 15 AC and 10 hit points, and a slam attack that does 1d4+3 damage. It would remain animated for 8 hours or until it drops to 0 HP, and Thimble could use a bonus action to issue it a mental command if it was within 120 feet of her. Brennan also mentions that the scimitar does an extra 2d6 to non-corporeal foes—not too shabby for a toy!

Tyranny

We now have 100% confirmation that Tyranny is a reskin of Tiefling, and that her Thaumaturgy usage from episode 3 comes from the Otherworldly Presence feature associated with that species. Specifically, she is an Abyssal tiefling, which makes sense as that is the fiendish legacy associated with demons as opposed to devils, and which is confirmed by Tyranny’s resistance to poison (mentioned by Whitney while looking through her defenses to see if she was immune to the charmed condition). This also gives Tyranny the cantrip Poison Spray and the 1^st level spell Ray of Sickness, which she can cast once per long rest without using a spell slot.

We also have Tyranny’s Fiend patron subclass confirmed. We spoke about the specifics of this subclass when discussing Bolaire, but as a quick refresher, it gives her the 1^st level Fiend spells Burning Hands and Command and the 2^nd level spells Scorching Ray and Suggestion. We also saw her use the bread-and-butter Warlock cantrip Eldritch Blast, and the 1^st level Hex, and learned she has the Pact of the Blade Eldritch Invocation, flavored to be her claws. Her second Eldritch Invocation is Armor of Shadows, allowing her to cast Mage Armor without using a spell slot. We don’t know the third as of yet, but can rule out Agonizing Blast unless she chose to have it affect a different cantrip, since 5 points of damage on her Eldritch Blast would not be possible with her +5 to Charisma.

Tyranny has exhibited two proficiencies so far, Persuasion and Deception. Persuasion is interesting because it is not a Warlock proficiency, so it could be indicative of her background. There are three backgrounds that grant proficiency in Persuasion: Artisan, Merchant, and Noble, which have the associated feats Crafter, Lucky, and Skilled respectively. Of those three, a reflavored version of Noble seems the least unlikely. Whitney also mentions in the cooldown for episode 5, however, that Stealth is one of her highest skills. Since none of the backgrounds that grant Stealth proficiency could account for the Persuasion proficiency, and it also is not a Warlock proficiency, we can be reasonably certain that she has a background that grants her the Skilled feat (which allows a character to take three proficiencies of their choice). Noble would still work, but also on the table is Charlatan, which grants Deception, Sleight of Hand, and Skilled. There is also Scribe, but that has less of a Tyranny vibe to us, so we’re inclined to guess Charlatan.

Vaelus

We know quite a lot about Vaelus, thanks to her strong showing in the multiple combats she found herself in during the Overture. She knows the level 1 spells Command, Divine Smite, Hunter’s Mark, Guiding Bolt, and Shield of Faith.

Her use of Hunter’s Mark lets us know that her subclass is Oath of Vengeance, while her use of the Cleric spell Guiding Bolt implies that she aptly has the Acolyte Background, which gives her two Cleric cantrips and a first level Cleric spell she can cast once per day without a slot. A significant change to Magic Initiate in the 2024 version of the rules is that rather than casting your Initiate spells with the ability score usually associated with their class, you now get to choose which ability score you want to use out of Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma. That means that Vaelus can use her Charisma to cast Guiding Bolt rather than her slightly lower Wisdom. The Acolyte background would give her proficiency in Insight and Religion, and also we know that she also has a proficiency in Perception, although its source isn’t yet clear.

Something quite interesting is her resistance to Necrotic damage demonstrated in episode 4. Rules as written, this is not something we’d expect her to have. Brennan says in his narration that she has this resistance against the ghouls’ attacks because they are attempting to drain an immortal life force. It’s unclear whether this was a narrative choice by Brennan or something mechanically inherent to Vaelus’s build. Since the immortality of Elves in Aramán represents a change from base Dungeons and Dragons lore, it’s possible that the species’ mechanics have also been altered. If that is the case, we might guess that the subspecies-based spell lists granted to elves have been swapped out for something like the Aasimar Celestial Resistance ability, which grants resistance to both necrotic and radiant damage.

This is full speculation, however! It could be that Vaelus has an item like a Ring of Resistance or a Lifewell tattoo, or, again, it could be simply DM fiat in that situation given the meta nature of the attackers and the target. Regardless, we know that Vaelus does have other elf species traits, as she has Darkvision, does not need to sleep (Trance), and has advantage on saving throws against the Charmed condition (Fey Ancestry). If we see Vaelus cast either Dancing Lights or Faerie Fire, the species spells available to her as a Drow, it would imply that she is indeed a fully RAW Drow, so we will be looking out for those two spells in particular, as well as waiting to see if that necrotic resistance persists in other contexts.

Wicander

Wick is sneakily quite interesting! We, like many others, guessed pretty quickly that he is not actually a Cleric but a Sorcerer given his Wisdom and Charisma ability scores, and episode 6 confirms it. The natural assumption given his celestial grandparentage is that he would be a Divine Soul Sorcerer despite that subclass not yet having been reworked for 2024. However, in episode 5, Sam cancelled Wick’s disadvantage on a Stealth check. That maps to the level 3 Clockwork Sorcerer ability Restore Balance, and not to any ability available to Divine Soul Sorcerers. There are two spells we know that Wick has that aren’t on the Sorcerer spell list, Thaumaturgy, a cantrip mentioned many times already, and the level 1 spell Lesser Restoration. These are both Cleric spells, and Divine Soul Sorcerers have access to the Cleric spell list. Clockwork Sorcerers however also have access to Lesser Restoration, and Wick would be a natural fit for the Acolyte background, which (as we wrote about with respect to Vaelus) would give him two Cleric cantrips and one level 1 Cleric spell. It is possible that Sam has pulled off a two-layer trick here, using our assumptions against us.

However, it is also possible that Wicander has the Lucky feat and used a Luck point to cancel the disadvantage. That would be very against-type for Known Halfling Luck Hater Sam Riegel, but we can’t take it off the table until we get our hands on other evidence! The only other Clockwork spell available at level 3 that isn’t also on the Cleric spell list is Alarm, so if we see Wick cast that spell, then we’ll have confirmation. It’s also possible that in reimagining a Divine Soul Sorcerer for 2024, Critical Role has homebrewed the Favored by the Gods feature of that subclass to map closer to Restore Balance. We can’t say for certain.

What we can say for certain is that Wicander also has the cantrip Light, the 1^st level spells Color Spray and Shield, as well as Halovar’s Luminous Lash, which we’re very grateful Sam let us know is a reskin of the 2^nd level spell Maximilian’s Earthen Grasp. That’s three of his six leveled non-feat or subclass spells accounted for! If he is indeed a Clockwork sorcerer, he’d also have the 2^nd level Aid and 1^st level Protection from Evil and Good in addition to Alarm and Lesser Restoration. He also, unsurprisingly, has proficiency in Religion, as well as Persuasion.

Finally, Wicander’s Aasimar species was revealed in impressive fashion! The display Wick put on for the protectors of Hawthorn’s Glade was the Aasimar feature Celestial Revelation, specifically the Inner Radiance option. As Sam mentioned, it does damage to all creatures within 10 feet of Wick, equal to his proficiency bonus. He has access to both the Heavenly Wings (granting a flying speed equal to his walking speed) and Necrotic Shroud (which would make creatures within 10 feet that fail a Wisdom save of 15 Frightened of Wick) as well. Each of the options lasts for one minute, and he can make use of Celestial Revelation once per long rest. Aasimar is also where Wick’s Light cantrip comes from, and he has three other species features, to boot: Darkvision, Celestial Radiance, granting resistance to Necrotic and Radiant damage, and Healing Hands, which lets him touch a creature as a Magic action to heal 2d4 hit points once per long rest. That’s a heck of a lot of extra stuff for Wicander thanks to grandpappy, but we’re just happy we have one less human to figure out feats and proficiencies for—no need to worry about Versatile and Skillful here.

That wraps up what we know about our new player characters so far! With thirteen builds to break down, this has been a doozy, so if you made it all the way to the end, thanks for sticking with us. Once we get a few more confirmed details for our Soldiers, Seekers, and Schemers, we’ll be filling out a level up table just as we did for Campaign 3. We’re also working on finalizing our most requested feature, character sheets, so keep a weather eye on the horizon, for all that, and also for birds! Probably especially for the birds.

Footnotes

1. A note on Faerie Fire—Laura is right, her save for that spell should be higher than a 10! This is likely from a DnDBeyond mix up; when Faerie Fire is received via the Fairy species, the spellcasting ability needs to be set in the species menu to either Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma, otherwise it defaults to 8 plus proficiency. Currently Thimble has a +3 in both Wisdom and Charisma, so in the future, her save for Faerie Fire should instead be a 13. ↑
2. The recently released Forgotten Realms: Heroes of Faerun has added two more 2024 backgrounds that grant a Survival proficiency: Dead Magic Dweller and Emerald Enclave Caretaker. ↑