Critical Role Campaign 4's Most Surreal Moment Was Inspired by a 400-Year-Old Story

Et tu, Brute?

The beauty of having many creative minds work together on an actual-play Dungeons & Dragons campaign like Critical Role is that you're practically guaranteed to get a wealth of inspiration. For example, Taliesin Jaffe drew inspiration for his character in Campaign 4 from Grog's magical swords, while Dungeon Master Brennan Lee Mulligan took ideas for the world of Aramán from the iconic TV show, The Wire.

Now, Liam O'Brien has brought his own spin on one of Campaign 4's most surreal and beautiful moments: the theater.

Critical Role combines Dungeons & Dragons with Shakespeare

O'Brien has never hidden that his character, Halandil Fang, a bard who runs a theater company at the Hallowed Round outside Dol-Makjar, was inspired by O'Brien's love of the theater.

As revealed in Critical Role's October Lore Keeper Ledger (available exclusively on Beacon, Critical Role's streaming service), O'Brien was the mastermind behind KoTher'ai, a play that follows orcish warrior Vokjan Murzat, who rallied the Rungjani people against the orc god Azgra, but was ultimately betrayed by those he trusted. This play has become a key piece in the story told by Campaign 4, as both heroes and villains converge around the event, each with different goals.

As the Lore Keeper Ledger reveals, in the conception of the KoTher'ai, O'Brien chose to follow a historical figure from the world of Aramán, following the example of the greatest playwright of our time: William Shakespeare. Shakespeare often wrote stories about historical figures, like Julius Caesar and Henry the Fifth. He wrote the play Julius Caesar in 1599, drawing mostly on Plutarch's Parallel Lives. The link between Caesar's death in 44 BC and the tale of the orc hero is clear: Although Caesar wasn't a rebel like Vokjan, he was bringing about deep changes in the power structure of Rome, which some deemed a sin punishable by death.

As Critters see in the KoTher'ai, Vokjan suffers the same fate as Caesar: a trusted friend, after confronting the priests of Azgra, betrays him and kills him, causing the other rebels to panic and turn on one another. Caesar was killed by Brutus, who was almost considered an adoptive son by Caesar.

In Critical Role, the tale of rebellion and the tragedy that befalls Vokjan and the Rungjani people serve as a call to take up arms against the modern oppressors, the Sundered Houses. However, as the play focuses on historical events, and as the fall of the Shapers is seen as a modern-day societal good (despite the Sundered Houses' grudge about losing their station), the villains cannot openly object to the KoTher'ai, trying instead to censor and manipulate it in clever ways.

O'Brien wanted to merge ancient Greek theater with the Elizabethan tradition, mixing chants, dances, a chorus, and soliloquies. It's an ambitious goal for a game of D&D, but the most interesting aspect is how O'Brien focused on Shakespeare's use of history to entertain and, at the same time, teach lessons about present times. The Bard was able to capture the joy and turmoil of humans with such beauty and elegance that he keeps being relevant 400 years later, even in unexpected creative fields like a game of D&D.