Critical Role's Age of Umbra Sallowlands is a story of grief and lost community

After many months of teasing, Age of Umbra: Sallowlands — the next venture from Critical Role into the dark and foreboding setting of its Daggerheart campaign — is finally here. After the Halcyon Domain was abandoned by the gods, the world quickly became a nightmarish place, forcing its inhabitants to adapt or face their demise.

However, there is hope on the horizon. Five adventurers set out to explore the unknown region of the Sallowlands after hearing rumors of a metropolis teeming with life and magic that appeared out of nowhere. To learn more about the series, Polygon spoke with Vico Ortiz, who plays the galapa seraph Caguama, in the upcoming Daggerheart miniseries, about what fans should expect from both their character and Sallowlands when it debuts on July 9.

Polygon: This is your first time playing with Critical Role. Would you say you're a huge tabletop nerd, or is this something very new for you?

Vico Ortiz: It's not new, but this particular setup is new to me. I've played TTRPGs before, but usually just a one-off and that's it. I've been trying so hard to get on a campaign with friends that's either biweekly or once a month, but my schedule is so crazy. [...] I started learning English because of D&D. I'm Puerto Rican, born and raised, and my English teacher was a major nerd and was like, "I'm gonna get y'all to like practice conversational English by playing D&D."

So, once I moved to LA and began speaking English much more fluently, I was surrounded by people who played TTRPGs. This is how I met Marisha [Ray]: I began doing stunts when I first moved to LA and Marisha was building her stunt demo reel, so that's how I connected with her. Years later, we ran into each other again at a UK convention, and she was like, "Bro, we would love to have you at the table."

I've done a bunch of one-shots, and in all of them, I usually die. I had a one-shot during lockdown, [...] I was a Kenku, and I died in the most ridiculous way. I was trying to look for my bag of trinkets, and then it fell in the darkness, and I was like, "Well, maybe I can just rummage through the darkness and see if I can find something." No, I slipped, I fell, I hit my head, I bled to death. So, when they approached me about playing Age of Umbra, I read the show's concept and was like, "I'm doomed."

Is this you hinting to me that your character's not making it?

[Laughs] It's too early.

When going into Age of Umbra, did you know everyone would have this creepy, Elden Ring-esque vibe?

Not at all. I still had about a month to prepare and all that stuff, but I think I came a little bit to the tail end. So when I met up with everybody, and they were describing their characters to me, I was like, "Oh my God." Then when the artwork started to show up, I was like, "This is gnarly, yo." And then I was like, "Oh, Caguama has seen some shit." So, I did send [Matt Mercer] a whole nine-page biography of the character. I went in, and it shows.

Could you tell me a little more about your character? I've read somewhere that, and I don't know if this is accurate, Caguama is slang for beer.

It is, and it isn't. So Caguama means "sea turtle" in the indigenous language of Puerto Rico, but I did not know that it's also slang for a size of beer in Mexico. And then I knew that was going to be a whole thing." [Laughs] In the comments, I could see who is Puerto Rican and who is Mexican just based on their reactions. I'm like, "This is amazing." I had no idea.

But yeah, "Caguama" means sea turtle, and Caguama is a galapa seaborne seraph. So I thought that if I was going to be a sea turtle, then I'm going to call them Caguama.

What inspired you to pick the Seraph class?

I was reading more about the world and how magic is seen as something to be feared or resented. I saw a lot of parallels with that and also being trans and non-binary, and how sometimes we're scared of our own magic because we've been told that it's bad. So I loved the idea of a character with this really beautiful magic who has been afraid to use it for the longest time. But because they haven't been using it, a lot of horrible things have happened; they haven't been brave enough to show up and take up space. I loved this setting where I could slowly explore Caguama and be inspired by the characters around them, who also have that magic: “Wow, these people do these things, and they're using them, and it's good. Maybe it's not that bad.”

Let’s discuss the collaborative process further. Did Matt Mercer come in with a character background, or did you already have an idea about where to take your character in this miniseries?

I talked to Matthew about how I want to make sure I am developing a character who does things a little bit unorthodox, someone who doesn’t love violence. I want someone who's navigating a lot of grief, pain, and guilt. I wanted to figure out all those things. That's why I thought that a Seraph would work really well, and having a galapa, who is also an older character, 102 years old, who has glimpses of the past that are really beautiful and magical, and is holding onto those slivers of hope. I'm also an Islander, so I want to make sure that my Caribbean roots come through in this character as well.

Once I got those things down, I just sat down and did a lot of research on the world we were going to explore and the communities we were going to be surrounded by. I just started to create a whole freaking backstory. It's 102 years, you know? I made a whole PDF document with timelines as well, and I just asked [Matthew Mercer], "Hey, are there any big revolutions, uprisings, communities, or gossip and things that maybe I should be aware of because I've been alive for 102 years?” So with the information that Matthew provided, I began to tether a story that is now Caguama. All that background was just me researching, asking questions, Matthew sending me documents, me looking at the maps, etc. All these little things I created based on what I was provided. It was a lot of fun.

Could you describe the party dynamic for Sallowlands? Are you partners, rivals, etc?

What I love about this is that everybody comes in with various perspectives. Some people have different experiences from the Sallowlands and whatnot. Caguama and Alphonse are two characters who share many similar experiences, but the way we approach things is very different. Caguama comes in knowing no one. [...] There's a kinship towards Sister because there is something there that's like, "Oh, I feel the way you explore magic is similar to what I would like to explore with magic." Then you have Dillwyn, who's so precious. I feel that, in some ways, Caguama has an elder energy, even though there's still a little bit of childlike energy, because for so long they've been kind of like a recluse, right?

I know that Mercy and Sister have a backstory, and then Dillwyn and Mercy came together. So Alphonse and Caguama are technically the two people who come in without truly knowing what’s going on. But it's just so fascinating to see the ways in which we've all experienced deep abandonment, guilt, pain, grief, and how we approach these things very differently depending on our life experiences.

You’ve mentioned grief a couple of times now. Would you say that’s a big theme for Sallowlands?

I think so because there's a lot of loss. Even Caguama, who's been alive for 102 years, has experienced a lot of loss and is tired of losing people. [...] Sister has a backstory around losing the power of the magic that she and her sisters were nurturing. Mercy also has a lot of loss. Everyone has lost community. The thing that unites them is that they've lost community, and how does that loss manifest? How does that grief manifest? [The campaign] is really emotional and character-driven.

What would you say has been the most surprising thing for you about Sallowlands?

What surprised me most was how beautifully the dice told the story. The way the dice were speaking felt very magical. I feel like [dice] always nurtures the story even more, but I cannot explain how everyone's dice rolls truly created profound and bone-chilling character and story development. Even when the rolls were not good, it just reinforced the ways in which we're developing the characters, and it's just insane. I was like, "I cannot believe this is showing up in this way."

Last but not least, if you had to describe the Sallowlands just using just three words, what would they be?

Fear, compassion, resilience.

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Age of Umbra: Sallowlands premieres on July 9 on Twitch, YouTube, and Beacon.tv at 10 p.m. PDT. If you can’t catch the episode live, don’t worry — Critical Role posts the episode to YouTube the following Monday at 3 p.m. EDT/12 p.m. PDT.