Taliesin Jaffe just answered one of Critical Role's biggest mysteries in the latest Campaign 4 episode

A question has been answered, but yet another has sprung up in its place

Ever since Campaign 4 of Critical Role made its debut in October 2025, Dungeon Master Brennan Lee Mulligan has set up an abundance of mysteries that have yet to be answered. What was Thjazi Fang’s real plan? What role do demons have in this forsaken world? What are the Sundered Houses' plans for Aramán? Considering we’re only 29 episodes into a Dungeons & Dragons campaign that we suspect will last for at least 100 more, we don’t expect to get answers to major questions anytime soon.

However, one huge mystery that had fans speculating for months just got answered thanks to Critical Role co-creator and cast member Taliesin Jaffe.

From the moment Critters met Jaffe’s character Bolaire Lathalia, an unsettling mystery surrounded the mask he wore. However, only a few episodes into Campaign 4’s overture, it was revealed that Bolaire wasn’t wearing the mask; rather, Bolaire was the mask. He is a powerful artifact that can possess the people who wear him, taking over their bodies. Alongside his brothers and sisters (also masks), Bolaire was constructed during the Shapers War for the purpose of slaying the halfling god, Rauwyn. Over the years, Bolaire participated in numerous conflicts before being inspired to leave war behind after witnessing a play that showed there was joy to be found elsewhere.

Yet, while the mystery of Bolaire’s backstory was answered, several other questions were raised along the way, the number one being: What would happen if Bolaire were placed on another player character rather than an NPC?

Throughout the cold openings and the Schemers arc, Critters witnessed Bolaire take control of a few different people, but all of them were NPCs. However, episode 28 of Campaign 4, “Chasing Shadows,” saw Bolaire leaving his old body behind, and then ask demon aspirant Tyranny (Whitney Moore) to place him on her face. While she did not don the mask in that episode, the following one, “Opening Night,” saw the demon put it on. The following scenes quickly addressed some questions we’ve had since the start of Campaign 4.

Every time Bolaire has put the mask on another creature, the creature has either been dead or unconscious. Even so, Bolaire has had to fight with what we assume is the NPC’s soul in order to maintain control of that body. When Tyranny dons the mask, however, Mulligan asks Jaffe whether he believes it could work on demons.

Jaffe’s answer clarifies that because Tyranny is an intelligent, humanoid creature who isn’t many levels above him, Bolaire shouldn’t have a problem connecting with Tyranny. Tyranny immediately gains knowledge of Bolaire’s stats, spells, and abilities. She remains conscious and in control of her senses and body because she has consented to putting the mask on herself. That said, Bolaire can use her body to make her speak if he so chooses, as he does to reassure Wicander Halovar (Sam Riegel) that he is there with them on their mission in the Villa Aurora.

29 episodes in, this is the first time that a player character has used Bolaire in such a way. This also clarified what it takes for Bolaire to bind with a person in the first place. Namely, putting it on someone who doesn’t consent to wear it is “tricky,” so the person must be unconscious, tricked, asleep, or not powerful enough to resist Bolaire’s influence.

Bolaire’s unique status as a living artifact and his capacity to take over people’s bodies were proven once more invaluable in this latest episode, where he takes control of a random NPC during the infiltration mission, allowing him to accompany Wicander and Tyranny into the Sundered Houses meeting. However, taking over another player character's body is a murky issue.

It’s generally a good rule of thumb in any TTRPG game not to rid a player of control of their own character, and at first I was concerned that this was about to happen with Tyranny. Ridding a player of their agency pushes that player to the background, where they can’t make decisions for that character and thus takes them out of the game. Because TTRPGs are a collaborative experience, doing so can often lead to miscommunication and — in worst-case scenarios — upset feelings that could cause players to leave the table.

Thankfully, Jaffe and Mulligan both seem to have bypassed that particular issue by making Tyranny fully conscious and able to remove the mask whenever she wants. Because of Bolaire’s abilities to shape the mask to look like whoever is wearing it, the party now has a way to sneak Bolaire into scenarios right along with them, while also allowing whoever is wearing Bolaire to control their body.

Yet, as with all questions answered, another has sprung up in its place. What would it look like if Tyranny hadn’t consented? Considering Mulligan had a hard rule of ‘no evil characters’ in Campaign 4, we doubt we’ll ever find that out, but it’s certainly a thought we’ll mull over for the foreseeable future. One mystery down in Campaign 4, ten thousand more to go!

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