Despite being only 24 episodes in, there have been several jaw-dropping reveals throughout Critical Role’s newest actual play Dungeons & Dragons campaign so far. The world of Aramán, created by Dungeon Master Brennan Lee Mulligan, has a rich history that emerges in every new episode, with hints of an intricate lore that fans are eager to uncover.
While the amount of detail that can be shared in an episode is limited, thanks to information revealed in The Lore Keeper’s Ledger — an exclusive monthly newsletter for Beacon members, written by Lore Keepers Dani Carr and Jared Deiro — we now know vital lore details about Campaign 4’s deities, The Shapers, as well as the timeline of what’s occurred throughout the first 24 episodes so far. Most importantly, these new details hint at what might potentially happen in the future.
[Ed. note: This article contains spoilers for episodes 1-24 of Critical Role Campaign 4.]
First and foremost, the Ledger unveiled lore details that Critters have been wondering about since the very beginning of Campaign 4: The Shapers’ names, titles, domains, and which people in Aramán are their children.
The Shapers have been mentioned various times throughout Campaign 4, and if you’ve been piecing information together bit by bit, you’ll have had at least some idea of which Shaper corresponds to which people. But now Critters have written confirmation, which we’ve laid out below.
- Sylandri: The Green Mother, Goddess of Life, and Shaper of Elves
- Tansul: The Bright, God of the Sun, and Shaper of Humans
- Trozhna: The Skilled, Goddess of the Forge, and Shaper of Dwarves
- Ilumi: The Weaver, Goddess of the Moon, and Shaper of Gnomes
- Rauwyn: The Trickster, Goddess of Luck, and Shaper of Halflings
- Azgra: The Conqueror, God of War, and Shaper of Orcs
- Omra: The Hunter, God of the Wilds, and Awakener of the Beastfolk
Omra is the newest Shaper, as his name was revealed in episode 24, “Good Tidings.” Unlike the other Shapers, however, Omra is not given credit for ‘creating’ or ‘shaping’ his children of the Beastfolk (think Travis Willingham’s Katari paladin, Teor Pridesire), only awakening them from their previous unthinking and unconscious state.
In the current year of Campaign 4, it has been 71 years since the end of the Shapers’ War — an event that began with the orcs creating and wielding the Pariah Blades against their god, Azgra. Despite Azgra’s brutality against his own people, the other Shapers rushed to their sibling’s defense, leading other mortals to fear that the gods cared more for themselves than for their followers. The rest of mortalkind was thus inspired to turn against their own Shapers, leading to a brutal war that ended only when the gods of Aramán had been destroyed.
While mortals were now free to forge their own path, the destruction of the gods had severe consequences for Aramán. For one thing, the celestial servants of the Shapers went mad and were either hunted down and killed or imprisoned. Meanwhile, the loss of the psychopomps that helped usher the Shapers’ people to the afterlife led to uncertainty about where the dead would go, which mostly left people’s souls in limbo, but also led to an increase in the undead that wander the world of Aramán. Magic also ceased to be as useful as before, and entire regions where the Shapers were slain have become Barrowdells, areas warped and changed, some becoming inhospitable and dangerous like the Stormwrack’s endless storm and the Eternal Night’s perpetual darkness.
Even with the Shapers gone, much of Aramán still pays homage to them. During the Archanade’s gala, an event celebrating Halandil Fang’s (Liam O’Brien) upcoming play at the Hallowed Round, attendees wear masks based on the Shapers. Unfortunately, the masks also allow a form of anonymity that makes it hard for the Schemers to identify who is who.
This proves particularly troublesome, as “Good Tidings” ended on an agonizing cliffhanger — King Augustus of Timmony (first mentioned during the Soldiers table arc) is set to be assassinated, and the Schemers have only moments to prevent it.
However, regardless of the outcome of the Archanade’s gala, it doesn’t look as though the Schemers will be dealing with the aftermath by themselves. Thanks to the Ledger, we finally have a timeline that allows us to have more than just guesswork on what’s happening with each table throughout their separate arcs.
Overall, only 10 days have passed since the day Thjazi Fang was executed — that was a whole 24 episodes ago, back when Campaign 4 debuted on Oct. 2, 2025.
Three days later, the Schemers lay Thjazi to rest while the Seekers’ table is traveling into the Kavrosi Mountains, and the Soldiers find sanctuary in the fairy camp of Hawthorn’s Glade. Seven days later, the Archanade gala has arrived, with the Ledger stating that both the Soldiers and Seekers are “nearing their return to the city.”
We’ve known since the beginning of Campaign 4 that, with 13 cast members, it would be extremely difficult to keep everyone at the same table together, and so it was necessary for everyone to branch off into three smaller tables of Soldiers, Seekers, and Schemers. However, now with the two other tables returning to the city, it’s looking more and more likely that several catalytic events will occur, and they will require the full strength of the Campaign 4 cast to face them.
Episode 25 of Critical Role Campaign 4 is set to debut this Thursday night on Twitch, YouTube, and Beacon.tv at 10 p.m. PDT.
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