Critical Role Campaign 4 returns in three weeks — here's what happened so far

Critical Role's fourth major D&D campaign is coming back in three weeks, and if you've fallen behind or need a refresher on what Brennan Lee Mulligan has been cooking in the world of Aramàn, now is the time to catch up.

Campaign 4 launched in October 2025 with Mulligan — best known as the Dungeon Master behind Dimension 20 on Dropout — stepping in for Matthew Mercer to run a story set not in the familiar world of Exandria but in Aramàn, a godless world still reeling from the Shaper's War, a revolution that toppled the gods 70 years prior. Magic is broken, the tyrannical Sundered Houses are clawing back power, and the common people of Pasitar are caught in the middle. The campaign uses a West Marches structure, splitting 13 players across three tables — Soldiers, Seekers, and Schemers — each representing a different D&D playstyle and a different angle on the same unfolding conflict.

The first arc kicked off with a funeral: the death of Thjazi Fang, a war hero who led the failed Falconers' Rebellion against the Sundered Houses in the city of Dol-Makjar. From there, the three tables scattered. The Soldiers — pixie rogue Thimble (Laura Bailey), katari paladin Teor Pridesire (Travis Willingham), aasimar sorcerer Wicander Halovar (Sam Riegel), demonic aspirant Tyranny (Whitney Moore), and ranger Kattigan Vale (Robbie Daymond) — went after the traitor Casimir and to rescue Teor's brother Cyd Pridesire. The Schemers table features dwarf wizard Murray (Marisha Ray), orc bard Halandil Fang (Liam O'Brien), warlock Bolaire Lathalia (Taliesin Jaffe), and sorcerer/paladin Azune Nayar (Luis Carazo).

The tone from the start has been darker and more politically charged than previous Critical Role campaigns — closer to Game of Thrones territory than the high fantasy of Campaigns 1 through 3. With the return date three weeks out, this is a solid window to binge the first arc before the story picks back up.