Brennan Lee Mulligan promised Critical Role Campaign 4 would be lethal, and he’s already living up to his word. In the early moments of “Stone-Faced,” the fourth and final episode of the Critical Role Campaign 4 overture, Alex Ward’s fresh-faced necromancer Occtis Tachonis is seemingly murdered and left for dead at the hands of his own family as part of House Tachonis’ siege on House Davinos. Mere hours into Critical Role Campaign 4, and players are already being asked to leave the table—did Alex Ward’s Occtis Tachonis really just meet his death before Critical Role even left the overture? We break it down.

Critical Role/Loren HontanillaJump To:Does Occtis Tachonis Die in Critical Role Campaign 4 ? How Did Occtis’ Death Occur? Is Occtis Tachonis Alive Again in Critical Role Campaign 4 & How Was He Resurrected From Death?Is Occtis a Revenant Now that He Has Been Resurrected? More Medical Particulars About Occtis’ Current Death/Undeath, Alive/UnAlive StatusBrennan Lee Mulligan and Alex Ward Share Insights on Occtis’ Death and Revenant Status During Critical CooldownAlex Ward’s Occtis May Gain New Abilities and Features as a RevenantHow to Watch Critical Role Campaign 4Does Occtis Tachonis Die in Critical Role Campaign 4? 

Short answer? Yes. In episode four of Critical Role Campaign 4, Alex Ward’s Occtis (and his beloved franken-fox Pincushion) are killed by his brother Ethrand Tachonis, marking the first player character death of the new campaign, and in record time for Critical Role.

How Did Occtis’ Death Occur? 

Occtis’ demise began in the final moments of last week’s episode, which saw Palazzo Davinos under siege by Occtis’ father and brother, Primus and Ethrand Tachonis (accompanied by a contingent of ghouls) in a full-scale attempt to eradicate both House Davinos and House Royce. As Thaisha (in the form of a wolf) raced to the scene, having been warned by Vaelus that the Occtis was in danger, Lady Aranessa and Occtis were already inside the Palazzo, taking on Occtis’ brother Ethrand and his cohort of ghouls.

Though Lady Aranessa puts up a valiant effort, Ethrand’s quick casting of a Silence spell cripples Occtis’ casting options, and the ghouls brute force Occtis onto a table, holding him down with a garrotte so Ethrand can take a knife and begin to saw his brother’s open. Ethrand labels Occtis a traitor and rips the beating heart from his now-open chest, replacing it with the Stone of Nightsong. And thus, Occtis Tachonis’ death occurs in Critical Role Campaign 4.

RELATED ARTICLE

CRITICAL ROLE CAMPAIGN 4, Episode 4 Recap: Masks, Murders, and Mayhem, Oh My!Is Occtis Tachonis Alive Again in Critical Role Campaign 4 & How Was He Resurrected From Death?Critical Role

Gutted and left for dead at the hands of his own family, Occtis drops to 0 hit points and (after some truly unfortunate rolls on his death saving throws, including a natural one) is killed. But as Occtis lays dead on the Critical Role Campaign 4 table (with Pincushion having disappeared before Vaelus and Thaisha’s eyes) his consciousness drifts into a liminal space between life and death. 

In the liminal space, Occtis hears Thaisha’s voice urging him to return to the waking world, but feels his father attempting to drag him into an eternal darkness. Bolstered by Thaisha’s encouragement, Occtis shakes himself free of his father’s grasp and begins to sew himself back together, mending the hole in his chest where his heart is now missing. Feeling something beneath the stitches, Occtis pulls a spectral version of  Pincushion and a feather from his chest before discovering the Stone of Nightsong in place of where his heart should be, and removing it. 

In the waking world, the rest of the party (sans the departed Soldiers table) arrive at Palazzo Davinos in time to see Thaisha desperately trying to cure wounds on Occtis’ dead body. After detecting powerful necromantic magic on the corpse, Bolaire (with the help of Thaisha’s guidance, Hal’s inspiration, and a crucial nat 20 portent roll from Murray) successfully removes the Stone of Nightsong from Occtis’ chest, which wakes him up from his death state in Critical Role Campaign 4. 

RELATED ARTICLE

Every Major Death From CRITICAL ROLE CAMPAIGN 4Is Occtis a Revenant Now that He Has Been Resurrected? 

(Seemingly) back in the land of the living, Occtis recounts the details of his experience to the party, including encountering Ethrand, hearing flapping wings, and seeing a number of strange scenes, including warring armies of the undead, an orcish warrior, and the face of his grandfather. 

Though both Vaelus and Thaisha attempt further healing on Occtis, Lay on Hands is ineffective, and Occtis realizes he has no breath or heartbeat: he’s awake, but no longer living. The episode ends with Occtis (and the rest of the party) unsure of what Occtis’ status in undeath is. 

More Medical Particulars About Occtis’ Current Death/Undeath, Alive/UnAlive Status

In Critical Role Campaign 4, episode five, we learned more particulars about Occtis’ current state of death/undeath/life/unlife. Here are some medical/biological facts Brennan Lee Mulligan filled in for us about Occtis:

Occtis no longer requires food or water to exist.Occtis does not feel tiredness in the same sense as he once did. But he also doesn’t feel energy, drive, passion, or anything of that sort.Occtis’ body is not restless, nor can it ever be restful. We additionally learn that Occtis cannot fall asleep.Occtis will not age.The functions of Occtis’ body to drink, procreate, and age are no longer existent. Occtis’ sense of touch has gone internal. He can feel his tendons move and bones twist against ligament and sinew. He is aware of his body as a thing.Occtis cannot become unaware of his breath, lest it stop. His breathing is now either conscious or absent.Occtis’ blood isn’t flowing.Any part of Occtis’ body he doesn’t actively command has gone so still, it is frightening to him.Brennan Lee Mulligan and Alex Ward Share Insights on Occtis’ Death and Revenant Status During Critical Cooldown

While Occtis’ sudden and tragic death came as a shock to the rest of the table, Brennan Lee Mulligan confirmed in the Critical Role Cooldown for episode 4 that Alex Ward had pitched his character as a revenant during character creation. According to Mulligan, Ward wanted to play a “necromancer hollow one who’s a member of one of the sundered houses,” and who was “murdered by his family and was a secret necromancer wizard.” 

Mulligan readily agreed, with the caveat that Occtis’ death would take place onscreen and not as part of his pre-campaign backstory, leading to the instantly-iconic encounter at Palazzo Davinos. In terms of specific undead terminology, Mulligan calls Occtis a “freaky revenant”, using the term interchangeably with “hollow one.”

Regarding Occtis’ status in un-death, Mulligan teased that viewers have not yet seen the “full ramifications of that roll” (referring to Murray’s nat 20) and that had the scene played out differently, Occtis may not have returned. Mulligan also joked that  “Occtis’ choices have brought us to one of the worst versions” of his revenant/hollow one status, but admitted that House Tachonis and the ghouls rolled exceptionally well during the combat. 

Alex Ward’s Occtis May Gain New Abilities and Features as a RevenantCritical Role

Though Mulligan has all manner of homebrew going on in Aramán, if Critical Role Campaign 4 follows traditional D&D rules, Occtis’ newfound status as a revenant gives him a few new abilities, including a bump to some of his base stats.

Revenants also have the “Relentless Nature” feature, which dictates that the revenant pursues a goal (typically related to their death), allowing them to regenerate if destroyed and return in constant pursuit of their mission. Crucially, though, revenants die permanently and cannot be restored once they fulfill their goal, which spells even more bad news for the already ill-fated Occtis. 

Although Occtis has returned to us alive for now in Critical Role Campaign 4, his true death may be just around the corner after all.

How to Watch Critical Role Campaign 4

Critical Role Campaign 4 premieres Thursdays at 7 pm PT on Beacon.tv and is streamed to Critical Role’s YouTubeand Twitch channels at that time, with the VOD available for everyone the following Monday at 12 pm PT and podcast episodes available in two parts: the first one week after the premiere, and the second on the following Tuesday.

Originally published on October 27, 2025.

The post Did CRITICAL ROLE CAMPAIGN 4 Already Kill a Player Character? appeared first on Nerdist.