Critical Role Wiki

This wiki contains spoilers for the entirety of Critical Role and The Legend of Vox Machina. Proceed at your own risk!

READ MORE

Critical Role Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Critical Role Wiki
This page is about the fey in Campaign Three. For the member of the Somnovem in Campaign Two, see Ira (Somnovem).

Ira Wendagoth[8] (pronounced /ˈaɪrə ˈwɛndəˌɡɒθ/), also called the Nightmare King,[9] is a fey creature who operated in a secret basement of the Moon Tower in the Mirror Towers of the Core Spire of Jrusar, and also collaborated with Oleander and Birdie Calloway to build the Veilscatter Scope just outside Bassuras. As an NPC, Ira is played by Matthew Mercer.

Description[]

Appearance[]

Ira Wendagoth - Max Dunbar

Fan art of Ira Wendagoth, by Max Dunbar.[art 2]

Ira's skin is a mix of pale gray and jaundiced yellow, and he is between twelve and thirteen feet tall[10] and very thin.[11] He has neither nose nor eyebrows and his lipless, jagged mouth resembles that of a jack-o-lantern in a smile that travels to his ears. His ears rise much higher than any known elf's and point backward. Both his eyes show a dark, solid color between green[12] and black.[13] He has two long prehensile toes on each foot that help him climb.[14]

Personality[]

Ira is cruelly arrogant. He is scathingly critical of Vali Dertrana's "dullard mind", and casual about using both "riffraff from the Steps" and Mahaan children for his experimentation.[15] He hummed happily while he worked in an attempt to harness Gurge Kisgregg's lycanthropic abilities[16][17]

Biography[]

Background[]

Ira Wendagoth had been hired by one of the sides in the Apex War and was "listless" after its end, having been trapped in Exandria at least since then.[18] According to Yu Suffiad, Ira had been cast out of both the Seelie and Unseelie Courts as a "mad scientist",[19] one of his creations being hand mirrors able to summon dark versions of changelings to chase a target.[20] He was also part of their secret project connected with Ruidus, but he was removed from it[21] after building the Malleus Key in the Shiver Keep.[22]

"Thicker Grows the Meal and Plot" (3x09)[]

When Chetney Pock O'Pea searched Vali Dertrana's office in the Moon Tower, he found a hidden stairway leading to a cellar. From the top of the stairs, Chetney overheard Vali urging Ira to complete his plot quickly. Ira responded that Vali "failed to grasp the beautiful pattern [he] had already constructed across the city", and asked him to bring him some "riffraff from The Steps", and a Mahaan child "just to spice things up".[23]

"Ghosts, Dates, and Darker Fates" (3x10)[]

Nightmare King by Lap Pun Cheung

Fan art of Ira the Nightmare King in his laboratory, by Lap Pun Cheung.[art 3]

Upon returning to the office in the Moon Tower, Chetney snuck to the bottom of the hidden stairway to discover Ira working on a blue gem, utilizing electrical bolts and a large mechanical construct. Chetney recognized a figure in a holding cell nearby to be Gurge Kisgregg, and telepathically signaled Imogen to tell the party to quietly join him in hiding at the base of the stairs. However, as they approached, Ira faced them with a sinister greeting.

"Chasing Nightmares" (3x11)[]

Ira initially made conversation with the party, asking them what they were doing. He confirmed that he was holding Gurge as part of a project that required volunteers, and that he had been hired by a man named Armand to do so, with Vali Dertrana as his supervisor. He also confirmed that he was, indeed, the Nightmare King. However, when the party asked that he free Gurge immediately, he told them that he was unimpressed with their manners, and dropped a glowing blue stone that animated the furniture in the room, and the tables and chairs attacked the party. Combat ensued. During the fight, Ira recognized Fearne as a Calloway by scent. After the furniture had been destroyed and he was beginning to become more seriously wounded, he began to cast a spell before looking back at Fearne. Seemingly indecisive, he abandoned whatever spell he was beginning. Bidding the party farewell, he expressed hope that Fearne was resourceful enough to "survive" and teleported from the room. Shortly thereafter, the Moon Tower exploded.

"Dark Portents" (3x29)[]

The party learned that Fearne's parents Birdie and Oleander Calloway had been working with Ira to build an arcane construct utilizing the Moontide Crown that would apparently work against the destruction of the Feywild by the influence of the newly-appearing moon Ruidus there, with Fearne at its center. Yu Suffiad had a hand mirror created by Ira that contained corrupted shadow assassins that would target anyone the mirror was activated and pointed at.

"Reunion & Revelation" (3x30)[]

I had grown weary of such post-war times. As my innumerable talents were no longer of use to those who once paid me so handsomely for my work, between a Wild that bored me and a world that forgot me, I was restless. Then these two found me. They were clutching Unseelie secrets and speaking a prophecy of terrible portent. It aligned with my own noticing of these Ruidian flares. Yes, I've done many impulsive and selfish things, but... it seemed interesting enough to pursue.
– 
Ira explaining his past.[24]
[!h]

Bells Hells met Ira again in the Calloway Layaway, where he was nonchalant about their previous meeting, focusing more on the project at hand, especially after receiving the Weave Lens he had commissioned from Morri Calloway. After installing the last piece in his telescope he encouraged the adventurers to look, seeming curious when Imogen theorized that there was a deity trapped in Ruidus.

"Breaking Point" (3x31)[]

Ira demanded to know what Orym and Imogen saw through the scope, but Imogen told him they saw only the arcane cage around Ruidus. Ira immediately looked through the apparatus himself and began chuckling. Fresh Cut Grass cast Detect Thoughts on him, reading curiosity and excitement, but when they tried to push in further, they read nothing before a vision of Ira's face intruded, inflicting psychic damage and bringing them close to unconsciousness. After apparently having cast a Wall of Force around himself, Ira thanked everyone for helping bring his project to fruition, then rapidly scanned with the scope, saying he wanted to "watch their faces as they fail." When questioned, he admitted he was responsible for the original build of the machine in the Feywild for the Unseelie Court and their allies Otohan Thull and an older gentleman named Ludinus. Although there were tensions in the group, they were close to finishing when the Calloways stole the Moontide Crown. Ira took that as his cue to leave and pursue completion of the device on his own. However, since the Court is now chasing the Calloways, Ira will not associate with them further. He pulled the Crown from the scope and placed it on his head, bowed, and disappeared in a flash of purple energy.[25]

"The Aurora Grows" (3x49)[]

Ira revealed he had been contacted by Ludinus Da'leth to design the first of the Malleus Keys in the Fey Realm based on some concept drawings he was shown. To the best of Ira's knowledge, this key was meant to gather energy through a lens and act as a strengthening device for another construction elsewhere. Ira grew curious about the source of those drawings, but was kicked off the project once the first Key was completed. He now wanted to destroy what the others had built in order to demonstrate he was the superior designer, and for revenge. He helped the Calloways steal the Moontide Crown. When Imogen told him Bells Hells had destroyed the Fey Realm key, he clearly had mixed feelings but then let them look at the Tishtan excavation site key through the Veilscatter Scope. He suggested using the Moontide Crown to create a power overload on the key to destroy it.

"The Apogee Solstice" (3x51)[]

After Bells Hells left them alone on the bomb-laden Silver Sun, Xandis and Ira did as had promised, flying the ship directly into the Malleus Key. However, a Wall of Force cast by Ludinus Da'leth prevented it from doing any damage to the Key. Laudna asked Ira if he had any suggestions for destroying the Key at this point, and Ira said he'd see what he could do. A few minutes later, he caused a heavy explosion of some kind underground beneath the site. Liliana noticed him escaping and cast Banishment on him, presumably sending him to the Fey Realm. Since Liliana's concentration on the spell was broken before one minute passed, Ira returned to the Material Plane but was unable to act in time to stop the Key's activation.

"A Path of Vengeance" (3x65)[]

Days later, back in Jrusar, Bells Hells tried to contact Ira via Sending, but failed. Fearne cast Scrying and managed to locate him, in the middle of a red storm in the surface of Ruidus, and interacting directly with what it looked like a reilora.

"Arrival at Kreviris" (3x87)[]

When Bells Hells were in Ruidus, on their way to the city of Kreviris, FCG decided to contact Ira and let him know they were in the red moon, expressing interest in meeting him. However, the Nightmare King was evasive in his answers, avoiding confirming his location and stating how interested the adventurers were in seeking him out to meet him.

Character information[]

Ira facing Chetney - RubyDianArts

Fan art of Ira facing Chetney, by Dian Huynh.[art 4]

Notable items[]

  • Animating stone,[26] a magic item that animates objects.
  • Needle-like spyglass, pickpocketed by Fearne but later returned by her[27]

Abilities[]

  • Damage resistance: Psychic[28]
  • Magic resistance[29]
  • Multiattack: Two claw attacks.[30]
  • Fey Step: Teleport as a bonus action.[31]
  • Use bonus action to magically frighten creatures within 60 feet.[32] Targets repeat the save at the end of their turn to end the effect.[33]
  • Legendary Actions (at least 2 per round)[34]
    • Cast a cantrip[35]
    • Make a claw attack[36]
  • According to Oleander Calloway, Ira can change his guise around other people.[37] It is unknown if he meant it as some sort of illusion or if Ira can shapechange into humanoids.

Spellcasting[]

Cantrips[]
3rd level[]
4th level[]
  • Dimension Door[41]
  • Polymorph[42]
  • Vitriolic Sphere[presumed][43]
5th level[]

Appearances and mentions[]

Ira the Nightmare King - MateuszWilma

Fan art of Ira, the Nightmare King, by MateuszWilma.[art 5]

Quotations[]

  • Ira: (to Gurge) Oh, do not worry, friend. You've a gift, a gift that you hoard so selfishly. I want to see it shared with the people. After all, why not share your gifts with the world?[45]
  • Ira: (to Bells Hells) This is certainly a surprise. I heard there was company coming, but I wasn't expecting... acquaintances. I do apologize for the means in which we left off last time. Things are complicated.[46]
  • Fresh Cut Grass: That's all you get out of this - intellectual curiosity?
    Ira: Well, if you destroy everything, how am I to play with it?[47]
  • Ira: This is deeply curious. There is much more to this moon than even I theorized. Historically, Ruidus has been thought to change things, believed to bring dark tidings, corrupted fates. I took it as mere superstition, but when they all became so invested in it, when it peeked through, when all these patterns, as Hondir said, how could I not want to pull on the thread myself? After all, what am I if not a lifelong master of things that evolve into something greater?[48]
  • Ira: I see what they're doing. Not much time, but I must watch their faces as they fail. They were fools when they thought they could do this alone. They were fools to think others wouldn't work to steal the thunder out from under them. But me, I just want to be the first there and the one to make the choice for them.[49]
  • Ira: You want to know what the secret is? To feeling completely free? Friends complicate things. The less threads you need to maintain, there's nothing to hold you back.[50]
  • Ira: I am a creature of my word.[51]

Trivia[]

  • He shares his name with a member of the Somnovem.
    • The name is likely derived from the Latin word for anger and wrath, ira.
  • Fearne insinuated that Morrigan and Ira could have been lovers at some point.[52] When Fearne asked Ira about it, the Nightmare King denied it, and said that Morri had standards.[53] However, Morri confirmed they had had "a flirtation" years ago, but that it would never have worked out because she was too much of a woman for a spindly thing like Ira. She still seemed very interested in him and wondered if Ira had asked about her.[54]
    • Morri also confirmed that she created the Weave Lens for the Nightmare King because she owed him a favor.[55] While it is not confirmed, it is possible that the favor Ira did for Morri was for him to make the Calloways not to worry about the long period away from their daughter, so that the Fatestitcher could spend even more time with Fearne.
  • Before his identity was clarified, many noted that Ira shared his title with an antagonistic figure of Fantasy High, one of the most famous campaigns of Dimension 20. Given the friendship between Matthew Mercer and Brennan Lee Mulligan, some even speculated about this being deliberate, and that could even point to a crossover between both worlds (which turned out not to be true).

References[]

  1. See "Chasing Nightmares" (3x11) at 0:23:57.
  2. See "Breaking Point" (3x31) at 0:19:14.  Ira is protected by a Wall of Force, a spell only available to wizards.
  3. Ira had seen and made use of previous Apogee solstices, which occur every 100-120 years.  See "Red Moon Rising" (3x50) at 0:23:28.
  4. See "Bawdy Basement Belligerence" (3x44) at 3:06:49.
  5. Ira can cast Wall of Force, a 5th-level spell available only to 9th-level or higher wizards.
  6. See "Chasing Nightmares" (3x11) at 1:10:42.  17 "just hits"
  7. See "Chasing Nightmares" (3x11) at 1:04:56.
  8. See "Chasing Nightmares" (3x11) at 0:34:41.
  9. See "Chasing Nightmares" (3x11) at 0:18:18.
  10. See "The Aurora Grows" (3x49) at 3:53:37.
  11. See "Ghosts, Dates, and Darker Fates" (3x10) at 3:04:55.
  12. See "Ghosts, Dates, and Darker Fates" (3x10) at 3:14:21.
  13. See "Chasing Nightmares" (3x11) at 0:11:46.
  14. See "Reunion & Revelation" (3x30) at 2:45:30.
  15. See "Thicker Grows the Meal and Plot" (3x09) at 4:07:04.
  16. See "Ghosts, Dates, and Darker Fates" (3x10) at 3:00:58.
  17. See "Ghosts, Dates, and Darker Fates" (3x10) at 3:05:48.
  18. See "Dark Portents" (3x29) at 3:44:26.
  19. See "Dark Portents" (3x29) at 1:07:31.
  20. See "Dark Portents" (3x29) at 1:09:03.
  21. See "Breaking Point" (3x31) at 0:18:50.
  22. See "The Aurora Grows" (3x49) at 3:02:45d.
  23. See "Thicker Grows the Meal and Plot" (3x09) from 4:07:22 through 4:07:51.
  24. See "Reunion & Revelation" (3x30) at 3:05:03.
  25. See "Breaking Point" (3x31) from 0:09:38 through 0:37:29.
  26. See "Chasing Nightmares" (3x11) from 25:03 through 25:53.
  27. See "Red Moon Rising" (3x50) at 0:19:49.
  28. See "Chasing Nightmares" (3x11) at 1:13:43.  The damage from Dorian's Dissonant Whispers is indicated to not be quite as much as he expected.
  29. See "Chasing Nightmares" (3x11) at 1:57:40.  Matt says that Ira has advantage on saves against magical effects.
  30. See "Chasing Nightmares" (3x11) at 1:07:33.
  31. See "Chasing Nightmares" (3x11) at 1:57:58.
  32. See "Chasing Nightmares" (3x11) at 1:05:04.
  33. See "Chasing Nightmares" (3x11) at 1:14:39.
  34. See "Chasing Nightmares" (3x11) at 1:16:17.
  35. See "Chasing Nightmares" (3x11) at 1:16:41.
  36. See "Chasing Nightmares" (3x11) at 1:37:32.
  37. See "Breaking Point" (3x31) at 1:14:55.
  38. See "Chasing Nightmares" (3x11) at 1:16:41.  Ira casts a spell consistent with the description of Fire Bolt.
  39. See "The Aurora Grows" (3x49) at 3:20:37.  Ira casts a spell consistent with the cantrip version of Wristpocket.
  40. See "Chasing Nightmares" (3x11) at 0:34:57.
  41. See "Chasing Nightmares" (3x11) at 1:59:23.
  42. See "Chasing Nightmares" (3x11) at 1:34:00.
  43. See "Chasing Nightmares" (3x11) at 1:58:33.  Ira started conjuring an acid sphere, similar to the description of Vitriolic Sphere.
  44. See "Breaking Point" (3x31) at 0:19:14.  Ira is protected by a wall of energy consistent with Wall of Force.
  45. See "Ghosts, Dates, and Darker Fates" (3x10) at 3:05:48.
  46. See "Reunion & Revelation" (3x30) at 2:34:10.
  47. See "Reunion & Revelation" (3x30) at 3:05:56.
  48. See "Breaking Point" (3x31) at 0:16:02.
  49. See "Breaking Point" (3x31) at 0:18:00.
  50. See "The Apogee Solstice" (3x51) at 0:15:14.
  51. See "The Apogee Solstice" (3x51) at 0:24:50.
  52. See "Make It Fashion" (3x12) from 3:06:02 through 3:11:20.
  53. See "Breaking Point" (3x31) at 0:15:38.
  54. See "Night at the Ligament Manor" (3x46) at 0:37:37.
  55. See "Night at the Ligament Manor" (3x46) at 0:27:26.
  56. See "Breaking Point" (3x31) at 1:09:52.

Art:

  1. Fan art of Ira the Nightmare King, by Alyssa Pettit (source). Used with permission.
  2. Fan art of Ira Wendagoth, by Max Dunbar (source). Used with permission.
  3. Fan art of Ira the Nightmare King in his laboratory, by Lap Pun Cheung (source). Used with permission.
  4. Fan art of Ira facing Chetney, by Dian Huynh (source). Used with permission.
  5. Fan art of Ira, the Nightmare King, by MateuszWilma (source). Used with permission.
Advertisement