Occtis Tachonis

Occtis Tachonis
Official art of Occtis Tachonis, cropped from a larger image, by Loren Hontanilla.
Official art of Occtis Tachonis, cropped from a larger image, by Loren Hontanilla.
Type	Player Character
Actor	Alexander Ward
Character Information
Pronouns	he/him
Creature type	Humanoid (detects as undead)
Race	Human Hollow One
Class	Wizard (Necromancer)
Age	20
Languages	Common
Place	Aramán
Family	House Tachonis Lord Primus Tachonis (father) Ethrand Tachonis (older brother)
Connections	Seekers(current adventuring party) Pincushion (familiar) Thjazi Fang (mentor)
Profession	Former student at the Penteveral
Status
Status	Hollow One
Cause of death	Gutted by Ethrand Tachonis
Death episode(s)	"Stone-Faced" (4x04)
Stats
Level	3
HP	23
AC	16
DC	14
Str	10
Dex	16
Con	16
Int	19
Wis	10
Cha	15
Reference(s)
Appearances
First seen	"The Fall of Thjazi Fang" (4x01)
Last seen	"Knives and Thorns" (4x06)
Stream	Campaign Four (6 episodes)

Occtis Tachonis is a human Hollow One wizard played by Alexander Ward in Campaign Four.

Description

Official art of Occtis Tachonis, by Loren Hontanilla.

Appearance

Occtis is a young man, standing 5'11" and thin, with olive skin, dark hair, and bright green eyes. He wears dark, nobleman's clothing that is clean but worn, with various items and implements hanging from his belt, and has a book strapped to his leg. He is accompanied by a small, mostly white fox named Pincushion. After his resurrection he became a little bit more pale and gaunt, and his eyes acquired a supernatural glow.

According to Julien Davinos, ever since he was young Occtis had a certain look that was very distinctive in his family.

Personality

Occtis has an unassuming presence and is extremely anxious about everything. He was, however, hostile to Tyranny, telling her at the wake of Thjazi Fang that she was not welcome.

When he became a Hollow One after years of studying the dead and undeath in all its forms, he found it "incredibly fascinating."

Biography

Background

Occtis was born into the Sundered House of Tachonis, although in a very low position in the line of succession as he was the eighth and youngest child of Lord Primus Tachonis; because of this and the fact he had not been home for five years, he was not very familiar with the inner workings of the family. During this period of time, he attended the Penteveral, learning magic and developing a talent for necromancy. He met Wicander Halovar once when he was younger. During his time there, he created Pincushion as his first experiment making something out of dead pieces, although "it didn't turn out exactly the way he wanted, and there are still a few hiccups left in Pincushion."

He traveled for six months without telling his family, and met Thaisha Lloy as part of a mission in Venatus, in which she had to find a box for Thjazi Fang; the wizard and the druid became close during that journey. He presumably heard a lot about her son Alogar during that time.

Fan art of Occtis, by @zhellers.

"The Fall of Thjazi Fang" (4x01)

After it was decided that Thjazi Fang would be executed, several of his old allies and friends devised a plan to free him and allow him to leave the city of Dol-Makjar unnoticed. Occtis and Thaisha (who had recently returned to the city) were part of the final phase of the plan, granting safe passage to the caravan that was supposed to transport Thjazi out of the city (since a member of a Sundered House and a druid of the Old Path would be seen as trustworthy); however, the man condemned to death never made it out of the city, and was hanged without a chance to escape. When Occtis and Thaisha learned about it, and about the Farramh at Halandil Fang's house, they went there, while talking about what could have gone wrong with the plan. When they arrived, Occtis was introduced to Thaisha's daughter, Shadia, who was curious about him and his relationship with Thjazi; they talked briefly about how the dead man had helped them both as children, until she got startled by Pin and Occtis made it disappear, embarrassed.

Inside, Occtis had some moments alone with the body, and he admired the good conditions of it, admitting that even though he had studied corpses he had never seen one like Thjazi's. When Teor Pridesire arrived Occtis was very surprised by his appearance, but he ended up talking with him and Azune Nayar about the failed rescue later. The three of them left to check Thjazi's flop house, and there they discovered a dying Thimble with the magical glyph she was supposed to give the orc before the execution; after Teor healed her and Occtis revealed his true face (since he had Disguised as an orcish warrior as a precaution minutes earlier) they told her Thjazi had died, and the pixie, devastated, explained how she had been ambushed before she could fulfill her part of the plan. That made them realize that someone knew about their plan and had disturbed it, and that person had left a fake clue that deceived Azune's Detect Magic before the hanging (when he believed Thjazi had with him the glyph that would allow him to Misty Step away from the gallows). Kattigan Vale joined the group shortly after, and Occtis, who had started to cast a spell, lost concentration the moment he saw the stranger (being the only one who didn't know him from before). When Wulferic entered the room too, however, the wizard instantly recognized the animal, since Pin had been playing with him in the forest; he, however, wrongly assumed it was a dog, so Kattigan corrected him saying it was a wolf. With his help, they found some signs that pointed to the Crow Keepers as the responsible for the attack against Thimble. They also discovered that they had taken the Stone of Nightsong, so the pixie drew it while Occtis explained that it was an elven relic from the Shapers' War.

"Broken Wing" (4x02)

Occtis and the others returned to Thjazi's funeral at the very end of it, hearing the melody of Broken Wing in the distance as Hal and his youngest daughter, Hero, played to honor the dead; although he wasn't very familiar with the melody and its connotations, Occtis did notice that his companions were affected by it. When they arrived the wizard explained the attack against Thimble, and after that he comforted her while she cried where Thjazi's body was; he promised her they would find out what happened, and when she told him he had grown up he made her laugh by replying that so had she, even if she didn't get any taller. When Azune inspected Thjazi's clothes and found the item he had Detected before the execution, Occtis immediately realized that, magically speaking, the small, crude-looking glyph was a perfect replica of the one Thimble had crafted, but with an obvious illusion aura to fool the Arcane Marshal; Occtis let him know, assuring him that he had done his own part well. After that they spoke for a bit about potential traitors within their plan, and about their plans for the next day, and when Loza Blade mentioned that Teor could investigate the Halovars, since they were suspicious but not as close to Thjazi's death as House Tachonis, Occtis agreed. It was then when he noticed Vaelus, and when he asked about her and she introduced herself as a Sister of Sylandri, he admitted he didn't know anything about it (causing the elf to declare that was very sad). Later, when Vaelus and Thimble went upstairs to speak privately Occtis sent Pin after them; he got scared when both women noticed his familiar, but Thimble simply said hi to him and Vaelus, who had winked at the little fox, said she found it beautiful.

Occtis spent the night in the same room as Thaisha, but with his consciousness inside Pin. During breakfast, while Kattigan was eating (in a way that Occtis and others found somewhat disgusting) it was decided that the ranger and the necromancer would join Thimble when she visited the Crow Keepers; the pixie was concerned about House Tachonis giving Occtis trouble, but he assured it wouldn't be an issue as long as he was Disguised. When Thaisha asked if they wanted her to come too and Thimble told her she was too respectable for a criminal guild, the druid was surprised, and Occtis teased her about it. Before they left, Occtis cast Disguise Self to look like an approximation of Kattigan's own aesthetic, and as Shadia was saying goodbye, telling him it had been a pleasure meeting him, the wizard surprised her by imitating Kat's voice when he answered. They then went to The Guard Tower (the tavern where the Crow Keepers gathered); on their way there Occtis had to make a brief pause in order to re-cast Disguise Self. The thieves didn't like Thimble asking questions, so a battle began.

"The Snipping of Shears" (4x03)

Occtis tried to intimidate the leader, Solomon, with Cause Fear, but he resisted the spell and threatened him back with a knife; when Vaelus arrived and cut the throat of one of the criminals Occtis was a little jealous because she was scaring them more effectively, so used his magic again, this time hitting Solomon with a Fire Bolt. The fight ended with the leader dying and most of the thieves running away, except for one, Gavrey, that they kept to interrogate; he told them that Casimir was the one who had betrayed them, stealing from Thimble to get rid of his debts, and that he had left chasing Cyd after the latter, angry at him, stole a title of deed from him. Occtis asked if Cas had sold the Stone of Nightsong, but Gavrey replied he only knew that the criminal had been dealing with dangerous people, something the rest of the Crow Keepers didn't want to do.

After that the group, accompanied by Vaelus, went back to Hal's home, and near it they found Julien; he started arguing with Thimble and at one point he grabbed her by the wings, causing Occtis to demand her release with his actual voice despite his Disguise Self. Julien told the group that he was looking for Occtis because he might be in danger, and the wizard believed it; after a brief conversation with the others, in which Thimble expressed her support and Kattigan slapped him on the ass as encouragement, he followed Julien with Vaelus. As they walked the elf asked questions about Pin's creation, unexpectedly delighted by the undead fox, and curious about the necromancer's powers. When they finally reached Julien they spoke for a bit in an alleyway, with Occtis confirming he didn't know anything about a plan to rescue Thjazi but that he had been away from his house for a long time without telling them where he was going; after he was told that the worst of House Tachonis was looking for him, he, encouraged by Vaelus, agreed to go speak with Lady Aranessa in the Palazzo Davinos. When they arrived the lady welcomed them and told Occtis that it would be safer for him to stay in an unknown location, offering that castle as an option. After Occtis agreed and Vaelus apologized for her bluntness during the funeral, Aranessa took the former with her to bring him to a more private space; on their way there they talked about his magical studies, praising his creation of Pin as proof of him finding a way to wield his family's magical legacy without being a sorcerer.

Fan art of Aranessa opening the door, by Megzilla87.

In the room, Aranessa asked Occtis if he was involved in the rumored plan to rescue Thjazi, or if he knew anything about House Tachonis interfering with caravans coming in and out of Dol-Makjar. He did share with her that he and Thaisha had brought a box to the city because Thjazi had asked them to, and the rebel's widow confirmed she knew about his project of locating certain objects. Shortly after that someone knocked at the door and Aranessa opened it, saying it was probably the night clothing for her guest; instead, they found several ghouls accompanied by Ethrand Tachonis holding the Stone of Nightsong. The sorcerer, after casting Silence, commanded his undead soldiers to immobilize his brother.

"Stone-Faced" (4x04)

Surging into the room, one ghoul restrained Aranessa while the others went for Occtis, forcing him onto the table. His neck was held down by a garotte, and a ghoul pulled down hard on it from the end of the table, keeping him against it. He saw Ethrand standing in the doorway and Occtis attempted to cast Mind Spike on his brother, a spell that doesn't require a vocal component, but it wasn't as effective as he would like (although it did harm Ethrand). He mouthed the words 'not yours' to Occtis, pulled out a curved knife and stepped into the room. He plunged it into his stomach at the navel, and began to saw upwards. Dropping the Silence, Ethrand declared his brother a traitor, and said that there has always been 'something wrong' with Occtis. He placed the Stone of Nightsong into his chest, and took his heart, killing him and ending his active spells, including Pincushion's corporeal form. As Occtis was dying he remembered his childhood thoughts, about how the experience should be easy given that death was his family's business.

Fan art of Occtis between life and death, by Odd.

He found himself in a forest-like space, surrounded by fireflies between realms; shortly after he saw Thaisha— now on the verge of her own death— and when she told him to come back he listened, just to feel a pull in the opposite direction as Primus and another Tachonis patriarch used his heart to call him home. The pull from two different directions caused something to split in Occtis's spirit, but he began to try to stitch himself back up in an attempt to fix the problem as best as he could. He told his father he didn't belong to him, and he started having visions of a palace unlike the Palazzo Davinos, with a strange face looking at him; then he felt something pushing against the stitches and a wing burst out of his midsection, followed by a small fox's head. Feeling something else, something that didn't belong, Occtis reached a hand into his own injury, ripping apart some of the stitches. He grabbed onto a stone, in place of where his heart should be, and pulled it out of his body. The face looking down at him from the table in the otherworldly castle screamed 'no!' as he did so.

Thaisha, Vaelus, Julien, and the Lady Aranessa all left the Palazzo successfully and take refuge at the Lloy estate, carrying with them the lifeless body of Occtis. Thaisha— having been pumping Cure Wounds into him in an attempt to bring him back— mended the gashes from ghouls and the tear of the garotte on his neck, but there were still no signs of life. When she cast Detect Magic, as Lady Aranessa informed the group of what happened to Occtis, the druid felt a powerful source of divine necromantic energy radiating from the dead boy's chest. Hal, Azune, Murray and Bolaire arrived together shortly after, and after they were told what had happened, they tried to help. With Murray's Mage Hand and Portent, Bolaire's tools, Bardic Inspiration from Hal and Thaisha's Guidance, they managed to remove the stone from inside Occtis's body. The ground shook, and he miraculously returned from death. Thaisha, relieved, immediately hugged him, as from the still open wound on his midsection, Pincushion leaped out and onto his chest before the flesh began stitching itself closed. Thaisha apologized for not being there to stop it, and asked him if he was alright. Occtis replied saying that he doesn't know how to answer that question, but he did remember Ethrand and the sound of wings; he also remembered seeing the face of what looked to be his grandfather, and armies of the dead in a war that waged in the Underworld; finally, he remembered an orcish warrior fighting the dead somewhere past the Dvalmar Pass.

Fan art of Vaelus touching Occtis chest. There is no heartbeat, by Nokiazuzhilang.

Vaelus asked if she could place her hand on his chest, and Occtis agreed; she did so, using Lay on Hands, which did not feel pleasant, as the necromancer tried to catch his breath and realized that he never would, since he no longer needed to breathe. Julien stepped forward with his rapier raised, asking him what he knew. Thaisha stepped between them, and Bolaire conjured a weapon in his hands, coming to his defense. Julien reminded them that his family had always been nightmares, and that he no longer has a heart, yet he walked amongst them again. Occtis apologized to Julien for his family, but informed him that he did not know why House Tachonis was there and that he hadn't seen them himself in years. Julien continued to question him further, but Occtis was only able to tell him that he didn't have any answers for him. Thaisha stepped into his rapier, but Lady Aranessa interjected before it could go any further. She asked Occtis what he had seen on the other side of the veil, saying that perhaps the fate of Dol-Majkar and the world itself depends on it.

"Branching Paths" (4x05)

In the period before dawn, the group discussed Occtis's status and the implications for House Tachonis, as well as the repercussions for other political forces in the city; they gradually defined a plan, with the newly resurrected necromancer leaving Dol-Makjar with an escort to seek answers about his post-mortem visions (which pointed eastward, to the ancestral lands of the Tachonis family), while the rest stayed behind to sound out the Sundered Houses and look for ways to weaken them. During that conversation Occtis became extremely aware of each working element in his body, realizing that whatever he wasn't actively controlling was completely still; that, along with the expectations of everyone around him, stressed him quite a lot. When it was decided that he would leave the city Bolaire asked him for anything they could use to incriminate his family, and he, satisfied with the idea, gave him his signet ring. He told Murray that he would take many notes to share with her during his journey (her being the only other wizard there), and she admitted she respected him because of the talent and effort he had displayed at the Penteveral, and even joked with him about him having a thesis due for the end of the semester (which he immediately denied). After that, Occtis, Thaisha, Vaelus, Sir Julien, and Aranessa left with the steeds Rohor brought them.

Relationships

Thjazi Fang

Occtis told Halandil Fang's daughter Shadia that Thjazi Fang had helped him when he was a child.

Pincushion

Fan art of Occtis and Pin, by Cha Cha Rae.

Pin is Occtis's undead fox familiar who sometimes wanders around the woods, with the wizard seeing through the familiar's eyes on occasion.

Occtis created Pin during his time at the Penteveral as his first experiment making something out of dead pieces, although "it didn't turn out exactly the way he wanted, and there are still a few hiccups left in Pincushion." As a result, Pin was a little bit rebellious and sometimes refused to be dismissed.

Murray Mag'Nesson

Murray dislikes Occtis, but he doesn't hate her; instead, he finds her scary and intimidating. When he told her that he knew his presence in the Penteveral had probably felt invasive when he arrived (as a scion of a rich, sorcerous family), the diviner told him that he had ended up earning her respect, precisely because of how hard he had worked for his magic.

Thaisha Lloy

Thaisha refers to Occtis as her son once while she was drunk. However, this relationship development was recent as Hal (the father of her other children) was unaware of it. At one point, when Occtis cast Disguise Self he instinctively chose the appearance of an orc warrior but then made sure he didn't look too much like Thaisha's son, Al. The young wizard doesn't fully interpret her attitude towards him as "motherly" but he does appreciate having someone who cares and is interested in him as a person, having a lifetime as the ignored youngest child of a family. After his resurrection Thaisha declared that he was family to her too, since his birth family was terrible; Occtis liked the idea, since it meant he also got Hal as a father to replace Primus.

Julien Davinos

Before his death and resurrection Occtis didn't have a particularly strong connection to Sir Julien, but after the Tachonis killed his father Raimond Davinos, that changed: Julien started seeing Occtis as both a person to blame and a lingering thread linking House Tachonis and the fall of House Davinos. Because of it, when it was decided that Occtis had to stay alive and travel seeking answers, Sir Julien declared himself his second shadow, intending to utilize him to find other members of the Tachonis family when they inevitably came looking for their wayward son.

Vaelus

Vaelus is very interested in the Occtis's abilities and after he returned to life she became even more invested in his well-being, due to his new connection to the Stone of Nightsong. They bonded over their now-mutual lack of sleep, since she trances and he has lost the ability to rest normally as a Hollow One.

Character information

Notable items

• Spellbook^{[presumed, book shown in art]}
• Stone of Good Luck (or similar item)^[presumed]
• Syringe

Abilities

Unless otherwise noted, the following abilities are assumed from the 2024 Dungeons & Dragons Player's Handbook

Hollow One abilities

• Ageless
• Cling to Life
• Reverence
• Unsettling Presence

Proficiencies

• Skills:
  • Expertise: Arcana

Wizard abilities

• Spellcasting (Intelligence-based ability)
• Ritual Adept
• Arcane Recovery (1 slot level)
• Scholar
  • Expertise: Arcana
• Arcane Tradition: Necromancer
  • Necromancy Savant
  • Grim Harvest^[presumed]

Wizard spells

As a 3rd-level wizard, Occtis should know 3 cantrips, he can replace 1 cantrip per long rest. His spellbook should contain 10 spells and he can prepare 6 leveled spells per day.

Spell level	Spell	Notes
0 (cantrip)	Fire Bolt	The fire was a sickly green color.
1st	Cause Fear
1st	Disguise Self
1st	Summon Undead Critter	Occtis can dismiss his fox companion, Pincushion, and see through his eyes.
2nd	Mind Spike
2nd	Spider Climb	Prepared but not cast.

Behind the scenes

Fan art of Occtis, by CoffeeCatss.

Alexander Ward's original idea for Occtis was for him to be similar to Julien in his antagonistic role around Thaisha, but when other character ideas were being presented, Taliesin Jaffe's Bolaire sounded so similar to Occtis's first concept that the latter's player started making changes in a hurry, redesigning his dynamics in 5 minutes. It was a part of that hurry that he chose to make the wizard a member of House Tachonis as soon as Brennan was done explaining it. He explained that he wanted to play Occtis as someone very different from Crokas, since the latter was the last characters critters saw him as in Critical Role.

Alexander initially wanted to begin the campaign as a Hollow One necromancer member of one of the Sundered Houses who was murdered by his family, but Brennan Lee Mulligan suggested they depict his death and revival during the campaign. Alex, however, had no idea about the method and time of his death and was happy to continue playing as a human if he succeeded in avoiding being killed. The process for him to revive was not a guarantee, Brennan specified that specific rolls and actions from others at the table were required, such as removing the Stone of Nightsong from his chest; the wizard's player also admitted that he was scared about messing up and losing the chance of getting revived, dying permanently.

Occtis is partially based in a trope Alex dislikes, which is that of a character who, despite growing up in an evil environment, knows that things are bad and that they, in opposition, are good. In that sense, he wanted to play the young necromancer as a person who grows in a family in which dark magic and practices are seen as normal, and learning about what's wrong with them once he moves away from his house.

Appearances and mentions

• Campaign Four
  • "The Fall of Thjazi Fang" (4x01) (first appearance)
  • "Broken Wing" (4x02)
  • "The Snipping of Shears" (4x03)
  • "Stone-Faced" (4x04)
  • "Branching Paths" (4x05)
  • "Knives and Thorns" (4x06)
  • "Fanged Revenge" (4x08), mentioned only, unnamed

Quotations

• Occtis: (about Thjazi's death) We'll figure it out. We can figure it out. Figure out what went wrong.
  Thimble: You grew up.
  Occtis: Ah. I guess so did you, although you're not any bigger.
• Occtis: (to Julien) Look, I'm so sorry about your family. I have no idea why my family was there. I haven't seen them in years. I've been traveling with Thaisha. I tried to help Thjazi. I don't know what they were doing.

Trivia

• It is unconfirmed as of yet where the naming convention for the children of Primus Tachonis comes from, although Alexander Ward has confirmed that there is a pattern. He called the theory that it was based on numerical roots "sort of right", although "Ethrand" doesn't fit pure numerical roots. Fan theories suggest that the names are based on hydrocarbon prefixes or cranial bones, although Alex added moments later: "The pattern is not chemistry, I'm sorry to tell you."
• Occtis's undead fox, Pin, has a symbol on his flank that matches the symbol on Occtis's sleeve tabs and resembles an 8 or infinity symbol. It is unconfirmed what this symbol means.
• Alex described Occtis's aesthetic as if "the concept artist from Castlevania designed Ichabod Crane from the 1999 Sleepy Hollow movie."
• During a conversation about Occtis and his necromancy, Loza Blade declared that "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree", referring to other necromancers within House Tachonis.
• After the events of "Stone-Faced" (4x04), Occtis's official character art got a very subtle update, now including lighter greenish eyes and a slightly paler skin.
• As of the beginning of Campaign Four, Thaisha Lloy believed Occtis to be a virgin. This was confirmed.
• Aabria Iyengar has joked about how the reason of Vaelus staying with Occtis was that she, like the other older woman he meets, knows that he needs a mother.
• Occtis loves food, particularly cake as long it is not too sweet.
• Occtis knows how to dance due to his noble upbringing, but he has never been in a situation in which he would enjoy it.
• During Alex's Fireside Chat, when asked what Vampire: The Masquerade clan Occtis would be in, Alex stated Occtis's clan would be Tremere. He was later asked about his commander colors in Magic: The Gathering and Alex stated Occtis's would be black and blue.

References

Art: