Pincushion, or Pin for short, is the undead familiar of Occtis Tachonis, made out of parts of foxes.[1] As a familiar, he is controlled by Alexander Ward, with assistance and communication from the Dungeon Master, Brennan Lee Mulligan.
Description[]
Appearance[]
In its current form, Pincushion is a fox with primarily white arctic fox fur with small patches of other color, including an ear and right front leg from a red fox. In place of eyes, there are sewn-on purple buttons.[3] He wears a purple scarf around his neck.
Personality[]
Even as an undead familiar and wizard's creation, Pin seems to have a mind of his own, appearing without being summoned, going on walks, making friends, and even showing a preference for what he wants to wear, like the scarf he has, inspired by Wulferic's cowl.[4]
Biography[]
Background[]
Pin was created by Occtis Tachonis as he learned to wield his magic. He had to create it using pieces of different foxes since he lacked a complete corpse, and he believes that is the reason why the familiar doesn't stay in his dimensional pocket, because the enchantment of his body doesn't affect it entirely.[5]
Campaign Four[]
Occtis had his familiar with him when he and Thaisha Lloy attended the funeral of Thjazi Fang. He introduced the fox to Shadia when they first met, but he made him disappear when he realized that the undead creature had startled the other woman.[6] After rescuing Thimble and returning to the funeral, the pixie went upstairs to speak privately with Vaelus and 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. That night Occtis kept his consciousness inside Pin while he was sleeping (thus leaving his own body unbothered by changes of light or noise).[7]
The following day, after Vaelus approached the group and saved Occtis, Thimble, and Kattigan, Pin started spending time near her and the elf, fascinated by the familiar, started carrying him around and petting his fur, with the permission of Occtis.[8]
Fan art of Pin after his creator's death, by ElesirArt.[art 3]
When the ghouls commanded by Ethrand Tachonis slew Occtis, Pincushion fell apart and disanimated. But as Occtis's soul was dragged by his father Primus Tachonis and Occtis tried to stitch his splitting soul back together, suddenly a fluttering wing sprang from Occtis's midsection, and then a nose poked out, covered in Occtis's viscera: Pincushion's nose, his spark still connected to Occtis.[9] When Azune Nayar used Mending to reconstitute the dark candles House Tachonis had used to shred the barrier between the Tenebral Reaches and Aramán at the Palazzo Davinos, Halandil Fang suddenly heard Pin's paws running away from the scene, so they followed the sound.[10] When they reunited with their allies in the garden of the Lloy estate they witnessed the resurrection of Occtis, and how Pincushion, fully reconstituted, came out of the wizard's body before his wounds were closed.[11]
Relationships[]
Occtis[]
Pincushion is the familiar of Occtis.[12]
Wulferic[]
Sometimes while Pin is wandering through the woods at night he sees Wulferic as well, and they have become playmates, with the little fox taking an unexpected dominant role.[13] At some point after meeting him, apparently admiring the cowl Wulferic wears around his neck, he began wearing one as well, without Occtis knowing why.[14]
Vaelus[]
Fan art of Vaelus and Pin, by Elaine Tipping.[art 5]
Pincushion seems to like the ancient elf, and after she saved Occtis and his friends, he spent more time near her, regarding her with kindness and letting her pet him.[15]
Character information[]
Notable items[]
Abilities[]
Fan art of Occtis and Pin, by Cha Cha Rae.[art 6]
As a familiar, Pin can appear, disappear, and/or reappear at Occtis's whim (requires one magic action).[16] Occtis can issue telepathic commands to Pin and can transfer his senses to Pin.[17]
Appearances and mentions[]
- Campaign Four
- "The Fall of Thjazi Fang" (4x01) (first appearance)
- "Broken Wing" (4x02)
- "The Snipping of Shears" (4x03)
- "Stone-Faced" (4x04)
Trivia[]
- Occtis named Pincushion as a sewing reference to honor Thimble, Thjazi Fang's pixie companion.[18]
- In the official art piece of Occtis there are two undead foxes, instead of just one.
- According to Alexander Ward it was the artist's idea to give Pin button eyes.[19]
- Pincushion exists via Summon Undead Critter, a custom spell created for Occtis by Chris Perkins and Jeremy Crawford, although similar in function to Find Familiar.[20]
- Alex revealed that he had suggested some ideas for homebrew content for his character, but they weren't developed. Instead, the spell to summon Pin was given to him, already finished.[21]
- If Pin had a class of his own he would be a rogue.[22]
- Alex said that if his cat, Cassandra, met Pincushion, she would love him but would end up tearing him to shreds because she can't control herlself.[23]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 See 'Critical Recap: Critical Role C4E01 “The Fall of Thjazi Fang”' (October 8, 2025) on critrole.com.
- ↑ See "Stone-Faced" (4x04) at 52:19.
- ↑ See "The Fall of Thjazi Fang" (4x01) at 44:33.
- ↑ See "The Fall of Thjazi Fang" (4x01) at 2:43:34.
- ↑ See "The Snipping of Shears" (4x03) at 3:37:48.
- ↑ See "The Fall of Thjazi Fang" (4x01).
- ↑ See "Broken Wing" (4x02).
- ↑ See "The Snipping of Shears" (4x03).
- ↑ See "Stone-Faced" (4x04) at 2:26:46.
- ↑ See "Stone-Faced" (4x04) at 4:31:27.
- ↑ See "Stone-Faced" (4x04) at 4:54:54.
- ↑ See "The Fall of Thjazi Fang" (4x01) at 0:45:08. See also at 2:42:15, when Occtis mentions he can see through Pin's "eyes" during his walks.
- ↑ See "The Fall of Thjazi Fang" (4x01) at 2:43:09.
- ↑ See "The Fall of Thjazi Fang" (4x01) at 2:42:43.
- ↑ See "The Snipping of Shears" (4x03) at 3:36:20.
- ↑ See "The Fall of Thjazi Fang" (4x01) at 45:07.
- ↑ See "The Fall of Thjazi Fang" (4x01) at 2:42:03.
- ↑
Fireside Chat LIVE With Alexander Ward at 03:10 (subscription required).
- ↑ Fireside Chat LIVE With Alexander Ward at 26:55 (subscription required).
- ↑ See "Overview of the Overture | Campaign 4 | Ep 1-4 Recap" at 08:00.
- ↑ Fireside Chat LIVE With Alexander Ward at 37:50 (subscription required).
- ↑
Fireside Chat LIVE With Alexander Ward at 34:44 (subscription required).
- ↑ Fireside Chat LIVE With Alexander Ward at 57:41 (subscription required).
Art:
- ↑ Official art of Pincushion, cropped from larger image, by Loren Hontanilla (source). This file is a copyrighted work. Its use in this article is asserted to qualify as fair use of the material under United States copyright law.
- ↑ Fan art of Pincusion, by MaiuLive (source). Used with permission.
- ↑ Fan art of Pin after his creator's death, by ElesirArt (source). Used with permission.
- ↑ Fan art of Pin and Wulferic, by Odd (source). Used with permission.
- ↑ Fan art of Vaelus and Pin, by Elaine Tipping (source). Used with permission.
- ↑ Fan art of Occtis and Pin, by Cha Cha Rae (source). Used with permission.
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