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- For the continent, see Tal'Dorei.
The Republic of Tal'Dorei, also known simply as Tal'Dorei, is a republic in Exandria on the continent of the same name. Formed from the Kingdom of Drassig, it was formerly known as the Tal'Dorei Empire[4][5] and was ruled by a sovereign, the first one being Sovereign Zan Tal'Dorei, alongside a council. The last sovereign, Uriel Tal'Dorei II, chose to step down at the end of 810 PD in favor of rule by the council alone, transforming the empire into a republic.
Geography[]
Bladeshimmer Shoreline[]
The shoreline stretches along the central western coast of Tal'Dorei, framed by the Dividing Plains to the East, the Cliffkeep Mountains to the North, the Ozmit Sea to the West, and the Verdant Expanse to the South.[6]
- Emerald Outpost: Garrison and town under military governance shared by Syngorn and the Republic of Tal'Dorei. A trade post between Syngorn and Emon.
Emon: Capital of the Republic; home of Vox Machina, Shaun Gilmore, and Allura Vysoren; site of Greyskull Keep (former home of Vox Machina) and the original Gilmore's Glorious Goods.- Shalesteps: Small villages located in the Seashale Mountains, just northwest of Emon.
Lucidian Coast[]
- Drynna: Town located where Mooren River Run meets Mooren Lake. Drynna is a leading supplier of freshwater fish and also holds residuum deposits.
Stilben: Small port city on the Lucidian Coast where Vox Machina met.
Dividing Plains[]
Kymal: Hometown of Kaylie; accommodated some refugees from the Chroma Conclave's assault on Westruun.- Turst Fields: Farming community located northeast of Westruun and south of the Parchwood Timberlands. Hometown to Dariax Zaveon.
- Westruun: Site of the Cobalt Reserve, a collection of some of the oldest known records of civilization; home to the under-development second Gilmore's Glorious Goods shop (before the Chroma Conclave attacked).
Alabaster Sierras/Parchwood Timberlands[]
- Whitestone: A city located on the northeastern edge of Tal'Dorei in the Alabaster Sierras mountain range and surrounded by trees of the Parchwood Timberlands. The city is ruled by Chamber of Whitestone from Whitestone Castle, the home of the De Rolo family after it was reclaimed from the Briarwoods. Formerly an independent city-state, Whitestone joined the newly reorganized Republic of Tal'Dorei following the Chroma Crisis in 811 PD.
Cliffkeep Mountains[]
- Jorenn Village: Small town in close proximity to the Umbra Hills in the Black Valley north of Westruun in the eastern part of the Cliffkeep Mountains.
Othendin Pass[]
- Fort Daxio: Key Republic military stronghold located on the western side of the Cliffkeep Mountains, north of Emon and west of Kraghammer.
History[]
Formation from the Scattered War[]
The Scattered War was a series of violent conflicts between the primarily human Kingdom of Drassig and the primarily elven Syngorn. The war began in the late 400s PD following growing tensions between the elves and humans of west-central Tal'Dorei (called Gwessar at the time), and lasted for 32 years, ultimately ending in the founding of the Tal'Dorei Empire.[7]
The Icelost Years[]
Following the long and devastating Scattered War, Tal'Dorei was significantly enfeebled. As the borders between planes weakened during a celestial solstice, the white dragon Skysunder took the opportunity to help Errevon the Rimelord, an elemental behemoth of the Frostfell, pass through the rift and conquer the continent of Tal'Dorei.[8] The Council of Tal'Dorei convinced Syngorn and Kraghammer to join with them in an alliance against Errevon, and together their forces battled him back through the rift, which the Ashari druids sealed shut. The victory was later celebrated annually in Tal'Dorei as the Winter's Crest festival.[9]
First encounters with Thordak[]
Around 792 or 793 PD, at the southern edges of the Council of Tal'Dorei's influence, the ancient red dragon Thordak the Cinder King began to raid caravans and autonomous villages, which sent requests to Emon for aid and protection. Sovereign Odellan Tal'Dorei rejected the idea of sending a regiment as too costly without confirmation of the threat. Over the next two years, Thordak proceeded to burn the fields of the Mornset Countryside and enslave the Outerfolk of the region.[10]
By 794 or 795 PD, Thordak laid waste to everything around the Gladepools, including Port Udall and Byroden. The Empire sent forces from Fort Daxio, but Thordak thrashed them. Allura Vysoren's adventuring party, with the help of the Arcana Pansophical, eventually managed to seal Thordak in the Elemental Plane of Fire.[11][12]
Vox Machina roots out insidious forces[]
In late 809 PD, the Winter's Crest festivals in Westruun and Emon were both violently interrupted. In Westruun, a mysterious blue crystal detonated and froze the people of the city, but Vox Machina was spared and they chased down Skysunder, who had been recovering inside the crystal. After slaying the white dragon in the Frostfell, the party returned to find Westruun freed from its wintry stasis.[13][14]
Meanwhile, Emon's festival was soured by a staged assassination attempt that left Sovereign Uriel's family possessed by demonic spirits.[15][16][17]
Shortly thereafter, Vox Machina arrived in Emon, following a lead about the Clasp's involvement in the Westruun crisis. Syldor Vessar, ambassador to Emon and father of two members of the newly arrived adventurers, hired the party to look for Sir Gregory Fince. At Sir Gregory's home, they discovered and defeated several demons. They also found Sir Gregory's tortured corpse and his notes about the attempted assassination of the royal family; the notes repeatedly mentioned someone named General Krieg, a member of the Tal'Dorei Council. In the course of Vox Machina's investigation, they met Allura Vysoren, learned that Sovereign Uriel's family was under demonic possession (with the involvement of the local Clasp leader, Spireling Modeth, whom they killed), discovered Krieg was a disguised blue dragon and secretly slew him, and freed Uriel's family from possession. For rescuing Uriel's family they were feted as heroes of the Empire.[18]
The Chroma Crisis[]
At the end of 810 PD, a group of chromatic dragons called the Chroma Conclave attacked Tal'Dorei and other parts of Exandria. Sovereign Uriel and several of his council members were slain in the initial attack. Emon and Westruun were severely damaged by the dragons, then further damaged by looters and opportunists, such as the people stealing from Gilmore's Glorious Goods in Emon and the Herd of Storms that sacked Westruun.
Refugees from Westruun were accepted by Kymal and villages nearby, with many of the remaining refugees forming a small tent city in the Foramere Basin. Whitestone was not attacked in the initial assault, so Vox Machina transported refugees from Emon and Westruun to the relative safety of Whitestone using Keyleth's Transport via Plants spell.
Other cities of the Empire, such as Stilben, were spared from the Chroma Conclave's assault. The Empire's neighbors in Kraghammer avoided any attack, and Syngorn's defenses were activated, shifting the elven city into the Feywild.
The village of Serpent's Head northeast of Emon was burned to the ground by Thordak. By his doing so, the mountain the village was built on was transformed into a small volcano, opening a portal to the Plane of Fire.[19]
Politics[]
Tal'Dorei Council[]
In the aftermath of the defeat of the Chroma Conclave, the Republic of Tal’Dorei is ruled by a standing council. That council's core is made up of 6 members (7 in wartime) that each have responsibilities over one particular sphere of public life:
- Master of Development
- Master of Arcana
- Master of Law
- Master of Commerce
- Master of Information
- Master of Defense
- Master of War
In addition, each settlement with a population greater than 20,000 can appoint an ambassador with voting power to sit on the Council.[20]
Ranking beneath them are delegates, who are nonvoting members of the council; each settlement with a population of at least 5,000 can elect one delegate per 5,000 residents. The delegations are expected to negotiate with each other in Emon, and when they can't reach agreement, they must draft proposals for the voting members of the council.[21]
Following the Chroma Crisis, the city-states of Kraghammer and Syngorn, though still outside the Tal'Dorei Republic in 836 PD, were each allowed to send a voting ambassador and a delegation to sit on the Council.[22]
Law enforcement[]
Emon: the Arms of Emon[]
In Emon and the immediately surrounding area, law, order and basic security are maintained by a well-trained force known as the Arms of Emon that operates out of Emon's Military District but trains separately from military recruits. They serve as both a garrison manning the walls and outposts and as a law enforcement arm, patrolling the streets and making arrests.[23] A palace guard, whose relationship to the Arms of Emon is not specified, protects Emon's leadership.[24]
Kymal: the Public Defense[]
About a thousand armed guards serving under the margrave keep the peace in Kymal, though they are easily bought off and so are mostly used to guard the areas around the city's casinos and don't do much about the illegal drug trade.[25]
Westruun and Turst Fields: the Shields of the Plain[]
As Westruun is under martial law, a military unit known as the Shields of the Plain serves also as law enforcement, though they are ineffective against the Clasp.[26] While Westruun is a much smaller city than Emon and requires fewer men patrolling it, the Shields of the Plain are also tasked with patrolling much of the central portion of the realm. With an established strength of only 800, they are spread thin and have barely kept the roaming bands of Ravagers at bay. About 150 of these "Shields" are permanently stationed as a detachment in the small town of Turst Fields to enforce the laws and protect it from roaming Ravagers.[27]
Whitestone: the Pale Guard[]
Within the city of Whitestone, incorporated into the Republic of Tal'Dorei, the Pale Guard keeps the peace.[28]
Military[]
Fort Daxio: the Daxio Outriders[]
The realm's only standing army during peacetime is mobile reserve of regiments known as the Daxio Outriders located at Fort Daxio, north of Emon in the Cliffkeep Mountains, close to the borderlands from which the most common threats to the peace and security of the realm have come.
Whitestone Rifle Corps[]
Defending the city of Whitestone and its castle falls to the Whitestone Rifle Corps.[28]
Covert organizations[]
The Grand Mistress of the Grey Hunt controls a secret, elite unit trained in espionage, counter-espionage, and limited combat. Based in the Parchwood Timberlands, the Grey Hunt's reach extends across Tal'Dorei.[29]
Society[]
Drugs[]
There are two illegal drugs in Tal'Dorei. Oloore root is a heavy psychedelic originally used by druidic cultures,[30][31] and suude is refined from arcane residuum, causes head rush, and enhances senses/magic.[31][32] Trafficking oloore root is a major source of income for the Clasp.[30][33]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 See Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting, p. 41.
- ↑ See Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting, p. 10 (Chapter 1: Campaigns in Tal'Dorei).
- ↑ See "Omens" (1x39).
- ↑ See Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting, p. 13. See also p. 86, though "empire" is not capitalized there.
- ↑ See Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn, p. 21. See also pp. 24 and 43.
- ↑ See Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting, p. 86.
- ↑ See Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting, pp. 8–9.
- ↑ See Vox Machina Origins Series III, p. 20. Issue #3
- ↑ See Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting, p. 10.
- ↑ This was two years before Emon's forces, and Allura's allies, confronted Thordak. See Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting, p. 11.
- ↑ In late 810 PD, Allura said this was 15 years ago. See "Desperate Measures" (1x40) at 2:36:36.
- ↑ This says Thordak was sealed for 16 years before the Chroma Conclave attacked Emon in 810 PD. Note also p. 77: Thordak attacked Byroden "nearly two decades ago." See Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting, pp. 11–12.
- ↑ See "The Story of Vox Machina" (Sx06) from 4:47 through 5:39.
- ↑ In 810 PD, Vex got a discount on horses because the party helped Westruun "during the Winter's Crest festival the year before." See "The Path to Whitestone" (1x27) at 2:48:49.
- ↑ See "The Story of Vox Machina" (Sx06) at 15:05.
- ↑ See "The Tal'Dorei Council" on the Vox Machina Wiki.
- ↑ Before Winter's Crest 810 PD, Delilah Briarwood and Uriel Tal'Dorei discuss an attempt on Uriel's life "last Winter's Crest". See "The Feast" (1x24) at 3:17:54.
- ↑ See "The Story of Vox Machina" (Sx06) from 10:37 through 18:28.
- ↑ See Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting, p. 70.
- ↑ See Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn, p. 43.
- ↑ See Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn, pp. 43–44.
- ↑ See Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn, p. 44.
- ↑ See Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting, p. 88.
- ↑ See "Omens" (1x39) at 2:19:30.
- ↑ See Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn, pp. 84–85.
- ↑ See Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting, p. 58–59.
- ↑ See Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting, p. 58.
- ↑ 28.0 28.1 See Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn, p. 76.
- ↑ See Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn, pp. 76–77.
- ↑ 30.0 30.1 Marisha Ray and Matthew Mercer inform the rest of the cast that oloore root is one of two illegal substances traded in Emon, that the Clasp makes a lot of money from it, and that Keyleth has used it like "an ayahuasca tea" to have a vision: "Critical Role ComiCon Panal" on YouTube
- ↑ 31.0 31.1 See Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting, p. 55.
- ↑ From Matthew Mercer's tweet on Tal'Dorei drugs.
- ↑ From Matthew Mercer's Reddit comment on oloore root.
Art:
- ↑ Official art of the Tal'Dorei Council symbol, by Conceptopolis from Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn pg. 44. 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.
- ↑ Official art of the Tal'Dorei Council symbol, by Conceptopolis from Critical Role: Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting pg. 35. 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.
- ↑ Official map of Tal'Dorei, by Andy Law (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.
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