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The Tal'Dorei Council is the main ruling body of the Republic of Tal'Dorei and oversees all major functions. It consists of seven Masters, each assigned a domain of responsibility: Development, Arcana, Law, Commerce, Information, Defense, and War if needed.[1]

Positions[]

Masters[]

The Masters are elected by a popular vote of all cities with an ambassador on the council. During time of war, the council elects the Seventh Master, the Master of War, by a vote of all masters, ambassadors, and delegates.[2]

  • Development: Oversees all major construction and renovation within the cities of Emon, Westruun, and Kymal.
  • Arcana: Keeps vigil over the lawful use of magics within Tal'Dorei, matters beyond the mundane, and occasionally works with the Alabaster Lyceum Headmaster.
  • Law: Enforces the law from within the Watchful Hall, serving as High Judge on grand matters of the court, approving any exalted amendments, and managing the smaller courts across the land.
  • Commerce: Maintains the economy, good trade relations, and watches over the treasury.
  • Information: Oversees foreign diplomacy and maintains a well-developed network of spies and informants.
  • Defense: Head of the Emon Guard, maintains order and peace within the city and sometimes beyond. Leadership of military might is assigned to the Master of Defense in times of peace.
  • War: A temporary position, takes charge of all warfare and strategic decisions during times of severe strife and impending conflict.

Ambassadors[]

Each city with a population of over twenty thousand can appoint an ambassador to Emon. These ambassadors sit on the council and have voting power. While they remain sovereign city-states, Kraghammer, Syngorn and the Ashari[3] also have ambassadors with voting power.[4]

Delegates[]

Each city within the Republic with a population of at least five thousand can elect delegates to the council. For each additional five thousand citizens, a city can elect an additional delegate. The means of election is left to the local government. Delegations petition the council and draft proposals to be voted on by council members.[5] Kraghammer and Syngorn also have one delegate.[2]

Known members[]

812 PD[]

836 PD[]

The Tal'Dorei Council - Cristina Anaya

Fan art of the Council in 836 PD. From L to R, Elderbern Cleareyes, Odessa Tal'Dorei, Kel'jaia Uleoh, Brom Goldhand, Allura Vysoren, Syldor Vessar, Tofor Brotoras, Keyleth of the Air Ashari, Lady Vex'ahlia de Rolo, and Dierdrik Greyspine, by Cristina Anaya.[art 3]

842 PD[]

843 PD[]

  • Master of Arcana: Arcanist Allura Vysoren[11]
  • Master of Commerce: Coinmistress Vex'ahlia de Rolo[12]

Former members[]

Those who left the council typically fell into one of two groups: the honorable who died in service to Tal'Dorei or voluntarily chose retirement, and the dishonorable who were outed as traitors and killed or executed. The Master of War, being a temporary position that is dissolved when peace is called, is an exception.

Honorable[]

Dishonorable[]

History[]

The Council has existed since the time of the Scattered War, gaining governing power when Uriel Tal'Dorei II created the Republic of Tal'Dorei and abolished the monarchy.[15]

Throughout the course of their adventures, Vox Machina was privy to several major events that shaped the Council of Tal'Dorei.

Demonic influence[]

Shortly after their arrival in Emon, Vox Machina was asked by Syldor Vessar to investigate the disappearance of one of the members of the council, Sir Gregory Fince. He disappeared in the wake of an assassination attempt on the life of Sovereign Uriel Tal'Dorei II, and Syldor's diplomatic mission was suffering in his absence. Vox Machina investigated, finding demons and the tortured corpse of Sir Gregory.[16]

However, they also found Sir Gregory's notes about the recent assassination attempt. The notes raised suspicions regarding both the Sovereign's family and General Krieg, who was said to have thwarted the assassination.[17] Vax'ildan forged a letter in order to gain an audience with General Krieg. The meeting raised more questions than it answered, and after allying with Allura Vysoren, another member of the Tal'Dorei Council, they utilized a scrying spell to discover that the Tal'Dorei family was under the influence of a demonic force.[18]

After continuing their investigation, Vox Machina gained entrance into General Krieg's house, discovering that he was actually a blue dragon named Brimscythe.[19]

After defeating the dragon, Vox Machina rejoined Allura to strike against the demonic powers at work. During the conflict, the mastermind behind the corruption, a treachery demon (glabrezu) called Juurezel, revealed himself and attacked the group. After defeating the demon and restoring the souls of the Tal'Dorei family, Sovereign Uriel rewarded Vox Machina with seats on the council, a parade in their honor, and the construction of a keep.[20] Vox Machina accepted and named their new home Greyskull Keep.[21]

Fallout from Whitestone[]

During the Briarwoods' diplomatic visit to Emon, both Sovereign Uriel and Seeker Assum were charmed by Sylas Briarwood.[22] Keyleth dispelled the charm on Assum through the use of Greater Restoration,[23] but Sovereign Uriel, still under the charm, removed Vox Machina from the council pending further investigation.[24]

Vox Machina, in an effort to clear the group's name, journeyed to Whitestone to gather evidence and/or eliminate the threat posed by the Briarwoods. Their efforts culminated in the deaths of several enemies, including Lord and Lady Briarwood, as well as the discovery of letters linking Lord Riskel Daxio to the Briarwoods.[25]

Upon returning to Emon with the letters, Vox Machina discovered that the charm had lifted from Sovereign Uriel, and the group was restored to the council.[26] Uriel ordered that Lord Riskel Daxio be arrested.[27] Vox Machina tracked him to the Clasp's headquarters, subdued him, and brought him before Uriel, where he was executed by Grog after a brief interrogation.[28]

The Conclave descends[]

In the wake of not one but two successful attempts to control the council through subterfuge and magical manipulation, Uriel decided to step down as sovereign of Emon.[29] His intention was to leave the council with the responsibility of leading the nation. However, as he was making this announcement to a crowd in the Cloudtop District, Emon was attacked by the Chroma Conclave, sending the city and Vox Machina into a panic.

After the initial attack, Vox Machina began to search the city for Gilmore and other survivors. They arrived at the ruins of Gilmore's Glorious Goods and found a secret underground bunker where Sherri, Empresses Salda Tal'Dorei, the Tal'Dorei children, and a wounded Gilmore were hiding. Empress Salda said that she believed Uriel died during the attack, but that Gilmore was able to save her and her children.[30]

After Pike healed him, Gilmore told the story of how he was able to save Salda, her children, Seeker Assum, and Tofor Brotoras; however, Uriel stayed behind to help others to safety. When Gilmore went back to retrieve the sovereign, he found Uriel's dead body.[31] He also recounted that Arbiter Brom Goldhand met his end during the attack, along with the majority of the palace guard and Cloudtop District denizens.[32]

The Republic of Tal'Dorei[]

After the defeat of Thordak and the Chroma Conclave, Emon was liberated and the realm of Tal'Dorei was reformed as a republic. The Council members now directly govern and enforce the rule of law. Though Vox Machina continue to hold their titles as members of the Council of Tal'Dorei, they hold no specific domains of responsibility. Thus, day-to-day management of Tal'Dorei is left to the six "Masters" who work closest to the city of Emon.[citation needed]

The Tal'Dorei Council's focus for most of the years between the crisis and 836 PD has been to rebuild and to build confidence in the republic. However, rebuilding has cost far more than the council had, and the people of Tal'Dorei fear that even members of the Council are giving preferential treatment to the mages to whom heavy debts are owed for spearheading the reconstruction. Meanwhile, the Council's reach to smaller cities has been weakened, and the outlying settlements have suffered under lawlessness and corruption, so that they mistrust the Council.[33]

The Solstice Crisis[]

During the apogee solstice of 843 PD the Council, aware of several plans connected to these magical event, were in contact with several political forces across Exandria. When a beam of red light coming from Marquet anchored Ruidus above a specific point in the desert, the Council, with the permission of the Chandei Quorum, sent several skyships and soldiers to Jrusar who were intended to travel to the source of the red beam.[34]

According to Jerry, during this crisis Shaun Gilmore was helping the Council.[35]

Tofor Brotoras was sent to the Tishtan excavation site as the heraldry of the Council.[36]

Trivia[]

  • After Allura's appearance in Campaign Two, the members of the Mighty Nein would often ask NPCs, "Who is on the Tal'Dorei Council?", even if they had no reason to know this information. This became a running gag for a time, until Matt Mercer joked a few times that every time the players asked the question, a member of the Council died. Matt finally revealed the Council's current members during the campaign wrap-up.[37]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 See Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting, p. 35.
  2. 2.0 2.1 See Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn, p. 44.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 See Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn, p. 46.
  4. See Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn, pp. 43–44.
  5. See Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn, p. 43.
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 See Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting, p. 36.
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 See "Critical Role Campaign 2 Wrap Up" (Sx56) from 4:06:06 through 4:07:37.
  8. See "The Folding Halls" (2x80) at 1:19:53.
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 See Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn, p. 45.
  10. See "A Glorious Return" (E1x03) at 1:15:56.  See also Poska confirming that Gilmore is on the Council at 3:07:54.
  11. See "A Gathering of Heroes" (3x76) at 0:31:44.
  12. See "Promise and Potential" (3x22) at 2:04:47.
  13. See Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting, p. 62.
  14. See "Critical Role Campaign 2 Wrap Up" (Sx56) at 4:06:47.
  15. See "For The Tempest" (3x68) at 0:23:30.
  16. See "The Story of Vox Machina" (Sx06) from 0:06:23 through 0:07:59.
  17. See "The Story of Vox Machina" (Sx06) from 0:06:23 through 0:07:59.
  18. See "The Story of Vox Machina" (Sx06) from 0:12:17 through 0:12:39.
  19. See "The Story of Vox Machina" (Sx06) from 0:13:50 through 0:15:18.
  20. See "The Story of Vox Machina" (Sx06) from 15:30 through 18:27.
  21. See "The Story of Vox Machina" (Sx06) from 20:08 through 20:13.
  22. See "A Musician's Nostalgia" (1x37) from 1:04:26 through 1:04:52.
  23. See "Consequences and Cows" (1x26) from 0:53:40 through 0:56:15.
  24. See "Consequences and Cows" (1x26) at 0:56:50.
  25. See "Reunions" (1x33), part 2, from 0:29:11 through 0:31:54.
  26. See "A Musician's Nostalgia" (1x37) at 1:06:06.
  27. See "A Musician's Nostalgia" (1x37) from 1:11:11 through 1:12:48.
  28. See "Echoes of the Past" (1x38) at 0:29:30.
  29. See "Omens" (1x39) at 3:26:27.
  30. See "In Ruins" (1x41) from 2:20:00 through 2:24:22.
  31. See "In Ruins" (1x41) at 2:30:02.
  32. See "In Ruins" (1x41) at 2:33:00.
  33. See Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn, pp. 22–23.
  34. See "Reunited" (3x64) at 1:35:37.
  35. See "The Promise and the Price" (3x77) at 2:55:27.
  36. See "The Eve of the Red Moon" (3x81) at 2:32:39.
  37. See "Critical Role Campaign 2 Wrap Up" (Sx56) at 4:05:32.  Also see at 8:11 when Matt makes the last Council death joke.

Art:

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. Fan art of the Council in 836 PD. From L to R, Elderbern Cleareyes, Odessa Tal'Dorei, Kel'jaia Uleoh, Brom Goldhand, Allura Vysoren, Syldor Vessar, Tofor Brotoras, Keyleth of the Air Ashari, Lady Vex'ahlia de Rolo, and Dierdrik Greyspine, by Cristina Anaya (source). Used with permission.
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