Critical Role Just Made One of D&D’s Most Popular Classes Even More Broken

Published Nov 2, 2026, 11:29 AM EST Critical Role just made one of D&D's most popular classes even more broken Images: Critical Role/Wizards of the Coast / Graphic: Polygon For as long as Critical Role has existed, the cast and crew have made it clear to Critters that they are open to bending or straight-up changing the rules of Dungeons & Dragons to fit the story they want to tell. For example, Matthew Mercer has created classes like the Blood Hunter and added subclasses to better fit the stories his players are telling together. Though Mercer no longer serves as Dungeon Master for Critical Role’s latest campaign, DM Brennan Lee Mulligan has also changed and homebrewed several rules, altering how death, combat, and even magic work. His latest tweak, however, affects one of D&D’s most popular classes, making it more powerful — and perhaps more broken — than ever. Spoilers follow for Critical Role Campaign 4 episode 41, "True Nature." Critical Role is shaking up Warlocks Image: Critical Role In episode 41 of Campaign 4, titled “True Nature,” the show returns to Tyranny (Whitney Moore) and Wicander Halovar (Sam Riegel) in the demonic plane known as The Pit as they continue to unravel the mystery behind Ksha'aravi. Ksha'aravi is Tyranny’s father and the demon that was left in charge of the Pit after Iljaza, the queen of demons, was obliterated alongside the Dying Fields in the aftermath of the Shaper’s War. With help from the resurrected Tsul’rekshi, a powerful demon who has aided the party throughout the campaign and now holds Ksha’aravi’s debt after Ksha'aravi ingested Wick’s soul as a bargaining chip, Tyranny and Wick discover that Yanessa Halovar is hiding a dark secret. Yanessa is Wick's grandmother, House Halovar's leader, and the head of its religious offshoot, the Candescent Creed, but as Wick and Tyranny discover, she's also a Warlock, with Ksha'aravi serving as her patron. This was hinted at in Campaign 4, Episode 33, "Off-Balance", where Yanessa cast Eldritch Blast on Halandil Fang’s (Liam O’Brien) mug and then flew off, but we hadn’t got solid confirmation until now. However, Yanessa’s pact with Ksha’aravi isn't quite what you’d expect from a typical Warlock-patron contract. Rather than Ksha’aravi being in charge, as is usually the case, a game Yanessa played when she was younger led the demon to reveal his true name, allowing her to control him and use his power whenever it suited her needs. Notably, Yanessa also uses Ksha’aravi’s powers on the luxes (religious leaders who travel to bring the Candescent Creed’s teachings to communities across Aramán), granting them magic in exchange for signing a contract. Image: Critical Role As a result, even though the people of the Candescent Creed believe their faith earns them these powers, they are actually granted through a demonic contract and the application of tattooing filament (angel’s blood) to their faces. This lends legitimacy to the Candescent Creed and Yanessa, as luxes now have sorcery-like powers in a world like Aramán, where magic has been severely restricted since the destruction of the gods. Why Critical Role’s warlocks are now broken Narratively, the idea of Yanessa Halovar crafting a fake religion and granting her thousands of followers powers through a Warlock contract is incredibly interesting, and we can’t wait to see it play out as the campaign continues. However, the class tweaks also open up several game-changing possibilities. As Mulligan explained to his players in “True Nature”, the luxes of the Candescent Creed are all Warlocks, but their access to filament tattoos has enhanced them in a way that’s very different from how warlocks usually work. Image: Critical Role “The spell list of the luxes, the spells they have access to, the filamental tattoos (from Wick's grandfather Aetheon) give them things like healing and give them those Cleric spells like Ceremony,” Mulligan clarified, “but their spell slots are coming from the demon prince and this big old bug [Zgroog]." In other words, Ksha’aravi and Zgroog — a demonic golden tick who has grown larger over the years by consuming the souls of the Candescent Creed’s most devoted followers — supply the luxes with a Warlock’s allotment of spell slots, while the chained angel beneath the Halovar’s home provides them with Cleric spells. Warlocks have always been a class that can get a little broken depending on how you customize them, but their biggest downfall is their limited number of spell slots. Even so, short rests let them restore those spells in a way other spellcasters can only do with a long rest. Yet Warlock spells are usually limited in ways that steer them toward dealing damage rather than buffing or healing. This can vary depending on how players customize their characters — for example, a warlock with The Celestial as their patron gains access to spells like Cure Wounds—but Warlocks are generally considered less flexible than other spellcasters. Giving the Candescent Creed access to cleric spells makes them significantly tougher to deal with. Critical Role just reversed the relationship between Warlocks and patrons Images: Critical Role/Wizards of the Coast The pact between a Warlock and its patron is also usually designed to put the warlock at a disadvantage if they upset their patron — which adds tension to the decisions the Warlock makes throughout the adventure. For example, the last time I played a warlock, my patron was satisfied with my character only when she killed. After a few days of travel without killing anything or anyone, my character upset her patron and had to make a Wisdom saving throw to keep control of her senses. Not all Warlocks and their patrons are so hostile, but there is usually a clear power imbalance. Yanessa’s relationship with Ksha’aravi isn’t an exception to that rule — only this time, she’s the one in charge. On one hand, this change perfectly conveys just how powerful and terrifying Yanessa is. We already know the heads of the Sundered Houses are not to be messed with, but Yanessa has the power of a literal demon prince at her beck and call. The revolutionaries will need to tread carefully when dealing with her going forward in Campaign 4. That said, it does make the narrative tension that comes with Warlocks feel a little lackluster. If Yanessa is in charge, demon patrons don’t feel like an obstacle at all, but a hindrance. Ultimately, there’s still plenty to discover about how Warlocks and demonkind work in Aramán, and we trust Mulligan and the players to find an interesting way to explore it. Still, we can’t help feeling that something fundamental has changed: Warlocks seem more powerful than ever, while the class’s roleplaying dynamic has shifted completely. Only time will tell whether that’s for the better. Campaign 4 of Critical Role is available to watch live on Twitch, YouTube, and Beacon.tv on Thursday nights at 10 p.m. PDT. If you can’t catch the episode live, don’t worry — Critical Role posts the episode to YouTube the following Monday at 3 p.m. EDT/12 p.m. PDT.