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Ever since Critical Role announced that Campaign 4 would feature three different character factions (Soldiers, Seekers, and Schemers, remember), fans have been wildly speculating about which of the 13 player characters will fit into which group. And the way you hear it on places like the Critical Role reddit, some folks believe they have the official breakdown pretty well and figured out. Well, sorry to break it to you, Critters, but Marisha Ray tells it otherwise.

Some context here - Popverse recently sat down a few of the Critical Role Campaign 4 cast (Laura Bailey, Robbie Daymond, Matthew Mercer, Aabria Iyengar, Marisha Ray, Alexander Ward, and Sam Riegel, specifically) to talk about the upcoming West Marches-style adventure GM'd by Brennan Lee Mulligan. And of course, we had to ask whether we could get specifics on the factions.

"I think Robbie [Daymond] said it very aptly in an interview earlier," answered OG cast member Ray, "Which is we have seen all the speculation we have seen everyone's guesses and not a single person has nailed it yet."

Ah well, worth a shot. Still, pretty interesting that none of the very thorough character investigations from CR fans have gotten it 100% right, no?

"But yeah," continued Ray, "I will say don't get too in the weeds of what someone's wardrobe looks like or their weapons look like because that is not necessarily an indicator of which table they'll be at."

Ray seems to be referencing a popular fan theory circulating on Critical Role fan forums that the campaign 4 character designs (which you'll recall our reporting on) indicate which faction they'll be a part of because of the color of their outfits. This theory appears to be untrue, in fact, fellow Aramánian Matt Mercer even jumped in to confirm that the character's garb choices "aren't prescriptive" in that way.

"It's more [about] whatever personal goals are driving the character," Ray concluded, "That ended up being the sorting hat for the tables."

And with that tantalizing hint, the conversation about Campaign 4 factions was over, finishing up with knowing nods from everybody at the virtual table. Well, almost everybody. Before we completely quit talking about it, cast member Sam Riegel piped up.

"You guys have been assigned tables?" he asked.

Gee, Sam, we hope you're joking. If not, don't worry, we'd absolutely watch a table that was just you.

Critical Role's Campaign 4 debuts on October 2 on Critical Role's Beacon, YouTube, and Twitch channels. 

From the lands of Exandria to your very own smartscreens, Popverse has everything you need to know about the TTRPG phenomenon that is Critical Role. Here you'll find:

• Popverse's Critical Role watch order
• An interview with GM Brennan Lee Mulligan
• The cast's appearance at C2E2 '25

...and more. Roll initiative, player. Adventure awaits.