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How Babs Tarr and a vibrator inspired Critical Role's new character Tyranny, according to Whitney Moore

Planning on cosplaying Moore's demonic Tyranny from Critical Role Campaign 4? You have DC artist Babs Tarr and a pink vibrator to thank

Even before Critical Role Campaign 4 kicked off, Critters across the internet were already buzzing about the design of Whitney Moore's pink-skinned, goat-eared, habit-resplendent demon, Tyranny. And now that we're a few months into the campaign, we've found that design pairs with a mischievous, fun-loving character the likes of which has already inspired Critical Role cosplayers and merch.

So when we sat down with Moore in a recent interview, we wanted to find out the impetus for this imp - from where, we asked the Birdemic star and geek culture icon, did the design for Tyranny sprout?

"Oh, that's actually a very funny story," she responded.

And let us tell you - it was.

"I knew that I wanted to be a pink demon," began Moore, "I did not know at the time that demons were not a playable race. I heard Laura [Bailey] say she wante d to be a fairy, and I was like, 'I'm gonna be a demon.' And then Brennan [Lee Mulligan] was like, 'Oh, yeah, absolutely, we’ll make that up.'"

What GM Mulligan and Moore ended up creating was indeed, in the canon of Campaign 4, a demon. But for the character to fit into the mechanics of a D&D 5E game, Moore admits that Tyranny is "a tiefling build." That said, it's not the technical design of the character that Moore was especially excited to tell us about: it's the visuals.

"I was really, really positive that I wanted her to be a pink demon with white hair," the former Geek & Sundry host continued, "I don't know how I got on that. And then one day, when we were doing the character, I was at home, and I looked down at my vibrator wand. And it is covered in Babs Tarr stickers, and one of them was a pink demon. And I was like, 'Oh my god!'"

Yes, Popverse reader, Moore is talking about that Babs Tarr, the artist behind upcoming DC Comics Black Label book Sirens: Love Hurts

"I think that [Tarr] calls that her 'succubus line?'" Moore says of the art in question. "And that was it. Babs Tarr is an incredible artist, she does a lot of work with Critical Role, and she has a succubus that she has illustrated, so I manifested her."

Well we're thrilled that you did, Whitney, and I'm sure the same can be said for the many, many Tyrannt cosplayers out there already bringing the Campaign 4 character to comic cons around the country. 


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Grant DeArmitt

Grant DeArmitt: Grant DeArmitt (he/him) likes horror, comics, and the unholy union of the two. In the past, and despite their better judgment, he has written for Nightmare on Film Street and Newsarama. He lives in Brooklyn with his partner, Kingsley, and corgi, Legs.

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