On July 9, the Age of Umbra is upon us – again. Matt Mercer’s grim, lethal Daggerheart setting gets its second Critical Role mini-series. And, according to player Zachery Renauldo, things are more “brutal and relentless” than ever before. His character might even make you cry.
While we’re returning to the Halcyon Domain for this new mini-series, we’ll explore a different region known as The Sallowlands. This expands on Mercer’s original, official campaign frame from the Daggerheart core rules. Daggerheart’s website describes The Sallowlands as a place of barren lakes, dusty canyons, and “desperate communities holding fast to the light”.
One such community is our party of player-characters. This new band of misfits includes Sister (Laura Bailey), Caguama (Vico Ortiz), Mercy (Abubakar Salim), and Dillwyn (Jennifer English). There’s also Alphonse, a gnarly-looking Elf played by Renauldo. Renauldo previously appeared in a 2025 Critical Role one-shot, but this is his first starring role in an extended series.
I tell Renauldo that Alphonse’s official character art is extremely metal, and he agrees “he is a very scary-looking person”. “Everyone is wondering why an Elf looks like that, and I can’t quite answer that question just yet.”
“I wanted to go with something that screamed of the wasteland and earth”, he adds. “It started with the idea of a skull on the ground, and from there, I thought my character could utilize elements you’d find around a skull – and around this dead mass of a world that is continuously being devoured by Umbra.”
Umbra is an ever-present force in the Halcyon Domain which warps and controls the souls of the dead. We saw the devastating necromantic effects it can inflict in season one of Age of Umbra, and it sounds like we should expect even more darkness in season two.
In particular, it sounds like our player-characters are far less hopeful than the original cast. “In the first season of Age of Umbra, we have a lot of very zealous characters”, Renauldo tells me. They grew up close to Sacred Pyres that could keep the Umbra back – a luxury our new characters don’t seem to have.
“I wanted to make a character that was much more brutal and relentless”, Renauldo adds. “The world of Umbra has formed him into a person that does not apologize for you.” “He’s willing to do what it takes to survive in this brutal world”, he adds. “The gang in the first season wanted to rebuild their town and save their Pyre, but Alphonse probably wouldn’t have had the same reaction.” “Either you can try to hold onto the world from before, or you can adapt.”
It might surprise some viewers to see Renauldo play such a harsh character. Before entering the Sallowlands, he’s been best-known for comedic TikTok videos about games like D&D and Magic: The Gathering.
“A lot of people actually expected me to play Jennifer English’s character,” he tells me, “which is this small little goblin”. “I’m known for a podcast I have, where I constantly say I’m a Nosferatu, a bit of the goblin in the sewers eating rats.” “So, when the pictures were initially released, everyone thought I was going to be the funny guy doing comedy stuff.”
“I wanted to show I can do the serious thing as well”, Renauldo says. “It’s still a Daggerheart game, so I’m still going to crack jokes every now and then, but I want to make sure people know I can play a character with a bit more meat on the bones.”
Renauldo is excited for viewers to get to know him beyond his usual short-form format. “There’s more to me than just the guy who makes skits”, he tells me. “I don’t want to be 10 years down the line still making D&D skits.” “I’d rather be making something more long-form and entertainment based”.
Despite his ambitions for the future, Renauldo remains grateful for the ways platforms like TikTok have changed his life. “On June 20, it was three years since I ever posted a D&D TikTok”, he says. “Who knew that, three years from then, you could be sitting at the table you were watching while editing those videos?” “It’s surreal.”
Renauldo tells me there’s many reasons to be excited about Sallowlands. His dynamic with fellow player Abubakar Salim is one. “The dynamic between me and Abu is a lot of fun, and I’m excited to see people react to that.”
“If there’s one thing I’m really excited about”, he continues, “it’s one moment in the season where I make a few players cry”. “I am so excited to see the reception to that moment.” The ‘try not to cry over Alphonse’ challenge is officially on.
Want to talk more about Daggerheart, Critical Role, and all things tabletop RPGs? We’re always keen to chat in the Wargamer Discord.
Source: Wargamer
