Overview of Critical Role: Age of Umbra — Sallowlands (Episode 3, Part 1)
The party reaches the Tower of Oxidus in the strange new southern metropolis that has emerged in the Sallowlands, only to uncover a tense society built around faith, secrecy, and control. What begins as an effort to find safe shelter and learn more about the city quickly turns into a hidden investigation beneath the tower, where the group discovers an underground network of dissenters called the Horizons, learns more about the city’s rigid religious order, and gets a glimpse of how fragile the tower’s supposed stability really is.
Key Story Developments
Arrival at the Tower of Oxidus
- The party arrives in what seems to be one of the few relatively safe strongholds in the region.
- They are granted temporary access and begin asking questions about the mysterious new city to the south and its ruler/prophet, Oxidus.
- They witness a public punishment/exile of a branded heretic, reinforcing how harsh and authoritarian the tower’s social order is.
Following the mysterious girl
- A young woman the party notices in the crowd, Clea, becomes the focus of their curiosity.
- Their search leads them through:
- a hidden garden district
- a narrow crawl space between tower walls
- a subterranean staircase
- and ultimately a secret chamber
Discovery of the Horizons
- The party finds a concealed group of dissenters calling themselves the Horizons.
- Clea and her companions reveal they are not enemies, but rather people who:
- question the tower’s faith structure
- resist the more oppressive aspects of the regime
- and want to encourage people to think for themselves rather than blindly obey
Learning the city’s truth
- The Horizons explain that:
- the old gods no longer answer
- faith in the tower is increasingly built on fear and ritual rather than certainty
- the Templars and religious authorities enforce the system, even if some of them may be conflicted
- They also indicate that Oxidus may not even be present anymore, or at least is not visibly ruling in the way people believe.
The safe house is compromised
- The hidden chamber is discovered to be a compromised safe house, forcing the Horizons to leave quickly.
- The party escapes through a chimney and rooftop route, just ahead of Templar activity.
- Their stealthy exit is successful, but it becomes clear they are now operating in a city full of surveillance, patrols, and hidden passageways.
Character and Relationship Highlights
Clea and the Horizons
- Clea comes across as cautious but principled, willing to trust the party after seeing they are not aligned with the tower’s enforcers.
- The Horizons feel like a small, pressured, but genuinely hopeful resistance movement.
Bowen
- The party locates Bowen, who is serving on guard duty.
- He appears conflicted and uneasy, and the party senses he may be open to leaving or questioning the system.
- He agrees to speak privately later, suggesting a possible future defection or alliance.
Alphonse and the guard at the gate
- A quieter but important exchange happens with a young guard, Oventa, whom Alphonse speaks to with unusual honesty and empathy.
- He removes his skull covering, revealing his scarred and wounded face, and speaks openly about faith, doubt, and hope.
- This interaction gives the party more practical information:
- the elevators are not the only access route
- there are tunnels through the mountain used by soldiers and barracks access
- the city’s upper levels are protected in part by these hidden routes
Mercy, nature, and the cycle
- Mercy shares more of their spiritual and natural connection:
- their people once offered healing and comfort
- the Umbra diminished their magic
- a ritual involving grief and renewal led to the birth of Badger
- Later, a communion with nature reveals:
- the tower sits atop an ancient, altered landscape
- the land was once shaped by water and shoreline
- a hidden basement/crypt passage may exist beneath the tower
- a statue of Aratu, goddess of atonement and sacrifice, marks an important underground location
Important Revelations
The city is built on layered secrecy
- The tower contains:
- living quarters
- gardens turned into housing
- hidden worship spaces
- old prison architecture
- and concealed passageways between walls and under floors
- The architecture itself reflects the city’s theme: control, adaptation, and hidden resistance.
Faith is unstable, but still powerful
- The episode emphasizes a core tension:
- some people genuinely believe
- others obey out of fear
- others resist because silence and sacrifice are no longer enough
- The lack of clear divine response has left many questioning the old order.
There may be a deeper escape route
- The communion with nature suggests the tower has subterranean water veins / old natural passages beneath it.
- This may become crucial if the party needs to escape or explore further.
Ending Status
By the end of Part 1:
- the party is safely housed in the tower for the night
- they have met or confirmed contact with several important locals
- they know more about the tower’s hidden politics and secret passageways
- and they have multiple leads to pursue next:
- Bowen
- the Horizons
- the barracks tunnels
- and the crypt/basement beneath the tower
Notable Themes
- Faith vs. obedience
- Hope in a broken system
- Hidden communities and underground resistance
- The danger of authority without accountability
- Nature, memory, and renewal beneath ruin
What This Episode Sets Up
- A likely deeper confrontation with the tower’s leadership and religious structure
- Potential alliance with the Horizons
- Possible recruitment or rescue of Bowen
- Exploration of the tower’s lower crypts and hidden underground spaces
- Continued investigation into the mysterious new city and its connection to the Sallowlands