Mollymauk Tealeaf

Mollymauk Tealeaf is a tiefling blood hunter and member of the Mighty Nein. He is played by Taliesin Jaffe.

Appearance
Molly is a genderfluid lavender tiefling with red eyes. His curled horns are pierced and extremely ostentatious, with little gems and baubles, and his flamboyant appearance was often commented upon. He wears a bright and colorful robe covered with at least half a dozen of religious iconography. Molly was introduced with two swords and a pouch that dangled from his hips. He also has many small straight, overlapping scars on his neck, upper chest, and arms, presumably from drawing his own blood to activate his swords. Molly has a light Irish accent while apparently in his previous incarnation of Lucien it was much more prominent.

Tattoos
Molly first awoke with a red eye tattoo on the right side of his neck, on his right shoulder, two on his upper back, and on the back and palm of his right hand. He integrated and concealed these eyes within a serpent tattoo that curled all along the length of his right hand and up his arm, then winded into a floral piece on his shoulder, and then into a peacock with tail feathers that ran up the side of his face. Although he has tried to tattoo over the eyes, they would not take ink. It was confirmed by Yasha that Molly had nine 'eye tattoos' on his body.

Between his shoulder blades rising towards the hairline, he has tattoos of an eye within a pyramid, illuminated by another eye above it. A moon and sun tattoo flanks it and connects through it like a mantle.

Personality
Molly has been described as a "literal and figurative peacock". He frequently tells extravagant lies with little mind for whether or not his audience believes them. He is not visibly affected by insults, as shown by his lack of reaction when the old man in the Old Mud Hole called him a devil and told him to leave town.

Molly is very confident about his appearance and often mentions nudity, both his own and others'.

He finds everything delightful and is on board for any thrill or high. Though he doesn't seem to mind rough living, he is also interested in extravagant — borderline hedonistic— pursuits, including being hand-fed fruit, and illegal recreational drug use. When he ordered full release massages and was asked about his gender preference for the courtesans, he specified he only cared about the one with the best hands and best conversation.

Mollymauk has no attachment to whatever his life was before his own life began. He has no desire to remember the life of the person who ended up buried where he woke up, though he has expressed some regret at not experiencing a childhood.

Molly expressed his lack of interest in reading.

Background
Mollymauk's body was originally inhabited by another person: Lucien. Lucien grew up in Shadycreek Run and later joined the Claret Orders, before splitting up and forming the Tombtakers, a small group of mercenary blood hunters. In 833 PD, Lucien acquired a tome that allowed him to gain powers and knowledge from the Somnovem, an ancient group of mages ruling a living city in the Astral Sea. Drawn in by the promise of power, Lucien attempted to complete a ritual to reach the Somnovem, but was double-crossed by the mage he hired to perform the ritual, Vess DeRogna, and his soul was broken and scattered. Believing him to be dead, his allies buried his body not far from their hideout and went their separate ways. Vess DeRogna took the tome as part of the arrangement Lucien had with her. A piece of Lucien's soul, which would eventually become Mollymauk, remained in his body.

Mollymauk woke up buried in the ground with no memories two years before he met the Mighty Nein, and regarded that awakening as the moment he came into existence. He shortly thereafter joined The Fletching and Moondrop Traveling Carnival of Curiosities. According to Toya and the notes in Beauregard's journal, Molly didn't talk when he first joined the carnival, only repeating one word: "empty". Gustav Fletching heard this as the letters "M.T." and would eventually forge papers for him under the name "Mollymauk Tealeaf" in the hopes that these initials were either somehow significant to Molly or his original name. Molly had to relearn both Common and Infernal languages and rediscover his innate hemocraft abilities. He also tattoed his body to cover the nine red eyes that dotting his body.

Molly was introduced as a promoter for the carnival and as a "fortune-teller". His fortune-telling "abilities" came from card-reading techniques and sleight of hand, not actual magic. He never developed an act for the show itself. His stage name with the Carnival of Curiosities was "The Ice Spinner", likely due to his ability to summon ice using hemocraft.

Molly have at least possed himself as a follower of the Platinum Dragon, the Spider Queen, and the Light Bringer.

At some point before the start of the campaign, Molly came across Yasha in Eastern Wynandir and introduced her into the carnival. Before the campaign started, they traveled Wildemount with the Carnival of Curiosities, eventually arriving in Trostenwald.

Arc 1: Come Together
 Mollymauk invited Caleb, Nott, Beau, Jester, and Fjord to go watch the evening circus performance. During the show, an old man was transformed into a zombie and a fight between them ensued.

 While staying at the inn, Molly was asked about the nature of Kylre. He replied by saying that an incident like this had never happened before.

 After the fight with Kylre, Molly picked up Toya and walked slowly back to the boat, comforting her through this tough realization.

 Molly caught Nott sneaking into Molly and Fjord's room heading for Fjord's pack. He held up a piece of paper and asked if she was looking for it. Nott asked Molly to give her the piece of paper, but he refused unless they made a trade. Nott gave him a vial of acid and opened the piece of paper, finding it was blank. When Fjord came back in, Molly told him what had happened, and Fjord shooed her out of the room.

 Fjord and Molly set a trap in their room for Nott, using Minor Illusion to create a pile of buttons topped with a jeweled flask. She saw the pile along with Fjord's belongings to one side and snuck in. Fjord and Molly slammed the door on her, trapping her, and Molly cast Devil's Tongue, charming her. She admitted that she was looking for Fjord's letter to the Soltryce Academy to give to Caleb.

  Upon meeting Cree in the Evening Nip and being addressed as Lucien, Mollymauk panicked and insisted that the Mighty Nein play along. He tried to pass himself off as having the same personality as Lucien to Cree, possibly succeeding. Later, under a Zone of Truth, Molly revealed his amnesia and desire to live as a new person separate from whoever Lucien may have been. Although he had previously implied himself to be a worshiper of The Platinum Dragon in public, Mollymauk revealed that he actually worshipped the Moonweaver (an unapproved deity in the Dwendalian Empire). He also admitted that his swords were entirely nonmagical and his "worship" over them was a show.

Arc 2: The Bad Guys
 While on watch with Beau, Molly revealed that the best lie he ever told was when, as part of a scam and initiation test for The Fletching and Moondrop Traveling Carnival of Curiosities, he spent three weeks pretending to be a reincarnated royal from overseas. Beau told Molly she once found out a politician and his wife were both cheating on each other then used that information to ruin their relationship and their lives. Molly was impressed and was sure the politician and his wife had it coming.

Having tracked and set an ambush on the Glory Run Road ahead of the Iron Shepherds and their slave wagon convoy, Keg and the remaining members of the Mighty Nein quickly faced losing odds as they attempted to do battle and recover their abducted members. Although the party had managed to down the half-orc druid Dwelma, they were outnumbered and outskilled. Gravely injured and facing off against Lorenzo with just Beau on his side, Molly attempted to use his Blood Maledict to hinder Lorenzo's attacks, but was already injured enough to fell unconscious by this effort. Lorenzo then planted his glaive into Mollymauk's chest. Mollymauk, knowing this was his end, spat blood into the face of Lorenzo. Noting his respect for Molly fighting until his end, Lorenzo twisted his glaive and left Molly to expire with his eyes open to the falling snow of the northern Marrow Valley. The in game date of Molly's death was 22 Fessuran 835.

 After Beau looted Molly's body for his Periapt of Wound Closure, tarot deck, Summer's Dance, and his gold (intended to help pay for his eventual resurrection), the party buried Molly along the side of the road. Beau poured out a drink for Molly, and the party toasted: "Long may he reign."

 When visiting the grave of Mollymauk, the group found that his coat was still there. Jester, Fjord and Yasha said their goodbyes. Jester left the Moon card at his grave in a memorial of him. Caduceus Clay used his cantrip, Decompose to make sure that the earth remembered Molly.

Arc 6: Weird Magic
 The group returned to the gravesite alongside Glory Run Road intending to cast Speak with Dead to ask Molly, or Lucien, about the "eyes of nine", but found the grave empty. Jester then used his blood (obtained from the Gentleman) to cast Scry on him. She saw a familiar purple tiefling, bundled up against a blizzard, walking with confidence towards an unknown destination. His coat had been left behind, found twenty feet from the gravemarker and left to the elements until it was retrieved by Veth and taken into her possession.

 Jester used Speak with Plants to talk to Henry Crabgrass who revealed that Mollymauk's body had been exhumed and ritually resurrected about fifty days earlier (around 11 Thunsheer 836 PD), approximately six and a half months after his death. Jester later Scryed on him a second time to find him staring into a fire, eating dried jerky and appearing pensive, huddled, and contemplative.

 The Mighty Nein finally caught up to the purple tiefling, and he revealed that he was Lucien, the original soul within Mollymauk's body. He revealed that he had none of Mollymauk's memories and regarded Molly as a temporary uninvited guest in his body. Lucien indicated to the Mighty Nein that Mollymauk means nothing to him, although he understood their grief.

 During their final battle against Lucien in the Astral Sea, the Mighty Nein began to talk to him as if he were still Molly, making allusions to Mollymauk's life and their relationship with him. This seemed to cause Lucien pain, prevented him from completing attacks against them, and made him lose Legendary Actions, strongly suggesting that Molly's memories and personality still existed within him.

 The party continued to attempt to reach Molly as they took down Lucien. As he was dealt his final blow, Lucien grabbed his own chest and ripped it apart, possibly implying that the sliver of Mollymauk still within him was helping to destroy him.

After the battle, Caleb used his Transmuter's Stone to cast Raise Dead on Lucien's body, seeking to bring back Mollymauk. Yasha placed Molly's coat over the body and begged him to return, kissing his cheek. Jester took out his tarot cards and asked him to return to teach her about them. Beau then laid Molly's belt over the body and tried to push the blood back within. The tiefling's body was healed, but the ritual failed, and Molly's soul didn't return to his body.

As the group grieved, Caleb began to cast Vault of Amber on the body so that it could be brought back to the Material Plane. While he did so, Caduceus used Divine Intervention to ask the Wildmother to restore Molly's soul, and succeeded. Plants, vines, and moss began to grow and bloom around the body, encasing it. The tiefling's eyes opened, and he sprung up, confused, repeating only one word: "Empty". He began to look at the Nein with a hint of recognition, pointing to them in turn and naming the Tarot card he had created based on them, long ago. The tiefling let Jester and Yasha hug him, seeming to trust them even though he could not communicate much. The tiefling then joined the rest of the group as Caduceus cast Plane Shift, and they all headed to the Blooming Grove.

 In the Blooming Grove, the tiefling wandered around happily and curiously, the others wondering if he was still the same person. The next morning, Jester cast Greater Restoration on him, and he regained the ability to speak and think for himself. However, he felt that he was not Mollymauk, although he retained some of his skills and the Mighty Nein seemed familiar to him. He chose the name Kingsley Tealeaf, declaring that he would think of Mollymauk like his brother. Years later, Kingsley captained a ship he renamed Mollymauk, with which he joined the Revelry.

Jester Lavorre
Molly read Jester's fortune for two copper pieces, using a small set of cards. He predicted that there was something bright and adventurous in her future. That night at the Traveling Carnival of Curiosities, he showed her the moon and shadow cards together and asked if she understood what they meant, possibly in reference to the Moonweaver.

Jester and Molly got along well during his time with the Mighty Nein. When dramatizing her Hellish Rebuke in Infernal, Jester chose phrases to make Molly laugh; without Molly there, she generally just screams.

In, Jester found research that led her to believe that Moonweaver-specific tarot decks were meant to be "deceptive" and "relative" to those who the deck was being read to, as are the tenets of the Moonweaver. This research allowed her to realize that Molly's tarot deck was not only self-created and incomplete but also did not correspond to more traditional tarot decks found within Exandria.

Caleb Widogast
When Caleb was dissociating after killing the gnoll priest with his Fire Bolt, Mollymauk called him from his withdrawn state. Mollymauk also confronted Caleb about what he viewed as him keeping loot and not sharing it with the other members of the group, pinning him against a wall and telling him it was fine to skim something off the top but to distribute 60 or 70 percent of it.

Caleb included a stained glass window in the library of his nine-sided tower that was reminiscent of Mollymauk's signature coat.

Fjord
Molly and Fjord had a friendly relationship, often being roommates at inns. Fjord wanted to learn about Molly's ritual with his swords and asked to join in. He hoped that Molly might have knowledge about magical swords that could be helpful to him as he searched for the meaning of his falchion. Before Molly's amnesia was revealed, Fjord realized Molly was lying about where his swords and his powers came from. For unknown reasons, he decided not to confront Molly or tell anyone else.

The two frequently collaborated in Zadash, particularly in causing a distraction at The Guided Hand Infirmary, and in trapping Nott when she attempted to go through Fjord's things in their shared room at the inn.

Before leaving the town of Berleben, Fjord confided in Molly about his concerns about the new eye in the center of his falchion. Molly attempted to charm him in response to get more information, but it failed.

After Molly's death, Fjord felt guilty that he wasn't there to save his life. He attuned to Molly's sword, the Summer's Dance, as a way of remembering him and keeping his legacy alive.

Beauregard
Molly was initially annoyed by Beau's abrasiveness. When describing her to fellow carnival members, Molly said, "She's helping, she's awful, you have a lot in common." Beau, in return, was put off by Molly's lying and teasing. He supported her efforts to change, and they went on to develop a close, sibling-like relationship.

Molly thought that his death enabling Beau's survival was worth it, and Taliesin joked that Molly would forever have a "one-up" on her.

Beau has taken Molly's lessons to heart and is working towards leaving places better than she finds them.

Beau asked Orly Skiffback to give her a magical tattoo of the All-Seeing Eye, like the one on the back of Molly's neck, using the design from the matching card in his tarot deck.

Yasha
Mollymauk and Yasha were close friends. The two of them travelled together with The Fletching and Moondrop Traveling Carnival of Curiosities and were close enough to give each other physical signs of affection, like a kiss on the forehead or a slap on the butt, and share their story with each other. Molly and Yasha had a lot in common when it came to their past, the two of them having missing memories, and were trying to distance themselves from who they were before. Mollymauk's death was especially hard on Yasha.

Notable items

 * Pair of decorated scimitars (constructed of carnival glass)
 * Disguise Kit
 * Pouch, bedazzled with gems, containing incense
 * Old, rusted, iron helmet that is at least two hundred years old (obtained from a cemetery)
 * "Deeply gaudy" tapestry with a symbol of the Platinum Dragon embroidered into it.
 * Brooch of the Platinum Dragon..

Former items

 * Marked "fortune-telling" deck, taken by Beau after his death, eventually given to Jester
 * Periapt of Wound Closure, taken by Beau after his death, eventually given to Caduceus Clay
 * Summer's Dance, taken by Beau after his death, eventually given to Fjord and consumed by the Sword of Fathoms

Tiefling abilities

 * Darkvision
 * Devil's Tongue
 * Vicious Mockery cantrip
 * Charm Person spell (as a 2nd-level spell)
 * Enthrall spell
 * Hellish Resistance

Feats and other abilities

 * Background: Charlatan
 * Tough

Blood hunter abilities
Though concealed on his body, regardless of where he cut himself to use his rite powers, a single red eye on his body bled in response. Different abilities cause this reaction for different eyes.


 * Blood Curses (2)
 * Blood Curse of the Eyeless
 * Blood Curse of Purgation
 * Blood Hunter Order: Order of the Ghostslayer
 * Esoteric Rite: Rite of the Dawn
 * Blood Maledict (1 use)
 * Crimson Rite (1d6)
 * Primal Rite: Rite of the Frozen
 * Extra Attack
 * Fighting Style: Two-Weapon Fighting
 * Hunter's Bane

Level 15
In, a non-canon battle royale between members of Vox Machina and the Mighty Nein, Mollymauk appeared as a level 15 version of himself, with the following statistics:

Armor Class: 19 Hit Points: 154

Behind the scenes

 * Taliesin Jaffe confirmed that "Mollymauk" is named after Alan "Mollymauk" Musgrave in the 1966 teen comedy film Lord Love a Duck, which had been directed by Taliesin's grandfather, George Axelrod.
 * Molly's initials are MT, a homophone for the first thing he initially said ("empty"). Taliesin confirmed this as intentional.
 * Taliesin has compared Molly's personality to that of Hunter S. Thompson.
 * Taliesin originally intended for Mollymauk's last name to be "Trickfoot," but Matt didn't want such an explicit reference to the first campaign so early on.
 * Taliesin had hoped that Molly could continue coming up with new lies about his backstory for a long time, but was forced to come clean during the events of.

Appearances and mentions

 * Campaign 2
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Quotations
Beauregard: "Are you patronizing me, Mollymauk?" Mollymauk: "No, I'm hoping that you're going to patronize us." Keg: "You just gave me twenty gold." Molly: "Yes, that's how I know you can afford us." Taliesin: (spits with blood.) Matt: "As it slams into his face-" Matt, as Lorenzo: "Respect," Matt: "-and then twists the blade. The life leaves Molly." Taliesin: "Eyes never shut."
 * Mollymauk: "Can you hand me your staff so I can watch this? I want to see this limp of yours. Purely for my own entertainment."
 * "We're carnival people, we've all got our issues. You don't end up here if you're not a little weird."
 * ‪"Mother always told me to never give a story away for free.‬"
 * "They say solitaire is a game for the death obsessed, there's an inevitability to every hand, most of them are doomed from the start no matter what you do".
 * "When in doubt, if something goes wrong, just... nudity. It usually works."
 * "BECAUSE I'M WEIRD!" (when asked why he joined the circus)
 * "I'm always ready to make a damn fool of myself."
 * "Be the chaos you want to see in the world."
 * "I don't want to remember anything, I don't want anybody else's baggage in my head, I don't want anybody else's problems, thoughts, ideas… I like this person, right now, is a good person, is a fine person, is a happy person."
 * "I spent two years before I met you all cajoling people, occasionally ripping them off, occasionally doing a good turn here or there. Never trust the truth. The truth is vicious, the truth thinks that you owe it something… None of that. I like my bullshit. It's good, it's happy, it makes other people happy."
 * "Let me make this abundantly clear: My name is Molly. That person is dead, and not me. It's just a person who had this body. They abandoned it. It's mine now."
 * "I am your god! Long may I reign!"
 * "There's nothing better than waking up with no pants and flowers in your hair."
 * "I'm always interested in people who are excited to experiment."
 * Molly: (suggesting Keg hire the Mighty Nein) "Twenty gold."
 * "I don't care where anyone's from. It's nice. I certainly don't care where I'm from."
 * Matt: "Molly, you have a brief moment. As the consciousness and life leaves you, what are your last words?"
 * "Well fuck you too!" (Molly's parting thoughts)

Trivia

 * "Mollymauk" is a modification of "Mollymawk", the name of a species of albatross in the genus Thalassarche that originates from the Dutch "mallemok" (mal - foolish, and mok - gull). "Molly" itself is a slang term for the psycoactive drug MDMA, also known as ecstasy.
 * According to the documents the Cobalt Soul managed to aquire in their research of Mollymauk, he was doucumented to visit Talonstadt before arriving in Trostenwald with the carnival.
 * "Tealeaf" is a suggested surname for Halflings in several editions of the Player's Handbook.
 * Molly was the first player character of the Mighty Nein to be knocked unconscious in combat.
 * At episode 27, Molly had the most kills (21) and HDYWTDT (7) of the Mighty Nein.
 * Mollymauk was the first player character to die in Campaign 2.