Mollymauk Tealeaf

Mollymauk Tealeaf was a tiefling blood hunter. He was created by Taliesin Jaffe.

Appearance
Molly was a lavender tiefling with red eyes. His curled horns were pierced and extremely ostentatious, with little gems and baubles. His flamboyant appearance was often commented upon. He wore a bright and colorful robe covered with religious symbols. Molly was introduced with two swords and a pouch that dangled from his hips. He also had many straight, overlapping scars on his neck, upper chest, and arms, presumably from drawing his own blood to activate his swords. Molly had a light Irish accent, though whether Lucien also shared this accent or it was something Molly developed on his own is unknown.

Tattoos
Molly first awoke with a red eye tattoo on the right side of his neck, on his right shoulder, and one eye on back and palm of his right hand. Integrating and concealing these eyes, he had a serpent tattoo that curls all along the length of his right hand and up his arm, that winds into a floral piece on his shoulder, and then into a peacock with tail feathers that run up the side of his face. Although he had tried to tattoo over the eyes they would not take ink. It is confirmed by Yasha that Molly had nine 'eye tattoos' on his body.

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

Personality
Molly had been described as a "literal and figurative peacock". He frequently told extravagant lies with little mind for whether or not his audience believed them. He was 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 was very confident about his appearance and often mentioned nudity, both his own and others.

He found everything delightful and was on board for any thrill or high. Though he didn't seem to mind rough living, he’d also been interested in extravagant — borderline hedonistic— pursuits, including being hand-fed fruit, illegal recreational drug use, and getting full release massages from escorts.

Lucien
At some point in the past, a purple tiefling going by Lucien (and later the Nonagon) led a group of people who broke away from an established order of some sort to form their own faction, called The Tomb Takers. At some point around or before 833 P.D., Lucien got involved with a spellcaster from "the capital" (presumably Rexxentrum) and a book of some sort. A tabaxi named Cree and the other members of the group found Lucien apparently dead in the woods after he and the spellcaster performed an unspecified ritual. They buried him and gave the book to the spellcaster.

Mollymauk
Mollymauk thought of himself as having come into existence two years before he met the Mighty Nein, when he woke up buried in the ground with no memories. He shortly thereafter joined The Fletching and Moondrop Traveling Carnival of Curiosities. According to Toya, Molly wasn't talking when he first joined the carnival. This wasn't entirely true, as, at the time of joining the carnival, he would only say the word "empty." Gustav Fletching heard this as "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 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 claimed in introductions to have been in the carnival for as "long as [he] can reasonably remember".

Molly was introduced as a promoter for the carnival and as a "fortune-teller" within it. 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.

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.

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 Beau, Molly attempted to use his Blood Maledict ability to hinder Lorenzo's attacks. However, he was already injured enough that this effort knocked him unconscious. Lorenzo planted his glaive into Mollymauk's chest. Mollymauk, knowing this was his end, spat blood into the face of Lorenzo. Noting his respect for 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.

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. The cantrip triggers one minute of rapid decomposition by fungus and, potentially, flowers. (Requirements for resurrection remain unaffected.)

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.

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 trying to take baby steps towards leaving towns better than she finds them.

Yasha
Molly and Yasha were well acquainted from working with the Carnival of Curiosities. Molly met Yasha when she joined the Carnival a few months before episode 1. When asked whether or not Yasha would be coming along with the party, Molly immediately accepted, referring to her as "the Charm." Yasha knows as much as Molly did about Molly's history. Molly knew about Yasha's past and her wife Zuala.

Molly gifted Yasha with a book on manners and a four-leaf clover. She continues to add flowers to the book and treasures it to this day.

Due to a Sleep spell cast upon her manacles, Yasha awoke later than Jester and Fjord following their rescue. Upon seeing Mollymauk's gravesite, she let out a tortured scream and left the party, quietly assuring them that when she was ready, she would find them again.

Notable Items

 * Pair of decorated scimitars (constructed of carnival glass)
 * Marked "fortune-telling" deck (Taken by Beau after Molly's death)
 * "The Silver Dragon"
 * "The Anvil"
 * "The Serpent"
 * "The Eye"
 * "The Moon" (returned to grave marker by Jester)
 * "The Shadow"
 * "The Chariot"
 * Disguise Kit
 * Pouch, bedazzled with gems, containing incense
 * Periapt of Wound Closure (taken by Beau)
 * Old, rusted, iron helmet that is at least two hundred years old (obtained from a cemetery)
 * A "deeply gaudy" tapestry with a symbol of the Platinum Dragon embroidered into it.
 * A brooch of the Platinum Dragon..
 * Summer's Dance Scimitar (a +1 scimitar that can cast Misty Step) (looted by Beau after Molly's death, became a part of Fjord's falchion)

Feats

 * Tough

Variant Tiefling Abilities

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

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

Quotations
Beauregard: Are you patronizing me, Mollymauk? Mollymauk: No, I'm hoping that you’re going to patronize us. Jester: "That-thats an after thought" Molly: "Usually is" 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 all have our issues. You don't wind up here if you don't have some kind of issues."
 * ‪"Mother always told me to never give away a story 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)
 * Molly: "What about Yogur"
 * "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."
 * 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

 * Molly implied himself to be a worshiper of The Platinum Dragon in public.). While under the influence of Jester's Zone of Truth, Molly revealed that he actually worshipped the Moonweaver (an unapproved deity in the Dwendalian Empire). However, he explicitly stated that his swords were entirely nonmagical and his "worship" over them was a show.
 * The fact that Molly worshipped The Moonweaver (who is the goddess of the Moon and Autumn) is an opposite of Percival de Rolo, who leads his home-city of Whitestone. There, a majority of residents worship Pelor, the god of the Sun and agriculture.
 * 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 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.
 * "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).
 * The word "albatross" is sometimes used metaphorically to mean a psychological burden that feels like a curse.
 * In maritime superstition, to be followed by an albatross was considered a sign of good luck for a ship; killing the bird, such as in Samuel Coleridge's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, is said to bring a curse onto the killer and their ship.
 * "Molly" is a slang term for the psycoactive drug MDMA, also known as ecstasy, known for inducing feelings of euphoria, increased self-confidence, increased empathy and closeness with others and oneself, relaxation and reduced anxiety, a sense of inner peace, mild hallucinogenic effects, altered sense of time, and enhanced sensation, perception, or sexuality.
 * "Tealeaf" is a suggested surname for Halflings in several editions of the Player's Handbook.
 * "Tea leaf" is also Cockney rhyming slang for "thief".
 * Tasseography (also known as tasseomancy or tassology) is a method of divination or fortune-telling that interprets tea leaves, coffee grounds, or wine sediments.
 * Lucien originates from the Latin name Lucius, itself from the word lux (meaning "light", "shining", or "resplendent").
 * Nonagon is the name of a nine-sided polygon (also called an enneagon), from the Latin nonus ("nine") + gōnía ("corner").
 * The band They Might Be Giants have a song entitled "Nonagon" on their children's album Here Come the 123s. It refers to both an attendee at a party at which "everybody in the party is a many-sided polygon" and a dance they perform at this party
 * Taliesin has quoted lines from TMBG's song "Don't Let's Start".
 * Temples of the Baha'i Faith (a religion teaching the essential worth of all religions, and the unity and equality of all people) are required to be nonagonal, an essential architectural character stipulated by 'Abdu'l-Bahá, a head of the Baha'i Faith. In the Baha'i Faith, the number nine represents completeness.
 * The number 9 has significance in several cultures, including the nine planets of Hinduism, an association with the Chinese dragon (a symbol of power, magic, and good luck), the Ennead (nine deities worshiped at the major city of Heliopolis) of Egypt, the Nine Worthies that personified the ideals of chivalry of the Middle Ages, the nine worlds of Norse mythology, and the nine muses of Greek mythology. There are also nine circles of Hell in Dante's Inferno, and nine rings of power in J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-Earth.
 * The Nine Days of Av are a religious observance in Judaism that takes place during the first nine days of the Jewish month of Av. It is a period of semi-mourning leading up to Tisha B'Av, the ninth day of Av on which both Temples in Jerusalem were destroyed. Jaffe's grandfather George Axelrod was born to a Russian Jewish father.
 * This is also a nod, coincidental or not, to the group's name The Mighty Nein.
 * The nines of the Minor Arcana in a classic tarot deck are generally read as completion and fulilment of the suit's meaning.
 * Molly was the first player character of the second campaign's party to be knocked unconscious in combat.
 * Taliesin has compared Molly's personality to that of Hunter S. Thompson.
 * 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.
 * Molly appeared to be bisexual, or at least have little preference for who he slept with, as seen when he bought the services of two courtesans and when asked about his preference of gender, he specified he only cared about the one with the best hands and best conversation.
 * Matt said that Mollymauk was openly bisexual and genderfluid during an interview on the DnD Beyond twitch channel.
 * Molly has been described as having a "difficult to make out gender" appearance-wise
 * Taliesin considers Molly functionally illiterate due to his lack of interest in reading.
 * 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. A resurrection has been discussed but not yet attempted at this time. If he is not resurrected, he would be the third player character across both campaigns to die permanently (after Tiberius Stormwind and Vax'ildan).
 * In Caduceus used Decompose to make sure that "the earth remembers" Molly. Resurrection remains a possibility due to the nature of the cantrip.