Dariax Zaveon

Dariax Zaveon is a dwarven sorcerer and member of the Crown Keepers. He is played by Matthew Mercer.

Appearance
Dariax is a young mountain dwarf with wild, floppy, reddish-auburn hair and a chinstrap beard. He wears a vest over a chain shirt, and has a compass rose chained on his light chain necklace.

After touching the thorny circlet and failing his wisdom saving throw, Dariax's eyes turned inky black. They were restored to their normal "dreamy" brown color by Shaun Gilmore a few days later.

Personality
Dariax is easygoing, reacting cheerfully to being pranked by his friends. However, he becomes intense when he realises he’s being lied to, as he has had bad experiences with people who lie a lot. He is impulsive and prone to throwing himself unthinkingly into dangerous situations.

Despite his cheerful nature, Dariax is somewhat cynical, considering the world to be built on “fucking people over” and feeling that doing bad things in order to survive is necessary. However, he believes in putting his friends before his own selfish desires, such as when he refused the Spider Queen's offer.

Background
Dariax grew up in Turst Fields. He has an older brother, Taros Zaveon, whom Dariax described as "a bit of a dick, but we get along all right, I guess." Taros was the "workhorse" on the family farm, the one stepping in the same family path; overall a good guy, but the brothers got in scuffles here and there. Dariax, on the other hand, was a troublemaker growing up, and Taros had to frequently put out fires Dariax set both figuratively and literally.

Dariax has worked in thieves' circles. For a time, he had mentioned he was in a relationship with the traveling burlesque dancer Tharla Starr, though this was revealed to be a lie during a conversation in.

With the rest of the Exandria Unlimited party, Dariax woke up in a house in Emon with no memory of the preceding week. While returning from a quick trip to an inn to have breakfast, Dariax noticed a stranger writing something on their house. Dariax confronted her and after some questioning she revealed herself to be Poska, the leader of the Nameless Ones. The party made a deal with her, agreeing to find her something "nice" in exchange for keeping their house off her hit list, money, and information.

The party boarded the Blightstar, hoping to find something worth stealing. They found the ship's crew slaughtered, as well as a crate that several crew members had died surrounding. Dariax used his spear to pry the crate open, revealing the Circlet of Barbed Vision. Dorian and Orym both tried to move the crate, but it made them nauseous. Dariax, however, was able to move it with no ill effects. Later, Dorian offered up his cloak to carry the circlet, and gave it to Dariax to hold onto.

During their fight against the shadowy figures in Poska's warehouse, Dariax got the final kill with a Sacred Flame.

The party attempted to leave Emon, but noticed they were being pursued. Dariax used Thaumaturgy to distract their pursuers, but the party then noticed people waiting for them at the gate. When they eventually and made camp outside the city, Dariax took watch and noticed a figure presumed to be Poska riding past them, followed by several other carts and single horses throughout the night.

The next day, at the Flamereach Outpost, Dariax touched the circlet, and his eyes turned jet black. The party then rushed to investigate the "Oh No Plateau", where Little Mister was transformed into a large elemental of hot vapor. Dariax attempted to attack Mister in this form, but Fearne prevented him by moving Mister away. Dariax's momentum almost carried him into the burning sigil in the center of the plateau, but Orym caught him. His spear was not so fortunate, the tip of it impacting the sigil and burning away entirely. After the fight, Dariax apologised to Fearne for attacking Little Mister.

While attempting to sneak back into Emon, Dariax decided to act as a distraction. Using his Cloak of Disguise, Dariax assumed the form of Tharla Starr and flirting his way past the guards. As the plan deteriorated and subsequent distractions were required, Dorian and Fearne began acting as backing performers for Dariax as he put on a dance show.

Eventually, the party made their way to Gilmore's Glorious Goods and asked Gilmore for his help. Dariax showed Gilmore the Circlet of Barbed Visions, and Gilmore asked if Dariax had been touching it. He showed Dariax to a mirror, where he realised for the first time that his eyes were black. Gilmore asked Dariax to promise not to touch the circlet again and restored his eyes to normal. Before leaving the shop, Dariax purchased a new spear, a new set of thieves' tools, and a pair of Gloves of Thievery.

The party made their way to Byroden and found the city in the middle of the Byroden Forever festival. Dariax participated in the Gem of Byroden pageant, but did not place, choosing to spend most of his time assisting Opal and making her other opponents (particularly Lisle Vester) look bad.

On the party's first night into their trek toward the Rifenmist Jungle, Dariax had a nightmare. In his dream, he saw sickly green stars behind roiling clouds, and arcs of strange purple lightning. He heard the voice of the Spider Queen telling him he was still asleep, and urging him to stop running from the Circlet of Barbed Vision. She was "so close", and she had picked him to aid her. Dariax protested that he didn't want to disappoint his friends, and he didn't know what he was getting into when he agreed. He said he wanted to wake up now.

When he awoke, he felt stronger, and like he has a choice. He woke up Dorian and told him he had a nightmare. They settled down to sleep back-to-back, but Dariax was still carrying the circlet and it gave Dorian an electric shock. Dariax admitted that his dream was of the Spider Queen, and Dorian responded loudly enough to wake the rest of the party. After significant discussion, the party agreed to put the circlet in the center of the camp.

The party eventually arrived at the Qoniiran ruins, and while investigating the obelisk found there, Dariax heard the voice of The Wildmother in his head. She asked him what he wanted, and Dariax explained his intent to use the runes on the obelisk to better understand the rune back in Emon. The Wildmother told him that if they went further, they would find more: a lost place of knowledge. Dariax replied that if it would help the others, he'd be willing to keep going, and the voice urged him to do so. He noted down the runes on the obelisk anyway.

Dorian offered to carry the circlet for a while, and Dariax handed it over. When Dorian was able to carry it without any of his previous discomfort, Orym was deeply unnerved. He confronted Dorian, and told him to give it back to Dariax or else they'd have a problem. Dorian reluctantly gave the circlet back to Dariax. Both Orym and Dariax noticed spidersilk on Dorian.

In Niirdal-Poc the party met Fy'ra Rai's friend Elam Genar. Dariax showed Elam the rune from the plateau, and Elam roughly translated it as "place of burning". After finishing their meal at Elam's, Fy'ra lead the party towards the central plaza, where a massive statue of The Observer stood. As Dariax approached the statue his compass pendant began to glow. The head of the statue tilted down towards Dariax and her voice spoke to him in his head. She told him she liked what he was doing, and he would continue to have her favor.

The party then continued on to the civic hall and met Tetrarch Thrascuur. Dariax showed Thrascuur the runes they had copied but while both their hands touched the paper, his pendant flashed with a strange light.

The party were attacked as soon as they left the civic hall, Myr'atta Niselor attempting to kidnap Opal. During this fight, Dariax used his Cloak of Disguise to look like Opal, in an ultimately successful attempt to confuse their assailants.

That night, Dariax wandered the city while keeping watch, and approached the statue of The Observer again. She once again spoke to him, telling him she bequeathed him The Gift: his intuition. She promised that if he should ever need her help, she would provide it however she can. As Dariax left the statue, he noticed his spear was a little more effective.

The party made their way further south, eventually reaching the ruins of Niirdal-Sarqet. There they found a slowly rotating massive elaborately-carved stone cube floating 15 feet in the air. Dariax and Dorian both recognized a word on the cube: "universe" and "shield". The party investigated the cube, deciphering the runes on it and speaking the message aloud. While investigating, Dariax and Orym both noticed a massive stone construct approaching the party. With each subsequent phrase, the cube changed color, until the final phrase was said and the cube broke.

The shards of the cube remained floating in the air, and the party fought against the stone construct while suspended. The strange magical energy occasionally granted the party various boons throughout the fight. Dariax gained the ability to either attack twice with his spear or double his damage, as well as wings, granting him flight for a period of time.

During the fight, Opal was pinned to the ground by residuum needles, so Dariax attempted to help her by removing them. He helped her to her feet, but she felt her connection to Ted weaken. Opal told him not to remove all of them, so he did not. The fight continued, and Dariax was ultimately knocked unconscious. As he fell prone, the bag holding the Circlet of Barbed Vision fell from his grasp, allowing Opal to catch it. Dorian quickly healed Dariax back to consciousness, while Opal put on the circlet.

After the conclusion of the fight, and the reuniting of Ted and Opal, the party made plans for the future. Dariax suggested they name themselves the Crown Keepers, and the others agreed to the name.

Campaign Three
Dariax did not accompany Orym, Dorian Storm, and Fearne Calloway on their adventures to Marquet later in 843 PD. He opted to stay with Opal as she dealt with issues regarding her sister and the Circlet of Barbed Vision, which she continued to be unable to remove.

Dorian Storm
Dariax and Dorian have a friendly relationship. Dariax appeared touched when Dorian referred to him as a friend, and Dorian told Poska that "if he doesn't like someone, I don't like someone." The two seem to be close and trust each other, sleeping back to back on multiple occasions and talking about their nightmares with each other.

Little Mister
Dariax had a childhood incident with a monkey. Since it bit his finger, he began to be wary of any monkey, including the Little Mister. Once Dariax attempted to harm him. During the investigation of the plateau, Mister turned into a fire elemental, then back in his monkey form. Dariax saw this as an opportunity and charged him, breaking his spear.

However, a couple of days since, when the Little Mister was in the weak spot, Dariax had the opportunity to harm him but didn't. Furthermore, he helped him by casting Cure Wounds spell.

Orym
Dariax cares about Orym, despite the small amount of time they’ve spent together. He appeared confused and concerned by Orym’s reluctance to engage in crime, saying that if Orym didn’t start “fucking people over”, he wouldn’t survive.

Opal
Dariax stayed with Opal to support her while the rest of the party left for Marquet.

Notable items

 * Spear
 * Thieves' tools
 * Circlet of Barbed Vision
 * Gloves of Thievery
 * Compass rose pendant
 * Cloak of Disguise

Sorcerer abilities

 * Sorcerous Origin: Divine Soul
 * Divine Magic
 * Favored by the Gods
 * Font of Magic
 * 3 Sorcery Points
 * Flexible Casting
 * Metamagic
 * Empowered Spell
 * Quickened Spell

Sorcerer spells
Cantrips
 * Light
 * Sacred Flame
 * Thaumaturgy
 * Mage Hand

1st-level
 * Bless
 * Cure Wounds
 * Burning Hands

2nd-level
 * Invisibility

Quotations
Dariax: This entire world is built on it. I've spent my whole life gettin' fucked over. If you don't start fuckin' people over you're not going to survive, buddy. I know you're from some highfalutin' mountain town you've been talking about, you know, but like, welcome to Emon, man.
 * Orym: I just don't like fuckin' people over, Dariax.
 * "You don't have to be a bad person to do bad things if it's hurtin' other bad people."
 * "If you steal something that may have originally been stolen, does that unsteal it?"
 * "If I'm wrong, it's not my fault."

Appearances and mentions

 * Exandria Unlimited
 * Campaign Three
 * Campaign Three
 * Campaign Three
 * Campaign Three
 * Campaign Three
 * Campaign Three
 * Campaign Three
 * Campaign Three
 * Campaign Three

Trivia

 * Matt confirmed in the campaign wrap-up that Dariax was designed to be unlike any other character he had played, and to be a full chaos demon, "a tumbleweed of a person."
 * Dariax is the player character that Matt has played the longest on the Critical Role channel, with 8 episodes. He is followed by Clayton Sharpe, who appeared in all four episodes of UnDeadwood.
 * The similarity between the names Dariax and Dorian caused amusing mixups for Aabria Iyengar and some of the others at the table, reminiscent of Vex and Vax. Mercer noted that he and Robbie Daymond had picked their characters' names independently, and sometimes that's what you get.
 * According to the co-founder of Eldritch Foundry, which created the Exandria Unlimited miniatures, Dariax was a Light Domain cleric during the miniature-making process. Additionally, the studio at Eldritch Foundry took Dariax as an opportunity to "sneak" a complete re-design of their dwarves past the co-founder.