Vex'ahlia

Lady Vex'ahlia de Rolo (née Vessar), also known as "Vex", is a half-elf ranger/rogue member of Vox Machina and the wife of Lord Percival de Rolo of Whitestone. She was played by Laura Bailey.

Intro
"Like so many half-elves, Vex'ahlia has spent most of her life suffering the cool reception of a people who don't fully accept her.

Born of a human mother and an elven father—who only later in life took an interest in their existence—, Vex'ahlia and her twin brother Vax'ildan quickly realized the only people they could truly rely on in this world were each other.

''It was at the age of ten when the two were taken from their mother, and brought to live in Syngorn, the isolated elven city for which their father was an ambassador. He quietly took them in, but always kept an icy distance, and after too many years of disdainful looks, the pair decided to leave his indifference behind, and set out on their own.''

''Vax took to the cities, stealing small trinkets and learning the ways of the thief, while Vex kept to the woods. She preferred the isolation. Always the keen observer, she learned to hunt and to track, to spy, and to shoot. And through a series of fateful events, earned herself a companion in the form of a bear—her own stolen Trinket—to fight alongside her and protect her fiercely. Also, he is adorable—and gives expert massages."''

Appearance
Vex'ahlia, like her twin brother Vax'ildan, is a twenty-eight-year-old half-elf with hazel eyes. She is identical in appearance to Vax, albeit two inches shorter than him. She wears her long, dark brown hair in a thick braid, which is usually accompanied with blue feathers. The feathers were a gift from Vax so he could help her through a dark period of her life and she eventually gave them back by braiding them into his hair during his resurrection ritual.

After joining the Slayer's Take, Vex has the brand of the guild on her right arm.

Personality
Compared to Vax, Vex is the more pragmatic of the twins. She is very deceptive and can usually bluff her way through various social encounters. Her charisma has also made her good at haggling.

Her tendency to haggle stems from her frugality. Her frugal nature is the result of Vax and herself having to fend for themselves during their teenage years. Unofficially, she is the treasurer for Vox Machina, and often only gives cryptic answers when questioned by the group about how much gold they have.

But beneath her flirtatious attitude, self-confidence, and outgoing exterior lay a girl who feels broken and unwanted. This may be a symptom of her upbringing in Syngorn, where she and Vax had been judged not only due to their status as half-elves, but also because they were bastard children of their ambassador father. Compared to her brother, Vex was much more affected by the elves' treatment of her. As such, she developed a mentality where she would constantly try to make herself look like she came from money so that people would respect her. She will take to heart any insults people with wealth and status make towards her and has a tendency to dislike someone if they seem like they are judging her. Such behavior has led to people assuming she was obsessed with wealth. Only a handful of people, like Percy, have ever truly known the kind of person she was.

One of Vex's personal challenges was to focus less on resentment and vengeance, and more on forgiveness and growth, but she often found it difficult to remember in the moment, which is why she wrote "sinaeth," the Elvish word for "forgive," on her bow, where she would see it every time she took a shot.

Vex'ahlia's alignment was originally neutral good, just like Keyleth and Scanlan, but became chaotic neutral, like Grog and Tiberius, due to many behaviors and actions culminating in the theft of Gern Blanston's flying broom and then lying about it. After a long while, due to having reflected on her choices and making an effort to change herself, her alignment changed once more—this time to chaotic good—after showing genuine concern for two enslaved aasimar and wanting to save them.

Background
Vex, along with her brother Vax, was born in the humble village of Byroden due to the union of a human woman named Elaina and an elven man named Syldor Vessar. The twins lived with Elaina for the first ten years of their life before they were sent to live in Syngorn, where their father lived. While there, they underwent training to become assassins.

After several years of scorn from the Syngornian elves, the twins set off on their own. They returned to Byroden, only to see their childhood home destroyed and their mother gone. Upon learning that a dragon was responsible for the destruction, Vex'ahlia spent the next few years of her life studying about dragons in the chance that should she find the wyrm that killed Elaina, she would be able to exact revenge on them alongside her brother. Vax sharpened his skills and daggers as a rogue, whereas Vex honed her prowess as a ranger.

Vex found Trinket after being kidnapped by poachers. She escaped the cage they stuffed her in and killed the man and woman who took her. She went up to the half-dead bear the poachers had captured and decided to put the noble beast out of its misery. Only afterward did she notice the bear cub squirming beneath his now dead mother. She took the cub with her back to her and her brother's camp, not telling him what happened or providing an explanation for the bear cub other than "You’re always finding trinkets to take with you… well, I wanted one of my own." She took it upon herself to raise the bear and Trinket has been unquestionably loyal ever since.

Vox Machina Origins
Volume One

Vex'ahlia and her twin brother Vax'ildan were in the K'tawl Swamp near Stilben to investigate a possible curse. After the twins took down a shark-speaker, Keyleth suddenly appeared and offered to heal Vax's wounds. The twins were confused by the exhuberant druid, who had never heard of half-elves being mistreated before.

Back in Stilben, the twins interrogated an alchemist named Zeth, but he refused to talk. They were ambushed by assassins as soon as they left his shop. The twins hid in the sewers to watch over the shop, and when Zeth left, they stalked him to a sewer station, where Grog and Scanlan had just broken in. The twins attacked them on sight, but the two duos had to join forces when they were all attacked by a group of assassins, then Iselda, who entered through a magic mirror. During the fight, Keyleth arrived with her friend Tiberius, and they joined the battle. When Keyleth suggested all six of them group up to reach their common goal, Vax'ildan and Vex'ahlia refused and left on their own.

Shortly afterward, Iselda kidnapped Vax'ildan by pulling him inside a mirror right in front of Vex'ahlia. Out of options, she called on the help of the others to help her rescue Vax. Scanlan's group turned her down, but Keyleth was eager to help. She followed Vex to the outskirts of town and was introduced to Trinket, who had been hiding in the forest. The trio then headed for the docks in search of Vax and ran again into the others. They all witnessed an explosion as Vax'ildan jumped out of a hole in the side of a ship, where he was being held captive.

The group decided to work together this time, and boarded the Mockingbird. They fought their way to Iselda as well as the source of the poison that has been plaguing the inhabitants of Stilben. They managed to kill her, stop a strange ritual, and escape through the previously made hole in the side of the ship. Afterward, they all headed to a tavern together.

Volume Two While tracking the whereabouts of their friend Grog, the party that would one day become Vox Machina was directed to the Trickfoot household in Westruun, where they met Pike, who helped them rescue Grog from a lich. Later, the party had to split to find ingredients for a ritual to save Grog from the lich attempting to possess his body.

Vex'ahlia went with Vax'ildan and Grog to the Frostweald in search of the heart of a nymph. The team encountered basilisks on their way there, and Vex'ahlia was petrified in their fight, but Vax'ildan figured out that she could be cured by basilisk's blood. When the group encountered the nymph, she befriended Grog and brought him with her inside her pond for a while, and he refused to explain what happened when he resurfaced with the heart they had come to get.

When the entire group reunited, the other three were accompanied by Percival de Rolo, who helped them with the ritual. Vex first spoke of him as a stray they had picked up, but seemed impressed by his gunslinger skill when they fought together to keep the posessed Grog inside the ritual circle.

& Other Pre-Stream Events
Upon first arriving in Emon, Vex and Vax were briefly reunited with Syldor, the latter visiting the city for diplomatic reasons. The conversation was frosty, and the twins discovered that they now have a half-sister: Velora Vessar.

Trinket was nearly killed when Grog attempted to disarm a room full of traps by hitting the bear on his backside with the broad side of his axe, causing Trinket to charge straight into the traps, catching all of them. Vex was very angry with the goliath afterwards.

With a well-aimed shot, Vex castrated one of the two trolls that were "attacking" Tiberius. Percy shot off the other's genital. During the collapse of the Ivory Tower, Vex'ahlia attempted to use a rug as a parachute, only for it to flip underneath her and reveal itself to be a Carpet of Flying.

Chapter 2
During Vox Machina's visit to Vasselheim, after delivering the Horn of Orcus to the Hall of the Exaulted, the temple to Bahamut within the city, the party are witness to an attack on the wall of the city by a Hydra. After taking the beast down, the party discover that action of destroying the creature without having the proper license for it is against the laws of Vasselheim. As a result, Vox Machina, now split into two teams were sent on their own quests. Vex, along with Percy, Grog, and Scanlan, travel with two members of the guild to track down a White Dragon.

Chapter 3
Vex'ahlia started to develop feelings for Percival during Vox Machina's quest to kill the Briarwoods, as indicated by when she told him "Darling...take the mask off."

Chapter 5
After Vox Machina's victory over one of the members of the Chroma Conclave, Umbrasyl, the group travel to the Feywild to find the Vestige of Divergence they learn about from Kamaljiori in. During their search for the bow, Fenthras, the party came across the magically relocated city of Syngorn, the previous home of the twins. During their visit to Syngorn, and with a very uncomfortable meeting with their father, Syldor, Percy revealed Vex'ahlia's new title as the "Baroness of the Third House of Whitestone and Grand Mistress of the Grey Hunt".

Vex eventually is offered power in exchange for her heart by Saundor. She denies, telling him "my heart is already someone else's". After defeating Saundor, she claims Fenthras as her own.

Chapter 8
Upon meeting Pelor in Elysium, the god of the sun and the harvest demanded to know if any in Vox Machina believed themselves worthy of being his Champion. Vex, overwhelmed in Pelor's presence, was speechless until Keyleth tried to claim the title of "Champion of Pelor". With Keyleth's encouragement, Vex agreed to be tested to see if she was worthy. The god deemed her worthy and granted his blessing to Vex.

At the end of their search for Grog and Bob she mentioned that she was nauseous and did not want to eat, implying that she is now pregnant. This is later confirmed in the Dalen's Closet one-shot.

Percival de Rolo

 * &rarr; Main article: Relationship between Percy and Vex'ahlia.

Vex and Percy have a history of casually flirting with each other, she more so than him. Percy also tends to make custom arrows for her. Over time, Vex developed genuine feelings for the gunslinger, as proven when she rejected Saundor and his advances, claiming that "[her] heart is someone else's", in addition to kissing him during his resurrection ritual. After Percy kissed her in the forest outside Draconia, their relationship soon grew into that of being lovers, even leading to their becoming intimate with each other for the first time prior to the siege of Emon.



Trinket

 * &rarr; Main article: Relationship between Trinket and Vex'ahlia.

Vex and Trinket became companions when she accidentally trusted poachers too much and ended up being captured by them. She killed the poachers, put the dying large female bear out of her misery, and saved her young cub. They have been together since.

Vax'ildan

 * &rarr; Main article: Relationship between Vax'ildan and Vex'ahlia.

Vex and Vax usually work together when scouting and ambushing opponents. They haven't been separated for very long since birth, at least until after the events of, where they are forced to work with different groups of people.

Quests
Vex'ahlia, along with her brother Vax'ildan, was on a quest to kill Thordak, the ancient red dragon that killed their mother when it destroyed their home town of Byroden. This has since been fulfilled due to Vax slaying Thordak during the siege of Emon.

Years ago, Vex'ahlia was stalked by someone and marked for death by the Clasp. Vax dealt with the Clasp but the client is still out there. She has expressed an interest in finding out who that was and why they wanted her.

Current Items

 * Bag of Holding
 * Blazing Bowstring (made by Tiberius)
 * Bloodseeking Bow
 * Bracers of Archery
 * Cloak of Elvenkind (given to her by Vax'ildan)
 * Coldsnap Leather Armor (received from Scanlan)
 * Death from Above (a broom of flying stolen from Gern Blanston)
 * Earring of Whisper (made by Tiberius)
 * Fenthras
 * Headband of Initiative (given to her by Percy)
 * Longbow of the Sky Sentinel
 * Mithral Chain
 * Pointy Hat (like a witch's hat, given by Scanlan)
 * Raven's Slumber (a magical necklace that belonged to Purvan Suul and can store a creature in a pocket dimension)
 * Rope of Entanglement
 * Tea Set of Envenoming (taken from General Krieg's house)
 * White Dragon Leather Armor (made from Vorugal, enchanted by Taryon)

Former Items

 * Deck of Many Things (confiscated from Grog; later returned to Grog)
 * Potion of Flying (taken from Anna Ripley) (Expended)
 * Scrying Eye (taken from unnamed Clasp assassin's corpse, later given to Keyleth)
 * Studded Leather Armor of Acid Resistance (traded to Scanlan)

Abilities
As a ranger, Vex'ahlia often uses her magical capability to enhance her marksmanship and increase her arrows' attack damage. She is also capable of using Trinket in battle, even though she prefers not to put him in harm's way often. After watching and learning from her brother, she began to hone her skills as a rogue, becoming capable of deft maneuvers and dealing additional damage with a sneak attack. With her third rogue level, she took the archetype of the assassin just like her brother. After completing Pelor's trial and becoming his Champion, Vex'ahlia received the Blessing of the Dawnfather.

Half-elf Abilities

 * Darkvision
 * Fey Ancestry

Feats

 * Observant
 * Sharpshooter

Blessing of the Dawnfather

 * Natural resistance to necrotic damage
 * As a bonus action you channel the light of day into your being. For one hour you emit bright light in a 120 ft radius and any evil creature within that radius that hits you with an attack or spell immediately suffers 4d6 radiant damage and is knocked prone. Once the ability is used, you can't use it again for another 7 days.

Class Features

 * Extra Attack
 * Favored Enemy (Dragons (Draconic); demons (Abyssal))
 * Fighting Style: Archery (+2 to ranged attack rolls)
 * Hide in Plain Sight
 * Land's Stride
 * Natural Explorer (Forest; mountain; the Underdark)
 * Primeval Awareness
 * Ranger Archetype: Beast Master
 * Ranger's Companion: Trinket, a medium-sized brown bear
 * Bestial Fury
 * Exceptional Training
 * Primal Fury
 * Skirmisher's Stealth (learned from Seeker Assum)
 * Spellcasting (Wisdom-based ability)

Ranger Spells
As a 13th-level ranger, Vex'ahlia knows up to 8 ranger spells at a time, and she can replace one spell each time she gains a level, so not all of these are currently known by her.

1st-level

 * Cure Wounds
 * Hail of Thorns
 * Hunter's Mark
 * Speak with Animals

2nd-level

 * Lesser Restoration
 * Locate Object
 * Pass without Trace
 * Protection from Poison
 * Spike Growth

3rd-level

 * Conjure Animals
 * Conjure Barrage
 * Lightning Arrow

4th-level

 * Grasping Vine
 * Conjure Woodland Beings

Class Features

 * Cunning Action
 * Expertise
 * Roguish Archetype: Assassin
 * Assassinate
 * Bonus Proficiencies (Disguise kit, poisoner's kit)
 * Sneak Attack (4d6)
 * Thieves' Cant
 * Uncanny Dodge
 * Evasion

Fenthras

 * Bramble Shot
 * Oracle Shot

Ammunition
Obtained Made by Percy Made by Tiberius Made by Zahra
 * Arrow of Dragon Slaying (recovered from Rimefang's lair, expended successfully against Thordak)
 * Ensnare/Trap/Trip Arrow
 * Explosive Arrow
 * Siege Arrow (named "An Evening of Unbridled Guilt")
 * Sleep Arrow
 * Arrow of Dragon Slaying (Given to Vex in . Used against Umbrasyl. Another given to Vex in and used (unsuccessfully) against Thordak.)

Quotations

 * "Darling...take the mask off." (Vex attempting to calm down an Orthax-possessed Percy; also, the moment when Vex started to become attracted to Percy)
 * "I should have told you...it's yours." (confessing her love to Percy during his resurrection ritual; referencing when she told Saundor, "My heart is someone else's.")
 * "Would you like to talk before...or after?"
 * "You ruin..." (shoots a radiant arrow at Sylas Briarwood and moves towards him) "...My REHEARSAL DINNER?!?" (shoots another arrow at Sylas and continues moving toward him) "You better be GLAD this wasn't TOMORROW..." (shoots another arrow, moves forward, and then smiles) "Well...you're not gonna be glad at all..." (Sylas screams as the Blessing of the Dawnfather burns his body into ash)

Trivia

 * Vex'ahlia has the lowest strength score and lowest constitution score of any main player character thus far.
 * The lowest strength score of any character on Critical Role is Shakäste.
 * Vex'ahlia has given offerings at more resurrection rituals than any other characters.
 * She gave ale to Grog, her love to Percy, offered to hunt down Orcus for Vax, and spoke some words for Lieve’tel.
 * In the Critical Role Major Arcana Tarot Card Set, she represents XVII - The Star.
 * By aiding in the defeat Thordak, the Cinder King, Vex completed her personal mission to avenge her mother, Elaina's, murder.
 * Throughout Campaign 1, several jokes have been made (largely by Scanlan) at Vex's expense towards her being a witch. Notable examples of these include:
 * Fan art of Vex (done by artist Megzilla87) depicts Vex as riding her broomstick in a manner reminiscent of Samantha Stephens from the 1964 sitcom Bewitched.
 * Similarly, in, Scanlan gives Vex a pointed, wide-brimmed hat, which Sam Riegel made obvious was a witch's hat. Laura then furthered the joke by singing a few lines of Defying Gravity from the hit Broadway show Wicked (which, coincidently, is also about a witch).
 * 56 episodes later, during the final battle with Vecna, the Ascended, while Vex is flying around on her broomstick (wearing her witch's hat) Scanlan casts a Minor Illusion cantrip on her to briefly turn her skin green, thus bringing the Wicked Witch of the West homage full circle.
 * Vex became the first party member to die outside of combat in when the party found one of the Vestiges of the Divergence, the Deathwalker's Ward, and tried to liberate it. Vex tried to search for traps, but Percy ended up triggering one by accident that damaged and killed her. Fortunately, Kashaw, who was traveling with the group at the time, managed to initiate a risky Revivify ritual for her, which ended up bringing her back to life.
 * Out of Vox Machina, Vex is tied with her brother for most deaths at four deaths each. However, as Vax'ildan was brought back by the Raven Queen following his second and third deaths, and did not return after his fourth death, Vex holds the records for most times being successfully resurrected.  Vex has only been resurrected using the Revivify spell, and the spell has never failed.  Because of this, for future attempts at resurrection, Vex has the highest difficulty class of any member of Vox Machina using Matt's Home Brew resurrection rules.
 * Vex, like her brother, is bisexual. She has shown interest in Jarett Howarth, Zahra Hydris, and Percival de Rolo. She is said to have flirted with everyone they have come across pre-stream, a fact that was referenced when Vex refused to pretend to be Vax's wife for a ruse and Vax retorted that she "come[s] on to every human, orc, and half-elf in the entire kingdom."
 * During, it was established that the first born child of Vex and Percy is a girl named Vesper Elaina de Rolo.
 * Vex'ahlia is included in the Critical Role Pack DLC for Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire.
 * Vex'ahlia, with her broom and witch's hat, is the first Critical Role character to be released as a Funko Pop figurine. She is also the only character to have 2 Funko Pop figurines, while the rest of Vox Machina members only have one.