Percival de Rolo

Lord Percival Fredrickstein von Musel Klossowski de Rolo III of Whitestone, better known as "Percy", is a human gunslinger, a member of Vox Machina and sovereign of Whitestone. He was played by Taliesin Jaffe.

Intro
"Percy was the third child of seven children, born to a noble family who lived far to the north in the ancient castle of Whitestone. With so many siblings to share the burdens of lordship, Percy turned his attention to the sciences, engineering, and naturalism.

''One day, a mysterious couple, named Lord and Lady Briarwood, came to court. During a feast held in their honour, the Briarwoods violently took control of the castle, killing or imprisoning everyone who would stand in their way.''

''Percy awoke chained in the dungeon, only to be freed by his younger sister. Together they fled, chased by the Briarwoods' men. As they ran, Percy's sister took several arrows to the chest and fell. Percy kept running, eventually jumping into a freezing river and floating unconscious to freedom. He did not remember waking up on a fishing boat. He barely remembered the next two years as he slowly made his way as far south as possible.''

''Then one night, Percy had a dream. A roaring cloud of smoke offered him vengeance against those who destroyed his family. When he awoke, Percy began to design his first gun."''

Appearance
Percy is a young human in his early twenties. He originally had brown hair, but it turned white as a result of the trauma he suffered after the Briarwoods killed his family and he ran away with the aid of his sister Cassandra.

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

Personality
Compared to his fellow party members, Percy is rather quiet, usually only speaking when necessary. However, he has shown he can be quite persuasive in social situations and is somewhat of a tactician within the group, as seen in. Despite his prim and conscientious exterior, however, Percy has shown himself on multiple occasions to hold the signature eccentricity of a tinkerer, as displayed in escapades such as the cannonball contest.

Having experienced both the pinnacle of entitlement and the depths of poverty, Percy displays a wisdom and self-awareness beyond his years, especially in regard to social status. He indicates a particular fondness for unceremoniously dethroning other, snobbier nobility with a combination of his own title and a biting wit.

Percy's desire for revenge was consciously monstrous. He was fully aware of the consequences of building the first guns: he knew that the technology would escape his grasp and kill thousands of people in his lifetime, but he was willing to accept that to help him get revenge on several specific people. Thankfully, he grows beyond this mindset, even to the point of forgiving the individual who hurt him the most deeply.

Percy thinks of himself as being the only one capable of making adult decisions, despite his young age. He is also very pragmatic, with a consistent belief that the ends justify the means. This has led to moments of conflict between him and the party.

Percy probably suffers from PTSD after the severe physical and emotional trauma he endured at the hands of the Briarwoods and Dr. Ripley, displaying cynical, detached, and self-deprecating behavior. He responds poorly to compliments on his character, and his lack of self-respect is shown most clearly in the preferences he mentions for how his corpse should be handled in the letter that he composed for Vox Machina in the event of his demise.

The experience of being possessed by Orthax made Percy averse to doing magic and suspicious of anything else that functioned in a way he didn't understand.

Background
Percy was raised alongside his six siblings in Whitestone, where his branch of the de Rolo family ruled. Five years before the campaign began, the Briarwoods were invited in as guests, where they proceeded to seize control of Whitestone, murdering the de Rolos and those loyal to them. Percy was taken prisoner and tortured by Anna Ripley. After Percy fled Whitestone with the help of his sister Cassandra, he wandered aimlessly, working on a fishing boat for a time. One night, he had a dream in which a smoke-like entity offered him the means to get revenge for his family. Percy then constructed his first gun, the List. On five of its six barrels he inscribed a target of his vengeance: Lord Briarwood, Lady Briarwood, Dr. Ripley, Sir Kerrion Stonefell, and Professor Anders. Percy tracked Dr. Ripley for a year until he made his way to Stilben, where he attempted to kill her. He was captured by Dr. Ripley's guards and imprisoned until he was freed by the rest of Vox Machina.

Because he is a gunslinger, Percy is the main long-ranged attack member of Vox Machina. He previously fought with his two guns, "The List", a six-barrel pepper-box, and "Bad News", a sniper rifle-esque device. The List has since been destroyed, and Percy has acquired two new weapons, both from Dr. Ripley: a four-shot pistol which he called "Retort", and another pepperbox known as "Animus". He also has experience in using melee weapons, usually a rapier or a longsword.

Percy is also a tinkerer, creating and modifying items to give both himself and his teammates an edge in battle. He creates explosive and utility arrows for Vex'ahlia, as well as crafting his own ammunition and even weapons, such as his Diplomacy electroshock glove.

Vox Machina: Origins
Volume 2 Percy was falsely arrested and held in a prison cell in the Umbra Hills. He was accused of being a cult leader and of the attempted murder of Dr. Ripley with the use of a demonic weapon. Percy was freed by Scanlan, Pike and Keyleth when they were looking for help to save their friend, Grog. Eventually he stayed with the party.

The Story of Vox Machina and other Pre-Stream events
With a well-aimed shot, Percy castrated one of the two trolls that were "attacking" Tiberius, and Vex'ahlia shot off the other.

At some point, Percy spent several months designing and making a bomb for Scanlan to use.

On the same mission during which Pike was killed, the group encountered a shade-possessed royal family that had covered a glass dome ceiling with cloth to avoid being injured by the sun. Percy was able to damage the shades and force them out of their hosts by shooting holes through the glass dome and cloth, causing sunlight to come through.

Percy at some point had to be a lawyer for Keyleth when she was thrown into prison. He did so well that he is considered to be the unofficial lawyer for the group.

Percy constructed "Bad News" right before the stream started over the course of five months (most likely while Greyskull Keep was under construction).

Chapter 6
After Vorugal was slain by Vex, Percy talked with her in the nearby woods. At the end of their conversation, as Percy turned to leave, he turned back around and kissed Vex, saying: "We'll talk later."

After the assault on Fort Daxio, Percy visited Vex's room, with a bag full of bottles of local Whitestone liquor: Direheart, Courage, a Snow Mead, and Green Tear Whiskey. Through the door, she asked if he was there for their "later talk". She then answered the door completely naked and asked if Percy wanted to talk "before...or after?". Percy then quickly showed her the bottles, said they would start with the Courage and then excitedly ran into the room, shutting the door behind him.

Epilogues






The Briarwoods
Approximately five years before the events of Critical Role, the Briarwoods entered Castle Whitestone as welcome guests and proceeded to slaughter the de Rolo family and seize control of the castle and the city. Percy swore vengeance upon the Briarwoods, but the trauma left him too afraid to pursue them until the Briarwoods appeared in Emon, after which he and the rest of Vox Machina pursued them to Whitestone. Eventually, Percy succeeded in killing the Briarwoods and several of their closest allies.

Cassandra de Rolo
Cassandra is Percy's youngest sister. She freed him from captivity five years before the events of Critical Role and helped him escape the castle. As they fled, Cassandra was felled by arrows and Percy continued to run, convinced that she had died right there. However, she survived but eventually became a collaborator with the Briarwoods, pretending to aid Whitestone's citizen rebellions only to sabotage their plans. When Percy returned to Whitestone with Vox Machina, after killing Professor Anders, brother and sister were reunited. In the middle of their pursuit, Cassandra turned traitor on the party, declaring herself to be a Briarwood since, to her, she ceased to be a de Rolo when Percy left her for dead. But with the defeat of the Briarwoods, and the exorcism of Orthax, she came to her senses and Percy forgave her, ultimately leaving her to watch over Whitestone in his absence.

As of, Percy was terrified of Cassandra because she represented everything he'd been ignoring while he was out finding himself; he felt pangs of guilt every time he looked at her.

Doctor Anna Ripley
Dr. Ripley was perhaps the only person that Percy was truly afraid of. She was the one who tortured him endlessly when the Briarwoods attacked and took over the castle. Moreover, upon learning of Percy's inventions, she became obsessed with his work and desired to replicate it. She eventually succeeded, albeit at the cost of her right hand. Their next (and last) meeting occurred on the Isle of Glintshore, where she was revealed to have made a pact with the shadow demon that Percy once made a pact with, and that deadly partnership eventually led to Percy's death at their hands. She was later slain by Vox Machina and Percy was later resurrected.

Keyleth

 * &rarr; Main article: Relationship between Keyleth and Percy.

Percy and Keyleth have a strong friendship, despite being the polar opposite of each other. They do come to blows when it comes to methods of leadership, but they still care deeply about each other.

Percy also tends to help Keyleth with some social cues, and helps manage/comfort her when drunk.

Keyleth seems to value their friendship highly, becoming distraught when she thought she was being replaced by Tary as his best friend.

Orthax
Orthax is the shadow demon that Percy originally made a deal with so that the human would have the means to carry out his revenge. This eventually led to the creation of the List. Over time, when the Briarwoods returned to Percy's life, and as the Whitestone Rebellion progressed, Orthax slowly began to manipulate Percy and corrupt his will. When Cassandra betrayed the party, Orthax decided to include her name among those still on Percy's "list". But when Percy refused to kill his sister, Orthax manifested into a corporeal form and attacked the party. He was then defeated, but that wasn't the end of the demon as he found himself making a pact with Dr. Ripley. Together, the two eventually slew him on Glintshore and Orthax soon began feasting on his soul, only for Keyleth to sever the connection between Orthax and Animus, Ripley's pepperbox. The demon, now having no tether to the Material Plane, was forced to return to the Abyss.

Pike Trickfoot

 * &rarr; Main article: Relationship between Percy and Pike.

Pike and Percy are good friends and have the utmost respect for each other despite the latter's views on the gods. During the Whitestone Rebellion, it was Pike who managed to stem the spread of corruption within him, buying him the time that was needed to see his goal through.

Before he departed for the Feywild, Percy was handed a special pendant from Pike that she had taken from her house in Westruun "for his protection". This pendant later revived him when he was shot to death during his final encounter with Anna Ripley. However, after it shattered, it was unable to save him twice, and Ripley eventually killed him again. His body was later returned to Whitestone, where Pike performed a resurrection ritual that ultimately succeeded.

Taryon Darrington
Percy first met Taryon in Ank'Harel the day after Scanlan left Vox Machina for the time being. Despite his initial jealousy towards the artificer for his construction of Doty, the two tinkerers soon started to bond over their mutual love for inventing, with Percy being the first person that Tary ever bothered learning the name of out of everyone in Vox Machina.

Vax'ildan

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

Percy and Vax'ildan are very trusting of each other, but the two passed through some time not been able to see eye-to-eye ever since Vex's death due to Percy's own negligence, as well as other events. They had a discussion and Percy told Vax that he wanted to be in the rogue's good graces again, but for the time being requested that he "never trust him". Eventually they came to terms with each other, Vax even telling Percy that he considers him to be his brother.

Vex'ahlia

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

Percy and Vex once had a rather interesting rapport with each other, mostly consisting of teasing and flirtation (and most of that coming from Vex). After his resurrection, when she confessed her love for him, (by saying "I should have told you. It's yours." calling back to her encounter with Saundor, where she said that her heart was someone else's), Percy's feelings for the ranger started to grow, culminating in him boldly kissing her in the woods outside Draconia after their battle with Vorugal. They have been together ever since, becoming lovers and later having eloped in the year that passed after the fall of the Chroma Conclave.

Quests
Percy's main goal was to avenge his family's murder at the hands of the Briarwoods, something that is now accomplished. Percy has also reunited with his sister, Cassandra.

He wanted to track down Anna Ripley, who was aiding the Briarwoods but escaped Whitestone while Vox Machina was distracted. Not only did he want revenge on her, but he also felt guilty for sparking her imagination to create firearms. Before he died, Percy forgave her, even after learning that she had produced multiple firearms and distributed the plans to other tinkerers. Vox Machina was able to kill her afterward.

Percy's Tinkered Items

 * "Arrow?" (Vex; expended against Lady Delilah Briarwood within the ziggurat)
 * Bad News (himself; first used in battle in Kraghammer)
 * Bomb (Scanlan; expended against gricks)
 * Diplomacy (himself; worn on left hand )
 * Entanglement Arrows (Vex)
 * Explosive Arrows (Vex)
 * Grappling Hook Arrow (Vex)
 * Grenade (himself; expended against Rimefang)
 * Hand Mortar (himself; currently unused)
 * Hand Prosthetic with Drill Attachment (Victor; destroyed in the explosion of Victor's shop during the battle with Vecna in Vasselheim)
 * The List (himself; a pepperbox firearm; destroyed by Scanlan via acid pit)
 * Mask (himself)
 * Raven Skull Brooch (cast from a mold of the skull given by Keyleth; filled with sweet-smelling herbs; given to Vax'ildan)
 * Siege Arrow (Vex)
 * Special Staff (Keyleth)

Current Items

 * Animus (pepperbox previously owned/created by Dr. Ripley)
 * Boots of Spider Climbing (traded for Grog's Boots of Feral Leaping and traded back)
 * Cabal's Ruin (retrieved from Anna Ripley's corpse by Vox Machina and later given to Percy)
 * Cincture of the Stone King (retrieved from the undead dwarf king in Thomara)
 * Diplomacy (gauntlet created by Percy)
 * Dragon Slayer Longsword (retrieved from the lair of Rimefang)
 * Earring of Whisper (made by Tiberius)
 * Gloves of Missile Snaring (retrieved from the lair of Rimefang)
 * Manners
 * Rapier +1
 * Retort (pistol previously owned/created by Dr. Ripley)
 * Silvered Rapier

Former Items

 * Amulet of the Shield (given to Lord Thunderbrand)
 * Boots of Feral Leaping (received in a trade with Grog and traded back)
 * "Cloak of Smashing" (a standard cloak; traded to Grog for a long-barreled gun)
 * Craven Edge (Traded to Grog for a Dragon Slayer Longsword)
 * Hat of Disguise (retrieved from the lair of Rimefang; given to Scanlan)
 * Headband of Initiative (given to Vex'ahlia)
 * Manual of Quickness of Action (read during the airship flight to Vasselheim; donated to the Cobalt Vault)
 * Ring of Lightning Resistance (procured from Lady Delilah Briarwood, but later bartered away for information to Whaska)
 * The List (Unknown when he crafted it; destroyed by Scanlan via a pit of acid to try and remove Orthax's control over him which succeeded)

Abilities
Being a fighter, Percy benefits from proficiency in all manners of weapons and armor. However, as he is also a gunslinger, he is more skilled in the usage of firearms, but he is more than capable of using one-handed melee weapons such as rapiers and longswords. Percy tends to use damage-enhancing abilities to increase the power of his shots, in addition to targeted shots meant to hinder the enemy. Upon gaining the Magic Initiate feat, due to his connection to the shadow demon Orthax, he is able to cast a few spells but in a limited capacity, most notably his Hex spell, which manifests as a trail of black smoke circling his enemy.

Firearm Enchantments

 * Fire Shot (one barrel of The List)
 * Ice Shot (one barrel of The List)
 * Psychic (Animus)

Feats

 * Magic Initiate (Warlock)
 * Hex
 * Friends
 * Minor Illusion
 * Sharpshooter
 * Tough

Class Features

 * Action Surge (twice per rest)
 * Extra Attack (4 attacks per action)
 * Fighting Style: Archery (+2 to ranged attack rolls)
 * Indomitable (three times per rest)
 * Martial Archetype: Gunslinger
 * Grit (5 points)
 * Deadeye Shot
 * Firearm Proficiency
 * Gunsmith
 * Hemorrhaging Critical
 * Lightning Reload
 * Piercing Shot
 * Quickdraw
 * Trick Shot
 * Arm Shot
 * Head Shot
 * Leg Shot
 * Torso Shot
 * Wing Shot
 * Push Shot
 * Vicious Intent
 * Violent Shot
 * Second Wind

Quotations

 * "You fool, your soul is forfeit! Die! Die!"
 * "You are, at the moment, the luckiest person in Whitestone. Do you know why? Because you're at the bottom of my list."
 * "Your secret is safe with my indifference."
 * "I've known a lot of people with money, and they are definitely not worth you. And besides, if they have something nice that makes you feel inferior, we can just take it." (Percy cheering up Vex before they enter Syngorn; also the moment when Percy realized he loves Vex.)
 * "Life needs things to live."
 * "A tree is just a door that hasn't been made yet, remember."
 * "No matter what [happens] today, I forgive you... but I cannot let you leave." (Percy forgiving Ripley, and finally letting go of his quest for revenge.)
 * "We're going to start with the Courage and not talk about dragons." (Percy, just before running into Vex's room and shutting the door behind him, after Vex had answered the door completely naked.)

Trivia



 * Percy has the highest dexterity score of any player character thus far.
 * Percy shares with Caleb, Lyra, and Lillith the highest intelligence score of any player character thus far.
 * The names of the entire de Rolo family are based on real people, as Taliesin stole the names from friends; only a couple of them have any idea he did it. The rest of Percy's full name comes from friends, characters Taliesin played as a child actor, and an anime character (Reinhard von Musel from Legend of the Galactic Heroes).
 * Percy is featured on the artwork for Matthew Mercer's "Gunslinger Martial Archetype for Fighters" on the Dungeon Masters Guild.
 * Percy is farsighted.
 * In the Critical Role Major Arcana Tarot Card Set, he represents XV - The Devil.
 * In the original title sequence, Percy, unlike the rest of Vox Machina, is identified by his subclass rather than his class. This is most-likely the result of having started off using the standalone Gunslinger class in the campaign's Pathfinder days.
 * Percy has had the most romantic ties during the run of the first campaign. While Vex'ahlia ended up marrying him, Pike is confirmed to have had interest and Tary wanted to marry a Percy type of guy. In addition, Scanlan drank a love potion given to him by Grog and Vax'ildan in and he temporarily fell in love with him.
 * Several parallels can be made between Percy and Fjord . Each of them forged pacts with unseen higher forces (again, Orthax and Uk'otoa respectively), each with a dark and nefarious agenda, and they both have a particularly antagonistic relationship with a female NPC who made a pact with the same force they did (in this case, Anna Ripley and Avantika respectively). Additionally, each wields an enchanted weapon (either provided or influenced) by those higher forces: The List and the Sword of Fathoms. Furthermore, each character severs their pacts by dropping their pact weapon into a pool of highly destructive liquid (Acid for Percy, and Lava for Fjord).
 * Counting his untriggered Hemorrhaging Critical, Percy has the record for most damage in a single attack to a single target with 156 points of damage against the corrupted empyrean in.
 * Percy is included in the Critical Role Pack DLC for Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire.
 * Despite one of Percy's name being "Klossowski" (clo-SOFF-skee), throughout Campaign 1 everybody (Taliesin included) pronounce it "Kowalski" (co-WALL-skee).