A selection of villains that the Campaign 3 Party have confronted during their travels through Marquet.

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Oderan Wilds

Jrusar

Dugger

Race: Dwarf

A pale, pasty-looking dwarf involved in criminal activities around the Prudaj Textiles warehouse

Body Horror: Episode 5 reveals that Dugger had been generating the shade creepers out of his own body. The guys react appropriately.
Blob Monster: Episode 5 reveals he seems to have at least partially transformed into one of these, having a slimy form he can use to squeeze through tight spaces before reforming himself, and leaving sticky puddles that require a Strength saving throw to escape.
Casting a Shadow: Can cast the spell Darkness and he uses it to flee the battle against the party.
The Corruption: According to his former associates he started acting strangely after returning from a trip six months ago. Most of them assumed he had picked up a debilitating drug addiction. In actuality, he was mutating into a monster-spawning slime creature. Based on the fact that he was living in the caves connected to his former home, there doesn't seem to be much of his original personality left.
Evil Sounds Raspy: Speaks with a grating, raspy croak that only seemed to grow even creepier as time went on.
Hero Killer: Stabs and murders Bertrand in the final moments of The Trail and the Toll following the group's encounter with him. In episode 5 his shade creeper “children” come within a hair's breadth of getting Fearne and Imogen as well.
Highly Specific Counterplay: His considerable speed is greatly reduced by F.C.G. using Command and making him sort out his weapons first. For added irony, it's the Warrior Therapist hitting him with weaponised OCD.
Killed Off for Real: In episode 5, Dorian Storm is the one to HDYWTDT him.
Looks Like Cesare: Described as pallid and pasty and just as creepy as Laudna, who's technically undead. Episode 4 implies that it's a recent change.
The Minion Master: He has a legion of shade creepers that follow him and do his bidding.
Mook Maker: He "births" shade creepers out of his slimy corrupted body.
No Kill like Overkill: He doesn't just slit Danas' throat in the third episode; he slits it to the point where he nearly cut her head off. He also stabs Bertrand a few more times than he probably needed to while killing him.
No Name Given: Went unnamed as of his first appearance, although the group discovers his name by the next episode.
Psycho Knife Nut: With both knives and swords in this case. It helps that he's got the jarring ability to slash 4 times a turn.
Reduced to Dust: Dorian's thunderwave causes him to evaporate.
Starter Villain: Has the dubious honor of being the one for Campaign 3.
You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Slits Danas' throat to the point of almost beheading her after she warns him that people have been sniffing around their operation and asking questions.

Armand Treshi

Race: Dwarf

Head of the Mahaan house Treshi, he comes into the crosshairs of Ariks Eshteross and Bells Hells once his family name comes up several times in their investigations.

Ain't Too Proud to Beg: Once he's captured by Bells Hells, he's not afraid to beg for them to free him and offers to make it worth their while.
Big Bad Wannabe: He is rich and well connected and responsible for many of the things that happened in Jrusar that brought Bells Hells together, but he's just a pawn for Paragon's Call. Take away his wealth and connections and any protection, he's helpless and out of his depth.
Butt-Monkey: Once Bells Hells captures him, he's interrogated and locked in the portable hole for the remainder of the journey.
Despair Event Horizon: He falls into utter despair once Bells Hells delivers him to Orlana Seshadri, realizing that he's hopelessly screwed.
Fantastic Racism: He really dislikes the fey thanks to his dealings with them.
Jerkass: He's a bit of a prick and treats those beneath his station with contempt.

The Nightmare King

Ira Wendagoth, The Nightmare King

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ira_wendagoth.jpg

"You don't have to trust me. Just let me do my work"

Race: Fey

An unnaturally tall and thin elf-like creature working to sow chaos in Jrusar.

Card-Carrying Villain: The first time our heroes actually hear the name Nightmare King is from somebody's handwritten notes. He's literally on record as that.
Chaos Is Evil: Ira is working to sow chaos in Jrusar, in part because he's been hired to do so, but it seems that Ira enjoys doing it anyway.
Enemy Mine: He shares a common enemy with Bell's Hells in the Ruby Vanguard.
The Fair Folk: He is a known figure of the Feywild from what Fearne's grandmother's tales taught her, and Chetney identifies him as such.
False Friend: He erased Ollie Calloway's memories many times, and is implied to have done the same with Birdie, and he stole the Moontide Crown as soon as he knew it could help him build a telescope of his own.
Faux Affably Evil: He seems polite and cordial to the group, even engaging in some Baddie Flattery when they attack him. However, he's still trying to kill the group, performing experiments with werewolves, and he's a creepy tall fey creature.
Forced Transformation: Inflicts this on F.C.G. by turning him into a turtle.
For the Evulz: Every horrific act Ira commits is done simply to satiate his own curiosity and boredom.
Humanoid Abomination: Ira is like a cross between a High Elf, Slender Man, and Jack Skellington, being unnaturally tall and thin, almost spider-like, with pupil-less dark green eyes, no nose and a mouth that's more like a jack-o'lantern's carved grin. As the party fights him in Episode 11, he gets even taller, and at one point, his smile stretches past the boundaries of his face.
I Am Not Left-Handed: Subverted. During his first encounter, the Nightmare King isn't giving it his all against the group. Even though they do damage, he largely shrugs off their attacks, uses a finger or two to break free of spells, and toys with the group rather than try and finish them. While making it clear he could do more damage if he felt like it, he uses Dimension Door to teleport away after a few rounds of combat instead of fighting to the (party's) death.
Laser-Guided Amnesia: He has the power to alter people's memories. He has used this on Ollie Calloway on several occasions, and probably did it to Birdie as well.
Mad Scientist: Has been conducting experiments in a secret basement in the Moon Tower, including upon Gurge with the intent of finding a way of spreading his "gift" to mass groups of people. He also apparently had something to do with uplifting a shade creeper, giving it intelligence and telepathy, embedding brumestone into its flesh, and thus creating the Shade Mother.
Names to Run Away from Really Fast: The Nightmare King.
Not So Above It All: He's fairly cordial with the group, and when blinded he makes a swipe at Chetney and F.C.G. He misses due to how short they are and even lightly quips about that when he realizes what happened.
Ira: Oh... right, right. That's on me.
The Nose Knows: Despite not having one. He recognized Fearne (via her family) by smell.
One-Steve Limit: Averted. He shares his first name with Ira, one of the Somnovem from Campaign 2.
Punch-Clock Villain: When first introduced he is working under Armand Treshi as a scientist, but he has no real animosity towards the party and he abandons this job on a whim after the party manages to free Gurge and starts ganging up on him. He even recognizes Fearne and compliments her combat skills.
Teleportation: Capable of teleporting short distances and uses this to flank the party during their fight. Later also uses Dimension Door to depart the Moon Tower.
Voice of the Legion: Briefly evokes this when he confirms that, "in some spaces," he is known as the Nightmare King.
Wild Card: Everything Ira does is purely for his amusement, curiosity or desire to build or explore something. The same impetus that makes him a valuable asset to the villains can eventually be used to get him on the heroes' side, and vice-versa.

Emoth Kade

"Mother, we have visitors."

Race: Half-Elf

A noblewoman of Jrusar that has fallen under the sway of the Shade Mother.

The Corruption: She's gone through it. Based on what the Shade Mother says in Episode 16, Emoth has been corrupted into her slave. Imogen probing deeper into Emoth's mind has made it somewhat unclear if this change was willing or not, but even the side of her that can still maintain her own thoughts is totally devoted to the Shade Mother.
Dirty Coward: She's all too willing to fight when it looks like things are going her way. But the moment that Bell's Hells gets the upper hand on her, she scoots away back down underground. She also hides in a dark corner of the Shade Mother's lair as soon as she hears the Hells coming.
Humiliation Conga: Episode 16 was a good (or in her case, bad one) for her. Not only does she lead Bell's Hells straight into the lair of the Shade Mother, but she gets caught in an orb prison thanks to the Greenseekers and the Hells, then gets literally rolled out into an arrest.
It Can Think: While she mostly acts feral, Imogen's mental probing reveals a humanoid consciousness, albeit one completely devoted to the Shade Mother.
Mask of Sanity: She appears to at least be able to engage in polite conversation during the party in Jrusar. But the moment she's out of sight, she's slaughtering guards and attacking strangers For the Evulz.invoked

The Shade Mother

Shade Mother

"Do not be afraid. Children! Come, let us speak. Let us learn. Let us join. You are in the embrace of the Shade Mother."

Race: Shade Creeper

The mother of the shade creepers and the one behind Dugger and Emoth Kade's corruption.

The Comically Serious: Her brief mental exchange with Chetney reveals that she really can't tell when she's being trolled.
Chetney: Think of nothing! Nothing! Uhh... Balls!
Shade Mother: Is your name... Balls?
The Corruption: If this exchange is anything to go by.
Imogen: What's your goal? What do you want?
Shade Mother: I want family. I want to bring everything into our family. I want to share my love and epiphany where all can be one mind and blood, to climb up and bring us all together.
Detachment Combat: Shade Mother can detach portions of her body if needed.
Disc-One Final Boss: While one of the Hells' strongest enemies at the time, and they never did kill her, they end up exposing her most glaring weakness, which might explain why they've never had to face her again.
The Minion Master: She has a legion of shade creepers that do her bidding.
Mother of a Thousand Young: She's the mother of all the shade creepers.
People Puppets: She can magically control people who she has poisoned, causing them to attack their allies.
Poisonous Person: She can create a poisonous cloud around herself using special glands on her slug half.
Shout-Out: Her figurine makes her look like a more demonic version of Queen Slug-for-a-Butt, who was confirmed by Matt to have been an inspiration for her design.
Uplifted Animal: Apparently she is this according to Emoth Kade. She was already living in the mines long before the campaign, but something recently caused her to evolve and gain sentience. Given that the Hells find a machine in her nest similar to the ones in the Nightmare King's lair it is strongly implied that he did the uplifting.
Weaksauce Weakness: Sunlight, which causes her actual damage. Justified by her being a subterranean creature, though.

The Ruby Vanguard

General

The Conspiracy: Their plot involves collusion with multiple powerful factions including the Paragon's Call, the Unseelie Court, and the Cerberus Assembly and assassinating or mindwiping anyone who gets too close to discovering their plans.
Didn't Think This Through: As an organisation, their plan has this problem with regards to releasing Predathos, as they don't consider what Predathos will do after they're done eating the gods. They also, while resenting what the gods haven't done, don't consider what they do do, and the ramifications of getting rid of them; their activities in the Apogee Solstice not only causes the release of several magically bound evil beings, but also allows the breach of abyssal forces into the material plane, causing a demonic incursion that was only prevented by the coincidental arrival of the Bell's Hells. While the Bell's Hells don't disagree with their beliefs and goals, this is a major reason for their motivation to stop them, as destroying the gods will cause more problems then it'll fix.
Freudian Excuse Is No Excuse: As Ashton points out, regardless of whatever trauma their members might have suffered, or how good an argument they can make, the actions they've taken show that they can't be allowed to re-shape the world as they see fit.
Kill the God: Their ultimate goal is to kill the gods by unleashing Predathos.
Powered by a Forsaken Child: The final Malleus Key requires a captured Celestial in order to pierce through the divine lattice barrier around Ruidus. The vision the Raven Queen grants to the party shows her captured champion in such extreme pain from the process that all he can do is scream.
Rage Against the Heavens: Their members view the gods as unjust tyrants who exploit mortals and use their influence to keep mortals from reaching their true potential.
Well-Intentioned Extremist: At least some of their members, like Tuldus, have legitimate reasons to hate the gods and understandable motives for why they believe destroying them would help people. Notably, most of Bell's Hells as well as most of the guest characters all kinda agree that the Gods suck, and the main reason they're motivated to stop them isn't due to objecting to their beliefs but the fact they're killing lots of innocent people to reach their goals, and that the plan to release Predathos is short-sighted and not concerning the potential consequences of what would happen when the gods are killed.

Ludinus Da'leth

Martinet Ludinus Da'leth

Race: Elf
Class: Wizard

Ludinus Da'leth is the leader of both the Cerberus Assembly and the Ruby Vanguard. As a centuries-old arch-mage with connections to the fall of Molaesmyr, the Empire's war with the Dynasty, and the oddities surrounding Ruidus, he's one of the most dangerous and ambitious men in Exandria.

Actually a Doombot: In episode 75 he confronts the party inside of a volcano. He captures Fearne but the party manages to turn the environment to their advantage to promptly incinerate his underlings and Laudna even manages to counterspell a 9th-level spell cast by Ludinus, only for the Ludinus they were facing to turn out to be a simulacrum controlled remotely by the real Ludinus.
Ambiguously Evil:
- He was part of the members of the Cerberus Assembly who were studying the beacons stolen from Xhorhas, which he later claims that Trent Ikithon only recently uncovered the location of and that they were prepared to return it in exchange for peace. It's unclear if he was lying to King Dwendal about this or if the king is aware of the project, but either way he is at least lying to the Mighty Nein. However, Yussa Errenis also describes him as the one who keeps the peace and balance between the Assembly and the King. It becomes much less ambiguous when we discover that he, Vess DeRogna, Trent Ikithon and Essek banded together, starting the war as cover for experimenting on the beacons so that they can become masters of Dunamancy.
- By Campaign 3 he leads the Ruby Vanguard, a group that seeks to unseal Predathos, hoping it will devour the gods. According to his followers, this is to free humanity from the gods' grasp, but knowing the Assembly, and his actions in Campaign 2's backstory, he might have other goals in mind.
The Archmage: Potentially the most powerful one on the Assembly. Every other mage who has spoken of him does so in awe and at least some fear of his power.
Ascended Extra: From a peripheral, vaguely antagonistic character from Campaign 2 to the Big Bad of Campaign 3.
Batman Gambit: An absolutely insane one that bordered on impossible. During episode 51 of Campaign 3, Keyleth arrives to stop him from unleashing Predathos, but he and Otohan subdue her. Vax'ildan intervenes just as Otohan goes in for the kill, only for it to turn out that Ludinus' plans hinged on Vax loving Keyleth enough to save her, thereby delivering the sliver of divinity Ludinus needed to activate the Key.
Big Bad: Seems to be the dominant antagonist of Campaign 3 spearheading the work in releasing Predathos from Ruidus, with Otohan Thull and an Exaltant serving as his Co-Dragons. As his actions were set up by unresolved plot threads dangling from the first two campaigns, he can even be considered this for Critical Role entirely.
Can't Argue with Elves: Subverted. He has this general attitude, particularly towards those who disagree with his Nay-Theist agenda, but people of other races and even most of his fellow elves would beg to differ.
Driven to Suicide: Subverted. He seemingly jumps to his death at the end of episode 75 after losing to the party, but the moment Ludinus' body touches the lava, it disintegrates into a pile of snow, revealing that the party has been fighting his simulacrum all along.
Everyone Has Standards: While he notes that Trent Ikithon has his uses, Ludinus makes no secret of his distaste for his creepy colleague. When Yasha states that if the Assembly ever decides to get rid of Trent the Mighty Nein would be happy to help kill him, Ludinus does not dismiss the idea outright but does note that he can think of better ways to deal with him other than death. Also, while he dislikes the whole thing with the Volstruckers, he knew about them at every stage and allowed it to happen.
Fantastic Racism: Whilst he remains outwardly unreadable throughout Campaign 2, Explorer's Guide to Wildemount confirms he has a deep hatred for the Kryn Dynasty and spares no effort gathering information on their weaknesses and secrets which gives greater context to his motivations for starting a war so he could master Dunamancy.
Greater-Scope Villain: Of the first half of Campaign 2, since he triggered the war between the Dynasty and the Empire in the first place.
Humanoid Abomination: With the revelation of his use of the Quitessence Array to feed on and assimilate the magic of uncountable magical creatures, a horrified Allura states that she wouldn't know what to call Ludinus anymore.
Hypocrite: Heavily implied to be one. The gods are some of the most powerful entities in Exandria, but if they're destroyed he likely becomes one of the mightiest beings in the world. As one of the world's most powerful wizards and with a direct connection to Predathos, who else would be a natural fit to be Exandria's new master?
Immortality Immorality: The party discovers a curious harness in Ludinus's forgotten Bag of Holding that was later revealed to be a device called the Quintessence Array. The harness is a heavily modified version of older artifacts called power stills which allowed Ludinus to parasitically feed off the life and magic of fey creatures in order to extend his own life and empower himself. His main targets were dryads and nymphs since they were abundant sources of vitality and magic and by their nature, were bound to their environment, making them easy prey for Ludinus.
It's All About Me: The elven king of Uthodurn, Ludinus's peer in ancient times, reveals a bit of his background. Notably, he was always a pompous, self-centered Jerkass who only cared about his research, provoked fights with prominent clerics, and cared little if anything for helping the community with his powers.
Karma Houdini: Suffers no comeuppance for his misdeeds in Campaign 2, including starting the war, getting thousands of people on both sides killed, to study Dunamancy. It's especially notable given the various fates of his co-conspirators with one being guilt-ridden and trying to become The Atoner as an ally of the Mighty Nein, Lucien kills one, and another ends up imprisoned by the Cobalt Soul.
Nay-Theist: His ultimate reasoning for releasing Predathos from Ruidis; he does not deny the divinity of the Prime Deities and the Betrayers, he simply sees them as poor stewards of Exandria whose squabbles and philosophical quarrels have caused too much harm to the world to allow them to hold sway over mankind any longer. Given that he is revealed to have personally lived through the Calamity, he has more than enough caussus belli to wage his war against the divine, since they brought the civilization he grew up in to ruin.
Never My Fault: Interestingly he does this on behalf of all mortal life; he blames the Calamity entirely on the Gods (specifically the Prime Deities), seeing it as being their divine punishment towards mortals because of how powerful mortal arcanists had gotten during the Age of Arcanum, and didn't want to share their power and prestige with them. As we saw in EXU: Calamity, however, the Calamity was triggered by several extremely arrogant mortal mages whose experiments resulted in accidentally releasing Asmodeus and the Betrayer Gods, and the resulting devastation to befall Exandria was direct fallout of this. The Prime Deities actually worked hard to save mortals from being completely wiped out, and not without their own losses (notably, Ioun suffered an injury that she still suffers from, as Vox Machina can attest to). Despite this, Ludinus refuses to see the Calamity as the result of mortal arrogance but instead holds the Gods themselves to blame.
Not So Stoic: In his interactions with the Mighty Nein he is typically unflappable, but every time Jester speaks he is disarmed and notably confused. He eventually admits to her that he finds her disarmingly charming in a good way.
Oh, Crap!: The reveal that his Annex Vence Nuthaleus is one of the cultists of the Angel of Irons, Ludinus is stunned and notably embarrassed that he had a spy so close to him capable of learning the Empire and Assembly's many secrets.
The Quisling: When the Empire annexed Bysaes Tyl with the threat of violence, Ludinus saw it as an opportunity to achieve political and magical power within the Empire and abandoned his culture and people. Campaign 3 reveals he was also like this in ancient times, caring very little for his fellow elves or their heritage.
Really 700 Years Old: While elves are quite long-lived in this setting, Ludinis takes the cake with the revelation in Episode 51 of Campaign 3 that he has been working on his plan to release Predathos from Ruidis for 1000 years, meaning he was alive and already a powerful practitioner of the arcane arts during the Age of Arcanum and personally lived through the Calamity. The secret to his longevity turns out to be a device he uses to suck the magic out of other creatures.
Reasonable Authority Figure: The most reasonable member of the Cerberus Assembly that the Mighty Nein has met. He sits down with them in a room that is completely private to hear their side of the story, tries to come to a mutual understanding about how to end the war between the Empire and the Dynasty, and also hinders the investigation into the attack on Zadash's Cobalt Soul branch so Yasha can remain free. As it turns out later in the second campaign, he has his own very vested interests in ensuring a smooth ending to the war to ensure his complicity in it beginning is not uncovered.
Unequal Rites: He appears to hold disdain for divine spellcasters, as well as users of arcane magic who "didn't earn it" such as warlocks.

Otohan Thull (Spoilers)

Otohan Thull

Race: Human
Class: Fighter (Psi Warrior)

The leader of the Paragon's Call and a famed warrior from the Apex War. She also has a mysterious connection to Ruidus and Imogen's dreams...

Awesome Backpack: She wears a backpack with two crystals on it that allow her to use the powers of an Echo Knight on top of her abilities as a Psi Warrior.
Beware the Mind Reader: Otohan has mind-reading powers much like Imogen and F.C.G. Unlike them, she has no qualms about forcibly extracting information from others, and the process is described as being very painful. When she asks you a question, she will get the answer, all that matters is how.
Co-Dragons: Acts as a general to the Ruby Vanguard's leader alongside Liliana Temult.
Combo Platter Powers: She is a Psi Warrior, but her Awesome Backpack allows her to summon echoes akin to an Echo Knight.
The Corrupter: She attacks Imogen's friends and slaughters them in front of her to force her across a Despair Event Horizon and fully awaken her powers connected to Ruidus.
Curb-Stomp Battle: Their fight with the Hells in Episode 33 is less of a battle and more of a slaughter, playing out like a videogame Hopeless Boss Fight. (Matt implies she was beatable, but a combination of being unprepared for the fight and bad luck caused things to go south for the party fast).
Dark Action Girl: A nearly unstoppable Magic Knight with a dark sense of humor.
The Dreaded: Ashton describes her as "nightmare fuel" in-universe. In Episode 33, we see that he wasn't kidding. The Green Seekers, when asked to track her down for the murder of Lord Eshteross, immediately decline. Becomes this specifically to Bell's Hells after their first encounter turns into a near-slaughter that leaves three of their members (temporarily) dead. From then on, they make every effort to avoid her and are constantly checking over their shoulders in fear of encountering her again, fears that become justified when she tracks them down in episode 91 and comes very close to wiping them all out singlehandedly, from which they are only saved by FCG's Heroic Sacrifice.
Hero Killer: Perhaps one of the biggest in the series. To start with, she was behind the attack on the Air Ashari that killed Orym's husband Will. During the Hells' first real encounter with her, she manages to permanently kill Laudna, and temporarily killed Orym and Fearne, all while demolishing the rest of the party. After clashing with the party, she heads to Jrusar and murders Lord Eshteross, the party's employer, while the Hells are busy in Whitestone reviving Laudna. Then, during the battle at the Mallius Key, she effortlessly took down Keyleth in seconds and would have killed her if not for the intervention of Vax, which she and her master, Ludinus, had been expecting and even counting on to further their goals. Then, when the Hells' were forced to fight her again, she immediately temporarily killed Chetney before engaging in another brutal Curb-Stomp Battle that almost resulted in a Total Party Kill, until Fresh Cut Grass blew himself up in order to finally kill her resulting in the second truly permanent player death in the series.
Hoist by His Own Petard:
- She methodically kills Imogen's friends one-by-one in order to force her into fully giving in to her Ruidus powers, which eventually succeeds. The first thing Imogen does with this newfound power is to psychically blast Otohan across Bassuras in retaliation, ending the fight and allowing the Hells to escape.
- Her decision to focus her attacks on FCG to keep him from bringing the others back up creates an opportunity for him to lure her away from the party before overloading his core, letting him kill her without endangering the others.
Implacable Woman: In her first confrontation with Bell's Hells she casually shrugs off their attempts to restrain her (thanks to Legendary Resistance) and then calmly and dispassionately cuts them down one by one, taunting Imogen all the while.
Otohan: Is she your favorite?
In a Single Bound: Her "Psi-Powered Leap" ability lets her jump up to 80 feet after charging it with a Legendary Action.
Living Legend: She's a legendary war hero in Marquet and Aston is shocked to end up meeting her.
Magic Knight: On two different levels. She has the Psychic Powers of a Psi Warrior, and her equipment gives her the dunamancy skills of an Echo Knight, effectively giving her access to two different fighter subclasses at once.
Meaningful Name: Otohan's surname brings to mind the Thule Society, a secret society of occultists and pseudointellectuals in Nazi Germany, not entirely dissimilar to the Ruby Vanguard. Her black leather uniform and Rosa Klebb-type Baroness tendencies only make the connection more obvious.
Me's a Crowd: Due to her Awesome Backpack, she can summon shadowy copies of herself for additional attacks in melee.
Not So Stoic: She appears calm and in control at all times until episode 91 when FCG rigs his arcane core to explode and latches onto her arm. She has just enough time to realize what he's doing and frantically tries to escape his grasp before getting incinerated in the blast.
Private Military Contractors: Implied to have been her former occupation during the war, and now she leads a whole gang of them.
Red Baron: For her exploits in the Apex War, she's known as the Legend of the Peaks.
Spanner in the Works: Ironically, Otohan ends up being this for Delilah Briarwood (another iconic antagonist of the franchise) when she manages to permanently kill Laudna who has Delilah as patron and who planned to come back to life by taking over the control the girl's body.
Super Mode: During the party's second confrontation with her, she transforms into an evolved Exaltant that sets her armor class at 25, refreshes her action surges, and makes her resistant to all damage. This transformation, combined with a health potion that restored 66 points of health, nearly resulted in a Total Party Kill.
Villain Takes an Interest: She sees Imogen as one of the strongest Ruidus-born and aims to draw out her power by any means necessary. She also displays a minor interest in Fearne because she had "the Seed,"^Note but quickly loses that interest because she wasn't "strong enough." By the time she confronts Bell's Hells again in episode 91 she states that Imogen has become too much of a liability and admits that she should have killed her when she had the chance.
The Worf Effect: The first thing she does when the Hells enter combat with her is knock Ashton out in a single turn. During their second encounter she straight up murders Chetney in his werewolf form during the first round of combat.

The Exaltant General (Spoilers)

Liliana Temult

Race: Human

Class: Sorcerer (Aberrant Mind)

Imogen's absent mother, another sorceress born with psychic powers derived from the moon Ruidus. She serves as the magical enforcer of Ludinus Da'leth in hopes he'll be able to free her and her kin from the curse of being Ruidusborn.

Ambiguous Situation: She appeared a lot in Imogen's dreams when it was unclear if she was dead or alive. Her connections to Ludinus of the Cerberus Assembly and the Moon also made it unclear what exactly her allegiances were until the group started using magic to contact and spy on her.
Beyond Redemption: Imogen repeatedly tries to get her mother Liliana to pull a Heel–Face Turn after it's revealed that she's been working with one of the villains, which comes to a head in episode 89. Imogen tries reaching out to Liliana in her dreams. Imogen succeeds, and tries to talk Liliana into switching sides once again. Liliana refuses, gives many excuses as before, and reiterates that she always just wanted Imogen to run from the conflict. Imogen finally has enough and ends the conversation by saying "Maybe it's your turn to run" to Liliana, showing that Imogen is done trying to talk. Episode 91 subverts this, as she reveals to Imogen that she was chosen as "the Vessel", and she is afraid that if she refuses to follow the plan Ludinus could pick Imogen or "an Exaltant child" to take her place. Later in the same episode, when Imogen warns her that Otohan Thull is close killing her and the rest of Bell's Hells, Liliana's reaction is to come running to help her daughter, but she arrives too late to prevent F.C.G.'s Heroic Sacrifice.
Daddy Had a Good Reason for Abandoning You: Every time Imogen makes contact with her mother, Liliana quietly tells Imogen she shouldn't be here and sends her away. As Imogen asks why she left her as a child, all Liliana tells her is that she was trying to keep her safe.
The Dreaded: She gained this reputation on Ruidus, to the point that The Resistance almost attacks Imogen just because she is her daughter. Also, one of the top priority missions of the Volition was an assassination attempt against her, and she survives the hit even if not undamaged.
Ignored Epiphany: At the culmination of the Ruby Vanguard's plan, Imogen seems to momentarily get through to Liliana, but Liliana shakes it off and insists that she's doing the right thing. We finally get what she means in Episode 91: she is afraid that Ludinus could choose Imogen or an innocent child to take her place as "the Vessel" if she defects the plan.
I Just Want to Be Normal: She views her psychic powers as an unbearable burden and is cooperating with the Ruby Vanguard under the belief that letting Predathos leave the material plane to hunt the gods would De-power herself and Imogen.
I've Come Too Far: Conversations between Liliana and Imogen hint that Liliana regrets her actions, but quitting now would mean that everything she's done for the Ruby Vanguard was for nothing, so she feels that she must continue. Eventually, when Liliana keeps making this excuse as to why she's done what she's done, Imogen has enough in episode 89 and says that maybe it's Liliana's turn to run instead.
Mama Bear: Each time Imogen tries to contact her, Liliana pushes her away and tells her she's not safe. It's clear that it pains her to push her daughter away, but is doing it to keep her safe. In her telepathic conversation with Imogen in episode 49 she reveals that her primary motivation for going along with the Ruby Vanguard's plan is to ensure a peaceful life for herself and Imogen, even if it comes at the expense of others. She also tried to reach Imogen and the rest of Bell's Hells during their second battle against Otohan Thull, but she arrived when the encounter was already over and all she could do was comfort Imogen for F.C.G.'s loss.
Moral Myopia: In her mental conversation with Imogen in episode 89, Liliana insists that by staying at Ludinus' side, she has prevented him from doing more harm. This is neatly ignoring all of the people the Ruby Vanguard has assassinated just for discovering their plans. Liliana even emphasizes that she has protected the children recruited by the Ruby Vanguard, ignoring that she's speaking to her own daughter, whom she abandoned.
Not Brainwashed: Leading up to the Apogee Solstice, Imogen is certain that Ludinus must have brainwashed her mother or be manipulating her in some way. When the pivotal moment comes, she reveals that not only is Liliana working with Ludinus willingly, but she captures the Raven Queen's Champion and installs him in the Malleus Key herself.
Psychic Powers: Like her daughter, she has Telepathy and Telekinesis but demonstrates more fine control and raw power in both abilities.
Rage Breaking Point: When Imogen hears about the Volition planning an assassination attempt on Liliana she reaches out to try to convince her mother to leave Ludinus without warning her directly. When Imogen fails to sway her Imogen cryptically tells her mother "Maybe it's your turn to run." After the assassination attempt fails Liliana assumes her daughter's comment meant that she was involved in the assassination attempt, causing her to instantly enter her Exaltant Fury form and call out through the Ruidusborn mind network demanding to know if Imogen knew about the assassination attempt. She comes within seconds of attacking her daughter but Imogen narrowly manages to deceive her mother into believing that she was unaware.
Shrink Ray: Appears to use a variation of the Imprisonment spell to reduce and trap Vax'ildan in a sphere the size of a marble.
Strong Family Resemblance: Ludinus remarks upon seeing Imogen that she looks strikingly like her mother.
Sunk Cost Fallacy: It is strongly implied that she disapproves of Ludinus' actions, but cutting ties with him would cost her only lead on Predathos and make her decision to abandon her family and subsequent 25 year journey of self-discovery All for Nothing.

Tuldus

Race: Half-elf

Class: Elementalist

A mage who confronts Bell's Hells in Yios while they are investigating the Ruidus conspiracy.

Blind Obedience: When probing his mind, Imogen learns that he holds Ludinus with almost god-like reverence and fully believes in their plan to wipe out the gods to "free" mortal life.
Elemental Powers: He specializes in elemental magic including summoning elementals and destructive elemental spells like Lightning Bolt and Cone of Cold.
Freudian Excuse: While diving deeper into his mind Imogen discovered his hatred for the gods and organized religions stems from being abused as a child for not showing enough piety and being forced to pray for hours while bound to an altar.
Inferiority Superiority Complex: He acts very arrogantly but is shown to be very insecure about his low position in the Ruby Vanguard. During his interrogation he bristles when Fearne insinuates that he isn't very important, causing him to give away more information. Imogen confirms that he has only met his organization's leader once or twice.
Sympathy for the Devil: Upon learning of his childhood abuse, Imogen becomes sympathetic towards Tuldus and understands why he joined the Ruby Vanguard.

The Mole (Spoilers)

Bor'Dor Dog'Son

For more information on Bor'Dor, see Critical Role Marquet Guest Party Members.

The Unseelie Court

General

Disproportionate Retribution: Apparently the Calloways stealing from them merits the Unseelie Court erasing their entire family line. Episode 79, however, reveals that there may be a bit of a more personal edge to it since Zathuda is actually Fearne's biological father.
Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: They have made an alliance with the Ruby Vanguard chiefly because Ruidis gives them an advantage over the Seelie Court and the Ruby Vanguard's plan would remove the Moonweaver's control over the Feywild. That said, tensions are rising and Zathuda threatens Otohan that they could withdraw their support at any time.

Athion Zathuda

Sorrowlord Athion Zathuda

Race: Fey

A high-ranking member of the Unseelie Court overseeing the Shiver Keep in the Feywild.

Archnemesis Dad: He sired Fearne during his flirtation with Birdie and intentionally had her birthed in Exandria under Ruidus to serve as a pawn in his and the Ruby Vanguard's scheme. Unfortunately for him, Birdie realized he intended to use Fearne as a tool so she ran away with her daughter and Ollie. Unbenownst to him Fearne was aged up by Morrigan and she is now one of the heroes trying to stop him. Fearne even personally torched the Feywild Malleus Key right under his nose without either of them realizing the relationship. He finally encounters his daughter in episode 91, yelling that he both admires and hates her while chasing the demolition crew through the alleys of Kreviris.
Zathuda: How fitting my singular kin fights against me, bucks the order and call. You are your mother's daughter. The mix of pride and hate I hold for you, Fearne Zathuda, oh, it is delicious. A true chaos being of cold shadow and fiery whim.
Breath Weapon: Assails the Hells with beams of dark fire from his fey dragon, carving up swaths of the forest in their wake.
The Casanova: He seduced Birdie with honeyed words and even promised to steal the moon from the Moonweaver as a present for her, only to abandon her completely once she birthed an heir for him.
Dragon Rider: A fey dragon named "Gloamgut" serves as his personal mount.
Failed a Spot Check: He was at the Feywild Malleus Key mere minutes before Bell's Hells destroyed it, then while chasing the party he loses track of them multiple times allowing them to make it to a portal.
Fantastic Racism: Appears to hold a low opinion of humans evidenced by his interactions with Otohan.
Wicked Cultured: Nana Morri mentions that he has a fondness for poetry.
You Have Failed Me: Threatens to seal Yu in a mirror if they fail to retrieve the Moontide Crown. It's unclear if he followed up on this threat, although Yu is not seen among his troops at the Shiver Keep.

Yu Suffiad (Spoilers)

Yu Suffiad/Dusk

For more information on Dusk, look under Critical Role Marquet Guest Party Members.

Ruidus (unmarked spoilers)

The Reilora

A race of aliens that hail from Ruidus and begin appearing to Ruidusborn through their dreams.

Always Chaotic Evil: Averted. Almost all the reilora that Bells Hells meet are hostile and malicious, but that's because they work with the Ruby Vanguard. When the party visits Ruidus starting in episode 83, they learn that some of the Reliorans are part of the "Volition", a La Résistance group fighting against the domination of the Imperium. The Imperium are a domineering faction of reilora who are working with the Vanguard and enslave the Bormodo, another race native to Ruidus.
Amazing Technicolor Population: Their skin tones are various shades of red to blend in with their environment.
Dream Walker: They can communicate with Ruidusborn by entering their dreams.
The Empire: When the party reaches Ruidus, they learn that many of the reilora are ruled by the Imperium, a tyrannical faction that's enslaved the Bormodo, another race of creatures native to Ruidus, and is allied to the Ruby Vanguard. They are led by the Weave Mind, a group of powerful mystics with connections to Predathos.
Fantastic Caste System: There are at least four subraces with distinct abilities and roles: The magically gifted Thought Eaters, the physically powerful Juggernauts, the intelligent Hex Minds, and the fast and deadly Shrikes.
Green-Eyed Monster: One individual encountered by Imogen in her dreams expressed envy toward the people of Exandria and implied that this is one of the factors motivating their invasion.
Psychic Powers: They all possess some amount of telepathy and telekinesis.

Predathos

For more information on Predathos, see Critical Role Gods.

The Weave Mind

A quintet of reilora mystics that have ruled the Dominion with an iron fist for centuries.

Big Brother Is Watching: They can possess and look through the eyes of any reiloran with an implant, allowing them to surveil their subjects at any time. For this reason, new recruits to the Volition have to have their implants surgically removed to avoid giving the others away.
Bio-Augmentation: They extensively bioengineered their subjects to create the four reilora subspecies and also implant organic devices into reilora at birth that force them to be subservient to their will.
Dream Walker: Their connection to Predathos enables the residents of Ruidus to observe the dreams of Exandrians, which provides the basis for most of their culture and mythology.
Hidden Agenda Villain: Very little is known about their motivations besides working with the Ruby Vanguard to free Predathos. In episode 91 they magically project themselves around Imogen and the infiltration team, quietly evaluate each of them, and then cryptically tell Imogen "welcome home" before disappearing without trying to capture her.
Propaganda Machine: Their propaganda has convinced the races of Ruidus that when Predathos escapes it will bring them to the "Blue Promise" (Exandria), which they portray as a sort of holy paradise.

Edmuda

Willmaster Edmuda

Race: Reilora (Thought Eater)

A member of the Dominion who was sent to the rural farming village Razora to enforce doubled work quotas to supply the war effort.

De-power: When she is captured by Bell's Hells they use the Quintessence Array to temporarily drain her psychic powers so they can safely question her.
Human Shield: She uses mind control to move villagers into the path of blows meant for her, forcing Bell's Hells to knock all of the nearby bystanders unconscious so they can reliably target her.
Mass Hypnosis: Her specialty is controlling large groups of people at once, which she utilizes both for attack and defense.
A Taste of Their Own Medicine: Orym absorbs her ability to Dominate and turns it back on her, forcing her to explain the Dominion's goals and motivations. Naturally, she is horrified when she realizes what she was compelled to do.
Telepathic Spacemen: She is so reliant on her telepathy that she initially has difficulty remembering how to speak verbally.
Undignified Death: She is drained to death by Laudna when the Hells need to leave in a hurry to escape Otohan Thull then left in the Portable Hole to avoid leaving behind evidence.

Other

Laudna's Patron (Spoilers)

Delilah Briarwood

For more information on Delilah, see Critical Role Villains.

"Shithead" Gargo

A bird of indeterminate breed, among other things, that has inexplicably dedicated itself to making Fresh Cut Grass' life a living hell.

For the Evulz: Contrary to what F.C.G. believed, it's not some avenging spirit or ancient curse. It's just an asshole who likes to ruin his day for the hell of it.
Given Name Reveal: The group manage to incapacitate him and Fearne asks what his name is. He reveals it's Gargo.
It Can Think: F.C.G. attempts to confront it thanks to their knowing the appropriate magic to communicate with it, which only reveals that it's doing all this For the Evulz.
No Name Given: Shithead is just what F.C.G. calls it, since it lives just to shit on their head. That is until episode 69 where he finally reveals his name.
Raising the Steaks: It's an undead bird.
Real After All: When F.C.G. first told this tale, it sounded like a cockamamie story to Chetney. And then it wasn't.
Super-Persistent Predator: "Predator" may be inaccurate since it's clearly not out to eat Fresh Cut Grass, but any time they're out in the open, it will find them.
Surprisingly Sudden Death: In episode 69, FCG manages to destroy Shithead (seemingly) once and for all with his Destroy Undead channel divinity.

Characters / Critical Role Marquet Villains

Oderan Wilds

Jrusar

Dugger

Armand Treshi

Ira Wendagoth, The Nightmare King

Emoth Kade

Shade Mother

The Ruby Vanguard

Martinet Ludinus Da'leth

Otohan Thull

Liliana Temult

Tuldus

Bor'Dor Dog'Son

The Unseelie Court

Sorrowlord Athion Zathuda

Yu Suffiad/Dusk

Ruidus (unmarked spoilers)

The Weave Mind

Willmaster Edmuda

Other

Delilah Briarwood

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Index

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Characters / Critical Role Marquet Villains

Edit Locked

Oderan Wilds

Jrusar

Dugger

Armand Treshi

Ira Wendagoth, The Nightmare King

Emoth Kade

Shade Mother

The Ruby Vanguard

Martinet Ludinus Da'leth

Otohan Thull

Liliana Temult

Tuldus

Bor'Dor Dog'Son

The Unseelie Court

Sorrowlord Athion Zathuda

Yu Suffiad/Dusk

Ruidus (unmarked spoilers)

The Weave Mind

Willmaster Edmuda

Other

Delilah Briarwood

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Index

Next