Critical Role Percival de Rolo / Characters

Percival "Percy" Fredrickstein Von Musel Klossowski de Rolo III

Played by: Taliesin Jaffe (Campaign 1, The Legend of Vox Machina), Matthew Mercer (Campaign 3)

"Your secret is safe with my indifference."

Race: Human

Class: Fighter (Gunslinger)

Percy is a human gunsmith and tinkerer with a noble upbringing. He was forced to flee his hometown after his family were slaughtered in a coup, barely escaping captivity and torture. He continued to stay undercover until he was visited one night by a dark spirit of vengeance who inspired the creation of his first firearm and a resolve to take revenge on those who had wronged him. As a classically-trained intellectual, Percy is mostly disillusioned with the noble lifestyle but knows exactly how to exploit it to achieve his ends.

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Tropes A - H

Action Dad: His and Vex's first child, Vesper, was born in the year between "The Search for Grog" and "Dalen's Closet", and Tal'Dorei Reborn reveals that they have four more by the time of Campaign 2. Taliesin notes in Percy's epilogue that he still goes on adventures in his retirement from time to time, and in Campaign 3, he leads the entire Whitestone Rifle Corps with Bad News at the ready in case Laudna's resurrection ritual goes wrong.
An Arm and a Leg: In The Search for Grog, Percy ends up getting his arm ripped off by five bugbears, forcing Keyleth to cast Regenerate to grow him a new one.
Arch-Enemy:
- Lord and Lady Briarwood draw out special hatred in his heart because they betrayed his parents, killed his family, and drove him from his home. Their associates qualify as well, and the List has barrels specifically marked for all of them. In Campaign 3, the very idea that Delilah Briarwood might come back has him watch over Laudna's resurrection with Vex, Pike, two invisible soldiers, more than a hundred guards armed with guns, and Bad News trained on the bakery, all to make absolutely sure that Delilah would die instantly if she was revived instead.
- Dr. Ripley is someone he fears more than the Briarwoods because she is a walking embodiment of everything he fears about himself. The Briarwoods were a dangerous threat to be sure, and they made the world a darker place, but they didn't reverse engineer his handgun with plans to create and distribute it.
Armor-Piercing Question: When Scanlan returns after the Time Skip, he deflects questions about his true reason for returning by claiming that he needs more bullets and powder for the gun he "borrowed" from Percy. Percy responds by coldly and silently bagging up some powder and shot before asking:
"What's Kaylie's mother's name? What is it? (throws the bag at Scanlan) Dick. For the record, it's Sybil."
Arrow Catch: Courtesy of the Gloves of Missile Snaring that were retrieved from Rimefang's lair.
The Atoner:
- More generally after the Whitestone Arc, but very specifically after his negligence kills Vex in Episode 44. He spends the majority of the next episode apologizing to both the twins in various ways.
- Comes back in full force after Episode 66 upon discovering that Dr. Ripley stole Cabal's Ruin and is hunting down Whisper. To that end, he wants to atone deeply for the damage he unwittingly caused by allowing her to live and eventually invent a new gun and hand.
Attack Its Weak Point: Trick Shot. Can target the head, arms, wings, torso, or feet of an enemy. These attacks have differing effects from knocking targets prone to pushing them back to giving them disadvantage.
Awesome Moment of Crowning: Having heard Vex'ahlia's fears of appearing in Syngorn still a commoner, and being berated for their history within Syngorn and earning the contempt of her father, Percy names her "Lady Vex'ahlia, Baroness of the Third House of Whitestone and Grand Mistress of the Grey Hunt." This was in no small part given to her so she could rub it in Syldor's face.
Babies Ever After: He ends up having at least five children with Vex.
Back from the Dead: Twice. He's killed by Ripley in Episode 68, and resurrected in Episode 69. It differs from Vex and Grog's resurrections in that he had to be convinced to return. And then after being gutted and slain by Raishan in Episode 83, he is just barely revived by Pike.
Badass Bookworm: Most of his badassery stems directly from the fact that he invented, designed and built his own guns. Then again, he had a little help.

Badass Normal: The only human on the team, and lacks any magical skills. This changes slightly when he takes the Magic Initiate to learn Friends, Minor Illusion, and Hex, but even then, the most he does with magic is cause his bullets to do a little more damage to one person once a day. He still mostly relies on his ingenuity and skill to keep up with the epic heroes of Vox Machina.
Battle Aura: It's not technically an "aura" because it's not light, but when facing down people on The List in combat, his body is wreathed in black smoke.
Becoming the Mask: In a somewhat literal fashion near the end of Episode 29; while killing Sir Kerrion Stonefell, the smoky entity that Percy made a deal with became prominent. It recurs when he battles/kills other individuals on The List.
Best Served Cold: Spent four years avoiding his family home and "waiting for a sign" that he should take vengeance on the Briarwoods. In Episode 27, after encountering them again, he finally decides to take the fight to them.
Beware the Quiet Ones: Percy is relatively quiet and soft-spoken, but when he's pushed too far? Run far away.
BFG: The aptly-named "Bad News", an enormous sniper rifle. Percy used to roll a Strength check after every shot to avoid being blown off his feet, and it's been known to turn its victims' heads into fine mist.
Big Brother Instinct: Percy always cared for and was protective of his younger siblings. He forbids Cassandra from getting involved in their rebellion in Whitestone, refuses to allow the rest of the party to harm her, and even rejects the demon who gave him his guns as soon as it tells him to harm her.
Big Damn Kiss: In the climax of Episode 72, as he walks away, Percy turns around, walks up to Vex'ahlia, and kisses her. He then says, "We'll talk later". And then he walks away.

Birds of a Feather: In contrast to his Odd Friendship with Keyleth, he has a lot in common with Vex, in terms of fighting style (ranged attackers, with limited pools of magic), backstory, and personality. They both lean towards the Pragmatic Hero side of the spectrum and occasionally bond over their mutual money-consciousness and love of explosive arrows. Both of them have even died and come back to life. Following both of them inspiring each other to move past the pain that haunts them, they do end up becoming a couple. Lampshaded in Percy's letter of goodbye that he was saving for after his death.
Percy: Vex, you often remind me of myself, and that is the highest of compliments. [...] Also, since I'm gone, you're the clever one now.
Black Comedy: Probably Taliesin talking more than Percy, but he will occasionally justify his decisions in combat—using his sharpshooter feat, or killing someone without looking at them, for example—with the phrase "because that's funny."
Blood Knight: Unlike Grog, Percy's violent tendencies aren't obvious, but he does lean towards swift and sometimes chillingly brutal solutions to problems where another character might simply threaten rather than fight. It becomes more straightforward during the Briarwood saga. To be precise, he won't instigate a fight when he feels one is unnecessary... but if he does feel it's necessary, he will stop at nothing until his opponent is dead—and sometimes even that won't be enough.
Blue Blood: If his incredibly long name wasn't a big enough clue, he is appropriately educated and well-mannered. The party fields Scanlan when they need a convincing lie and Vex when they need a negotiation, but if they need a respectable face, Percy's their man. It adds an interesting degree of obligation to his vengeance against the Briarwoods beyond the purely emotional and moral outrage—they've stolen his birthright and dishonored his family name. He's also more conscious of class distinctions than others in the party might be.
Boom, Headshot!: The preferred method of killing people who have no sense of honor. It's also an actual mechanical skill he picked up early in the stream, used to great effect against K'Varn by giving every player advantage on their saves against K'varn's laser beams.
Boring Insult: When an old enemy comes back in the Dalen's Closet one-shot, Percy tells him the whole affair is just boring along with a Not Afraid of You Anymore.
Percy: Honestly [...] is this your plan? Is this what you're planning to do with us, just toss us off a cliff? [...] I used to fear you. Know that when I die, you will bore me.
Born Lucky:
- Statistically, Taliesin's had a lot of luck in rolling Natural 20s (without counting advantage or disadvantage) which is even Played for Laughs during the Rimefang bounty hunt.
  Taliesin: I sacrificed a small child to these dice.
- Episode 18 is a noteworthy example, where he rolled three of them in a single encounter against three separate enemies, leading to an awesome display of unloading three shots into a knocked-down orc/ogre hybrid (Critical #1), one shot into an orc flanking him (Critical #2), and the last two shots in his pepperbox into an orc that was dominated by Scanlan (Critical #3).
- Percy blasted Vex's Natural 20 record out of the water in episode 33 with a staggering seven of them (and repeated the feat in Episode 55—note that the record for Natural 1s is held by Wil Wheaton and Travis Willingham, at six each in Episode 21 for Wil and The Screw Job for Travis). Even when changing dice, he was still rolling 20s! It's eventually suggested that con-going fans bring Taliesin their dice so he can lick them for luck. It's at the point where he has mostly set his lucky "Golden Snitch" die aside unless he really feels a good roll is called for.
- Just Percy in general. From being the sole survivor of his family to his chance encounter with Vox Machina that would prove to be one of the best things to happen to him to the many, many Natural 20s he's rolled to resisting the smoke demon trying to possess him and overcoming it, he's one of the luckiest people in all of Exandria.
Brains and Bondage: Percy is, of course, exceptionally intelligent, well-read, and well-spoken. He also rather casually mentions that he enjoys being on his hands and knees — and, when Grog successfully Insight-checks him, says he's never been so honest about anything in his life.
Brick Joke: Suffers from a meta-canon one. In Episode 115, after skimming over saving Grog from the Pandemonium Plane, Scanlan mentions that "Percy lost an arm!" Flash-forward to The Search for Grog one-shot over a year later, and Percy actually ends up losing his arm, having it be ripped off by five bugbears.
Broken Ace: He has some of the highest stats in the party, excellent luck with his dice, and he keeps a level head in more dire situations...and he's been heavily traumatized due to the death of his entire family plus a dose of Cold-Blooded Torture, to the point where he goes Ax-Crazy when confronted with his past in Episode 25. He eventually realizes how bad it is, and in Episode 57 brings it up in the context of his to the Matron of Ravens.
Percy: Did it choose me because I was broken, or did it break me?
Byronic Hero: Oh yes. Handsome? Described as such. Intelligent? At 20, he has the highest Intelligence score attainable without magical enhancement. Sensitive? Prone to panic attacks. Brooding? His Dark and Troubled Past has left a serious scar on him and when his Trauma Button is pushed, he is quick to shut himself off from everyone.
Canon Immigrant: Somewhat, as the Gunslinger class was transferred and reworked from Pathfinder to fit this world.
Catchphrase: "I have a thought" is used whenever he has an idea about some kind of tool or weapon.
Casting a Shadow: Hex. It's described as Percy manipulating the shadows (or in some cases, smoke and/or mist) around his foes to cling to them, marking them for his attacks and enabling him to deal out necrotic damage in addition to his own. Later in the show, he loses the "Battle Aura" associated with Hex but the spell retains its smoky appearance as a reminder of his brush with darkness.
Character Development: Plenty throughout the Whitestone Arc. At the beginning, he's in danger of crossing a Moral Event Horizon in trying to get revenge for his family. By the end, he has realized his vengeance made nothing better, and he has also exorcised the smoke demon that pushed him to revenge in the first place.
Chick Magnet: Four different characters had a crush on him at different points. They are Vex, Pike, Tary, and guest character Lilith (judging by her parting letter to him).
Clueless Chick-Magnet: He had absolutely no idea that Vex, Pike, and Tary were crushing on him.
Cold-Blooded Torture:
- Was subjected to it at the hands of an assistant to the Briarwoods, Dr. Ripley.
- All the way back in Episode 3, a captive the group intends to interrogate is bleeding to death. The typically quiet and task-oriented Percy's solution is to use his gun's scalding-hot barrel to cauterize the wound. As he notes disturbingly casually, "There's more than one way to make a person talk."
- In Episode 25, he dishes it out, shooting three fingers off the hand of an incapacitated carriage driver.
- Gets worse in Episode 29: he brands a man's forehead with his gun, and then orders his tongue be removed. Grog complies immediately, by hand, with gusto, by which Percy is thankfully shocked enough that he comes back to himself a little.
- As of Episode 30, due to the effects of the corruption in Whitestone, if he gets a killing blow, he will be compelled to torture his victim before finishing them off. Pike's intervention cleanses some corruption before this occurs, but it obviously only bought him time.
Comfort Food: After particularly harrowing quests, Percy tends to request a large breakfast with plenty of coffee and bacon.
The Comically Serious: His quiet disposition, upper-class mannerisms and slight prissiness make him a prime target for goofy scenarios, such as being ambushed in the middle of the night and thus flailing around shooting things up in his pajamas with the butt-flap down, or trying to negotiate the purchase of black powder from a deranged merchant.
Cool Mask: A beaked one that resembles a Medieval plague mask (complete with something that smells nice in the beak). It also resembles the demon from his nightmares just before he created his first gun.
The Corruptible: Especially in the Whitestone Arc. The smoky entity and the cursed land of Whitestone is definitely corrupting Percy. Once the arc ends, he is less susceptible to corruption, but the skull found in General Krieg's house can still tell that he's been "touched by darkness." Percy even lampshades it on occasion:
Percy: I am a little evil magnet.
Cowardly Lion: Supplemental information on the character says that Percy believes himself a coward for fleeing from the massacre in his home. He even says as much to Keyleth in Episode 27—he acts scary (the badass lines, the brutality and so on) as a means to hide his fear of the people who hurt him. Yet his class essentially weaponizes bravery and daring, he clubbed the crap out of an invisible stalker when both his guns jammed, he once flung himself off a building to save another party member with zero hesitation, and he hurled a demon out of his soul with nothing but force of will.
Cultured Badass: Polite, well-spoken, well-read, trained in the History skill, speaks Celestial, has excellent handwriting, enjoys sketching the strange landscapes of Exandria, has the highest Intelligence stat of the party, and if crossed he will happily blow your brains out at close range with the guns he built himself. It's probably the closest you can get to summarizing Percy in two words.
Dark and Troubled Past: While all the characters have a little bit of this in some form or another, Percy's seems overly like this trope. It apparently took the entire two years before any hint of it was brought up in the campaign.
Dead Man Writing: Subverted. He writes a letter to Vox Machina in case of his death, and Vex discovers it on his body when he dies, but the group actually reads it after his resurrection.
Deadpan Snarker: Befitting his serious and aristocratic nature, he has a very dry sense of humor.
Deal with the Devil:
- According to Percy's backstory, a smoky entity offered him a way for vengeance. After that, Percy began to build his first gun. The demon in question—Orthax—reveals himself and is defeated (temporarily) in episode 35.
- Makes a literal deal with a devil in Episode 91 and 92 for the purpose of getting the party access to the reforming Hotis so they could finish him off. Any one of the party members could have done it, but Percy offered himself because he didn't want anyone else to risk their souls like he already had.
Designated Bullet: The List, which is engraved with the names of the five people he blames for the death of his family. When the individual behind a name dies, that name fades from the barrel. The sixth barrel has been blank since he built the weapon. He believes it represents the souls of all those he'll have to kill before his vengeance is fulfilled - everyone who will die, every part of himself he will lose, and everything he will destroy. He's wrong. In Episode 34, a new name appears: Cassandra de Rolo.
Despair Event Horizon: Noted in a Q+A by Taliesin as part of what makes Percy who he is—Taliesin wanted to explore what would drive someone to make such a horrible mistake as inventing the gun.
Disease Bleach: His natural hair color is brown, but it turned white after the trauma of seeing his family massacred before his eyes. Thus, he is Prematurely Gray Haired.
Double Take: He fumbles over his words and has to repeat himself in episode 18 when reading the contract about what the group has to kill.
Percy: The quarry, one adult White Drago—one adult White Dragon?!
Dramatic Unmask: He'll at least try to conceal and then reveal his identity to anyone on The List before killing them, though the antics of his party sometimes get in the way.
Dying Dream: Not in reality, but Percy viewed the events of the campaign like a Dying Dream while he was starving in jail. Adventures, getting revenge on his enemies, killing monsters, falling in love...it was like a fun experience happening to someone else. On the downside, this helped distance himself from some of his more questionable choices, like giving Grog Craven Edge. Coping with reality and moving forward was an important part of his epilogue in the finale.
Earn Your Happy Ending: After all the trouble with the Briarwoods, Orthax, and all the traumas that came along in his life, Tal'Dorei Reborn shows that he's doing very well. He lived long enough to become an old man, the father of five children, and is able to indulge his desire for tinkering while his hometown flourishes.
Elemental Weapon: He can use Ice Shot and Fire Shot. His elemental shots are done away with when Scanlan tosses The List into an acid pool, but Cabal's Ruin enables him to later pump lightning into his shots.
Enemy Without: Orthax gets out after Percy denies the vengeance being turned against Cassandra after the Ziggurat. He presumably wrought havoc by joining with Ripley and helping her create more gunslingers.
Evil Weapon: The List was inspired by Orthax and used by the shadow demon as an anchor to Percy's soul. It also commanded him to kill his sister and tried to literally force his hand to do so.
Face Palm: Percy's reaction for pretty much anything Vox Machina does. As a player, Taliesin also is prone to doing this when things go off the rails.
Fantasy Gun Control: Percy is very careful about who he actually allows to use his guns. He resignedly allows some to be used by a small portion of Whitestone's military, but he repeatedly refuses to let Scanlan use one. He also intends to let the knowledge of gunpowder weapons die with him, and according to the original Tal'Dorei Campaign Guide he'll succeed if the DM and players decide that. Unfortunately, he fails in canon—firearms based on Ripley's designs are prevalent throughout Wildemount twenty years on, with the Gentleman's bodyguards all toting guns. The revised campaign guide Tal'Dorei Reborn, however, states that Percy has hidden his most dangerous inventions inside a vault hidden in the Whitestone Clocktower in the decades after Campaign One ended, to prevent people from getting their hands on them.
Fatal Flaw: Wrath. Percy has a nasty vengeful streak, which leaves him ripe for the manipulations of Orthax. If someone wrongs him, he will pay them back. Yet as he sees the downside of taking revenge, he realizes that he's hurting himself and his friends and begins to grow out of it.
Foreshadowing: As Percy reveals his backstory in Episode 28 he mentions that he prayed to "whatever it is I pray to" that he would get some sign for the right time to take his vengeance. At the time it was a fairly innocuous comment. A few episodes later we find out exactly what he's been praying to.
Friendless Background: When asked why he is fluent in Celestial, he replies "I had not a lot of friends growing up. There was a lot of quiet time".
The Gadfly: While not nearly as much of a prankster as Vax or Scanlan, he still enjoys messing with his friends. He's greatly amused by Vex's disgust at a Seeming spell that makes him look like her twin brother, and in order to get Grog to trade with him he titles him "Grand Poobah De Doink of All of This and That". Grog once tried to steal something from Percy's workshop that was covered in sulphuric acid, and Percy suggested that water would make it better. It didn't.
Gadgeteer Genius: Percy took an interest in mechanics even before the murder of his family; learning to make and use guns only honed his skills. Overall, he's made quite a few toys:
- To date, he's crafted four explosive arrows, a bolo arrow, a grappling arrow, and a siege arrow for Vex, and expressed his intention to "Hawkeye [her] up". He's also made a saddlebag bomb, a grenade, and the aptly-named Bad News rifle.
- In Episode 24, he makes a shock gauntlet that does lightning damage on contact. He calls it "Diplomacy."
- In Episode 37, he makes an additional barrel to go with his new pistol that can fire explosive rounds.
- In Episode 54, he designs and oversees the construction of a giant spring trap to capture the ancient black dragon Umbrasyl.
- From Episode 48 to Episode 58, after seeing Vex fall from a great height off her newly acquired Broom of Flying, he decides to retrofit and modify the broom; it now has a tether that prevents her from falling, leg grips, and a saddle that assists her aim, negating disadvantage on her attacks. Among these modifications is his rename of the broom: Death From Above.
- In the epilogue, Percy gives up on making weapons and realizes his long-forgotten dream of being a clockmaker, creating a beautiful clock tower in front of Whitestone Castle, and begins an annual festival inviting tinkerers and artisans from across Exandria to come to Whitestone and showcase their talents—explicitly less for function and more for artistry.
Gameplay and Story Integration: Thanks to two bad rolls and one timely levelup.
- In Whitestone, Percy was the only character to fail his saving throw against corruption, and did so twice. This is where Orthax was asserting itself more over him, and his revenge was front and center.
- Simultaneously, he leveled up and gained the Magic Initiate feat. He chose three spells that were well-themed, as Hex manifests as cursed black smoke, Minor Illusion is a supernatural power to begin with, and Friends sweet-talks someone as Orthax did to him.
Give Me a Sign: Mentions that he prayed to any god that might have been listening while in prison, despite not necessarily being a man of faith—and then Vox Machina showed up to free him.
Percy: I've been trusting that Vox Machina will take me where I need to go.
Good Is Not Nice: Percy ultimately works toward heroic goals alongside the rest of the party, and because he sees his soul as irreparably damaged anyway, he has no problem making and breaking deals with shady figures if he feels it's the best way to accomplish something. He is also the one most adept at thinking like an enemy to give input as to how they should approach something and is usually the one willing to suggest a harsher or colder option if he thinks it's necessary to keep on the table.
- In Campaign 3, he is reluctant but willing to help facilitate Laudna's resurrection (observing from cruel experience that a lot of people die unfair deaths, but still moved enough to call in Pike). Once he finds out that bringing Laudna back could also bring back Delilah Briarwood, he sharply refuses to continue the ritual—while he is open to Pike's attempts to separate Laudna and Delilah's souls and explicitly tells Ashton that he's not closing the door on the subject, he will not allow the woman who slaughtered his family and helped ascend a lich to godhood a chance to return to the world.
The Gunslinger: It's his class, transplanted from Pathfinder. He manages to fit right into the world of the game while still carrying the appropriate tropes.
Happily Married: During Vox Machina's year off, he and Vex proposed to each other on a whim, and eloped (with Keeper Yennen officiating). The rest of Vox Machina was not told until Episode 106.
Hates Being Touched: "Hate" is a strong word, but Percy is occasionally shown to be uncomfortable with physical contact, once explaining to Tiberius that "We didn't touch in my family". It's telling that Vex's Cooldown "Hug" during the Whitestone arc actually involved holding his hand. (It's also notable as a trait Taliesin absolutely doesn't share—he and Marisha are borderline Cuddle Bugs during the stream, particularly when under stress.)
Hearing Voices: As of Episode 27 Matt states that Percy is hearing a demonic spirit whispering in his metaphoric ear, "Vengeance...vengeance...vengeance". This goads him into traveling to Whitestone for that purpose. The voice is later revealed to be Orthax, a shadow demon of vengeance, who is exorcised fully in Episode 35.
Heroic BSoD:
- The murder of his family, compounded by seeing his sister shot down in front of him, left Percy traumatized for a full two years before he began building guns. Taliesin later confirmed on Twitter that this also turned his hair white.
- Percy has one in Episode 26, where he locks himself in his workshop for the duration of the episode. A case of Real Life Writes the Plot, as the episode was set to be pretty Percy-centric, but Taliesin was too sick to play that week.
- In Episode 29, after killing the first person whose name is engraved on The List, he mentally checks out for several minutes—failing to respond to his teammates' questions, furiously scratching out the engraved name, tearing up the deceased's property, and generally acting odd even for Percy.
- Played for Laughs and less severe is his reaction to The List being destroyed by Scanlan tossing it into an acid vat in Episode 35. It wasn't so much that it was his finest work but that it was very costly to build and enchant that broke him. He was willing to reach into the acid to retrieve it but couldn't due to Keyleth's Hold Person restraining him.
  Percy: It was so expensive!
- Yet again in Episode 44, although it's harder to spot, when he accidentally kills Vex by setting off an arcane trap. After she's brought back, aside from responding to a handful of direct questions, he says almost nothing for the rest of the session.
- And he gets another one in Episode 67 upon realizing just how much he screwed up when he had chosen to spare Ripley in Whitestone, as that allowed her to construct a replacement gun, steal Cabal's Ruin, and currently hunt down Whisper. To say nothing about Keyleth pointing out something he had missed: a faint magical essence from Retort that allowed Ripley to listen in on everything Vox Machina and Percy himself have talked about, including the Vestiges, the situation with the Chroma Conclave, and the current status of Whitestone.
- Seems to fall into one in the latter part of Episode 80 following Vex's death and subsequent revival. The fact that this event is then followed up with Raishan, currently the greatest threat to Whitestone's safety, escaping cannot have helped matters, and Percy remains noticeably unsettled for the entire ending of the episode.
Hero with Bad Publicity: By campaign 3 he's become known worldwide as the Terrible Tinkerer of Tal'Dorei, likely for bringing guns into the world.
He Who Fights Monsters: With all of episode 25 and episode 26 in mind, Percy needs to be reminded that he doesn't have to be as bad as the Briarwoods in order to fight them. Vax and Keyleth give him exactly that reminder in Episode 29 and it sinks in over the rest of the story arc.
Hidden Depths: Although it hasn't come up on stream yet, alongside being a capable fighter, inventor and craftsman, Percy can DANCE.
Hit Me, Dammit!: A variation in Episode 30. Percy insists that if the smoky entity ever causes him to turn on Vox Machina, they should immediately (in Grog's words) "bop him on the head and take him to a temple."

Tropes I - P

I Call It "Vera":
- Aside from his standard pepperbox which he had named "The List", he's named his BFG "Bad News" and his taser-gauntlet "Diplomacy".
- The pistol he got in Whitestone was also jokingly named "Lil' Sparky" by Scanlan. Percy renames it "Retort" by Episode 51.
- It doesn't belong to him, but when he finishes adding a seat onto Vex's broom, he also renames it "Death From Above".
Ice-Cream Koan: "Life needs things to live", which is used to explain that a corrupted tree must be feeding on something to stay alive. Scanlan mercilessly mocks him for it.
Idiot Ball: He decides to not check for traps (or wait for someone else to do so) when trying to take the very obvious magical armor out of the ominous sarcophaugus that was heavily guarded (with the group that was doing so including a Beholder). As a direct result of this, Vex'ahlia dies, and Vax'ildan trades himself to the Raven Queen in her stead.
The Insomniac: When he's really into his work, he might keep right on tinkering until he collapses at his desk from exhaustion. Of course, it's not always his focus that sways him from proper rest, and it's not just diligence that drives his obsession. Fan artists often depict him with tousled hair, chin-scruff and shadows under his eyes.
Improbable Aiming Skills: Percy has the Sharpshooter Feat, which allows him to ignore half and three-quarters cover. It also allows him to take a -5 to his attack bonus in order to give himself a +10 to damage. His Gunslinger archetype also allows him to aim at specific portions of his opponent to induce various effects, from disadvantage on attack rolls, dropping what they're holding, etc. The fact that he pulls these shots off with some fairly primitive versions of normal firearms makes this trope stand out even more. A particularly noticeable instance of this comes in Episode 22, where Percy sees the group being targeted by Ettins hurling boulders, whips out Bad News, fires just so to make his target drop a boulder on its own head, then slings the gun back over his shoulder without even breaking his stride.
Indy Ploy: True to his class as a Gunslinger, Percy often tries to use his wits in the heat of battle, rather than just shooting his enemies in the face:
- In Episode 4 he lets a bulette grapple his gun hand so he can fire straight into its mouth.
- In Episode 11, he shoots the chain holding K'varn's mind-control device so that it swings down ''into'' K'varn.
- He pulls an acrobatic arm shot in Episode 22 to get an Ettin to drop a boulder on its own head.
- He takes out the wheels on the Briarwoods' carriage and nearly stops them from escaping in Episode 25.
- Moved to confront the Briarwoods apparently alone so the rest of the party could position themselves. Also swiftly devised a system of weight and counterweight to move a friend's unconscious body to a safer spot in Episode 34.
Irony: By the end of the third arc, he's the party member with the closest ties to dark powers and he speaks Celestial. ^note
Insufferable Genius: Probably aggravated by his noble upbringing. He's self-aware enough that it's rarely a problem (and he pokes fun at himself for it occasionally; "I am a vain dragon," "I am paranoid rich people!") but it does get him into some really big messes.
Jerkass Has a Point: In his appearance as an NPC in Campaign 3, while still disposed to help the party, he acts in a notably harsher way towards Bell's Hells than the rest of Vox Machina does. When Pike drops The Reveal that Delilah Briarwood's soul is tied to Laudna's and completing the resurection ritual might end up bringing her back instead, Percy outright forbids the completion of the ritual as long as the result is uncertain. As he points out, Delilah Briarwood is one of the most dangerous necromancers of the third age, and Laudna just isn't worth the risk. Percy's wife Vex still maintains that they have to help Laudna because of what happened on the Sun Tree, but quietly agrees with Percy's point that performing the ritual in this way is simply too great of a risk.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Arrogant, snarky, insufferable and vengeful, but Percy ultimately cares about the rest of Vox Machina.
- In Campaign 3, he's at first stern—though not unreasonable—with Bell's Hells and refuses to allow a resurrection ritual to be performed on Laudna because it poses too great a risk of returning Delilah Briarwood. Vex later reveals that she brought him and most of the Whitestone Rifle Corps to wait outside Pike's house where the ritual was taking place, with Percy's old rifle Bad News trained on Laudna should Delilah be the one in the driver's seat. But once he trusts that she's really Laudna, he formally welcomes her to Whitestone; the two commiserate over the cruelty of the Briarwoods and he encourages her to break the cycles of pain; and he even grants Fearne a modified toy gun for Little Mister to use for his flaming seeds.
Kill Streak: Percy can restore his Grit by killing an enemy in a fashion similar to this. Thus, during combat situations with more enemies, Percy's main strength is his ability to finish off an enemy, then expend Grit to attack another, and aim to kill to restore his Grit. During the final battle, he targets the minor minions attacking the party specifically to get his Grit back so he can attack the Final Boss.
Knighting: He makes Vex a Baroness of Whitestone in Episode 60.
The Knights Who Say "Squee!": Dreamed about visiting the Feywild for his whole life, so when he gets to visit in Episode 59, he immediately starts acting like a hyperactive child.
Kubrick Stare: Taliesin has a great one that he breaks out when things get real. Watch his expression after he takes the aimed shot at Sylas Briarwood's face in Episode 25.
Laughing Mad: Tends to start laughing hysterically when he rolls really well/does something awesome. Episode 18 is a good example.
Long-Range Fighter: Excels in using firearms. Bad News, in particular, has an insanely long range. (In Taliesin's words, The List has a range of one hundred and fifty feet, Retort has a range of four hundred feet, and Bad News has a range that is "disgusting"—listed on the Gunslinger resource as having a maximum of 1200ft) For melee, he does have a sword, but he rarely resorts to it unless he has to.
Major Injury Underreaction: He loses his entire right arm during The Search for Grog due to a random comment Scanlan made in the finale. He's mostly just annoyed at the ridiculousness of the whole thing.
Lieve'tel: You all seem so zen about this moment, it's terrible.
Percy: No, it'll be fine; I can just sit here and do 1d8 damage for the rest of the bloody game. That'll be fine.
Massive Numbered Siblings: Percy is the third of seven children. Or he was, anyway. He didn't expect to inherit any responsibilities.
Meaningful Name: Likes to give them to his weapons. For example, Diplomacy works with a handshake, and nothing travels faster than Bad News.
Menacing Stroll: On occasion, he makes a point of walking at a leisurely pace around the battlefield before/while shooting things, as befits a character steeped in The Wild West and Heroic Bloodshed tropes.
Mic Drop: After he asks Syldor to watch his manners around Vex, Taliesin picks a pencil case off the table so he can mic-drop it. He does it again at the end of Episode 72, after Percy kisses Vex.
More Dakka: In a world that, as of yet, has only bows and crossbows, Percy has built his own firearms.
Mundane Made Awesome: He uses his Gloves of Missile-Snaring to defend himself from a wet willy.
The Musketeer: Percy usually only uses close-quarters weapons in an emergency, but his high Dexterity allows him to wield certain ones (rapiers, scimitars, and shortswords, among others) quite capably.
My God, What Have I Done?: Not for what you think. By inventing firearms and seeing evil people potentially using them, he's very worried he's unleashed something evil, so much that he begs the Raven Queen in Episode 57 for some way to fix it.
My Greatest Failure: Twice over. Originally he believes his inability to stop the Briarwoods from destroying his family was this, but later comes to believe letting Ripley and her knowledge of firearms get away was even worse. Sure enough, while he was eventually able to help bring down the Briarwoods and their master, the second campaign reveals he was ultimately unable to prevent guns from spreading out into the world.
My Sister Is Off-Limits: Has this reaction when Scanlan looks to be flirting with Cassandra in episode 33.
Nay-Theist: Generally wishes to live in a way where the gods are "hands-off" in regards to him. This unknowingly came to the forefront in Episode 69, during his resurrection ritual. Taliesin had told Matt that Pike or Vax successfully using their divine favors to aid in the ritual would cause Percy to choose to remain dead - Pike did try Divine Intervention, but thankfully failed. In the post-timeskip arc, Percy is reconsidering his stance a bit, as he's now met multiple deities in person. Notably, he is poised to become a champion of Ioun, the Mistress of Knowledge - a perfectly thematic choice for The Smart Guy who went into a state of bliss upon entering her nigh-infinite library...and then her blessing went to Scanlan instead.^note Ultimately, Percy accepts himself as the counterpart to the faithful and finds peace in that.
Nerf: Something actually namechecked by Taliesin himself in reference to the effectiveness of his weapons. Their primary nerfing comes in two parts: Taliesin has to prove to Matt it's possible to create a given gadget with the available materials and technology, and everything he makes has a non-zero chance of spontaneous explosion or malfunction. Part and parcel of being a work-in-progress homebrew archetype created by the DM; Matt has had to rebalance the Gunslinger class on more than one occasion, most notably nerfing the headshot aspect of his Trick Shot ability after it essentially made him the MVP of the K'varn fight by imposing a nigh-constant stream of disadvantage on attacks.
Nerves of Steel: The end of episode 64. He's the only one who notices Tiberius's corpse impaled on a spike of ice, and not only does he keep perfectly silent about it for twenty minutes, he manages to keep his composure while asking Tooma to bring his body down, and almost single-handedly keeps the party together for the rest of the episode. Also subverted in Episode 70, when he manages to out-talk a powerful enemy by himself—and then has a panic attack immediately after she leaves.
Nice to the Waiter: Whenever Vox Machina gets into shenanigans at taverns, particularly Whitestone taverns, Percy usually leaves increasingly generous tips.
Not a Morning Person: When he allows himself to sleep, he apparently dislikes waking up. Vex fondly describes him as "grumpy."
No Plans, No Prototype, No Backup: Percy is horrified by his own invention of gunpower weapons and he is aware of how much harm they could do to the world. So he keeps all the knowledge of their construction locked in his head. He writes no notes, he draws no schematics, and he only makes a few guns for his own personal use. In Episode 67, he asks his party to destroy everything he has ever made in the event of his untimely death. Unfortunately, Dr. Ripley was able to reverse engineer his handgun by obsessively tracking him and getting detailed accounts of its appearance and function from others.
Not So Above It All:
- Quiet and level-headed he might be, but he's been known to indulge in pranks, wisecracks and petty revenge almost as much as Vax, mostly by abusing his reputation for being quiet and level-headed. He has a really good poker face.
- When they have a cannonball contest, Percy initially doesn't want to participate—until he decides it's a dare. Then he's the only one to physically injure himself trying to win. Since Grog is judging, he succeeds.
Odd Friendship
- Has quite a close friendship with Keyleth, which is curious considering they embody basically the opposite ends of both the hero-antihero spectrum and the Mother Nature, Father Science theme. It's unclear how much of this is the characters, considering they've butted heads on multiple occasions, and how much is Taliesin and Marisha's friendship bleeding over into their characters.
- He and Trinket get along very well—Percy's defended Trinket in combat on multiple occasions, objected to him being covered in ribbons by Keyleth and Vax, and Taliesin has a notable habit of arguing the rules with Matt to try and protect Trinket. In return, Trinket seems content to be used as a coat rack, helped to kill Orthax, acted as a 'therapy bear' at the beginning of the Whitestone arc, and even lets Percy ride on his back and use him as a seeing-eye bear in episode 59. According to Taliesin on Talks Machina, they've always gotten along ever since the early Pathfinder days.
- He and Grog also tend to understand each other and get along unusually well. Percy tells Grog at one point that he's like an older brother, and part of why Percy wins the aforementioned cannonball contest is that his utter ruthlessness appeals to Grog. While exasperated by a lot of the party's antics, Percy usually can't help but find Grog endearing, and Grog is very enthusiastic about the amount of damage Percy can deal when he cuts loose. Whether or not Percy is joking when he initially gives Grog a title, Grog definitely likes being Grand Poobah De Doink of All of This and That, and the title actually carries authority within Whitestone Castle by the end of the Time Skip. In the dubiously-canon "Bunions and Flagons" one-shot, Percy is the one who correctly guesses that Grog's favorite color is six.
Oh, Crap!: When he realizes he accidentally triggered a magical trap in range of his friends, he gives a very blunt "Oh, shit."
Only Sane Man: A low-key, cautious, serious, and reasonable personality in contrast to his quirkier teammates. Mostly. It's telling that the least weird member of the team had to be busted out of jail when they met him and suffers from severe trauma and a strange spiritual affliction. Leans towards deconstruction in later episodes, as a Q&A mentioned "a conviction that he's the only adult in the room" as one of his major flaws.
O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Percy is almost always the most level-headed person in Vox Machina. He spends the entirety of Episode 25 getting progressively more and more violent and crazed until he's roaring the names of enemies and blowing baseball-sized holes in people who cross him. With the continuation of the Whitestone arc, these outbursts become more frequent, intense and disturbing.
Overly Long Name: Introduces himself to strangers by his full name; the others chiming in afterwards to call him by his nickname is a Running Gag. Incidentally, it seems the long name is a fusion of both parents' family names, and he's the only one of his siblings so impressively designated, since he wasn't expected to inherit much or be married off.
Papa Wolf: During his appearance in Campaign 3, he proves himself to be this, albeit with a threat instead of an action. When he finds out that Laudna's soul is connected to Delilah Briarwood's and that resurrecting the former may bring back the latter, Percy immediately calls off the ritual, only allowing it under the condition that Pike finds a way to separate them. Ashton bares his soul to try and convince Percy to help, but Percy still refuses, and adds that, should Bell's Hells resurrect Delilah Briarwood, then he will "send them to the same place" that he'd send Delilah to keep his family and his city safe.
Perma-Stubble: Depicted in both official art and most fanart with stubble of some degree, often explained as being a result of his habit of spending late nights tinkering in his workshop.
Pistol-Whipping:
- He clubs an invisible stalker with the butt of Bad News in Episode 27.
- Also does it in Episode 7 with The List to knock out a duergar. With a Natural 20, no less.
Poor, Predictable Rock: Percy suffers from this after losing the List, as it was also able to do Fire and Cold damage (which is why he's so aggravated by Scanlan throwing it in acid—it was incredibly expensive and time-consuming to enchant). In more than a few instances, his nonmagical bullets from Retort and Bad News have had very little effect in certain battles (or, in one case, no effect to the point where only the necrotic damage from Hex would register). After acquiring the magical handgun Animus, this has largely been resolved, as Animus deals psychic damage.
Powerful People Are Subs: Percy comes from old money, has the best claim to inherit the rulership of a city-state (Whitestone), is well-read with a cutting wit, is highly intelligent, is able to deal out terrifying amounts of damage without being a magical or close-quarter combatant, and wields dangerous, unpredictable, and destructive weapons on par with high-level spells. He also enjoys being on his hands and knees. In the picture that Doty drew, Percy and Vex are in bed together with Vex on top.
Pragmatic Hero: Apart from his willingness to keep harsher or sterner options on the table if they're necessary, Percy is also willing to pay for the wellbeing of others with his own soul. When he refuses such bargains, it's not because he won't compromise his morals, but because he won't be cheated.
Properly Paranoid:
- When Percy is attacked by assassins while he is sleeping in his personal room in his own castle, in a town where everyone loves him, Taliesin and Matt have this exchange, which demonstrates how safe Percy feels in such a secure situation.
  Taliesin: I do keep my small pistol under my pillow.
  Matt: Of course you do (laughs). Yes, you would, Percy.
- As soon as Percy hears that someone other than he himself has been buying black powder from Victor, he immediately suspects who the other customer is and what they are doing with it. He's right, it is definitely Dr. Ripley. It starts to come to a head when it's revealed that not only did she murder Mistress Asharru and steal Cabal's Ruin, she has also constructed a firearm similar to his old pepperbox to replace Retort, which she had placed a "bug" into to spy on Vox Machina.
Psychic Powers: Animus deals out psychic damage, but Percy can also suffer psychic damage if the gun misfires.
Pungeon Master: Taliesin tends to make puns often while in-character.
Puppeteer Parasite: Was possessed by a Ghost while the party was in pursuit of the Briarwoods beneath Castle Whitestone. Later on, the smoky entity from his backstory starts trying to manipulate him this way after more subtle methods have failed.

Tropes Q - Z

The Quiet One: The least talkative of the group. He begins to interject more as the campaign proceeds, but he's very much a "speak when something needs to be said" type. This worked to his advantage in episode 14, after he realized the mention of the Briarwoods having passed through Emon, Percy kept quiet until the conversation was over and then asked about it.
Rage Against the Heavens: After the Raven Queen takes Vax, Percy is the most vocally furious at her, and talks about destroying the temple he made in Whitestone.
Reasonable Authority Figure: To Bell's Hells in Campaign 3. He makes it clear in no uncertain terms that he will not allow Delilah Briarwood a chance at returning, even if that means halting or outright preventing Laudna from being resurrected. Once he is assured that it's really Laudna and there's no threat, he welcomes the Hells into his home, listens to their concerns about the happenings on Ruidus and gives them helpful information, and offers some of Whitestone's resources to form an allyship with them.
Relationship Upgrade: Twice with Vex. In Episode 69, she confessed her love to his corpse while the whole group was around, while in Episode 72, he reciprocated in private. Episode 104 took it a step further, with Percy (in her absence) revealing to the whole group and Pelor that they were betrothed, and Episode 105 (thanks to Scanlan being Scanlan) having it come out that they had actually eloped, presumably during the time skip between Episodes 94 and 95.
Reliably Unreliable Guns: A necessity, or he'd be wielding modern firearms in a swords-and-sorcery setting. Specifically, whenever he rolls to hit using his guns, he has a chance of rolling a "misfire" alongside the usual hit, critical hit, and miss outcomes. He must then either use his action to fix it (and possibly forfeit the chance to attack during that round) or fire again and risk breaking the weapon. Ammunition is also definitely a concern. Nobody sells bullets, so Percy must procure the materials and build them himself. This is all pretty easy to swallow; Percy's guns are, as far as anyone knows, the first guns anyone has ever made in the world and even he needed supernatural help. The misfire chance is also a core mechanical flaw of early firearms in Pathfinder, hence Matt re-using the mechanic for his D&D 5e version of the Gunslinger.
Revenge Before Reason: His entire character development in the Whitestone arc is about him realizing how far down that road he's come and whether he's willing to go further. By the end of the arc's climax, he let Ripley get away, gave Delilah a Restrained Revenge, and came to believe his vengeance made nothing right. He later admits that he was so driven to destroy the Briarwoods that he chose to fight them rather than prevent Ripley's escape, despite recognizing that she presented the bigger threat to the world at large and would probably be responsible for many more deaths, as well as the spread of gun-making technology, if allowed to go free.
Rightful King Returns: He's one of the legitimate rulers of Whitestone, and leads La Résistance against the Briarwoods' rule. He retakes power after the Briarwoods are overthrown and oversees Whitestone's recovery, although he has Cassandra do a lot of the day to day governing with a new council while he resumes adventuring.
Royals Who Actually Do Something. He's technically royalty due to being the scion of the DeRolo family that ruled the city-state of Whitestone. He became a wandering tinkerer and adventurer with Vox Machina, but he briefly retook the throne after the party ended the Briarwoods' tyranny. He then turned Whitestone from a monarchy into an oligarchy council made up of representatives from all the major parts of Whitestone's population. His sister Cassandra took over as head of the council while he helped the rest of Vox Machina against the Chroma Conclave.
Sanity Slippage: Percy definitely rides the line between genius and insanity, much to the audience's amusement.
Say My Name: "SYLAS!" This turned out to have a practical purpose—when he turned to look, Percy got off a clear shot at his face.
Scary Shiny Glasses: In his first official portrait and frequently in fanart, especially when he's depicted reaching down into the depths of his rage.
Sexual Karma: He and Vex—both officially Chaotic Good aligned—only get together after both of them have had enough character development that they think they're healthy for each other, and more references are made to their very active sex life than to any other character's in the show (besides Scanlan).
Shipper on Deck: As of episode 58, he seems to be gently pushing Keyleth and Vax towards each other.
Shirtless Scene: Jokingly referenced by Matt and some of the other players in Episode 74, after Percy spent the entire day working on a trebuchet.
Liam: Shirtless. Covered in soot.
Sam: ...wipes his brow...
Matt: ...as he slowly takes his glasses off...
Travis: ...takes the waterskin and just - (mimes pouring water all over himself)
Shock and Awe: Not a spell-based ability, but after acquiring Cabal's Ruin, Percy gains the ability to partially-absorb spells used against him and later expend those charges in an electrical attack. He can also use Diplomacy, his tazer-gauntlet that functions much like Asami's glove.
Shouting Shooter: Occasionally, if he's surprised. See the pajama rampage in Episode 18.
Shut Up, Hannibal!: Wipes the smug look off Lord Briarwood's face with a bullet at one point.
Spare to the Throne: A spare to the spare, in this case; he wasn't taught how to really run things. Cassandra, who was to be married off, was taught how to lead, which is probably why Percy hands Whitestone's administration off to her once the Briarwoods are dethroned.
Steampunk: Percy has elements of this, from his attire to his 19th century-looking guns to some of the more modern inventions he crafts for Whitestone.
Stoic Spectacles: Percy is mostly portrayed as level-headed and calm. Mostly.
Stop, or I Shoot Myself!: During the Briarwood arc, Percy starts talking to the air threatening to shoot himself if things get out of hand. The other party members are, to put it mildly, disturbed, especially because they can't see or hear what he's arguing with. What the rest of the party does not realise, however, is that the gun was broken and would not have fired to begin with.
Survivor Guilt: Perhaps his defining and most enduring characteristic. Since he didn't die with his family, perhaps he should have died avenging them. Vex's death and Vax pledging his soul to the Raven Queen to bring her back have not allayed his guilt one single bit.
Technician Versus Performer: As gunslingers, he is the Performer to Ripley's Technician. He likes adding artistic touches to his guns that do not improve the functionality but do give them a certain noble elegance, and he prefers using trick shots that disable and/or debuff enemies. In contrast, Ripley's creations are described as "utilitarian" in their simpleness, and she prefers using shots that do more damage at the cost of greater chance for a misfire.
Temporary Blindness: Episode 59, Played for Laughs but for a brief panic attack on Percy's part. Trinket becomes his seeing-eye bear.
Theme Naming: His tinkered weapons all run on a language/communication theme—The List, Bad News, Diplomacy, and Retort.
The Smart Guy: He's concocted a number of cunning plans, strategies, and gadgets, all of which have saved the team more than once. He can also speak and understand Celestial, and (with Vex and Keyleth's help) he solves the majority of the Androsphinx's riddles in Episode 49. Matt even permitted him to make an intelligence check regarding Elven history specifically "for being a nerd".
Throw Down the Bomblet:
- Tinkered a grenade in episode 18 that could be triggered by shooting it.
  - Or by slamming a tail directly upon it, which was the case with Rimefang in Episode 19.
- He's also tinkered together explosive gunpowder arrows for Vex more than once.
- He built a smoke bomb used in Episode 34.
- As of Episode 37, he's made some improvements to the pistol he took from Ripley, adding a barrel for explosive rounds. We haven't seen it in action yet.
Token Human: Take a look at the rest of the cast. Notice something? That's right, Percy is the only normal human on the team. Taliesin Jaffe outright calls Percy "the token human" in the tenth episode Q&A session.
Too Clever by Half: Percy is possibly the smartest member of Vox Machina, but his dubious decisions and tendency to keep things to himself have rebounded on him and the people around him in the past, sometimes quite messily. These traits are ultimately why Ioun rejects him as her Champion despite otherwise seeming perfect for the role. Vax and Keyleth in particular rebuke him harshly in Episode 50:
Vax: Percy, you are clever. (Percy: I know.) It doesn't mean you're always right.
Percy: I know.
Keyleth: And you have this terrible habit of liking to push problems on other people.
Took a Level in Badass: Gains Magic Initiate (Warlock) as of Episode 31, which gives him the ability to cast two cantrips (Minor Illusion and Friends) and a once-a-day 1st-level spell (Hex) of his choice.
Took a Level in Kindness:
- After the Whitestone Arc ends, he's much nicer, and acts diplomatic and accommodating towards almost anyone the party meets. He even cracks casual self-deprecating jokes about his "poor decisions" in the previous arc.
- He also has a bit of a Jerkass Realization in the finale, acknowledging he wasn't always really worrying about the consequences of his actions and how they affected his friends. He properly apologizes for some of the things he did to the group.
Tranquil Fury: If he's not screaming, his rage is ice-cold.
Vex: (cautiously) Percival...how are you?
Percy: (smoke-wreathed and covered in blood) Fine.
Trauma-Induced Amnesia: It's telling how often recounting his backstory is punctuated by him helplessly repeating "I don't know". He isn't even completely sure which of his family members died in the massacre of his house until he confirms it with another source.
Trick Bullet: Some of his Gunslinger abilities and his designs allow him to use more than just the standard shot.
The Unfettered: During the Briarwood Arc at least. His desire of vengeance is fed by Orthax and causes him to disregard the moral option more than once.
Unstoppable Rage:
- Episode 25. Holy shit, Percy. It's even more frightening in Episode 33, when he moves to kill Professor Anders... and his weapon jams. He lets out a guttural, supernaturally twisted roar of thwarted bloodlust and scares the crap out of the rest of the team.
- Also seen in Episode 55 when he goes into a frenzy with the Dragonslayer Longsword against Umbrasyl.
Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Because he's too impatient to wait for Vex'ahlia to finish checking for traps, he triggers a trapped sarcophagus, which kills Vex and leads Vax to become the champion of the Raven Queen for his sister's life. While this largely ends up being a force for good, Vax permanently dies at the end of the campaign due to a deal that could only have been made with his patron.
Vengeance Feels Empty: He slowly comes to this realization with every name scratched off The List, from his reflection that killing Kerrion Stonefell and Professor Anders didn't feel good to his Restrained Revenge on Delilah Briarwood.
Verbal Tic: Has a tendency to pause for very loud, long sighs.
The Von Trope Family: Percy has both "Von" and "de" as part of his name and fits into both the dark and light interpretations of the trope at various times.
Wall Crawl: More like a Wall Walk, but he acquires a pair of Boots of Spider Climb that allow him to scale walls, an ability he puts to great use during battles in-doors where he barely takes any damage despite multiple other party members being knocked unconscious or even dying.
Was It Really Worth It?: Asks this of Orthax in episode 35. Killing off the List's targets did not bring him peace or happiness, and he questions whether he even wanted revenge before speaking with Orthax in the dream.
Xanatos Gambit: From Episode 73, "I stab Seeker Asum three times in the back". That action had one of two possible results. Either Raishan was in the room, which would have resulted in a crippling advance attack being dealt to a dragon while the dragon was trapped in a room where she couldn't fly with the entirety of Vox Machina as well as Drake Thunderbrand, Allura, Gilmore and Cassandra—all of them combatants in their own right, all at full health with more than enough firepower to take Raishan down. The alternative is what ends up occurring: Raishan is actually projecting an illusion of Asum, and attacking it reveals that. Since there is no reason for the real Asum to fake his presence, Raishan is forced to reveal her identity to the others, and she also divulges some extra information about the ritual that freed Thordak from the fire plane, since she no longer has any reason to hide how she knows it. At the moment, it seems like such a risky move that the entire table is thrown into shock, and it is very risky—but it also ends in a victory for Percy either way.
You Are Better Than You Think You Are: To Vex in Episode 59, when she's worried about being judged by the nobility in Syngorn. He underlines the point by making her a Baroness in the next episode. A few episodes later, Vex gives him the same pep talk when Percy's struggling with the guilt of letting Anna Ripley live. He quotes the trope nearly word-for-word ("I'd like to think we're all better than we think we are") a few moments before he kisses Vex in Episode 72, making this phrase a central theme of their relationship.
Younger Than They Look: The white hair and Only Sane Man attitude belie the fact that he's in his "early 20s" (according to a Q&A), making him one of the youngest members of Vox Machina, if not the youngest. His white hair in particular is just due to his traumatic past, as his natural hair color is brown.

Characters / Critical Role Percival de Rolo

Percival "Percy" Fredrickstein Von Musel Klossowski de Rolo III

Played by: Taliesin Jaffe (Campaign 1, The Legend of Vox Machina), Matthew Mercer (Campaign 3)

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Characters / Critical Role Percival de Rolo

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Percival "Percy" Fredrickstein Von Musel Klossowski de Rolo III

Played by: Taliesin Jaffe (Campaign 1, The Legend of Vox Machina), Matthew Mercer (Campaign 3)

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