Caduceus Clay

 is a firbolg cleric. He is played by Taliesin Jaffe.

Appearance
A tall, not necessarily healthily thin firbolg with pale skin and grey fur. He has a shock of pink mohawk hair paired with a a light fuzz of a beard. He wears a gentle silk shirt with one long flowy sleeve.

Personality
Caduceus is jovial and dedicated. Long after his family abandoned the crypt they tended, he remained, ensuring that the graves of the dearly departed remained undisturbed while cultivating the plants that grew from those interred there seemingly for personal use. Kind and welcoming, he offered The Mighty Nein (then his house guests) tea before they even introduced themselves. Caduceus is also humorously blunt; as a follower of The Wildmother, he believes in the "natural order" and happily informed Beau that the leaves for their tea grew from the dead. He considered gauging time in seasons the only method that mattered.

Background
Caduceus lived with his family at the sanctuary like grave site of the Blooming Grove. Located within the depths of the Savalierwood, it was know by those of Shady Creek Run to the southeast as the Bone Orchard. Predating Shady Creek Run, and surrounded by the cursed blighted woods, the old stone church that stood there was surrounded by three consecutive rings of rusted fence built to hold back the continually encroaching razor-like grey-purple thorn vines, which had just breached the third fence in 835 P.D.

Relationships
Caduceus stated that he had several sisters, brothers, and his parents, but he did not know where any of them were. His family members had left the Blooming Grove one by one to find and fight off the source of the cursed blight that had overtaken the Savalierwood and had been encroaching on the Blooming Grove for over one hundred years. One of his sisters had been the last to leave to the east, which had been around 18 to 20 seasons ago.

Firbolg Abilities

 * Firbolg Magic
 * Hidden Step
 * Powerful Build
 * Speech of Beast and Leaf

Cleric Abilities

 * Channel Divinity (2 uses)
 * Channel Divinity: Turn Undead
 * Destroy Undead (CR 1/2)
 * Divine Domain (Grave Domain)
 * Channel Divinity: Path to the Grave
 * Circle of Mortality
 * Eyes of the Grave
 * Sentinel at Death's Door
 * Ritual Casting
 * Spellcasting

1st-level

 * Bane
 * False Life

2nd-level

 * Gentle Repose
 * Ray of Enfeeblement

3rd-level

 * Revivify
 * Vampiric Touch

Cleric Spells
In addition to his domain spells, Caduceus has access to four cleric cantrips, the Spare the Dying cantrip, and 1st- through 3rd-level cleric spells. As a 6th-level cleric, he can prepare up to 11 of these spells per day.

Cantrips

 * Sacred Flame
 * Spare the Dying
 * Thaumaturgy
 * Decompose

1st-level

 * Cure Wounds
 * Guiding Bolt
 * Healing Word

2nd-level

 * Blindness/Deafness

3rd-level

 * Dispel Magic

Notable Items

 * A bag of tea leaves and flowers cultivated from the Blooming Grove grave garden
 * A metal-like breastplate and shield made from pearlecent turquoise green-blue chitin. It is covered in lichen and was made by one of his sisters
 * A knotted wooden staff that was topped with a large uncut amethyst. Like his armor, it is covered in lichen and is described as being "wet" and "alive"Caduceus Clay4.jpg

Quotations

 * "Have you ever been in nature? Yes! Violence is extremely natural."
 * "Well, I think there's always a plant somewhere that needs compost, and I'm willing to make some more."
 * "I'm just... I'm just gonna turn 'em into mulch. That's okay. Shhhhh..."

Trivia



 * Caduceus has the highest wisdom of all of The Mighty Nein.
 * A caduceus is an ancient Greek or Roman herald's wand, typically one with two serpents twined around it, carried by the messenger god, Hermes or Mercury. Hermes also acted as a psychopomp, a being tasked with guiding the souls of the dead to the afterlife. The Caduceus acted as a key to the underworld, and as a tool to guide the deceased. The Caduceus is associated with healing in the US due to its similarity to the rod of Asclepius.
 * His name may also be a reference to Cassius Clay, the birth name of Muhammad Ali.
 * Caduceus claimed to be a good gardener, having grown lilies, bramble, mushrooms, and moss within the sanctuary of the Blooming Grove.
 * Caduceus' resemblance to RPG designer Adam Koebel quickly drew comment from Adam, Matt, and Taliesin.
 * While Caduceus' love of tea appears to be a reference to the last name of Mollymauk Tealeaf, and his official color palette matches that of Arizona Green Tea, Taliesin has stated that these relations are all purely coincidental, and Caduceus' habit of drinking tea was a spur of the moment decision he made moments before being introduced.
 * Caduceus is Taliesin's first character in Critical Role not built on any character options created by Matt.
 * Matt revealed on Twitter that the cantrip "Decompose" was custom created for Caduceus as a sort of flavor cantrip.
 * Taliesin revealed on Talks Machina that the pink on Caduceus' armor isn't flowers, but a specific species of moss.