Deni$e Bembachula

Deni$e Bembachula
Official art of Deni$e, by Hannah Friederichs.
Type	Guest Player Character
Actor	Aimee Carrero
Character Information
Pronouns	she/her
Also known as	Mona (pseudonym)
Creature type	Humanoid
Race	Dwarf (Mountain)
Class	Barbarian (Path of the Juggernaut) Rogue (Thief)
Age	At least one century (in 843 PD)
Languages	Common, Dwarvish[presumed], Thieves' Cant[presumed]
Place	Kymal, Tal'Dorei (hometown)
Connections	Dariax Zaveon (ex-fiancé)
Status
Status	Alive
Stats
Level	9 (Barbarian 5 or 6 / Rogue 3 or 4)
HP	89
AC	18
DC
Str	20
Dex	16
Con	16
Int	10
Wis	13
Cha	14
Reference(s)
Appearances
First seen	"Somewhere Out There" (3x59)
Last seen	"A New Age Begins" (3x121)
Stream	Campaign Three (6 episodes)

Deni$e Bembachula (also called "Denise with a dollar sign") is a dwarf Barbarian/Rogue. She is played by Aimee Carrero.

Description

Official art of Deni$e, by Hannah Friederichs.

Appearance

Deni$e is a 4'2" tall dwarven woman with big brown, blonde-highlighted gel-crunched hair worn over one shoulder, skin slightly darker than café con leche and covered in colorful traditional tattoos (one on her bicep of a heart reading "Me", and a large cursive "D" on her neck). Her eyebrows are pronounced, with a shaved slit. She has a tiny waist and is large both above and below it. Her body is both sturdy and stout, but she also appears to be trying to be hyper-feminine.

When the Issylra half of Bells Hells encountered her, she was wearing large hoop earrings reading "fuck" and "off", and had a small stud piercing like a beauty mark just above and to one side of her lips. She wore a corset, pants, an ornate gold belt, and jewel-encrusted boots. She carried a great sickle and a whip. She has painted eyebrows.

Personality

She is loud, brash, and sure of herself, as well as mistrustful of strangers whom she views as potential dangers.

Biography

Background

Deni$e lived in Tal'Dorei, and at some point she started a passionate relationship with Dariax Zaveon, another dwarf. In or before 842 PD Deni$e considered them "pre-engaged", but by Dariax's account, he found her to be controlling and needed to get far away from her, and thought there was no way to break things off cleanly. They had entered some shady business together, involving some stolen furs, and he left while they were in Westruun, so Deni$e had to deal with the consequences and with a problematic guy called Cosmo Racketface, who was sending people after her to get his money back. After that, the scorned barbarian started looking for Dariax, even visiting the Turst Fields and meeting with his brother Taros (giving him a haircut when he asked for it despite the stress of the situation). She eventually made her way to Emon, finding out that Dariax and his new group were being chased by an entire guild of thieves, so Deni$e decided to purchase a very expensive enchanted box in Gilmore's Glorious Goods to send Dariax a letter venting and asking for money.

Dariax, however, did not reply and Deni$e started looking for him again, very angry. Eventually, she was able to locate him during the apogee solstice of 843 PD, even making visual contact, but before she could talk to him, she started hearing a voice, and she was suddenly transported to Issylra.

"Somewhere Out There" (3x59)

The three members of Bells Hells who were sent to Issylra (Ashton, Laudna, and Orym) during the Apogee Solstice almost immediately encountered a dwarven woman who also had no idea where they were. She refused to tell them her real name at first, calling herself "Mona". The last thing she knew she was in Tal'Dorei closing in on her ex-fiancé who had left her in the lurch, when suddenly she heard a male voice in her head as if he were giving a speech, there was a loud noise like a crack, and she found herself in the gorge. The party realizes she heard Ludinus Da'leth at the climax of his ritual. "Mona" notices the colorful ribbons of the drifting leylines overhead were much denser where she was in Tal'Dorei than they are here.

When they met Bor'Dor Dog'Son, he reflexively hit her with a Lightning Bolt when she startled him. He cast Cure Wounds on her in apology, but she pickpocketed a sling from him as he did. "Mona" revealed her real name when she overheard Prism Grimpoppy talking to her sentient book and misheard "Dynios" as "Denise". During the party's battle against animate plants, Deni$e was assisted by Prism's raven, Mother, and eventually got the final blow with her whip.

Fan art of Deni$e and Orym, by Jenny Dolfen.

When they rested for the evening, she and Orym took a watch together, and Orym recognized that her ratfink ex-fiance was his former fellow adventurer Dariax Zaveon from the Crown Keepers. She explained her complicated backstory with Dariax, and how, just as she had finally caught up to him, she found herself in Issylra. Orym told her Dariax is a good guy, and she admitted he had a good heart and she's a hopeless romantic. Deni$e noticed Orym was not in good emotional shape and she asked about his lost friends, telling him that while it would be nice to believe in a god right now, as a substitute, she had booze.

"Faith or Famine" (3x60)

While following the Outerwalk Road Orym and Laudna found and fixed one of Deni$e's nails respectively, and she, thankful, offered haircuts to the group. When they arrived to Hearthdell the dwarf, somewhat suspicious due to the general atmosphere of the village, covered up a bit so as not to stand out so much, and together with Orym she helped Laudna to do the same, using her makeup while the halfling created some flowers to give some color to the warlock's complexion. Later, in the Innovar Apothecary, she helped gain Proleff's trust by buying him a headache medication; she in return offered the herbalist advice on hair products.

When they spoke with Elder Joan Abaddina, Deni$e was suspicious of the ambiguity with which the old goliath offered them help in exchange for a favor, and demanded that she be more clear. At the Fairfroth Brewery, in a secret meeting where the villagers were planning how to drive out the followers of the Dawnfather who were occupying Hearthdell, the rogue again demanded clarity on the plan to follow. It was decided that Orym and Bor'Dor would try to gain the trust of the bastions to send them to Marquet to face Ludinus instead of oppressing the villagers. When things turned sour for the two diplomats on the team, Orym gave the warning, and the rest of Bells Hells and the villagers attacked the Sunrise Sanctuary, and Prism and Deni$e sneaked inside via Dimension Door.

"Crisis of Faith" (3x61)

During the battle Deni$e faced the Judicator that was in the temple, but was paralyzed by its Condemnation ability after being hit three times by the holy warrior; she took more hits in this state, though her rage and Laudna's Silvery Barbs protected her from taking excessive damage. When she regained her mobility, the dwarf attacked the guards, and thanks to Ashton's dunamantic aura she was able to kill one of them; she was then attacked by the Judicator again, retaliating immediately, then disengaging, and unfortunately being too far away from Elder Abaddina when she cast a healing spell. When the combat focused on the battle between the Dawnborn Angel summoned by Flameguide Kiro's dying prayer and the barlgura summoned by Prism, Deni$e and Orym got on the back of the demon and helped him take down the angel, putting him within reach of Bor'Dor and his Inflict Wounds, which destroyed the celestial.

When the conflict ended, Laudna and Deni$e were upset with Elder Abaddina for not helping more, and the latter recalled the soothsayer's debt to Bells Hells and demanded that she heal her injuries. When the adventurers returned with Joan to her cottage, they spoke for a bit about religion, spirituality, and how it all connected to Predathos and the elemental eidolons; Deni$e stated that she didn't believe in the gods, but she was more interested in making sure Abaddina stayed that night to fulfill her promise in the morning, getting to the point of tucking her in her bed and sleeping at the foot of it.

Fan art of three different reactions to the Crown Keepers, by Taylor Weltzer.

The next morning the rogue helped the old woman with the breakfast, after which the goliath kept her promise and allowed Bells Hells to use her scrying well three times; Deni$e was second, and Joan, using Dariax's locks of hair, showed the dwarven sorcerer in the water (which made the rogue cry a little bit), very worried in an unknown location, and accompanied by Dorian Storm (Ashton was very surprised seeing the bard, and Deni$e thought for a moment that the other barbarian had recognized her ex). After the party decided to travel to the Irriam Canyon to ask the Archdruid Hevestro for help in returning to their respective homes, Deni$e and her friends left Hearthdell.

"A Long Walk of Reflection" (3x62)

While traveling through the Serratus Wilderness, Deni$e managed to lure a rabbit to her (killing it with her bare hands for dinner, giving the pelt to Laudna), and later repeating the process to use a second rabbit as a living pillow; before going to bed she also helped Bor'Dor and Prism testing his newly enchanted crossbow, which released an effect similar to the Dragon's Breath spell, burning the rogue in the process. The following day, when the group found a flowery crater with a petrified skeleton in it, Deni$e collaborated in the process of extracting the remains from the ground, and with Prism's help she deduced that there had been some arcane element in that place, some sort of punishment for the being that had fell from the sky. The next day Deni$e hunted some animals for dinner again and even cooked for the group, and during their conversation about their respective priorities and the problems about Ludinus, Predathos, and the gods, she stated that deities had done nothing for her, and that her main priority was to find Dariax; she was very suspicious about the failed attempts trying to find Bor'Dor's brother with magic, so she tried to listen to his conversation with Ashton, and the following morning she managed to steal the sorcerer's slingshot.

When the adventurers reached the Irriam Canyon, Deni$e descended using Laudna's Feather Fall, where her whip alerted her to the proximity of a large sleeping creature camouflaged as a flowery hill. When Bells Hells entered a cave full of crystals, the dwarf deduced that the place was not the work of her own people, and warned her companions that they should not take anything from there, just in case. When the group found a green obelisk, the rogue noticed the similarities between the monument's material and the residuum she had seen in the past, although in very small amounts.

"A Haunted Past" (3x63)

When Bells Hells faced Evithorir the Taker, the dark fey that was occupying the Verdant Tomb, Deni$e acted confidently, being willing to deal with them instead of the druid the group was looking for, but also to fight them if necessary. The shadowy entity chose the latter. During the battle the adventurers managed to rescue Hevestro from inside the Taker's body, Deni$e used a potion of healing to bring him back to consciousness, quickly explaining to him the current situation. After they defeated Evithorir the dwarven rogue cracked Hevestro's back, something that surprised the elf, although he was thankful when he noticed how good his back felt.

That night, while Hevestro was away, Deni$e's suspicions about Bor'Dor came to a head when she, after approaching him with the excuse of giving him the slingshot (that she herself had stolen hours before), twisted his arm behind his back and point-blank told him that she didn't believe he was telling them the truth. She persisted until he admitted he had lied about his profession and sick brother, sharing the truth about his traumatic past and his connection with the Ruby Vanguard, after which he attacked the party. Even during the subsequent fight, the rogue only grappled him rather than trying to cause damage, and repeatedly urged the party that keeping him alive might be far more useful than killing him, if they wanted to learn more about Ludinus and his plans. After Laudna chose to end the other sorcerer's life, Deni$e took everything of value from the corpse but then gave him a respectful burial, choosing to bury with him both [Livandra|his mother]]'s dagger and a picture she found on him and his family. She then comforted Prism for a while, since the wizard was very hurt both physically and emotionally by Bor'Dor's betrayal.

The next morning, when Prism was wondering about where to go next after deciding she didn't want to go back to the Cobalt Soul, Deni$e suggested Kymal (her hometown), which she described as a "pit of humanity". The dwarf asked the shadar-kai to Scry on Dariax, and found him in a Westruun tavern, where Deni$e wanted to go to join him. Before leaving she remembered she had stolen one of the "Wanted" posters of the Crown Keepers in Tal'Dorei and gave one of them to Orym, confirming that Poska and her Nameless Ones were still looking for them. Deni$e distributed Bor'Dor's former items, hugged everyone and said goodbye (during that moment Prism took a strand of her hair so she could Scry on the rogue), and since her wizard friend was now confident enough to reject trying Hevestro's portals first, the dwarf did, running through the tree connected to Westruun, hoping to find Dariax there.

"Bittersweet Reunions" (3x93)

By the time the Crown Keepers fought the minions of the Spider Queen shortly before they separated, Deni$e had not yet met up with Dariax. Dorian stated that he'd heard about her and that Dariax was very frightened of her.

"A New Age Begins" (3x121)

Days later, after the gods were reborn as mortals and Predathos left, Deni$e appeared in Zephrah and located Dariax during his reunion with the Crown Keepers, tackling him (although cheerfully greeting Orym). Dariax confirmed he had got the note she had sent him, and declared that he was very happy to see all of them, and then apologized to his ex, explaining that he was easily distracted and didn't want to hurt her; she stated that that conversation was the longest they had ever talked, causing him to wonder how did they even got engaged in the first place. Then she kissed him, and although she admitted it wasn't like she remembered, she accepted his apology. The owner of the local, Georgea, asked them to leave (even offering to pay them), so Dariax began to gather his things with the help of Deni$e, and later they joined the rest of his friends at dinner with Orym's family.

Relationships

Dariax Zaveon

Fan art of Dariax, by Amy King.

Deni$e was really invested in her relationship with Dariax, and his betrayal made her furious. Despite her desire to hurt him, she still has some feelings towards him, giving Taros (Dariax's brother) a haircut so she didn't have to have him looking just like the sorcerer, and not being sure if she would kill Dariax or kiss him if she sees him again. She shed a single tear when she saw Dariax through Elder Abaddina's scrying well. After she finally found him and he apologized her grudge was gone, and she also noticed, after so much time away from him, that perhaps she was not as romantically compatible with the sorcerer as she had thought in the past.

Character information

Notable items

• Whip of Warning
• Great Sickle
• Strong liqueur similar to limoncello
• Wooden box, formerly enchanted by Shaun Gilmore but now inert
• A lock of Dariax's hair with some scalp
• Hair stylist tools and supplies
• Stonecutter's Tools
• Smith's Tools
• An Axe
• A Deck of Cards

Abilities

Proficiencies

• Skills: Animal Handling, Athletics, Survival
• Expertise: Stealth
• Tools: Smith's Tools, Stonecutter's Tools

Dwarven abilities

• Darkvision
• Dwarven Combat Training
• Dwarven Resilience
• Stone Cutting
• Tool Proficiency

Barbarian abilities

• Rage
• Unarmored Defense
• Reckless Attack
• Danger Sense
• Primal Path: Path of the Juggernaut
  • Thunderous Blows
  • Spirit of the Mountain
• Extra Attack
• Fast Movement

Rogue abilities

• Expertise
• Sneak Attack (2d6)
• Thieves Cant
• Cunning Action
• Roguish Archetype: Thief
  • Fast Hands
  • Second Story Work

Behind the scenes

Originally Aimee Carrero prepared Deni$e as a halfling bard to play in Critical Role Campaign Two as a guest with the Mighty Nein. However, after the pandemic cancelled that plan the character started evolving as a test character for Exandria Unlimited Prime, with Aimee and Matt defining that she would be from the Exandrian equivalent of Atlantic City, Reno or Vegas (Kymal) and eventually becoming part of Dariax's story as well, as a different perspective to show "the scumbag side of this lovable clown". Eventually Aimee chose to play Opal there instead, but used this opportunity to make Deni$e and her backstory part of Critical Role canon.

Appearances and mentions

• Exandria Unlimited: Kymal
  • "Exandria Unlimited: Kymal, Part 1" (E2x01), mentioned only
• Campaign Three
  • "Somewhere Out There" (3x59) (first appearance)
  • "Faith or Famine" (3x60)
  • "Crisis of Faith" (3x61)
  • "A Long Walk of Reflection" (3x62)
  • "A Haunted Past" (3x63)
  • "Reunited" (3x64), mentioned only
  • "Bloody Flowers" (3x67), mentioned only (unnamed)
  • "Bittersweet Reunions" (3x93), mentioned only
  • "A New Age Begins" (3x121)
• Narrative Telephone: The Breakup Lettah

Quotations

• Deni$e: (explaining her pursuit of Dariax) I left and I went to go looking for him, because I didn't want to die. And I kind of didn't want to live without him, anyway.
• Deni$e: (about Dariax) I spent months looking for him, and I don't know whether I'm going to kiss him or I'm going to kill him. Maybe I'll do both.
• Orym: (as she was leaving) Keep slaying!
  Deni$e: I will!

Trivia

• Her name comes from the French variant of Dionysius, which in Ancient Greek could be interpreted as "connected to the god Dionysus"; Dionysus was the Greek god of wine, parties and madness, and although the etymology of his name is unclear, his attributions seem to connect with Deni$e's character. Her surname is formed by the Spanish words bemba (a mouth with full lips) and chula (depending of the context it can mean "beautiful", "amazing" or "cocky"); thus, Deni$e's last name could be translated as "amazing lips" or "hot lips" (the latter being the meaning Aimee Carrero likes the most).
  • The money symbol in her name is the same as the dollar sign ($), which doesn't exist in Exandria. However, apparently there is a type of dwarven currency called dol'ar, presumably with the same symbol.
• Her backstory with Dariax is identical to her story in Narrative Telephone, making the content in her "breakup lettah" part of Critical Role canon.
• Deni$e was described as a blend of Nuyorican, rockabilly, mob wife, and "Real Housewives of Staten Island".
• Emily Axford proposed that she, Aimee and Utkarsh Ambudkar should create characters that were triplets, with only two of them being identical. However, the idea ended up being discarded.
• Deni$e knows how to cook, sofrito being one of the dishes that she knows how to prepare.
• According to Laudna she smells like lemongrass.
• Dani Carr theorized that it was Dariax's destiny to be teleported with Team Issylra, but when Deni$e found him, the magic of the apogee solstice took her instead since she was so close to him.
• According to Aimee, Deni$e would see the small domestic details found every time she returns home after work as the most relaxing aspects of her life.
• Deni$e and Dariax have a notable age difference, since, even though both of them are adults, he is around 30, while she is probably over a century.
• Aimee has stated that, although Deni$e wants to find Dariax, get married, and have kids with him, she isn't a stalker, so if she doesn't find him in the near future, she will move on and start over with someone else.
  • Towards the end of "Bittersweet Reunions" (3x93), when Dariax was left alone in a tavern in Zephrah Aimee was tempted to go back to the table and make Deni$e finally catch up with her ex.

References

Art: