Devexian

This article is about the Aeormaton in C2. For the young bear in Whitestone, see Charlie (Trinket's cub).

Devexian
Official art of Devexian, by Elaine Tipping.
Fan art of Devexian, by Lap Pun Cheung.
Type	NPC
Actor	Matthew Mercer
Character Information
Name	Devexian
Pronouns	he/him
Also known as	Charlie (by the Mighty Nein) D
Creature type	Humanoid
Race	Aeormaton
Languages	Aeorian, Common
Places	Aeor Issylra Marquet Greying Wildlands Menagerie Coast
Connections	Frog Fresh Cut Grass F.R.I.D.A.
Profession	Merchant
Status
Status	Functional
Appearances
First seen	"The Streets of the Forgotten" (2x134)
Last seen	"The Masked Man" (RT2x02)
Stream	Campaign Two (2 episodes) The Re-Slayer's Take (2 episodes) Campaign Three (4 episodes)

Devexian, also known as "D", is an Aeormaton who the Mighty Nein found in the ruined city of Aeor. He was given the name Charlie while he couldn't remember his true designation after being found by the Mighty Nein. Later, as "D", he sold Fresh Cut Grass to Dancer. As an NPC, Devexian is played by Matthew Mercer.

Description

Devexian is tall, masculine-presenting (and generally described as handsome), and roughly humanoid in form, made of dull, brass-like metal with intricate filigreed engraving and gold trim. He has no nose, but does have eye sockets, a mouth, and jaw, and a "deepish" voice. When the Mighty Nein found him, his legs had been heavily damaged.

In his guise as "D", Devexian passed for an organic humanoid, wearing a "really intricate metal mask" (which was actually just his face) and a dark hooded cloak. He walked alongside a crawler-pulled cart and wore leather boots.

He is serious and professional, but has a fondness for those who seek knowledge like him. He isn't used to be the center of attention.

Biography

Campaign Two: The Mighty Nein

When the Mighty Nein found Devexian among the bodies in the amphitheater within the ruins of Aeor, the power crystal in his chest was cracked. They replaced it with one taken from another Aeormaton, repowering the Aeormaton and causing him to function again.

Fan art of Charlie and Sprinkle, by ArtByMikuTee.

The Aeormaton noted he had sustained injury to numerous parts of himself. He sometimes stuttered or got "stuck" while speaking and seemed to have significant gaps in his memory, including his previous designation. Caduceus named him "Charlie", and Charlie told them that his damaged systems might be able to be repaired in the Genesis Ward. Charlie was able to either learn or recall Common almost immediately. He noted that he had no offensive or defensive capabilities, but was a companion. Because his legs were so damaged, Jester carried him on her back.

The party later found a repair facility within the Genesis Ward, and when Charlie entered it, it apparently functioned properly. When he emerged, his memory had been restored (along with his name, Devexian) and his personality became much more confident and assured. Although he provided the party information about the city and where to potentially find the destination of the Tombtakers, he was unwilling to accompany them there, indicating that he needed to find his associates.

Since he was brought back online, Devexian went about bringing many other Aeormatons online.

The Re-Slayer's Take

As of 839 PD Devexian, who was already calling himself "D", was still waking others like him, repairing them when possible or at the very least making sure they would be found by those able to help them. By then he was doing additional research trying to uncover lost knowledge about how the sentient automatons of Aeor were originally created. Devexian had been in Issylra after helping an Aeormaton that had crashed there, and visited Vasselheim roughly at the same time as her, finding her in a library and revealing himself to her as an Aeormaton. They went to a private room, where they introduced themselves to each other as Frog and Devexian (he had previously called himself "D"), and he shared some of his experience with her, talking about Aeor (and showing her a Minor Illusion of it), his work finding their people, and some of their history, although insisting on the importance of their new life rather than their past. After he revealed to Frog her original designation (Archivist Librarian Lorekeeper 1), she asked him if there was something she could do to help him, and Devexian asked her to find him again if she ever learned anything about Aeormaton creation.

After sharing some of his notes with the monk he warned her about a suspicious "merchant" obsessed with the Age of Arcanum who worked in the Spectrum Gorge, in case she wanted to do some research about her own origins. They said goodbye, shaking hands while looking into each other's eyes, and since they had the room reserved for three more minutes, he agreed to pose heroically for Frog while she drew him, admitting to being somewhat uncomfortable being the center of attention. Days later, while Frog was unconscious in the middle of a battle, she thought of Devexian, telling her to find her missing pieces and to find him; as soon as she woke up she called for "D", confused.

Campaign Three: Bells Hells

By 843 PD "D" was selling to buyers in Marquet various bits and pieces of ancient pre-Calamity arcane machinery he said he found buried in the Rumedam Desert. At Imogen Temult's suggestion, FCG hesitantly contacted D via Sending, asking where he was found and if there were more like them. The answer was warm and immediate, telling FCG that it was a wonderful surprise to hear from him. D had pulled FCG from "the wreckage", and FCG's future was his to make. "There are more of you, and more to come."

When Fresh Cut Grass encountered F.R.I.D.A. in the Crystalsands Tundra they discovered that they had both been reactivated by D. FRIDA believed they were nonfunctional for a long time before D found them and woke them up, although they did not remember talking to D or getting any explanation or instructions from him. After FCG and Imogen delved into FRIDA's memories, witnessing the last moments before Aeor's destruction, FRIDA had a memory of being pulled out of rubble by D, completely ruined, and being repaired by him before being set free to find their own path.

After the apogee solstice, when the party was wondering who could fix a special harness that once belonged to Ludinus Da'leth, FCG cast Scrying on D, finding him near the sea in an area Chetney Pock O'Pea identified as the Menagerie Coast. A few days later, when they tried to Scry on him again, the spell showed him in a coastal city with polished cobblestones and a three-legged automaton pulling his cart, but no location-specific details. Dancer told FCG that D had something of a mystique because he "gets around quick", sells unique pieces, and constantly wears a metallic mask. She knew D made good money, although she wasn't sure what he did with it.

Relationships

Veth Brenatto

Veth was the one to replace Charlie's power core, making him functional again, though damaged and with large memory gaps. When he was repaired and remembered his past life and real name, she was attracted to his voice and self-confident demeanor.

Aeormatons

• Frog: He repaired her as well as he could and reactivated her, making sure she would be found by monks of the Cobalt Soul. He was very glad to find her again in Vasselheim, and appreciated both her company and her love for knowledge and research, even sharing with her information about the place where he found her.
• F.R.I.D.A.: He rebuilt them, repaired them, and reactivated them.
• Fresh Cut Grass: He found them and sold their pieces in Bassuras; after being contacted by them again, he was happy to know they were living their life.

Character information

Notable items

• Journal with notes

Abilities

• Spellcasting
  • Minor Illusion (projected as an hologram coming out of his hand)

Appearances and mentions

Devexian in Crit Recap Animated.

• Campaign Two
  • "The Streets of the Forgotten" (2x134) (first appearance)
  • "The Genesis Ward" (2x135)
  • "Hell or High Water" (2x136), mentioned only
• The Re-Slayer's Take
  • "The Timberblight of Dead Man's Table" (RTx12)
  • "The Masked Man" (RT2x02)
  • "The Dire Descent" (RT2x03), mentioned only
  • "The Melancholic March" (RT2x08), mentioned only
  • "The Broken Beacon" (RT2x19), mentioned only
• Campaign Three
  • "What Dreams May Come" (3x34), mentioned only (first mentioned)
  • "The Aurora Grows" (3x49), via Sending (first appearance)
  • "Far From The Others" (3x52), mentioned only
  • "Escape From The Past" (3x58), in FRIDA's memory
  • "For The Tempest" (3x68), via Scrying
  • "Nice" (3x69), mentioned only
  • "Kindling the Spirits" (3x73), via Scrying
  • "A Gathering of Heroes" (3x76), mentioned only
  • "Seeking Sedition" (3x88), mentioned only
  • "A New Age Begins" (3x121), mentioned only

Quotations

Campaign Two: The Mighty Nein

• "Hello. My designation— There is no record of that designation. Please offer a designation."
• "I must ask permission from my associates. (looks around) I do not recall my associates, so I will be my associate. You will be my associate. Charlie will come with you."
• "The process of creation is different between purely organic creatures and those of artifice, but much like two of you might create a child, I was indeed created, but through intellect, through power."
• "I may not be of much help, but if I can manage to locate or discover some means of freeing associates of mine, maybe they can be of aid, if not in time, should you fail, to be a second wave of defense against this."

Campaign Three: Bells Hells

• (to FCG, via Sending) "A wonderful surprise. That is my gift to you: a return to your own path. I pulled you from the wreckage, and your future is yours to make. And there are more of you, and more to come."

Trivia

• Devexian's name may have multiple possible origins:
  • The suffix "-ian", when applied to a word, means "from/belonging to, relating to, or like". The English word "devex" means "bending down" or "sloping", from the Latin word "devexus".
  • "DevEx" is an abbreviation of the term "developer experience". This can refer to either "a developer's feeling about their tools, processes, constrains etc, and how it impacts productivity", or a user experience from a developer's point of view.
  • "Vex" means "to make someone feel annoyed/frustrated, or to cause distress to". The prefix "de-" means "from, away from, reversal, removal, etc.". Thus, to "devex" is to make someone less distressed/to make them feel better. This may relate to the Harmonious Aeormatons and/or The Care and Culling.
• Devexian is the first Aeormaton character presented in Critical Role.
• Matt playing Devexian as a player character in The Re-Slayer's Take was a surprise, he was in the table with the rest of the cast but didn't reveal who was his character until the very last moment, in order to surprise Caroline Lux, who didn't even know Devexian was the one who had reactivated Frog.
• Matt has confirmed that Devexian has the ability to provide upgrades to other automatons, and that he wishes to help and guide the remaining members of his kind as a "soft Messiah" type of figure.

References

Art: