J'mon Sa Ord

J'mon Sa Ord
Fan art of J'mon Sa Ord, by NLN4.
Fan art of Devo'ssa, by BlackSalander.
Type	NPC
Actor	Matthew Mercer
Character Information
Name	J'mon Sa Ord
Pronouns	they/them
Titles	Emperor
Also known as	Devo'ssa The Soul of the Jeweled City
Creature type	Dragon
Race	Brass dragon
Age	Centuries
Alignment	Lawful Neutral
Languages	Common, Draconic,[presumed] Marquesian
Place	Ank'Harel, Marquet
Connections	Vox Machina (allies) Thordak (enemy)
Profession	Ruler of Ank'Harel CinC of the Hand of Ord
Status
Status	Alive
Stats
HP
AC	20
DC
Str	27
Dex	10
Con	25
Int	16
Wis	15
Cha	19
Reference(s)
Appearances
First seen	"The Streets of Ank'Harel" (1x65)
Last seen	"The Chapter Closes" (1x115)
Stream	Campaign One (10 episodes)

J'mon Sa Ord, the Soul of the Jeweled City, is the ruler of Ank'Harel, the central city in Marquet, since its founding. Their true form is that of an ancient brass dragon, Devo'ssa. As an NPC, J'mon Sa Ord was played by Matthew Mercer.

Description

Appearance

In their humanoid disguise, J'mon Sa Ord is a slender, humanoid entity, androgynous and beautiful. Their skin is a deep-set reddish brown, smooth and impeccable. Their features are extremely fine and delicate. Their eyes have black sclerae and pupils that burn like molten metal. J'mon is almost as tall as Grog and has elongated limbs. Their overall appearance is somewhat alien, not quite matching that of a man, elf, or fey. J'mon does not wear any jewelry, ceremonial adornments, or crown. They just wear a simple brown cotton shirt over simple elegant pants. They don't wear any shoes, preferring to leave their feet bare.

In their true form, Devo'ssa is a massive brass dragon. The golden scales on their wings and tail tip shift to green in the sunlight. Their appearance is beautiful and frightening at the same time, although there is almost a smile and benevolence to their presence. The dragon's eyes are the same as those in their humanoid form: black sclerae with molten pupils.

Personality

J'mon is known to not appear in public very often.

Biography

Background

When Ank'Harel began to expand, it went into chaos, and many wished to utilize those who lived within the central desert to be abused, to be swindled, to be enslaved. According to the tales, about four hundred years before 811 PD, an individual referred to as J'mon Sa Ord brought the city together. They started the Hand of Ord, which was the peacekeepers that brought the town of Ank'Harel into the grand city.

Centuries ago, before Thordak grew into an especially large, elementally corrupted ancient dragon, Devo'ssa faced him and his feral armies of kobolds and other serpentine followers in the battle for Ank'Harel. They managed to defeat Thordak, cutting his heart out and watching him sink beneath the ocean.

"The Streets of Ank'Harel" (1x65) — "A Traveler's Gamble" (1x66)

Upon their first meeting, J'mon recognized Vox Machina as the heroes of Tal'Dorei and put them to the test against a Cobalt Golem. As they successfully defeated the golem by pushing it down from a balcony, J'mon awarded them with a brass flute that would summon the guardian of the city, a massive brass dragon called Devo'ssa, being J'mon themselves.

"Raishan" (1x80)

Summoned by Scanlan Shorthalt via the flute they had previously given Vox Machina, J'mon showed up to assist with the fight against Raishan. While they had expected to fight Thordak, they still participated in this battle, but unfortunately did not prevent Raishan from escaping.

"What Lies Beneath the Surface" (1x81)

In the aftermath of the battle with Thordak and Raishan, J'mon Sa Ord was one of the first (along with Shaun Gilmore, Pike Trickfoot, and Lady Kima of Vord) to witness the beginings of Scanlan's developing drug habit, as he prepared to take a third of the suude that Jarett procured for him. They did not stop him (though Pike attempted to), but did not seem to approve. However, rather than watching the brief talk between Scanlan and Pike about what the drugs were, they had a conversation with Gilmore in Marquesian, as Gilmore expressed interest in speaking with the ruler of his country of origin. This conversation however, was interrupted by Kima asking them to help with a perimeter search which they did participate in. Later, they (also with Kima and Gilmore) watched a conversation between Keyleth, Vax'ildan, and Kerrek about the day's events and their future plans, with a remark on "[t]he drama of such short lives." Vex'ahlia stated that they could leave their tower away from more mortal lives, however J'mon made it clear that they the felt a strong need to remain in Ank'Harel to protect the city. They then wished luck to Vox Machina and gave some advice about fighting Raishan before leaving towards home.

"The Ominous March" (1x109)

Fan art of Vox Machina flying towards Thar Amphala atop Devo'ssa, by BlackSalander.

J'mon Sa Ord brought the Hand of Ord and their warriors to Vasselheim to help protect the city from the newly reconstituted Vecna, noting that the clouds had even darkened the desert skies in Marquet. While the leaders of the defense of the city were gathered in the Platinum Sanctuary, an illusion of Vecna appeared and began threatening the less-protected loved ones of the most formidable figures present. The threat he directed at the "great protector" of Ank'Harel was to note that while J'mon was away, their "studious concubines are left without their guard."

After J'mon teleported northwest with Vox Machina to the Zenwick Mountains, where they discovered the Primordial earth titan had been reanimated and was marching toward Vasselheim, J'mon took on their brass dragon form and began flying Vox Machina back toward the city, following the craters marking the titan's stride. They were attacked by gloomstalkers as they approached the titan, but the dragon dropped off the adventurers at an entrance into the titan and cast Mass Cure Wounds to help them on their way.

"Dark Dealings" (1x112)

Vox Machina briefly saw J'mon in the form of Devo'ssa flying over the magical barrier encasing the city of Thar Amphala. They were struck by a blast of energy fired from the barrier, but quickly recovered from the hit and flew out of sight.

"The Final Ascent" (1x113)

After succesfully deactivating the barrier surrounding the city, hundreds of gloomstalkers began to converge on the party's location, but they were intercepted by Devo'ssa alongside all the wyvern-riders of Vasselheim. The following aerial battle provided Vox Machina with a chance to run for Entropis.

"Vecna, the Ascended" (1x114)

During Vox Machina's final confrontation with Vecna, Devo'ssa flew in to aide them, threatening the lich and unleashing a torrent of flame in his direction. Vecna declared that Devo'ssa's presence made him uncomfortable, and trapped them in a Forcecage. This effectively nullified them for the rest of the fight, as they were unable to escape it on their own.

"The Chapter Closes" (1x115)

As soon as Vecna was banished, the Forcecage containing J'mon dissipated. They apologized to Vox Machina for not being very helpful, and offered them a ride down into Vasselheim, which the party accepted. They accompanied Vox Machina to the Platinum Sanctuary, assuming their humanoid form, and were present for the conversations and speeches that took place therein.

Campaign Three: Bells Hells

During the apogee solstice of 843 PD, J'mon Sa Ord traveled to the city of Jrusar in the Oderan Wilds, staying a few days presumably as part of the negotiations to create a Marquesian alliance to deal with the problems caused by the solstice. They had left a few days before Bells Hells arrived.

Relationships

Thordak

Devo'ssa has a history with Thordak, having fought off the red dragon when he attacked Ank'Harel. Many years later, J'mon promised to help Vox Machina in their battle against the Cinder King, offering them a magic flute which they could use to summon the brass dragon to their side.

Character information

Fan art of Devo'ssa, by Ari.

Abilities

Spells

2nd-level

• Invisibility

5th-level

• Mass Cure Wounds

Notable former items

• Brass flute (used to call Devo'ssa, given to Scanlan Shorthalt, later expended in the fight against Raishan)
• Armor of the Valiant Soul

Appearances and mentions

• Campaign One
  • "The Streets of Ank'Harel" (1x65) (first appearance)
  • "A Traveler's Gamble" (1x66)
  • "Raishan" (1x80)
  • "What Lies Beneath the Surface" (1x81)
  • "Daring Days" (1x86), mentioned only
  • "Curious Tides" (1x89), mentioned only
  • "The Ominous March" (1x109)
  • "The Climb Within" (1x110)
  • "Shadows of Thomara" (1x111), mentioned only
  • "Dark Dealings" (1x112)
  • "The Final Ascent" (1x113)
  • "Vecna, the Ascended" (1x114)
  • "The Chapter Closes" (1x115)
• Campaign Three
  • "Make It Fashion" (3x12), mentioned only
  • "A Path of Vengeance" (3x65), mentioned only
• Specials
  • "Dalen's Closet" (Sx47), mentioned only
• Critical Role: Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting, mentioned only
• Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn, mentioned only
• Critical Role: Call of the Netherdeep, mentioned only

Trivia

Fan art of the J'mon Sa Ord bust from Krieg's home, by Susanah Grace.

• The true draconic identity of J'mon Sa Ord isn't known by most of their subjects, so there are many theories about who they really are: some believe them to be an Archfey, while others think they are a demigod in disguise.
• In General Krieg's home, Vox Machina discovered a series of bronze busts of J'mon Sa Ord. The features of J'mon's face were plain and nondescript. General Krieg was a blue dragon, which are known for competing for desert territory with brass dragons.
• One of the Quon a Drensal racing lizards in the Luck's Run casino is named after Devo'ssa.
• Devo'ssa appears in a stained glass window in the Exandria Unlimited opening.
• There is a Marquesian card game named after J'mon Sa Ord called The Gambit of Ord. It is popular enough that it made its way to Wildemount.

References

Art: