Critical Role: Why Keyleth Was the Most Powerful Member of Vox Machina

Critical Role's campaign one introduced a host of unforgettable characters who were often unsure of themselves and their place in the world. The most uncertain among them was Marisha Ray's Keyleth, a Druid of the Air Ashari on her aramente. Insecure and socially awkward, Keyleth often doubted her ability to rise to the occasion and complete her task, but as she adventured with Vox Machina, she found the confidence and strength she needed to become not just a leader but the most powerful member of the party.

Pushed out into the world by her father, Korrin, when she came of age at twenty, Keyleth's task was to reestablish connections and form bonds with the leaders of the other Ashari tribes. Destined to follow in Korrin's footsteps, she spent the early years of her life in grooming for leadership. She had very few friends because of her focus, so when she met fellow half-elves Vex'ahlia and Vax'ildan in Stilben, it marked the beginning of what would become two of the most powerful friendships she would ever know.

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At the time Keyleth met Vax and Vex, she was traveling with a Dragonborn named Tiberius Stormwind and three other party members who the Clasp had hired to investigate the poisoning of the peasants and halting of the Clasp's underground workforce. As they worked together to uncover the mystery, a bond formed between them that led them to band with other members of the party that would one day become Vox Machina.

On one of their early adventures together, the party was tasked with investigating the kidnapping of Uriel Tal'dorei's son. Their search led them to an alternate plane of existence ruled over by an entity known as the Dread Emperor. The Dread Emperor had several children he'd kidnapped chained by their necks, and as the party fought him, he would use the children to shield himself from damage. In an attempt to save one of the children, Keyleth unleashed her grasping vine to try and pull it away, but the result was a deadly tug of war that ended with the child's broken neck.

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Keyleth suffered emotionally from her failed attempt to save the child, the image haunting her for the rest of her days while also empowering her to think more carefully before taking action in combat, especially when there were children involved. Her mistake altered her approach to battle, as she had begun to feel an immense sense of guilt over all the lives the party had taken on their journey together.

The others pointed out that despite the lives they'd taken, they had also done a lot of good in the world, and at times it was only through their efforts that balance had been restored in Tal'dorei. As their journey led the party to Pyrah, where Keyleth met with the Fire Ashari for the next step in her aramente, she completed the task with her friends' help, but she was still haunted.

When Vox Machina later encountered the Briarwoods, she began to feel incredibly disturbed by Percival's evident brutality in battle. Expressing her concerns, the others believed it was the trauma he faced at the hands of the Briarwoods that pushed him to such brutality, but it lingered for her and caused her to think even more carefully about her approaches in battle and her potential influence over her allies. When Percy wanted to ally the party with Raishan against Thordak during the Chroma Conclave arc of the story, Keyleth was appalled.

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Raishan's actions in releasing Thordak from the Fire Plane did an incredible amount of damage to the Fire Ashari, leaving the survivors in a state of hopelessness and dismay. Allying with Raishan, as far as Keyleth was concerned, was like inviting an enemy to dinner while knowing Vox Machina would be the main course. When Raishan turned on them after Thordak's destruction, Keyleth was the least surprised and the most adamant about hunting her down and exterminating her.

In the fight against Raishan, it was Keyleth's casting of Feeblemind that likely saved the party in the end, and with the threat to Tal'dorei cleared from their to-do list, she could finally focus on completing her aramente. After carrying out the final task set upon her by the Water Ashari, she and the party eventually returned to her home city of Zephrah, where she underwent the ceremony to become the Voice of the Tempest. At that time, she was gifted with the Mantle of the Tempest and the Inspiring Leader feat, which would certainly come in handy in the years to come.

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After completing her aramente, Keyleth developed a confidence she'd never before displayed, but on account of her social awkwardness and childhood isolation, she didn't always make the best decisions. She would go on to live an incredibly long life as a Druid, more than likely outliving the people she loved and saved the world with.

It wasn't her long life that made her the most powerful member of Vox Machina, but her compassion and willingness to lead despite her insecurities. Keyleth was often able to step outside a situation and look at the greater picture, the long-term consequences of their actions, making her an inspiring leader worthy of the mantle of responsibility that came with being the most powerful member of Vox Machina.

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