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Yennen

Tal'Dorei

As an NPC in Critical Role, Yennen is played by Matthew Mercer. In The Legend of Vox Machina, Yennen is voiced by Gina Torres.

As an NPC in Critical Role, Yennen is played by Matthew Mercer. In The Legend of Vox Machina, Yennen is voiced by Gina Torres.

Appearance

Critical Role
Keeper Yennen is an older man with a thick white moustache and receding white hair. He wears weathered grey robes.

The Legend of Vox Machina
In the animated adapation, Yennen is an older woman with dark skin and curly grey hair. She wears robes of grey, green and blue.

Personality

When the Briarwoods took over Whitestone, the Sun Tree thought Keeper Yennen had a kind heart.

By 810 PD, Yennen could be a bit arrogant in his worship, but not in a way that could be considered dangerous. He didn't have the best personality, but he was strong-willed in his ideas and was good at keeping the people's spirits up.

In The Legend of Vox Machina, Yennen is kind, soft-spoken, and encourages those around her not to give up hope even when things are grim and dire. While she is gentle, Yennen is willing to stand and fight for her home and her people, and her guidance helps others, such as Percy, to find the best within themselves.

Critical Role

" Whispers " (1x29)
Vox Machina first met him in The Lady's Chamber, Whitestone's temple to the Lawbearer, while the town was still under the rule of the Briarwoods. He was in the middle of giving a sermon to a small group of citizens. Percy —who, at the time, was disguised as a peasant through the use of a Seeming spell—talked with Keeper Yennen about hope for Whitestone. Percy dropped several hints about being a surviving member of the de Rolo family, and about the coming rebellion being put into motion by Vox Machina. The priest seemed to understand, and said nothing more as the party left.

" Stoke the Flames " (1x30)
Vox Machina returned the next day after killing Kerrion Stonefell and setting fire to his estate. Keeper Yennen was speaking to a significantly larger audience. He told the crowd that he had heard whispers of revolution led by a hidden ally, and that he believed it was time for them to band together and show support. He said a short prayer to Erathis and the crowd began to dissipate.

When Keeper Yennen noticed Vox Machina standing in the back, he led them around to the back of the amphitheater and into a small one-room building. He told the group that he had spoken with the other community leaders, but they were not yet convinced this rebellion could succeed. There had been other attempts previously, but all of them failed. Keeper Yennen's informant within the castle had also not been heard from in several weeks. He then told the group that the Briarwoods had been rebuilding and repurposing something beneath Whitestone called the ziggurat. At that point, an elderly man entered the room, whom Percy recognized as Archibald Desnay. Vox Machina spoke with this man for several minutes then left to continue their assault on the New Nobles.

" Against the Tide of Bone " (1x32)
As the Whitestone Rebellion began, Keeper Yennen led a group of ten armed villagers into battle against the undead forces of the Briarwoods. He came across Vox Machina as they were fleeing a horde of skeletal soldiers, and the appearance of him and his men convinced the party to turn around and fight. As Yennen approached the group, he revealed that he was leading the glowing form of Pike Trickfoot to her companions.

As the battle raged on, Yennen shouted to Vox Machina, "You! Don't worry! We've got this! You do what you must! It has begun! Finish it!", and continued fighting alongside his fellow citizens. The older cleric's abilities proved very useful against the undead forces, disintegrating all the skeletons around him as he cast Destroy Undead. Percy tried to convince him to pause the battle until morning, but Keeper Yennen insisted that they would fight now.

" Denouement " (1x35)
After defeating the Briarwoods, Vox Machina met an armed group of townsfolk led by Keeper Yennen in Whitestone Castle. The adventurers assured the residents that the Briarwoods were dead and Whitestone was free once more. Yennen addressed the townsfolk at the Sun Tree to share the news of their freedom, swearing to keep the tree safe and thanking Vox Machina. He then judged both Countess Jazna Graben and Duke Goran Vedmire guilty of treason, turning their punishment over to the party. He invited the party to help rebuild Whitestone and join in the upcoming Winter's Crest festival. Vex'ahlia requested that Keeper Yennen send word to Sovereign Uriel Tal'Dorei II to let him know of their contributions in Whitestone, and Yennen told her it would be done.

" Winter's Crest in Whitestone " (1x36)
At the Winter's Crest celebration, Yennen made a speech thanking Vox Machina and applauding the bravery of those who fought in the rebellion. He then took the group and Cassandra de Rolo quietly aside to discuss the future of Whitestone. Percy proposed a five-person ruling council consisting of Cassandra, Keeper Yennen, a leader of the farming community, a leader of the citizens, and an economic leader.

" Those Who Walk Away " (1x45)
After Vex'ahlia's death in the sunken tomb, Vox Machina returned to Whitestone, where Keeper Yennen was meeting with some of the governing council. He Identified the black crystal and the armor from the tomb, telling the party many of their properties.

" Trust " (1x70)
When the party returned to Whitestone after the battle against Anna Ripley, Grog and Scanlan asked Keeper Yennen about Yenk. Yennen had heard of goristros but not that specific one, and knew nothing further despite being by turns threatened, guilt-tripped, and complimented, and frantically searching for potentially helpful information.

" Jugs and Rods " (1x94)
Vex'ahlia sought out Keeper Yennen whilst trying to learn the details about the Grey Hunt. Both Cassandra and Percy indicated that because of their youth before the occupation of Whitestone they were not the most knowledgeable about the history of the ritual connected to the Grey Hunt and suggested that she speak instead to Keeper Yennen. He gave Vex some details, though not as many as she'd have liked.

" Taryon, My Wayward Son " (1x97)
While being interviewed for a potential job at the Slayer's Cake, Hilda told the party that Keeper Yennen could provide her a reference. When Vex and Vax sought him out at the small temple to the Lawbearer that he continued to care for, he told them that Hilda had been a housewife in town for some 15 years.

The Legend of Vox Machina

In the animated adaptation, Percy immediately sought out Keeper Yennen after arriving in Whitestone. He witnessed her giving a sermon in a public square, where she encouraged the citizens to have hope and not to fight back. When Vox Machina approached her later, she revealed that she was actually working with the resistance, and let the group to one of their hideout, where she told them that Archibald Desnay had been captured.

She later met up with Vox Machina during their battle against Delilah's army of undead. After Pike empowered the citizens' weapons, she urged the party to head to the castle while everyone else finished off the zombies. Yennen later led the citizens in a frontal assault of Whitestone Castle against the Briarwoods' remaining loyalists. In the aftermath, Vex asked Yennen if she saw Anna Ripley flee, but she answered she did not. Scanlan then asked about the "spinning orb of death" and she voiced her suspicion that it was extraplanar in origin, and mentioned that one of their holy men already went to investigate it, unaware that the orb painfully killed him upon touching it. Yennen and Cassandra then saw Vox Machina off as they returned to Emon via Transport Via Plants.

Later, as Yennen was overseeing the rebuilding of Whitestone with Cassandra, when suddenly, Vox Machina arrived via Transport Via Plants, along with a group of refugees and Gilmore, having narrowly escaped the Chroma Conclave's attack on Emon. When they later convened in the castle, Yennen proposed Vox Machina travel to Vasselheim to rally an army. When Vox Machina was set to depart the next day, Yennan advised them to seek out the Platinum Sanctuary and gave Keyleth a vague description of a tree close to their destination to transport to.

When Vox Machina returned to Whitestone after triumphing over Umbrasyl, Yennen was secretly knocked out and imprisoned in the dungeon by Raishan, who would then pose as her to drug the drinks of Cassandra, Allura, Kima and Gilmore so she could to speak with Vox Machina. When her friends later found her, to Yennen's annoyance, Grog was uncertain if she was an imposter and resorted to poking her face. As she insisted she was the real Yennen, Grog challenged her to say something only she would know; with a heavy sigh, she admitted to knowing that Grog would put on a crown and call himself "Grand Poo-bah de Mayonnaise".

Cleric abilities

  • Destroy Undead

Notable items

  • Holy symbol of the Lawbearer, with the last leaf of the poisoned Sun Tree attached to it

Quotations

  • (to the Sun Tree, after it was poisoned) "Justice will come. We will bring the sun back. Rest now, my friend."

Appearances and mentions

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