Critical Role Introduces Non-Binary Supporting Character

Critical Role is making the fantasy world of Tal’Dorei a little more diverse and inclusive.

Critical Role is a popular Geek and Sundry show in which a group of voice actors play Dungeons & Dragons. The show has built up a huge fanbase due to its innovative mix of humor, action, and top notch roleplay, and now many fans are reacting positively to a new nonbinary character introduced in recent episodes.

In “The Open World,” which first aired two weeks ago, the party members of Critical Role stumbled across a village under attack by a pack of gnolls. The party was recruited into helping drive the large dog-like creatures back by Watchmaster Bryce Felid, a half-elf with shoulder-length blonde hair. Dungeon Master Matthew Mercer described Bryce using “they/them” pronouns and clarified that they were genderfluid a bit later in the broadcast.

The following week, Bryce made a return appearance, hiring the party to hunt down the gnoll raiders and rescue any villagers they had taken captive. Mercer also fleshed out Bryce’s character a bit more, revealing that they didn’t like the politics played by the village’s leader, and that they had served as watchmaster for four years prior to the attack.

While there’s no guarantee that Bryce will play a large role in the rest of the campaign, the fact that they had a name and some personality could mean that they will become a recurring ally or character in the campaign. And many Critical Role fans were delighted by the character’s introduction, as several fans made artwork of the new character over the last few days.

Mercer even posted a picture of some flowers he had received from a fan grateful for Bryce’s inclusion on the show.

This actually isn’t the first time that Critical Role has featured a non-binary character. In the show’s first campaign, Mercer introduced J’mon Sa Ord, a brass dragon that used gender-neutral pronouns. When J’mon appeared in human form, they appeared as a long-haired androgynous individual.

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Critical Role airs on Alpha and Twitch on Thursdays at 10 PM ET. Episodes can be viewed afterwards on Geek and Sundry’s Twitch channel with a subscription or for free when Geek and Sundry posts the episodes to YouTube on Mondays.