The Legend of Vox Machina is an adult animated fantasy television series based on campaign one of the web series Critical Role. The series mainly follows the titular Vox Machina, a party of adventurers known primarily for their exploits across the continent of Tal'Dorei.
The cast reprising their roles from the web series are Laura Bailey, Taliesin Jaffe, Ashley Johnson, Liam O'Brien, Marisha Ray, Sam Riegel and Travis Willingham. Matthew Mercer, the Dungeon Master of the campaign, also stars as Trinket, Lord Sylas Briarwood, Umbrasyl and voices a number of background characters. Mary Elizabeth McGlynn is voice director for seasons 1 and 2. [1]
The series premiered on Amazon Prime Video on January 28, 2022; the second season premiered on January 20, 2023. [2]
Character | Portrayed by | Appearances [3] | |
---|---|---|---|
Season 1 | Season 2 | ||
Main characters | |||
Vex'ahlia "Vex" Vessar | Laura Bailey | Main | |
Percival "Percy" Fredrickstein Von Musel Klossowski de Rolo III | Taliesin Jaffe | Main | |
Pike Trickfoot | Ashley Johnson | Main | |
Trinket | Matthew Mercer [a] [b] | Main | |
Vax'ildan "Vax" Vessar | Liam O'Brien | Main | |
Keyleth of the Air Ashari | Marisha Ray | Main | |
Scanlan Shorthalt | Sam Riegel | Main | |
Grog Strongjaw | Travis Willingham | Main | |
Recurring characters | |||
Lady Kima of Vord | Stephanie Beatriz | Recurring | |
Sovereign Uriel Tal'Dorei | Khary Payton | Recurring | Guest |
Lady Allura Vysoren | Indira Varma | Recurring | |
Lord Sylas Briarwood | Matthew Mercer | Recurring | |
Lady Delilah Briarwood | Grey Griffin | Recurring | |
Shaun Gilmore | Sunil Malhotra | Recurring | |
Kerrion Stonefell | Darin De Paul | Recurring | |
Head Cleric | Anjali Bhimani | Recurring | |
Professor Anders | Stephen Root | Recurring | |
Archibald Desnay | Dominic Monaghan | Recurring | |
Duke Vedmire | Rory McCann | Recurring | |
Keeper Yennen | Gina Torres | Recurring | |
Lord de Rolo | Taliesin Jaffe | Recurring | |
Cassandra de Rolo | Esmé Creed-Miles | Recurring | |
Dr. Anna Ripley | Kelly Hu | Recurring | |
Thordak | Lance Reddick | Recurring | |
Umbrasyl | Matthew Mercer | Recurring | |
Raishan | Cree Summer | Guest [c] | Recurring |
Craven Edge | Matthew Mercer | Recurring | |
Kashaw | Will Friedle | Recurring | |
Zahra | Mary Elizabeth McGlynn | Recurring | |
Zanror | Abubakar Salim | Recurring | |
Kevdak | Ralph Ineson | Recurring | |
Kaylie | Aisling Franciosi | Recurring | |
Guest characters | |||
Sir Fince | Tony Hale | Guest | |
Palace Guard | Logic [d] | Guest | |
Tavern Keeper [e] | Mason Alexander Park | Guest | |
General Krieg / Brimscythe | David Tennant | Guest | |
Desmond | Max Mittelman | Guest | |
Jarrett Howarth | Eugene Byrd | Guest | |
Lady de Rolo | Grey Griffin | Guest | |
The Everlight | Tracie Thoms | Guest | |
Orthax | Matthew Mercer | Guest | |
Vorugal | Liam O'Brien | Guest | |
Earthbreaker Groon | Ike Amadi | Guest | |
Highbearer Vord | Sumalee Montano | Guest | |
Osysa | Alanna Ubach | Guest | |
Victor | Matthew Mercer | Guest | |
Syldor Vessar | Troy Baker | Guest | |
Vilya | Janet Varney | Guest | |
Korrin | Fred Tatasciore | Guest | |
Cerkonos | Robbie Daymond | Guest | |
Kamaljiori | Tony Plana | Guest | |
Garmelie | Billy Boyd | Guest | |
Wilhand Trickfoot | Henry Winkler | Guest | |
Devana Vessar | Toks Olagundoye | Guest | |
Velora Vessar | Jayla Lavender Nicholas | Guest | |
Saundor | Sendhil Ramamurthy | Guest | |
Artagan | Matthew Mercer | Guest | |
Dr. Dranzel | Matthew Mercer | Guest | |
Matron of Ravens | Courtenay Taylor | Guest |
The characters have been adapted from campaign one of the web series Critical Role. [6] [7] [8]
Vex'ahlia "Vex" Vessar (voiced by Laura Bailey), is a half-elf ranger and the twin sister of Vax'ildan. [6] [9] She studied dragons in the hope of eventually finding the one that killed her and Vax's mother. Vex feels a pain in her head whenever a dragon is close by. [10] [11] She is accompanied by Trinket (voiced by Matthew Mercer; Cheech Marin in Vex's Fey Realm hallucination), an armored bear companion she found as a cub and raised. Vex was treated poorly by her elven father Syldor due to her mixed heritage; Vax pushes her to run away with him following years of mistreatment by Syldor and the twins grow closer after running away. Upon returning to Syngorn as an adult, Syldor continues to dismiss both the twin's accomplishments and their quest for Fenthras, a Vestige of Divergence; Vex "defers to his anger and even chides Vax when he attempts to rebuke him". [12] In an attempt to stand up for Vex, Percy informs Syldor that she is in fact Lady Vex'ahlia, Baroness of the Third House of Whitestone and Grand Mistress of the Gray Hunt which Syldor also dismisses. This prompts Vex to stand up for her friends and herself – "when Syldor smugly rebukes her, she continues. 'We won't fail, which is more than I can say about you as a father.'" [12] After recovering and claiming Fenthras, Vex decides she's not ready to face her father again. [12]
Percival "Percy" Fredrickstein Von Musel Klossowski de Rolo III (voiced by Taliesin Jaffe) is a human gunslinger. [6] [13] Percy's family were once the rulers of Whitestone – a city within Tal'Dorei. He barely escaped alive from a coup d'état led by the Briarwoods during which most of his family were killed—an event he was able to attain vengeance for during Season 1.
Pike Trickfoot (voiced by Ashley Johnson) is a gnome cleric [6] [9] of the goddess Everlight. [14]
Vax'ildan "Vax" Vessar (voiced by Liam O'Brien) is a half-elf rogue and the twin brother of Vex'ahlia. [6] [9] His and Vex's mother was killed by a dragon before the events of the series.
Keyleth of the Air Ashari (voiced by Marisha Ray) is a half-elf druid [6] [15] who is currently undergoing her Aramenté – a quest which acts as the Ashari trial of leadership. [16] [17]
Scanlan Shorthalt (voiced by Sam Riegel) is a gnome bard [6] [9] known for his music and innuendo. He is not shy about his promiscuity.
Grog Strongjaw (voiced by Travis Willingham) is a goliath barbarian, [6] [9] who is always ready to fight.
Emon is the capital of the Kingdom of Tal'Dorei and is located on the continent's western shore. [18] The city is attacked by the dragons of the Chroma Conclave at the end of the first season. [19] [2]
Syngorn is a city of elves – it was teleported to the Fey Realm after the Chroma Conclave attacked Emon.
Vasselheim is the capital of the continent of Issylra. It is predominantly a religious city with several districts, each dedicated to a patron deity.
Whitestone is an independent city-state located on the continent's northeastern edge. It was ruled by the de Rolo family until a coup d'état led by the Briarwoods; the first season focuses on Vox Machina's fight with the Briarwoods and their reclamation of the city. [30] [31] [32]
A group of powerful dragons who have come together to conquer Tal'Dorei; this is unusual as dragons don't normally get along.
Madison Durham, for Polygon in 2022, wrote that "the characterization of Keyleth in the animated series is entirely consistent with how Ray played her in the show, refined and honed for this new format" and acts as "redemption" for the character. [15] During the first season, Durham comments that the audience "not only to see Keyleth overcome small moments of uncertainty, but are also treated to the visualization of her power — power she wields first as small blooms of flowers or vines, that blossoms into blazing orbs of pure sunlight and towering walls of ice. Members of her own party are forced to acknowledge her prowess". [15] She also highlighted the changes to Keyleth and Vax's romance and called it a "deft move on the part of the writers and animators". [15] Andrea Towers, for TV Insider in 2023, wrote that "the animated series is doing something remarkable: it's opening up Keyleth to an entirely new segment of fans, both new and old, who are falling in love with her endearing nature and struggles with self-confidence and seeing her in an entirely different way than people did a few years ago. The narrative of the show — especially the second season, which is allowing the character to come into her own and take on more responsibility — is proving that the very things that made the character so contentious in the first place are the things that make her one of, if not the most, valuable and relatable character in the adventuring group". [41]
Brenton Stewart, for CBR in 2022, commented that while many members of Vox Machina fit "classical fantasy tropes," Percy resists "almost any box of a fantasy archetype fans might try to fit him into" which makes him "more unique and interesting each time his backstory unravels". [13] Stewart wrote that "part of The Legend of Vox Machina's fun is that the characters are so diverse, there is something different for everyone and a little something to enjoy in each of them. The show would not be the same if it focused on Percy alone, yet it's hard to make any comparisons where he does not stand out as the most unique character worthy of focus". [13]
Madison Durham, for Polygon during the show's second season, wrote that "Vex'ahlia is not on the surface someone who is in any way fragile. She is bold, and self-confident, and unremorseful about the things she wants. She can also be prickly and stubborn. Beneath her bravado, though, lurks a very big heart. Big enough to rescue an orphaned bear cub, fierce enough to protect her brother and her friends, and kind enough to welcome a half-sister with open arms". [12] Durham highlighted the adaptation of Vex's conflict with her father and her fight with Saundor. She commented that "the animated series has done an amazing job at allowing all the characters in the show to stand on their own feet — in particular, they've been writing the women of the show beautifully". [12]
James Grebey, for Vulture in 2023, commented on the character design of the Chroma Conclave – "the stylistic choice to make the dragons computer generated, rather than the more traditional-looking animation of the human characters and backgrounds, sometimes sticks out, but it only makes [the Chroma Conclave's invasion of Emon] sequence even more effective. The Chroma Conclave is not normal. It is out of Vox Machina's league by an unfathomable degree". [29] Grebey highlighted the abilities of each dragon and on Thordak, he wrote "lest you think a normal fire-breathing dragon seems generic after his fellow dragons' unique, gruesome abilities, the series does something new and awe inspiring when the Thordak's fire turns into a brilliant white beam that instantly levels the city". [29]
Sarenrae is a prime deity in many Dungeons and Dragons campaigns, so to avoid any copyright issues, she has always been referred to as the Everlight in Critical Role.
The Legend of Vox Machina is an adult animated fantasy television series based on campaign one of the web series Critical Role. The series mainly follows the titular Vox Machina, a party of adventurers known primarily for their exploits across the continent of Tal'Dorei.
The cast reprising their roles from the web series are Laura Bailey, Taliesin Jaffe, Ashley Johnson, Liam O'Brien, Marisha Ray, Sam Riegel and Travis Willingham. Matthew Mercer, the Dungeon Master of the campaign, also stars as Trinket, Lord Sylas Briarwood, Umbrasyl and voices a number of background characters. Mary Elizabeth McGlynn is voice director for seasons 1 and 2. [1]
The series premiered on Amazon Prime Video on January 28, 2022; the second season premiered on January 20, 2023. [2]
Character | Portrayed by | Appearances [3] | |
---|---|---|---|
Season 1 | Season 2 | ||
Main characters | |||
Vex'ahlia "Vex" Vessar | Laura Bailey | Main | |
Percival "Percy" Fredrickstein Von Musel Klossowski de Rolo III | Taliesin Jaffe | Main | |
Pike Trickfoot | Ashley Johnson | Main | |
Trinket | Matthew Mercer [a] [b] | Main | |
Vax'ildan "Vax" Vessar | Liam O'Brien | Main | |
Keyleth of the Air Ashari | Marisha Ray | Main | |
Scanlan Shorthalt | Sam Riegel | Main | |
Grog Strongjaw | Travis Willingham | Main | |
Recurring characters | |||
Lady Kima of Vord | Stephanie Beatriz | Recurring | |
Sovereign Uriel Tal'Dorei | Khary Payton | Recurring | Guest |
Lady Allura Vysoren | Indira Varma | Recurring | |
Lord Sylas Briarwood | Matthew Mercer | Recurring | |
Lady Delilah Briarwood | Grey Griffin | Recurring | |
Shaun Gilmore | Sunil Malhotra | Recurring | |
Kerrion Stonefell | Darin De Paul | Recurring | |
Head Cleric | Anjali Bhimani | Recurring | |
Professor Anders | Stephen Root | Recurring | |
Archibald Desnay | Dominic Monaghan | Recurring | |
Duke Vedmire | Rory McCann | Recurring | |
Keeper Yennen | Gina Torres | Recurring | |
Lord de Rolo | Taliesin Jaffe | Recurring | |
Cassandra de Rolo | Esmé Creed-Miles | Recurring | |
Dr. Anna Ripley | Kelly Hu | Recurring | |
Thordak | Lance Reddick | Recurring | |
Umbrasyl | Matthew Mercer | Recurring | |
Raishan | Cree Summer | Guest [c] | Recurring |
Craven Edge | Matthew Mercer | Recurring | |
Kashaw | Will Friedle | Recurring | |
Zahra | Mary Elizabeth McGlynn | Recurring | |
Zanror | Abubakar Salim | Recurring | |
Kevdak | Ralph Ineson | Recurring | |
Kaylie | Aisling Franciosi | Recurring | |
Guest characters | |||
Sir Fince | Tony Hale | Guest | |
Palace Guard | Logic [d] | Guest | |
Tavern Keeper [e] | Mason Alexander Park | Guest | |
General Krieg / Brimscythe | David Tennant | Guest | |
Desmond | Max Mittelman | Guest | |
Jarrett Howarth | Eugene Byrd | Guest | |
Lady de Rolo | Grey Griffin | Guest | |
The Everlight | Tracie Thoms | Guest | |
Orthax | Matthew Mercer | Guest | |
Vorugal | Liam O'Brien | Guest | |
Earthbreaker Groon | Ike Amadi | Guest | |
Highbearer Vord | Sumalee Montano | Guest | |
Osysa | Alanna Ubach | Guest | |
Victor | Matthew Mercer | Guest | |
Syldor Vessar | Troy Baker | Guest | |
Vilya | Janet Varney | Guest | |
Korrin | Fred Tatasciore | Guest | |
Cerkonos | Robbie Daymond | Guest | |
Kamaljiori | Tony Plana | Guest | |
Garmelie | Billy Boyd | Guest | |
Wilhand Trickfoot | Henry Winkler | Guest | |
Devana Vessar | Toks Olagundoye | Guest | |
Velora Vessar | Jayla Lavender Nicholas | Guest | |
Saundor | Sendhil Ramamurthy | Guest | |
Artagan | Matthew Mercer | Guest | |
Dr. Dranzel | Matthew Mercer | Guest | |
Matron of Ravens | Courtenay Taylor | Guest |
The characters have been adapted from campaign one of the web series Critical Role. [6] [7] [8]
Vex'ahlia "Vex" Vessar (voiced by Laura Bailey), is a half-elf ranger and the twin sister of Vax'ildan. [6] [9] She studied dragons in the hope of eventually finding the one that killed her and Vax's mother. Vex feels a pain in her head whenever a dragon is close by. [10] [11] She is accompanied by Trinket (voiced by Matthew Mercer; Cheech Marin in Vex's Fey Realm hallucination), an armored bear companion she found as a cub and raised. Vex was treated poorly by her elven father Syldor due to her mixed heritage; Vax pushes her to run away with him following years of mistreatment by Syldor and the twins grow closer after running away. Upon returning to Syngorn as an adult, Syldor continues to dismiss both the twin's accomplishments and their quest for Fenthras, a Vestige of Divergence; Vex "defers to his anger and even chides Vax when he attempts to rebuke him". [12] In an attempt to stand up for Vex, Percy informs Syldor that she is in fact Lady Vex'ahlia, Baroness of the Third House of Whitestone and Grand Mistress of the Gray Hunt which Syldor also dismisses. This prompts Vex to stand up for her friends and herself – "when Syldor smugly rebukes her, she continues. 'We won't fail, which is more than I can say about you as a father.'" [12] After recovering and claiming Fenthras, Vex decides she's not ready to face her father again. [12]
Percival "Percy" Fredrickstein Von Musel Klossowski de Rolo III (voiced by Taliesin Jaffe) is a human gunslinger. [6] [13] Percy's family were once the rulers of Whitestone – a city within Tal'Dorei. He barely escaped alive from a coup d'état led by the Briarwoods during which most of his family were killed—an event he was able to attain vengeance for during Season 1.
Pike Trickfoot (voiced by Ashley Johnson) is a gnome cleric [6] [9] of the goddess Everlight. [14]
Vax'ildan "Vax" Vessar (voiced by Liam O'Brien) is a half-elf rogue and the twin brother of Vex'ahlia. [6] [9] His and Vex's mother was killed by a dragon before the events of the series.
Keyleth of the Air Ashari (voiced by Marisha Ray) is a half-elf druid [6] [15] who is currently undergoing her Aramenté – a quest which acts as the Ashari trial of leadership. [16] [17]
Scanlan Shorthalt (voiced by Sam Riegel) is a gnome bard [6] [9] known for his music and innuendo. He is not shy about his promiscuity.
Grog Strongjaw (voiced by Travis Willingham) is a goliath barbarian, [6] [9] who is always ready to fight.
Emon is the capital of the Kingdom of Tal'Dorei and is located on the continent's western shore. [18] The city is attacked by the dragons of the Chroma Conclave at the end of the first season. [19] [2]
Syngorn is a city of elves – it was teleported to the Fey Realm after the Chroma Conclave attacked Emon.
Vasselheim is the capital of the continent of Issylra. It is predominantly a religious city with several districts, each dedicated to a patron deity.
Whitestone is an independent city-state located on the continent's northeastern edge. It was ruled by the de Rolo family until a coup d'état led by the Briarwoods; the first season focuses on Vox Machina's fight with the Briarwoods and their reclamation of the city. [30] [31] [32]
A group of powerful dragons who have come together to conquer Tal'Dorei; this is unusual as dragons don't normally get along.
Madison Durham, for Polygon in 2022, wrote that "the characterization of Keyleth in the animated series is entirely consistent with how Ray played her in the show, refined and honed for this new format" and acts as "redemption" for the character. [15] During the first season, Durham comments that the audience "not only to see Keyleth overcome small moments of uncertainty, but are also treated to the visualization of her power — power she wields first as small blooms of flowers or vines, that blossoms into blazing orbs of pure sunlight and towering walls of ice. Members of her own party are forced to acknowledge her prowess". [15] She also highlighted the changes to Keyleth and Vax's romance and called it a "deft move on the part of the writers and animators". [15] Andrea Towers, for TV Insider in 2023, wrote that "the animated series is doing something remarkable: it's opening up Keyleth to an entirely new segment of fans, both new and old, who are falling in love with her endearing nature and struggles with self-confidence and seeing her in an entirely different way than people did a few years ago. The narrative of the show — especially the second season, which is allowing the character to come into her own and take on more responsibility — is proving that the very things that made the character so contentious in the first place are the things that make her one of, if not the most, valuable and relatable character in the adventuring group". [41]
Brenton Stewart, for CBR in 2022, commented that while many members of Vox Machina fit "classical fantasy tropes," Percy resists "almost any box of a fantasy archetype fans might try to fit him into" which makes him "more unique and interesting each time his backstory unravels". [13] Stewart wrote that "part of The Legend of Vox Machina's fun is that the characters are so diverse, there is something different for everyone and a little something to enjoy in each of them. The show would not be the same if it focused on Percy alone, yet it's hard to make any comparisons where he does not stand out as the most unique character worthy of focus". [13]
Madison Durham, for Polygon during the show's second season, wrote that "Vex'ahlia is not on the surface someone who is in any way fragile. She is bold, and self-confident, and unremorseful about the things she wants. She can also be prickly and stubborn. Beneath her bravado, though, lurks a very big heart. Big enough to rescue an orphaned bear cub, fierce enough to protect her brother and her friends, and kind enough to welcome a half-sister with open arms". [12] Durham highlighted the adaptation of Vex's conflict with her father and her fight with Saundor. She commented that "the animated series has done an amazing job at allowing all the characters in the show to stand on their own feet — in particular, they've been writing the women of the show beautifully". [12]
James Grebey, for Vulture in 2023, commented on the character design of the Chroma Conclave – "the stylistic choice to make the dragons computer generated, rather than the more traditional-looking animation of the human characters and backgrounds, sometimes sticks out, but it only makes [the Chroma Conclave's invasion of Emon] sequence even more effective. The Chroma Conclave is not normal. It is out of Vox Machina's league by an unfathomable degree". [29] Grebey highlighted the abilities of each dragon and on Thordak, he wrote "lest you think a normal fire-breathing dragon seems generic after his fellow dragons' unique, gruesome abilities, the series does something new and awe inspiring when the Thordak's fire turns into a brilliant white beam that instantly levels the city". [29]
Sarenrae is a prime deity in many Dungeons and Dragons campaigns, so to avoid any copyright issues, she has always been referred to as the Everlight in Critical Role.