The Legend of Vox Machina

The Legend of Vox Machina is an adult animated fantasy series made for Amazon Prime Video by Critical Role, Metapigeon, and Titmouse. It adapts the first Dungeons & Dragons campaign performed by Critical Role’s core cast, transforming their streamed tabletop game into a serialized story. The opening episodes introduce Vox Machina as a cash-strapped band of adventurers hired by the rulers of Tal’Dorei. Their membership includes twins Vex’ahlia and Vax’ildan, gnome bard Scanlan Shorthalt, gunslinger Percy de Rolo, cleric Pike Trickfoot, druid Keyleth, and barbarian Grog Strongjaw. The show retains the players as these characters’ voice performers throughout the adaptation. Season one begins with the party investigating a monster attack on the village of Stilben, then moves to the Briarwood arc from Critical Role’s campaign. Percy returns to Whitestone, where Lord and Lady Briarwood have seized control and persecuted the city’s resistance. The conflict ties directly to the murder of Percy’s family and his masked revenge identity and the demon Orthax. Meanwhile, the series develops Vax and Keyleth’s relationship, Pike’s separation from group, and Scanlan’s role in Whitestone’s liberation. Season one premiered on January 28, 2022, after three episodes were released together; subsequent installments arrived weekly. Its final episode, “The Darkness Within,” ends with the Chroma Conclave, a coalition of dragons, attacking the capital city of Emon. That cliffhanger launches season two, which debuted on January 20, 2023. The season follows Vox Machina after the Conclave destroys much of Tal’Dorei, forcing the party to seek weapons and allies against the dragons. It also adapts material involving the Vestiges of Divergence, legendary artifacts important to the campaign’s Chroma Conclave storyline. Amazon ordered a second season before the first had premiered, following the show’s unusually successful crowdfunding origin. Critical Role had asked supporters to fund a short animated special through Kickstarter in 2019, but the campaign raised more than $11.3 million from over 88,000 backers, financing a far larger project than originally planned. Amazon Prime Video subsequently acquired the series, ordering two seasons totaling twenty-four episodes at that stage. The first season has twelve episodes, while season two has twelve. A third season premiered on October 3, 2024, continuing the confrontation with the Chroma Conclave and drawing on parts of Campaign One. The adaptation is executive-produced by Critical Role founders Matthew Mercer, Marisha Ray, Ashley Johnson, Travis Willingham, Laura Bailey, Liam O’Brien, Sam Riegel, and Taliesin Jaffe, alongside partners. Its title uses the party’s name, Vox Machina.