Critical Role
Critical Role is an American web series in which a group of professional voice actors play Dungeons & Dragons. The show started streaming in March 2015, partway through the cast's first campaign. "Campaign One" ran for 115 episodes, and ended in October 2017. The cast started playing "Campaign Two" in January 2018, but the show was placed on hiatus in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and California's lockdown measures, and returned on July 2, 2020. In the hiatus between the two campaigns, a number of one-shots were aired.
The series is broadcast on Thursdays at 19:00 PT on the Critical Role Twitch channel, with the video on demand being available to Twitch subscribers immediately after the broadcast. On the Monday following the live stream, the VODs are made available for the public on Critical Role's website and uploaded to their YouTube channel. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic the show was broadcast live, but is being pre-recorded since its return for episode 100 of Campaign Two.
The cast own the intellectual property from the show, and the show also lends its name to the studio owned by the cast; Critical Role Productions. The studio has produced Critical Role and Talks Machina since 2018. It also develops and produces other programming for the studio's Twitch and YouTube channels. A number of licensed works based on the show have been released, such as the two official campaign setting guides written by the show's dungeon master, Matthew Mercer.
Background
Critical Role is a creator-owned streaming show where the cast play an ongoing Dungeons & Dragons campaign, with Matthew Mercer serving as the show's Dungeon Master for the seven other cast members.The group's first campaign began two years prior to the start of the series as a one-off, simplified Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition game for Liam O'Brien's birthday. The players enjoyed this initial game so much that they continued to play while switching to Pathfinder. After Felicia Day heard about the private home game from Ashley Johnson, she approached the group about playing it in a live-streamed format for Geek & Sundry. In order to streamline gameplay for the show, the game's characters were converted from Pathfinder to Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition before the web series began airing on March 12, 2015.
In June 2018, Critical Role Productions launched its own Twitch and YouTube channels, with cast member Marisha Ray being announced as the creative director of the franchise. The sets for Critical Role and Talks Machina moved from Legendary Digital Network's studios to Critical Role's own studios in July 2018. In February 2019, Critical Role's split from Geek & Sundry and Legendary Digital Networks was completed, with live broadcasts of their shows and VODs airing exclusively on Critical Role's channels. Some "legacy episodes" remain available in Geek & Sundry's archives on YouTube and Twitch. Since December 2019, some older episodes of Critical Role and Talks Machina are being deleted from the Geek and Sundry channels and re-uploaded to the official Critical Role channels, beginning an ongoing migration of older content to the creator-owned channels.
Critical Role company and studio
The Critical Role company, Critical Role Productions LLC, was incorporated in 2015., Travis Willingham serves as chief executive officer, Matthew Mercer as chief creative officer, Marisha Ray as creative director, Ed Lopez as chief operating officer, Rachel Romero as senior vice president of marketing, and Ben Van Der Fluit as vice president of business development.The company moved to their own studio space in 2018, and started putting out new shows on their own Twitch and YouTube channels. The split from Legendary Digital Networks was completed in early 2019, at which point Critical Role studio took over production responsibility of the Critical Role and Talks Machina shows.
Format
Critical Role is a mixture of a weekly show and a modern gaming Twitch stream. Each episode usually runs for 3 to 5 hours and is streamed live on Critical Role's Twitch channel on almost every Thursday, with possible breaks from the show being announced at least one week prior to the broadcast. The VOD is made available for subscribers of Critical Role's Twitch channel immediately after airing, before being uploaded to Critical Role's YouTube channel the following Monday, where it can be watched for free.Critical Role has played with a live theater audience eight times: the first for episode 60 of Campaign one, Heredity and Hats, held on July 14, 2016, at the Landmark Theatre in Los Angeles; the second for episode 62 of Campaign one, Uninviting Waters, held on August 6, 2016, at the Hilbert Circle Theatre in Indianapolis; the third for episode 109 of Campaign one, The Ominous March, held on August 18, 2017, at the Old National Centre in Indianapolis; the fourth for episode 29 of Campaign two, The Stalking Nightmare, held on August 3, 2018, at the Murat Theatre in Indianapolis; the fifth for episode 37 of Campaign two, Dangerous Liaisons, held on October 4, 2018, at the United Palace Theatre in New York; the sixth for a one-shot game called Vox Machina: The Search for Grog, held on January 19, 2019, at The Theatre at the Ace Hotel in Los Angeles; the seventh for episode 73 of Campaign two, Uthodurn, held on August 2, 2019, once again at the Murat Theatre in Indianapolis; and the eighth for a one-shot game called The Adventures of the Darrington Brigade, held on November 23, 2019, at the Bass Concert Hall in Austin, Texas.
A number of Critical Role's streams have also served as a donation drive to support nonprofit organizations such as St Jude, 826LA, Extra Life, and Doctors Without Borders.
Campaign structure
The Critical Role storyline occurs in a campaign that consists of a series of story arcs, which are usually played over multiple episodes. Between—or sometimes within—the major story arcs, the characters rest, resupply, or go on side quests. In addition, every player character has a backstory, an unfinished part of their personal history that can be relevant to the campaign from time to time. Sometimes, major story arcs are intrinsically tied to a character's backstory.Both campaigns are set in Exandria, a world of Matthew Mercer's creation.
Campaign One
Campaign One takes place primarily in Tal'Dorei, a continent of Exandria. It follows the exploits of an adventuring party known as Vox Machina, previously known as the Super High-Intensity Team, a rag-tag group of mercenaries originally formed in the swamp-town of Stilben.Pre-series history
In their adventures prior to the start of the series, the group saved the family of Sovereign Uriel Tal'Dorei III, ruler of Tal'Dorei and its capital city of Emon. In appreciation, Uriel gave the group seats on the city council, and provided them with a residence called Greyskull Keep, which is located just outside the city. Episode 36, titled Winter's Crest in Whitestone, features a summary of the pre-series history, with artwork created by Wendy Sullivan Green and voice-overs provided by the cast.The forthcoming Critical Role animated series will include a canonic story that takes place within the pre-stream time frame.
On-stream campaign
The first episode of the show aired on March 12, 2015, beginning the on-stream part of the first campaign, which concluded with its 115th and final episode on October 12, 2017.The Kraghammer story arc jumps in at the point in Vox Machina's story where the cast's original home game left off. It takes place primarily in the subterrenean depths of the Underdark, and culminates in a battle between Vox Machina and a dangerous beholder by the name of K'varn, who is controlling an entire city of Illithid.
The Vasselheim story arc splits the party into two groups, who seek to prove their worth to the "Slayer's Take", a local adventurer's guild in the ancient city of Vasselheim, by taking on dangerous missions. This arc features multi-episode guest appearances by Felicia Day, Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, Wil Wheaton, and Will Friedle, adding a new twist to the now-divided adventuring band. This arc also includes the first episode that touches on a character's backstory, as Keyleth visits another druid tribe to continue her Aramenté, a journey to become the leader of her people.
The Briarwood story arc leads Vox Machina to Percy's ancestral home, the city of Whitestone, which was once ruled by his family. The party have to fight for control over Whitestone against Lord and Lady Briarwood, who are responsible for the demise of most of the de Rolo family and have taken the city as their own. The Briarwood's ties into necromancy and a secret cult make things even more dangerous, and Vox Machina must stop them from completing a ritual that threatens to endanger the entire kingdom. During the early stages of this arc, Tiberius leaves Vox Machina for good.
The Chroma Conclave story arc begins with the attack of four ancient chromatic dragons on Emon, the capital of Tal'Dorei, with the Sovereign and other important political figures falling in the onslaught. The dragons take control over and divide the kingdom, and in order to defeat them, Vox Machina needs more power than they currently have. They search for the "Vestiges of Divergence", famed and extremely powerful magical items from ages passed, which are scattered throughout the world. During the ongoing battles against the powerful dragons of the Chroma Conclave, the backstories of some characters are also further explored. Smaller arcs focus on Grog's herd that once exiled him, the last figure from Percy's traumatic past, as well as a strained family reunion for the twins, Vex and Vax.
The Taryon Darrington story arc begins with the departure of Scanlan from the group, whose mental problems and disagreements with the group culminate in an argument that shakes the party. While traveling to Ank'Harel on the continent of Marquet, Vox Machina meet Taryon Darrington, an inexperienced aspiring author and adventurer. Adventuring together with Taryon, some smaller story arcs see Vox Machina helping Keyleth, literally traveling to hell, as well as dealing with Taryon's family, who reside in the Dwendalian Empire on the continent of Wildemount. During this arc, which is loosely defined by Scanlan's absence and Taryon's presence in the party, Pike's family also makes an appearance and her relationship with them is explored. The arc includes a one year time skip between episodes 94 and 95.
The Cult of Vecna story arc revisits the mysterious and dangerous artifact that was activated beneath Whitestone Castle during the Briarwood story arc. Scanlan finally rejoins Vox Machina, while the party now has to fight a cult which tries to summon the evil lich demigod Vecna, who seeks to ascend to true godhood and rule Exandria. His ascension actually succeeds and he becomes the only god on this side of the Divine Gate, which keeps the other gods from directly interfering in the world they created. With the indirect help of some of the prime deities who aid them with special powers, Vox Machina are the only group of heroes who can possibly stop the "Whispered One" in one gigantic final battle.
Post-campaign
In 2019, over a year after the first campaign ended, Critical Role produced three canonical one-shot games that feature Vox Machina in the time frame after the banishment of Vecna. The first one-shot, Vox Machina: The Search for Grog, was played at a live show in Los Angeles on January 19, 2019, then broadcast on Twitch on February 22, 2019 before being released via YouTube and Twitch VOD on February 23, 2019. It explored an event that took place in the final episode of Campaign one, but was not played out in detail because it would have disrupted the ongoing epilogue. More Vox Machina one-shots were unlocked as rewards and stretch goals during the Kickstarter campaign for the Critical Role animated series. The first of these was Vox Machina: The Search for Bob, a continuation of the events of The Search for Grog. It aired on the Critical Role Twitch channel on June 21, 2019, with the YouTube VOD being made available on June 23, 2019. Another Kickstarter reward was Vox Machina's Summer Reunion at Dalen's Closet, which aired on Twitch on August 29, 2019, with the YouTube VOD becoming available for the public on September 2, 2019. This one-shot takes place a year after the events of The Search for Grog/Bob, as Percy and Vex renew their wedding vows on a beach in Marquet, with all of their friends and family present—as well as a few uninvited "guests".Also in 2019, Critical Role played another canonical and Vox Machina-related one-shot at a live show: The Adventures of the Darrington Brigade was played at the Bass Concert Hall in Austin, Texas on November 23, 2019. It stars Sam Riegel as Taryon Darrington, honorary member of Vox Machina, who leads a group of new characters into their own adventures. The story takes place several years after the end of "Campaign one". This one-shot aired on the Critical Role Twitch channel on November 29, 2019, with the YouTube VOD being made available on December 1, 2019.
Campaign Two
The second campaign began on January 11, 2018, and follows the adventuring party known as The Mighty Nein. The story is set on the continent of Wildemount, which was briefly visited during the Vox Machina campaign. The Mighty Nein campaign is set about 20 years after Vox Machina's final battle against Vecna and takes place in a time where tensions between two of Wildemount’s mightiest nations are very high. A hiatus due to concerns around the COVID-19 pandemic was announced on March 17, 2020. On June 25, 2020, it was announced that the show would return on July 2, 2020 with a modified production plan. Following the guidelines of the Hollywood White Paper, cast will be seated at separate tables at least seven feet apart, the show will be produced with a skeleton crew and the show will be pre-recorded rather than airing live.Trostenwald/Alfield arc
The Trostenwald/Alfield story arc serves as an origin story for the new adventuring party, whose members meet for the first time in a town called Trostenwald within the Dwendalian Empire. They are: Fjord, a male half-orc who gained magical powers out of nowhere; Jester, a young female tiefling who follows an unknown god; Caleb, a very guarded male human wizard; Nott, a seemingly benevolent female goblin; and Beauregard, a young human woman "on a wandering tour". They meet Mollymauk, a pompous tiefling, and Yasha, a quiet swordswoman, who work for a traveling circus. An Undead attack during a circus performance forces the seven to work together, as they have to prove they were not responsible for the incident. During this arc, Beau’s connection to the monk order of the "Cobalt Soul", keepers of knowledge who also work as spies, is revealed. The seven individuals decide to travel together, and, after fending off a gnoll attack in the town of Alfield, name themselves "The Mighty Nein".Zadash arc
The Zadash story arc covers the party's adventures in the Empire city of Zadash. They do some jobs for the Crownsguard, the official police forces; but also help a secret group that fights corrupt high ranking government officials. During this time, the "Zauber Spire", a mage tower in the middle of the city, nearly crumbles in an attack. The group run into one of the attackers, a fleeing Drow. He is later killed by Crownsguard, but the Nein — unbeknownst to anyone else — "acquire" the mysterious power source he seemingly stole from the mages of the Empire-allied Cerberus Assembly. This event seemingly becomes the catalyst for war between the Dwendalian Empire and the Drow of the Kryn Dynasty, who rule over the eastern country of Xhorhas. Meanwhile, the Mighty Nein start doing jobs for The Gentleman, an enigmatic figure who controls the criminal underground of Zadash. During this time, it is revealed that Molly is missing many of his memories. At the end of this arc, the Nein win Zadash‘s annual fighting tournament. At the after-party, they meet Cerberus Assembly archmage Trent Ikithon. Caleb, who was not noticed, later on entrusts the horrible secrets of his past in the service of Ikithon to Nott and Beau - he was once trained to be an Empire assassin.Iron Shepherds arc
In the Labenda Swamp/Iron Shepherds story arc, the Mighty Nein decide to keep away from the beginning war and deal with two missions for the Gentleman. The first one leads them into the Labenda Swamp, where they investigate a smuggler‘s safe house that went dark. The party also find a mysterious orb — which is suddenly sucked into Fjord's body. For their second mission, the party travels to the Empire's northern border, where they are supposed to aid an ally of the Gentleman in the lawless city of Shady Creek Run. On their way, the party are ambushed by a group of slavers known as the "Iron Shepherds". Fjord, Jester, and Yasha are kidnapped, and a rescue attempt from the rest of the Nein leads to Molly's death at the hands of Lorenzo, the leader of the slavers. Caleb, Beau, and Nott gather new allies — including Caduceus, the last keeper of a holy graveyard in the forest outside of Shady Creek Run. They attack the Iron Shepherds in their stronghold, rescuing their friends and killing the slavers. Following these traumatic events, the group, alongside Caduceus, who wants to accompany them, returns to Zadash. After learning of Molly's fate, a grieving Yasha leaves the party temporarily.False Serpent arc
The False Serpent arc follows the Mighty Nein as they travel southwards, out of the Empire and to the city states of the Menagerie Coast. They visit Jester's hometown, the coastal city of Nicodranas, where they meet Jester's mother, Marion Lavorre, a famed courtesan. Surprisingly, they also meet Yasha again, who rejoins the group. Later, an absolutely crazy series of events involving the group, pirates and the city guards leads to the party fleeing by sailing a ship onto the Lucidian Ocean. They embark on a months-long journey, discovering that Fjord's powers — and the orb — are granted to him by an ancient and evil being named "Uk'otoa", which was sealed away a long time ago. The party is forced into working with the cunning pirate captain Avantika, another one of Uk'otoa's chosen, who plans to release her ancient "god". After breaking one of three seals that are holding Uk'otoa back, a rest on Darktow, an island controlled by pirates, gives the Mighty Nein the opportunity to sever their ties with Avantika. She is executed for treason by the "Plank King", the leader of the pirates. Fjord, however, continues to follow Uk'otoa's path, breaking the second seal. In the end, he figures out that he does not want to release an evil calamity, and abandons the search for the third seal. Back in Nicodranas, the Nein meet Yussah Erennis, a strange elven mage, who they entrust with a weird magical item they had found. Then, the Mighty Nein return to the Empire, where the city of Felderwin was attacked by Kryn.Xhorhas Arc
In the Xhorhas story arc, the Mighty Nein travel east and have to deal with the reality of the war. In Felderwin, they learn that a Halfling named Yeza was taken by the Kryn, which leads Nott to confess that she is a Halfling who was magically changed into a Goblin. She's also married to Yeza, with whom she has a son, Luc. Searching for Yeza, the group travels into the wastelands of Xhorhas. In the city of Asarius, they take on mercenary work for the Kryn, sealing a strange rift to the Abyss, the demonic plane. As their reward, the group are granted an audience with Leylas Kryn, the Bright Queen, ruler of the Kryn Dynasty. During the audience in the capital, Rosohna, the party are accused of espionage. In an effort to save their lives, Caleb hands over the object the party "acquired" in Zadash. It turns out to be one of the "Beacons of the Luxon", key parts of the Kryn's religion that were stolen by the Cerberus Assembly – a reason for the war. The Mighty Nein are declared heroes, and Yeza and Nott are reunited. Following this, the party find more demonic rifts they manage to seal. The Kryn reward them with a house in Rosohna. During this time, Yasha tells the whole group about her own dark past – parts of which she doesn’t remember. Also, Beau has to deal with her mentor Dairon, who has infiltrated Xhorhas for the Cobalt Soul. Over time, the Mighty Nein figure out that the rifts were opened on purpose. They chase the responsible person, Obann, to a place called Bazzoxan, where he lures them into an ancient underground temple. Here, Obann reveals himself as a devil and releases an ancient, mad terror known as the "Laughing Hand". Also, Yasha seemingly turns on the party. She had, in the past of which she was missing memories, served under Obann in the cult of a being called the "Angel of Irons". The others barely escape with their lives, unaware that Yasha was controlled by Obann.Angel of Irons arc
The Angel of Irons story arc follows the remaining party members after Bazzoxan. They reunite Yeza and Luc, escorting them to live with Marion Lavorre in Nicodranas. Searching for more power to beat the Laughing Hand, the Mighty Nein travel to the "Greying Wildlands", north of the Empire and Xhorhas, where they hope to reforge an ancient sword known as the "Star Razor". With help from the Dust family, keepers of a holy kiln, as well as from a smith and a vigilante from the city of Uthodorn, the reforging process is a success. However, during their travels, the Nein only narrowly escape from an encounter with the ancient white dragon Gelidon – and during this time, Uk'otoa takes away Fjord's magical powers because he disobeyed his patron. Fjord manages to destroy his pact weapon, and, with guidance from Caduceus, becomes a Paladin of the Cleric's goddess, the Wildmother. He now wields Star Razor. During this arc, Beau is promoted within the Cobalt Soul order. The group — via Jester's Scrying spell — witness an attack on the Cobalt Soul library in Zadash, carried out by Obann, Yasha, and the Laughing Hand. They manage to deduce their next goal, but come up short again when Obann manages to release another ancient terror, the "Caedogeist". Seeking guidance, the Mighty Nein visit the mage Yussah, who has vanished into the age-old „Heirloom Sphere“, the magical object the Mighty Nein had left with him. The Nein, supported by Yussah’s ally Allura Vysoren, follow and free him while also finding a way to weaken the Laughing Hand. After this, a ritual reveals the true face of the Angel of Irons: Tharizdun, the Chained Oblivion, the maddest and oldest darkness trying to break its shackles. Under the Empire's capital, Rexxentrum, the Mighty Nein confront the "Angel" cult for the final time – all while Kryn forces attack the city. They break Obann's influence over Yasha, who obliterates her abuser shortly after, and kill the Laughing Hand, while the Caedogeist turns on Obann and flees.Ongoing arc
The current story arc starts with the Mighty Nein being brought before King Bertrand Dwendal and his advisors, including Cerberus Assembly members Ludinus Da'leth and Trent Ikithon. They convince the King that they stopped a dangerous cult, but have to admit they have contacts in the Dynasty. However, the King and the Assembly want the Nein to help broker a peace, using the second stolen Beacon as a peace offering. At this time, Ikithon reveals that he has recognised Caleb as his former student, Bren. Caleb also has to confront two other students of Trent: his former friends Eodwulf and Astrid. Beau discovers that the Assembly has found yet another Beacon that the Dynasty doesn’t know about – giving them the opportunity to end the war and keep a Beacon. The party convince the Bright Queen to hold peace talks on neutral ground without mentioning this detail. During the preparations for the talks, the Mighty Nein deal with some of their private problems. Caleb and Essek, a gifted mage and their friend from the Dynasty, create a spell that can turn Nott back into a Halfing. The spell fails - because Nott was not only turned, but cursed. The search for the magic woman who did this to Nott leads the Nein to someone who Beau’s father once made a deal with: Isharnai, a crone-like being. The Nein visit Beau's parents, with whom she’s had a bad falling out – their reunion sends Beau in a mental downward spiral. The subsequent meeting with Isharnai is saved by Jester, who masterfully tricks Isharnai into lifting Nott's curse. This triggers a revelation from the Traveler, Jester's enigmatic god: He is actually not a god, but an archfey named Artagan - who has become something more thanks to Jester's belief. The Nein also help Caduceus on his path, as he finds a possibility to help his dying forest home and reunites with his family – who were turned to stone on the last leg of their own journeys, a curse that is broken by the party. Caduceus' family returns home, and soon after, the spell on Nott works. She becomes herself again: Veth, a Halfling. Both Caduceus and Veth agree to travel with the Nein for a little longer as they travel to sea along with the Dwendalian fleet to witness the end of the peace talks and head to Rumblecusp for Travelercon 3000.One-shots
Instead of an episode in the main storyline, the series will occasionally feature a one-shot game—a self-contained story that can be told within the time constraints of one episode. A one-shot could be described as the RPG equivalent to a short story.Some of the Critical Role one-shots are canonical parts of the storylines that play out in one of the campaigns, covering events that occur outside the time frame of the respective campaign, but still feature some of the campaign's main characters. Other one-shots only have a tangential relationship to the campaigns, as they are set in the world of Exandria, but feature a different cast of characters, often in smaller scale adventures that may or may not be canon. There are also one-shots that have no connection with the campaigns or the world of Exandria at all. Especially for the latter two types of one-shots, it is not uncommon that several guest players replace absent cast members.
Critical Role aired several one-shots in the hiatus between Campaign one and Campaign two. Also, during the runtime of a campaign, the series will occasionally air one-shots as replacements for regular episodes, for example on Thursdays on which multiple cast members are unavailable due to other work commitments. Sometimes one-shots are aired as additional content, for example as rewards for the fans donating money to a charity the cast promoted. Not all Critical Role one-shots use the Dungeons & Dragons game system, as some are based on different, sometimes one-page, RPG games. Also, in many one-shots, other cast members take over the role of Dungeon Master or game master from Matthew Mercer., over 25 one-shots have aired, and every cast member—with the exception of Ashley Johnson—has taken up the duties of DMing or GMing at least once.
Some of Critical Roles one shots have been sponsored. One-shot sponsors have included ', Hearthstone, and Call of Cthulhu. In 2019, a Critical Role one-shot was sponsored by Wendy's to promote the Feast of Legends'' RPG system developed by the company. However, following a strong negative fan response to the sponsor, the Critical Role team chose to take down the VOD, announcing via Twitter that they had donated their sponsorship profits from the one-shot to the Farm Worker Justice organization.
Cast and characters
Critical Role has consisted of eight main cast members, all of whom are the original cast. The show had a cast of nine for the first 27 episodes. A number of guest players have also appeared on the show over the years.Main
The cast, their character, as well as that character's race and class for the two campaigns are listed below. When a player has taken the option of multiclassing, the classes are listed in the order taken by the player. An is used to indicate a homebrew class developed by Mercer.Guests
Guests are an irregular occurrence on Critical Role and, in most cases, only stay on the show for a one-off appearance or a few consecutive episodes. Only a few guests have appeared in non-consecutive episodes, with their respective characters playing an active role in different parts of the overall storyline. So far, Chris Perkins is the only guest to have appeared in both campaigns, playing a different character for each campaign.| Actor | Campaign 1 | Campaign 2 |
| Felicia Day | Lyra | |
| Mary Elizabeth McGlynn | Zahra Hydris | |
| Wil Wheaton | Thorbir Falbek | |
| Will Friedle | Kashaw Vesh | |
| Kit Buss | Lillith Anioska Daturai | |
| Jason C. Miller | Garthok | |
| Chris Hardwick | Gern Blanston | |
| Chris Perkins | Shale | Spurt |
| Patrick Rothfuss | Kerrek | |
| Noelle Stevenson | Tova | |
| Jon Heder | Lionel "Chod" Gayheart | |
| Darin De Paul | Ethrid "Sprigg" Brokenbranch | |
| Joe Manganiello | Arkhan the Cruel | |
| Khary Payton | Shakäste | |
| Mark Hulmes | Calianna | |
| Ashly Burch | Keg | |
| Sumalee Montano | Nila | |
| Deborah Ann Woll | Twiggy | |
| Mica Burton | Reani |
Reception
Critical response
As of January 2016, each episode of the show has been watched for more than a million minutes on Twitch, totaling over 37 million minutes watched for the whole series. Additionally, the YouTube archived videos have over 115 million views. It has amassed over 168 million views overall. On January 11, 2018, the second campaign's first episode peaked at 135 thousand viewers on Twitch and YouTube, compared to the first campaign finale's 40,000 viewers.In a January 2016 article, Polygon described Critical Role as a "thoroughly modern" show with a business model that is still developing.
The show has caught the attention of the publishers of Dungeons & Dragons, Wizards of the Coast, who discussed it at length on two occasions on their official D&D podcast, along with cast members Matthew Mercer, Marisha Ray, Liam O'Brien, Laura Bailey and former member Orion Acaba. In an interview with the online gaming magazine Polygon, lead D&D designer Mike Mearls commented about the show, stating "It was really cool, as a guy who works on Dungeons & Dragons, to open up my Twitch app on my iPad and see Dungeons & Dragons in the first row".
Viewer responses to the show have been overwhelmingly positive, with many fans, nicknamed "Critters", creating content such as fanart, fan fiction, character-inspired music, and fan-created merchandise for the show. Fans also send in many gifts for the cast and crew, resulting in occasional "Critmas" episodes during which the gifts are opened and distributed.
The cast of Critical Role are active participants on sci-fi/comics convention circuits, appearing for panels and signings at San Diego and New York Comic Cons. For the 2015 New York con, "critical rolls" were available from one of the food vendors.
Accolades
Licensed works and related products
There are a number of spin-off shows and books, all of which are produced by the Critical Role studio. Various third-party, licensed works have also been released since Critical Role began in 2015.Animated series
On March 4, 2019, the cast launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for a 22-minute animation called Critical Role: The Legend of Vox Machina Animated Special. The animated story will be set just before the streaming portion of the campaign started—when the players were around level seven—during a time when, canonically, there is an in-game period of roughly six months when the members of Vox Machina were not all together at the same time. For a single 22-minute animated short, fulfilling the other campaign rewards, and the fees associated with a crowdfunding campaign; the cast projected a cost of US$750,000. Not knowing how long this would take to raise, the campaign length was set at 45 days.Within an hour of launch, however, the Kickstarter had reached more than $1,000,000. At the end of the first full day, all of the announced stretch goals had been unlocked, and the total had reached more than $4.3 million. With four 22-minute episodes funded in the first 24 hours, additional stretch goals were added, expanding the project into an animated series. The first two episodes would cover the pre-stream story arc. The subsequent episodes would adapt the Briarwoods' arc, also from the Vox Machina campaign. By March 18, 2019, eight 22-minute episodes had been funded. Finally, on April 4, 2019, the last published stretch goal of $8.8 million was reached during the airing of episode 57 of Campaign 2, pushing the total length of the animated series to ten episodes. A "secret" $10M stretch goal of Travis Willingham being filmed going around a haunted house was reached April 16. The final total raised by the Kickstarter when it closed on April 19, 2019, was $11.3M. When the campaign closed, it was one of the most quickly funded in Kickstarter history, and was the most funded Kickstarter for TV and film projects. In June 2020, it was announced that the Fall 2020 debut would be missed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and a new release date has yet to be made available.
The cast will reprise their respective Vox Machina roles, with the exception of Orion Acaba. The animated series will be written by Jennifer Muro, and animated by Titmouse, Inc. The project is slated for release in late 2020. In November 2019, Amazon Prime Video announced that they had acquired the streaming rights to The Legend of Vox Machina, and had commissioned 14 additional episodes. An update posted to the Kickstarter campaign assured backers they would have access to the first season.
Art books
On August 18, 2017, at a live show in Indianapolis, a Critical Role art book titled The Chronicles of Exandria Vol. I: The Tale of Vox Machina was announced. It includes backstories for Vox Machina, as well as some of the NPCs. It features artwork from the community. On August 3, 2018, was announced. The Chronicles of Exandria Vol. II: The Legend of Vox Machina, a sequel to the first art book, was released November 2018.The first Mighty Nein art book The Chronicles of Exandria: The Mighty Nein was announced on March 11, 2019. It will be published on March 31, 2020.
Campaign setting books
On August 8, 2016, Green Ronin Publishing announced that it had signed a licensing agreement with Geek & Sundry to release roleplaying game sourcebooks based on Critical Role. The announcement was made by Chris Pramas, president of Green Ronin and Ryan Copple, General Manager of Geek & Sundry, live on the 62nd episode, Uninviting Waters, at Gen Con 2016. All books in the series will use the Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition rules. The books will be written by Matthew Mercer and will be set in the world of Exandria.The first book, titled Critical Role: Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting, is set on the continent of Tal'Dorei where most of Vox Machina's adventures take place. The hardback edition was released at Gen Con 2017 on August 17, 2017, while the PDF version was released on July 17, 2017. On July 14, 2017, Green Ronin revealed the cover by Aaron Riley of Critical Role: Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting on Twitter.
On January 13, 2020, Wizards of the Coast and Critical Role announced the launch of the second book, titled Explorer's Guide to Wildemount. The hardback edition is scheduled for release on March 17, 2020.
Comics
Geek & Sundry produced a six-panel series of webcomics weekly from November to December 2015 that describes a "Winter's Crest Festival" that occurred pre-series. The webcomics are written by cast members Marisha Ray and Taliesin Jaffe, and feature artwork by Wendy Sullivan Green.On July 22, 2017, at the 2017 San Diego Comic-Con, a comic book that tells the tales of the beginning of Vox Machina pre-stream and pre-game was announced. It is written by Matthew Colville, drawn by Olivia Samson, and colored and lettered by Chris Northrop. It was scheduled to be released before the end of 2017. On September 6, 2017, Geek & Sundry announced that they partnered with Dark Horse Comics for the comic book. They also revealed the cover for the first digital issue by Deborah Hauber and release dates. It was announced to be available digitally beginning September 20, with a physical graphic anthology to follow in Spring 2018. The first digital issue was released on September 20, 2017. A trade paperback Critical Role: Vox Machina Origins series I was announced on March 11, 2019, and is due to be released on October 15, 2019.
On March 11, 2019, a second set of six comic books was announced continuing the Vox Machina Origins stories. Also published by Dark Horse Comics, Critical Role: Vox Machina Origins series II is written by Jody Houser, drawn by Olivia Samson, colored by MSASSYK, and lettered by Ariana Maher. Issue one will release on July 10, 2019.
Podcasts
On the 100th episode of Critical Role, the launch of the Critical Role podcast was announced: an audio version of the game sessions. It is available on iTunes, Google Play Music, and at the Geek & Sundry website. The first campaign's podcast episodes were released in batches of 10–15, between June 8, 2017 and January 8, 2018. Since the start of the second campaign, the podcast episodes have been released on the following Thursday.Charity involvement
On October 16, 2015, the Extra Life fundraiser episode raised over $20,000 for the Children's Miracle Network during the broadcast. This charity episode included a reappearance of the Critical Rejects, as well as three members of the Critical Role cast, Liam O'Brien, Marisha Ray, and Orion Acaba.During the show, viewers are invited to donate money to 826LA, which is later provided in a lump sum to the charity. Donation amounts and messages appear live on the stream, and on earlier episodes, a list of donors was read at the end of each session. During Geek & Sundry's 2015 Extra Life fundraiser, a special interactive episode was broadcast. This episode alone brought in over $20,000 for the Children's Miracle Network, and the event as a whole raised over $76,000. In late November 2015, Geek & Sundry's Twitch channel held a special Doctors Without Borders fundraiser, with nearly half of the $10,000 goal being raised during the 4-hour Critical Role broadcast. In December 2015, the cast released a "Critter's Guide to Critmas" in response to the flood of gifts they were receiving from fans, asking them to instead donate to a variety of charities, with a different cast member sponsoring each charity.
In Spring 2018, the show held a charity drive for 826 LA which resulted in community members donating over $50,000, which was matched by a generous community member. This charity drive resulted in some prizes being unlocked for the community, such as discount codes for D&D Beyond and Wyrmwood Gaming, a second Fireside Chat with Matt Mercer, and a second Honey Heist run by Marisha Ray.