Legend of Vox Machina Brings D&D to Your Living Room

I’d be lying if I didn’t open this post by disclosing I’m a massive Critter (fan of Critical Role) and I just got finished with the first three episodes of The Legend of Vox Machina on Amazon Prime. I think The Legend of Vox Machina isn’t what anyone expected. It’s topping critical reviews and it’s delighted many fans including me. Before we dive into things too much we need some context.

From computer screen to TV screen

Critical Role began as a Pathfinder game for a campaign among a bunch of nerdy ass voice actors. After making it to mid level gameplay the group began streaming their game on Geek & Sundry where they found tremendous success as one of the platform’s breakout productions. The players transitioned to fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons for the stream, which helped boost the new game into the public eye as never before.

I started watching Critical Role at its third week of production at the encouragement of my housemate. Something about hearing familiar voices from my favorite anime, video games and television shows now portraying their own original characters was absolutely magical. As the story progressed the players took their acting chops and put them to use weaving an entertaining tale that straddled lines between dark, comedic and dramatic. Even covering such a broad tonal range the series never felt disingenuous or inconsistent.

Despite struggles from the inside and out, Critical Role persevered as a staple of my weekly routine and I truly spent the week thinking, “Is it Thursday yet?”

Breakout Kickstarter

While still in the throes of Campaign 2, Critical Role launched a Kickstarter for an animated series. I would be remiss to avoid mentioning how some found the way things were handled distasteful as the Kickstarter series would be distributed exclusively through Amazon Prime. However for many, the option of a free month still allows for most to see the series for free.

From the beginning of the Kickstarter, Critical Role was upfront about not thinking the animated series would succeed without proof to investors it was marketable. They were also upfront about their intentions to publish the show with a traditional media source, and finding success with Amazon I was personally thrilled to see them succeed at something they put so much effort into.

The Kickstarter funded explosively and it went from funding a one shot special into an entire series. It set records on Kickstarter for the amount it raised and the results as far as I’ve seen have paid off with this release. Bringing in icons from the voice acting industry like Grey Griffin, Felicia Day, Khary Payton and so many more The Legend of Vox Machina is star studded and primed for nostalgia fodder for fans of shows like Avatar: The Last Airbender, Teen Titans: Go! and more.

Is The Legend of Vox Machina any good?

Here’s where we talk about what makes the show so unique. As I mentioned already Critical Role consistently strides through broad genres. These include drama, action, horror and of course comedy. While this tonal variety is familiar to D&D players, those who watch The Legend of Vox Machina without this context discover a show that masters the “show, don’t tell” model.

At its heart the show is written for fans of Critical Role. If you know the show and the characters then you catch boatloads of Easter eggs and understand the context of many moments within the series. As a fan I recognized several moments pulled straight from the campaign and the show pauses ever so slightly each time a crucial die roll was made before resolving it in the narrative. These moments made me fanboy out.

These little details achieve the effect of that extra breath holding anticipation players of D&D experience when such a roll is made. What’s more, because the show relies on most of the audience either knowing the context or filling in gaps, the show refuses to bog itself down with exposition. The Legend of Vox Machina throws viewers into the world with enough setup for context. It immediately invokes brutal violence then tinges it with comedy, perfectly cementing viewer expectations.

When we meet Vox Machina we see a brief interaction between them, setting up each character before letting loose with a glorious tavern brawl. The show differentiates itself with broad tonal shifts that feel seamless, peppering in three dimensional aspects of characters and taking just long enough to contemplate the darker, somber moments of the series.

For those of you wondering, there is no Tiberius Stormwind in The Legend of Vox Machina. We’re not going to delve into the drama but I will say the story does a beautiful job of reknitting the story from the campaign, including an arc from the home game, then shifting to the next arc we witnessed from the campaign.

The combination of tonal variety and showing without telling took some critics and newcomers to The Legend of Vox Machina’s story off guard but this works in the show’s favor. It differentiates itself from the recent deluge of fantasy stories we’ve seen. The Legend of Vox Machina may have blown away expectations but it thrives as an early success only three episodes in. I cannot wait to see where this story takes us and rediscovering my love of Tal’Dorei through the lens of animation.

What do you think?

Have you watched The Legend of Vox Machina? What are your thoughts? If you want more nerdy content like this make sure to drop this article a like and a share. To connect with Nerdarchy beyond our website you can find us on Facebook and YouTube. You can also watch us play games and interview icons of the RPG community weekly on Nerdarchy Live. Stay nerdy!

*Featured image — They’re rowdy, they’re ragtag, they’re misfits turned mercenaries for hire. Vox Machina is more interested in easy money and cheap ale than actually protecting the realm. But when the kingdom is threatened by evil, this boisterous crew realizes that they are the only ones capable of restoring justice. What began as a simple payday is now the origin story behind Exandria’s newest heroes.

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