Today marks the start of the new animated series “The Mighty Nein” on Amazon Prime, based on the second D&D campaign by Critical Role. The new group of “heroes” consists of 7 different characters with varied talents, backgrounds, and personalities, which we want to introduce to you in this list.
Attention! This list is designed to be as spoiler-free as possible and roughly discusses the backgrounds of the characters, as long as it does not give away spoilers or heavy plot twists. It is thus suitable for newcomers who want to get to know and place the characters of the Mighty Nein better. We ask you, if you want to comment, please do not spoil anyone.
After the first episode of the new series adaptation of Critical Role’s “The Mighty Nein” was briefly available on YouTube, it officially starts on November 19, 2025, on Amazon Prime. Initially, the first three 45-minute episodes will be available, to which another episode will be added week by week.
In the first episode, you could meet three members of the new adventurer group, focusing on magic, who have big shoes to fill after the heroes from Critical Role’s first Amazon hit “The Legend of Vox Machina”. Despite the success, Critical Role is even more ambitious with their second series adaptation than with their first, as they want to reach many newcomers alongside loyal fans, but also understand that the characters from The Mighty Nein are quite different from the virtuous personalities from Vox Machina.
“They have a lot of inner demons,” says Sam Riegel, co-producer of the series and member of Critical Role on YouTube, “They are complex characters. They are not just heroes looking to perform heroic deeds. They have real problems they need to deal with.”
And these complex candidates, plagued by problems and inner demons, we want to introduce to you in this list in line with the release of the animated series.
Here you can see the animated trailer for “The Mighty Nein”, the new animated series featuring the original voices from Critical Role:
In this list, we introduce you to the 7 “heroes” from “The Mighty Nein”, who – contrary to what one might mistakenly assume from the name – do not consist of 9, but of 7 members. This also led to a joke in the trailer where the group initially consists of only 6 adventurers.
The name originated from the circumstances of the streamed campaign, where the mix of Caleb’s Zemnic/German accent and many rolled Nines contributed to the “Nein”. How the group in the animated series comes up with the name remains intriguing.
Caleb Widogast (Liam O’Brien)
- Race: Human
- Class: Wizard
Caleb is – without wanting to insult him and according to the description of his speaker Liam O’Brien (on Instagram) – a “dirty, shabby” wizard who apparently carries a lot of emotional baggage with him.
He is rather reserved and tries not to stand out too much. This makes him a rather quiet and unassuming member of the Mighty Nein, who only comes alive at the mention of spells and the history surrounding magic. His reserved nature often leads others to underestimate him, yet he is still considered one of the most powerful members of the group.
Showrunner Tasha Huo explained regarding the diverse magic that will be seen in The Mighty Nein that the series reflects the backgrounds and individuality of the individual characters through their magic: “Caleb, for example – a meticulous and strict young wizard – rarely needs rare materials that must be precisely measured and used to cast his spells. His magic fundamentally differs from that of the other characters.” (Source: Collider)
Due to his past, he harbors a unhealthy self-contempt that none of the other “Nein” can easily take from him, yet he still possesses a strong drive to achieve his goals.
In the original English version of “The Mighty Nein”, in the campaign as well as in the animated Amazon series, Caleb speaks with a “Zemnic” accent and uses “Zemnic” words, which Liam drew from the German language.
