Rank 2: Vox Machina
With the epic group Vox Machina, it all began: Even before the streaming launch in March 2015, the cast now known as Critical Role played this campaign privately. Accordingly, the stream starts in the middle and celebrates the adventures of the namesake party in 115 episodes.
Matt Mercer leads the campaign for Liam O’Brian, Taliesin Jaffe, Laura Bailey, Ashley Johnson, Marisha Ray, Travis Willingham, and Sam Riegel. In early episodes, Orion Acaba also participates, but leaves the campaign relatively early.
Vox Machina is arguably the best-known campaign, partly because it serves as the basis for the cartoon The Legend of Vox Machina. The characters are likable, the story has world-ending stakes and is simply epic. Still only rank 2, as the production quality, especially at the beginning, is rather challenging, and starting in medias res can be confusing.
Caro says
I must admit that I initially watched the animated series for Vox Machina before I saw any clip from the actual campaign. Therefore, I don’t have nostalgic feelings associated with the characters or story, but I love the dynamics of the group.
Additionally, through Vox Machina, I was able to bring more friends into D&D fandom, which led to the creation of our first own group and campaign!
Sophia says
My entry into Critical Role started with the end of Vox Machina. I was drawn to the streams through viral clips of the characters’ love potion shenanigans Grog (Travis Willingham) and Vax (Liam O’Brian) and was instantly captivated. Starting with episode one was confusing, yes. But from the very first second, I loved everything about Critical Role.
The characters are just well-rounded, the story super epic, and the ending so beautifully bittersweet. Vox Machina is storytelling exactly to my taste. It still goes so far that I dive into all campaigns and content that mention my favorites from Critical Role. I almost watched 121 episodes of Bells Hells just for Keyleth.
Alex says
Vox Machina embodies for me the classic DnD experience. Mostly classic characters, classic villains, typical classes and races – all mixed into a still exciting story with likable figures from both the players and Matt Mercer’s lovingly crafted and lively NPCs.
I was able to connect well and empathize here and I suspect many who have played a longer campaign feel the same way. The characters’ stories are tragic and gripping, and everyone noticeably grows beyond themselves during the story. That’s why Vox Machina is for me the solid 2 – a completely rounded experience.
On the next page, we move to rank 1!
