For the cast of Critical Role, one of the most exciting things about the Legend of Vox Machina animated series is an opportunity to infuse the story with knowledge they didn’t have the first time around. Since the original campaign began almost a decade ago, the world of Exandria has only grown with two more campaigns and the spin-offs of Exandria Unlimited.
“One of the real positives of going back for the adaptation, given how much more of Exandria’s history we’ve explored through other campaigns and other characters, is that we now have the chance to go back and weave some of that together where it feels, both as Easter eggs and as truly impactful moments,” Matt Mercer, the Dungeon Master behind Critical Role, tells Polygon.
One of those impactful moments came in one of this week’s episodes, when cleric Pike (Ashley Johnson) went head-to-head with Zerxus Ilerez of Exandria Unlimited: Disaster in a devilish card game while deep in hell. Zerxus, played by Luis Carazo, is one of the main characters in the 2022 spin-off miniseries, set in canon centuries before the events of The legend of Vox Machina. He had only existed for five years after the original Vox Machina campaign ended, so the whole interaction with Pike is new to the show. But now that he’s part of the lore, it makes sense to include him The legend of Vox Machina.
“We had to (…) start the Pike storyline to some extent in a very impactful way, and even kind of weave in the larger cosmology and history of Exandria as a whole,” Mercer explains. “And that was a really, really, really cool moment.”
It also works the other way: the current story can now lead more directly into larger world-building and overarching plots that will come into play later. After all, a Mighty Nein series is already on the way. The Critical Role campaigns set in Exandria have all built on each other, but since the nature of actually playing Dungeons & Dragons means a lot of unwritten moments, it’s hard to predict which small moment in an early campaign will become much later recalled. The animated series gives the cast a chance to do more intentional foreshadowing.
“(In) this season, more than any other season, Exandria really starts to stretch its legs and show you what it’s capable of, and also starts to solve some of the bigger questions about the world on a global scale instead of just these characters,” says Travis Willingham, who voices the goliath barbarian Grog Strongjaw and also writes for the show. “Those little personal relationships are so important and boil down to what we do. But as the continents start to shift, you also start to wonder if they have a secure base at all. And that is very exciting for us.”
New episodes of The legend of Vox Machina fall every Thursday.