With the third season of the animated series The legend of Vox Machina packaged, the Critical Role roleplay team now looks forward and back simultaneously – back to the Vox Machina storyline of their D&D campaign as they hope and plan for a season 4 of the TV adaptation, and look ahead to their next TV series. Polygon sat down Legend of Vox Machina writer-producer Travis Willingham (the voice of Goliath barbarian Grog Strongjaw) and writers Marisha Ray (half-elf druid Keyleth) and Liam O’Brien (multi-class elf Vax’ildan) to talk about different projects and tough choices.
The cast had a lot of it “reigns” and wins to unpack from season 3, but they also look ahead to their next animated show: Mighty Neinan adaptation of Critical Role’s second major campaign. That gave us the chance to ask a cruel question about their priorities and their favorite child.
This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
Polygon: Where are you currently in developing the Mighty Nein animated series?
Travis Willingham: We wrote all of Season 1. The storyboards will all be locked, if they aren’t already. So it goes to our overseas studio. We get animation tests back and see things come back into color. We designed all the characters. The magical spells and effects are considered. We’re talking about music, and how it will be different Vox.
So it’s definitely more than halfway through, and I think everyone is going to be very happy with the way it’s going to turn out. It won’t be the same tone as Vox machine. In Voxthey start together. They’re kind of like a bunch of losers who just make the best of their situation. But I think we did that because we knew we had a short runway to begin with. (Of Mighty Nein), we wanted to go back even further and take what I think we would call a Session Zero perspective, where we meet the characters individually and take the time to How do they come together? and really showing people the first parts of their journey.
Because like everyone who has the Mighty Nein campaign would know, the characters don’t even know if they are the good guys or the bad guys. That’s something we’d like to explore.
Marisha Ray: Yeah, we didn’t start out as friends. (Everyone laughs) We did that not like each other.
What do three seasons of Legend of Vox Machina taught you what you are doing Mighty Nein from the beginning?
Willingham: So a lot of. I think the biggest thing from an animation perspective, which we had never looked at before, was that when you have seven characters on screen at the same time, it’s hard to draw. So we had to find smart ways (with The legend of Vox Machina) to split up the group, or ensure that certain characters take center stage. If it’s really two characters talking, does everyone have to be in the background?
When we played at the table, the motto was: ‘Never split the party’. In animation it’s the exact opposite: it’s “Try to find every opportunity to split the party.” Not only for the animation, but also so that the character focus can really be there.
Has the process of developing the shows – these shortened, intensified versions of these arcs – changed the way you roleplay at the table? Do you think in the back of your mind: This game needs to be played as a TV show at some point?
Liam O’Brien: Some people might think that. But if you look the Bells Hells team we are playing nowthey are the craziest of the Suicide Squad. You’re like, Why are they together? I mean, I know where they are now, but at first you were like, Who are these people? What’s happening?
So it wouldn’t seem to our audience like we came in like, Okay, cartoon number three, this is what the focus group thought would be best. Everyone just gravitated towards something they thought would be fun. And that’s all we ever did at the table. There are definitely moments when we think, “That was cool. I see that completely animated.” But that’s an aftereffect, not the goal.
Ray: Yeah, I feel like when we got into Mighty Nein we were like: Oh man, this group is so crazy. Look at them, they’re the Suicide Squad! And then Bells Hells said: Hold my beer. When it comes to the miniseries, like something with Calamity or one of Exandria Unlimitedwe have a phrase we use when we do them: “Drive it like you stole it.” You only have four episodes or eight episodes at best, so you have to go hard, go fast, commit.
But I think this is more indicative of having fewer episodes in a miniseries, in terms of bringing something different to the table. The only thing that really changes is sometimes something cool happens and we’ll be like, “Damn, that’s going to be a cool animation.”
So speaking of those series, Mighty Nein And Call HellenThis is the meanest question I can think of for you. Amazon comes to you with a big pile of money and says, “You can use this to finish it off.” Legend of Vox Machina as you imagined it, or create one Mighty Nein show, or create one Call Hellen show, or create an original show of your choice – but only one of those, and nothing else, ever. What do you choose?
O’Brien: Does this mean we have to kill the other kids? I love it! This is good.
Willingham: This is a Hells or Despath question. Man. I’d probably hit – oh god. I would say Mighty Neinbecause we had the chance to chew on Vox Machina. And I think the greater world would be richer for it. Season 3 (from Legend of Vox Machina) ends in a nice place. If that’s the end of the story, then great, but at least we get it Mighty Nein out.
O’Brien: That’s true, that’s true.
Willingham: That was a cold-hearted decision!
Ray: I know! It’s so hard!
Willingham: I don’t want to be president of the United States. Don’t make me press the button!
Ray: I mean, I’d love to just tap into it Calamity. If they give us a big pile of money, like, ‘This is your $100 million per episode episode, Rings of power-level stuff”…Imagine that Calamity.
Willingham: Now I regret!
Ray: It’s okay! We spread it! We spread it.
O’Brien: But another answer – even though these are both great answers and Travis’ argument affects me specifically – the audience and I would feel suffocated if we didn’t see it Vox machinethe story we started with ends. I love all our babies, but they are our first child. We’ve learned how to do everything we do with those bastards, so I’d love to see them cross the finish line.
Willingham: We’ve got our bases covered. Thanks God.
The legend of Vox Machina season 3 is now streaming on Prime Video.