Critical Role The Legend of Vox Machina: Bawdy, Bloody, and Funny

With The Legend of Vox Machina, Critical Role comes full circle from being voice actors playing D&D (first in a private game, then streaming on Geek & Sundry) to an $11 million Kickstarter for an animated special. That success attracted streaming network interest, which then morphed into a 24-episode animated series where they're voicing their own characters.

If you've never watched Critical Role Season 1 or read any of the stories, TLoVM the animated series is easy to jump into. Instead of being exposition heavy or thrusting viewers into a lot of world building, it starts with some classic fantasy – especially fantasy RPG – tropes like a drunken bar brawl and mercenaries being killed (a TPK) by a mysterious force. Those scenes are delivered with hefty dose of humor, a bit of blood, and some nudity.

This isn't the '80s Saturday morning Dungeons & Dragons cartoon for kids. While there is gore, it's less than an episode of Invincible and far less than that show's season 1 finale. Similarly, TLoVM has nudity and a bit of sex in the first few episodes, but far less than Game of Thrones.

Vox Machina is an established group at the start of the series, but one that needs money and has a less than stellar reputation. The land of Emon is being ravaged by a mysterious threat. A bit of desperation on both sides leads to the bickering heroes taking the job.

TLoVM is bawdy, bloody, and funny, but it also has heart. The first two episodes tell a complete story with an obvious hook at the end that leads into the rest of the episodes – and a stinger hinting at new threats.

The animation style has clean lines with some anime influence, but nothing excessively intricate or artsy. At the same, the art direction has style, like a scene that adds interest to the characters walking by showing it through a spider's web dotted with raindrops.

The first episode establishes the eight members of Vox Machina quickly with the following episodes building nicely upon each character's traits. Matthew Mercer voices several of the supporting characters, but in this format he doesn't have to cover all of the NPCs. The guest star talent includes David Tennant, Stephanie Beatriz, Tony Hale. Felica Day is the voice of a bandit.

And if they don't sell a stuffed toy bear version of Trinket at some point, Critical Role is missing out on a merchandise opportunity. TLoVM hits the perfect sweet spot between making Vex's companion bear fierce in battle, amusing when waiting, and adorable the rest of the time.

No critic has been given advance access to the entire first season, let alone all 24 episodes, so it's impossible to say how well the entire story arc plays out, but the first few episodes are entertaining and well made.

You don't have to be a fan of Critical Role to enjoy The Legend of Vox Machina, but if you're a fan of fantasy adventure, TLoVM might turn you into Critter. The Legend of Vox Machina debuts on Amazon Prime on Friday, January 28, with the first three episodes. Critical Role will be holding watch parties on their Twitch channel at 7pm Tuesdays.

 

[Mallus]

The tone being all over the map, the general irreverence, is precisely what makes Vox Machina feel like a D&D campaign to me. It's what separates it from being another cartoon with high fantasy elements.

Turns out an elf throwing up in someone else's mouth during a hyper-violent bar fight was sine qua non for D&D-style fantasy (the way I've seen it played at any rate). Color me surprised.

 

[el-remmen]

I watched two episodes. I liked it better than I thought I would but not enough to keep with it, I think.

I think I'd like it better if the D&D stuff was more obvious. What classes are these characters? What spells are they casting or abilities? For example, what is that "plant shield" spell the druid(?) keeps casting? What's a saving throw for half damage look like? Etc. . .

I know I am probably in the minority about this, and it would likely make no sense for the non-playing audience they also want to reach, but if I am absorbing D&D content, I want it to be obviously D&D.

 

[Vaalingrade]

I watched two episodes. I liked it better than I thought I would but not enough to keep with it, I think.

I think I'd like it better if the D&D stuff was more obvious. What classes are these characters? What spells are they casting or abilities? For example, what is that "plant shield" spell the druid(?) keeps casting? What's a saving throw for half damage look like? Etc. . .

I know I am probably in the minority about this, and it would likely make no sense for the non-playing audience they also want to reach, but if I am absorbing D&D content, I want it to be obviously D&D.

Again, CR is a separate IP from D&D. They can't just go around putting D&D labels on stuff. Just like Record of Loddoss War and Slayers before it. D&D inspired, but not D&D affiliated.

 

[el-remmen]

Again, CR is a separate IP from D&D. They can't just go around putting D&D labels on stuff. Just like Record of Loddoss War and Slayers before it. D&D inspired, but not D&D affiliated.

That might be an explanation for it, but that doesn't change my opinion of what I want out of D&D media.

For the record, I didn't like Record of Lodoss War either. Though it has been about 24 years since I gave it a shot..

 

[Burnside]

I think it's a mistake to try to draw direct 1:1 comparison between D&D mechanics and stuff that happens on this show. The can only use the SRD stuff. They're not even going to be able to use the name "goliath" for what Grog is.

 

[Vaalingrade]

Also, even if we were going to 1:1 it, the game the first two episodes are based on was played in Pathfinder.

 

[Hexmage-EN]

What species was the bar owner in ep 1? Dwarf? With a human or half elf daughter?

It was a Changeling. From looking it up, apparently the Tavern Keeper was the result of both an initial poll and a followup livestream that solicited suggestions from the audience.

 

[Bill Zebub]

As a non-CR watcher starting to check this out, my reaction has been mixed so far. I think the art and animation is really nice (someone said it was 'saturday morning cartoon' standard above, and i think that's very unfair).

I used that comparison, but in reference to the writing/story (and the moral lesson, for that matter), not the art.

 

[Hexmage-EN]

Since Scanlan has been a major point of discussion I thought I'd note that his songs TLoVM are new compositions, whereas in the original CR show his bardic talents were more along the lines of short parodies of famous songs he did while using Bardic Inspiration.

• “Everything is awesome, everything is cool when you’re making an arrow.”
• “And I’ll cast BIGBY’s HAAAAND! Bigby’s hand, you know it!”
• “Boom, clap! The sound of your gun, the beat goes on and on…”
• “It’s the, eye of the Goliath, it’s the thrill of the fight, rising up to the challenge of that a**hole!”
• "Can you feel the blood toniiiiiiight?"
• “Here comes the sun (doodoo doodoo), here comes the sun (doodoo doodoo), It’s all right (doodoodoo doodoodoo…), Kill the vampire...”

 

[Baron Opal II]

Well, the first part of the Campaign One stream heavily featured WotC IP (mind flayers and such) and didn't have that much to do with the rest of the overall campaign, so it's easy to see why it was skipped.

It will be interesting to see how the create the bonds between Allura, Kima, and VM without the mind player arc. That's where we get introduced to Kima, right? VM rescues her from someone and they meet the outcast mind flayer.