Bells Hells

Hello everyone!

Considering how massively Critical Role has produced content, not only for its brand in general, but for Exandria alone, it is sometimes overwhelming to think about how much of what we watch and read we should count as an actual part of that world, whenever we find something outside the impressive official Exandrian Timeline. Furthermore, what we see in the campaigns works as part of a TTRPG, Dungeons & Dragons, so... How do we know when to accept as true in Exandria what that game explains to us in its rules?

That's why this humble critter has made an attempt to classify Critical Role's content based on how canon it is considered within the Exandrian universe. This is, of course, an incredibly complex and subjective task, so I want to make it clear from now on that what you are going to read is not an official document, but a small guide made by and for fans. We have three main categories: canon, semi-canon, and non-canon, and within each of them there are specific cases with associated examples, to make them more understandable. It will be an honor for me if you express your opinions on the matter, or if you can think of more cases and/or examples with which to enrich this creation.

Thanks in advance, I hope you enjoy it:

Canon (this content is accepted as the truth in the world of Exandria)

• Events that take place during campaigns and/or oneshots set in or directly connected to Exandria. Example: This is pretty self-explanatory, I believe. Anything in the official Exandrian Timeline.

• Content from books, adventures, comics and official novels. Example: The solar Xalicas, a lesser idol, has never been mentioned in a campaign, but she appears in both Explorer's Guide to Wildemount and Call of the Netherdeep, and thus she exist as a canonical figure in Exandria.

• Information revealed by the cast themselves on social media, interviews, or videos dedicated to sharing said information. Example: Matt Mercer confirming Essek's sexuality on Twitter.

Semi-canon (this content is accepted as the truth in the world of Exandria provisionally, until a canonical source contradicts or reaffirms it. Sorted from closest to canon to least)

• Oneshots set in Exandria that do not contradict the chronology and/or integrate coherently into it, even if they have not been explicitly confirmed in the timeline. Example: The events that take place during Liam's One Shot: The Song of the Lorelei are set chronologically during the War of Ash and Light, in Campaign Two, and both Liam's concern for continuity and the presence of House Lorelei in The Chronicles of Exandria - The Mighty Nein positions the oneshot as semi-canon.

• Adventure elements or adventure hooks in books, valid, at least in its initial version, until they become confirmed or rewritten in a campaign. Example: Graz'tchar was canonically in the Grey Valley, as described in Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn, but now, in the version of Exandria that the cast plays in, it is no longer there.

• Rumors, theories and legends within Exandria itself, which are considered as reliable as the characters themselves judge them to be. Example: The rumors and legends about Ruidus, some of them widely believed, and others seen as superstitions.

• Material from Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting that does not appear in Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn. Example: If the change occurs by following a chronology, such as the succession of two kobold queens of the same name (Yabber Tinysoot XIV and XIX), both facts are considered perfectly compatible. However, if the differences between both books seem to be unrelated, both events are considered to have happened (one in 812 PD and the other in 836 PD) until proven otherwise.

• Information revealed by guest cast members outside a session. Example: This information is as valid as that provided by members of the main cast, but less familiarity with the lore can lead to confusion, such as Troy Baker saying/assuming that Syldor Vessar had held his children as babies (when it is known that he did not, because he didn't know he had children).

• Very early lore elements from Campaign One, which has not been mentioned again but has not been contradicted either. Example: Laduguer, the god of the duergar, hasn't been mentioned again since Campaign One, but no information has explicitly denied his existence.

• Lore elements from external sources validated by the cast. Example: Lillith Daturai's backstory, developed in a comic in which Matt Mercer himself was involved.

• Lore elements included in The Legend of Vox Machina developed from material contributed by Matt for Exandria. Example: The existence of Rimecleft as a location on Issyra.

• 5e Edition elements hinted at in a logical context. Example: In the same episode in which the names of Avernus and Zariel, or Dis and Dispater, are used, it is logical to presume that if the 4th layer of the Nine Hells is mentioned it will have the associated names from the same sources.

• 5e elements that directly involve Exandria. Example: Arkhan using the Hand of Vecna that he got in Campaign One to free Tiamat from Avernus.

• Details of the world of Exandria that do not alter the continuity of canon stories but are in oneshots of non-canon events and other similar sources. Example: Kashaw Vesh's appearance as an older man, despite being seen only in Guest Battle Royale.

• References to the real world in the world of Exandria. Example: Nick Jonas as the name of a famous bard who studied in Tal'Dorei.

• Contradictions between campaigns and their adaptations in other media. Example: If it is possible to reconcile both versions, it is done, otherwise each version is considered canonical only in its source medium. In the comic about Yasha's origins, for example, specific details about her life with the Dolorav tribe are provided, and incorporated into the character's main backstory despite not being mentioned by her in Campaign Two.

• Contradictions in social media of content established in canonical sources. Example: The benefit of the doubt is always given, but the best-established version takes priority; sometimes even the cast gets confused, like when Matt mistakenly said on Twitter that the person who healed Caleb's mind followed Sehanine instead of Corellon.

• Speculations made by guest cast members about the future of their characters in Exandria. Example: It all depends on how far into the future the speculation is. Some things are short-term plans, like Sumalee Montano explaining that after reuniting with her family Nila decided to have a second child; others are less easy to determine, such as Mark Hulmes envisioning Calianna's ideal long-term future with a potential partner and children, as it is not 100% guaranteed to be compatible with future events in Campaign Three or Calianna's potential future participation in Critical Role.

Non-canon (this content is not accepted as the truth in the world of Exandria)

• Oneshot plots in Exandria clearly marked as non-canon. Example: Again, pretty self-explanatory, I believe. The various Battle Royales cannot be canon.

• Oneshots and miniseries outside of Exandria. Example: Candela Obscura has its own world and its own canon, with no connection to the world of Exandria.

• Lore revelations in a session that are obviously jokes by the cast. Example: FCG saying that the planet is flat.

• Events that happen in campaigns set in Exandria but played by people outside of Critical Role. Example: Matt Hulmes playing a hypothetical son of Lord Zeddan Graf in an adventure with D&D Beyond, or your own home campaign in which, perhaps, Raishan is still alive as a dracolich.

So I just started Campaign Three recently and I'm loving it so far!