Before the first arc of Campaign One of Critical Role, Vox Machina had many adventures. The team met in the swamp town of Stilben as a ragtag group of mercenaries in search of work. After doing a few odd jobs they traveled to the city of Emon, where they managed to halt a demonic insurrection within the royal family, gained a reputation as heroes, and had a keep built in their honor.
Pre-stream / Arc 1: Kraghammer and Vasselheim ➡
Session summaries[]
| No. | Title | Original airdate | Link | Runtime |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 (Pre-stream) |
"A Myriad of Possibilities" (Pre-Stream) | 2012-12-08 | VOD | - |
| Vox Machina met in the swamp town of Stilben as a ragtag group of mercenaries in search of work. They were hired by Fendril Vas to investigate new competition in town, the Myriad. Their mission led them to the plane of the undead fetal-formed deity Crysa-Thul, who revealed that their contract with Vas was merely a ruse to lure them so the god could feed on them. The party destroyed the creature and returned to Stilben to kill Vas in revenge. | ||||
| 02 (Pre-stream) |
"Wisdom and Lichdom" (Pre-Stream) | 2013-02-10 | VOD | - |
| Grog Strongjaw left for his hometown of Westruun, but after a few weeks the party went to look for him. There they met his childhood friend Pike Trickfoot, who said that Grog had been acting strangely and had gone off alone. Pursuing him, the group encountered Keyleth and discovered a subterranean city where Grog and the reanimated corpse of his father Stonejaw Strongjaw were being controlled by a dying mage attempting lichdom. He embedded his phylactery into Grog's chest before being killed. | ||||
| 03 (Pre-stream) |
"The Chest" (Pre-Stream) | 2013-06-09 | VOD | - |
| While they were looking for help, Drez Vina offered to pay for them to infiltrate the tower of an Archmage and retrieve a chest for him. Hoping to speak with this Archmage, the party accepted but decided against stealing the box, instead asking Realmseer Eskil Ryndarien for help. He sent them to collect two items he required for a ritual to rid Grog of the phylactery: the skull of a Nightmare and the heart of a Nymph. Ryndarien told them that if the phylactery was not removed in time, the lich would be reborn within Grog in two weeks. | ||||
| 04 (Pre-stream) |
"A Prisoner and a Nightmare" (Pre-Stream) | 2013-07-26 | VOD | - |
| The party traveled to Jorenn Village in the Umbra Hills, where they met, befriended, and freed from imprisonment the human gunslinger Percival de Rolo, who joined the party. They infiltrated a cult who was trying summon a dark envoy from the Shadowfell in order to kill his Nightmare steed and collect its skull. | ||||
| 05 (Pre-stream) |
"The Heart of a Nymph" (Pre-Stream) | 2013-09-06 | VOD | - |
| From the Umbra Hills, they traveled to the Frostweald. On the way they battled basilisks, and finally encountered a single unfrozen pool of water inhabited by a nymph. After speaking with the nymph, Grog followed her back to her dimensional sanctuary and returned holding a jewel gifted by the nymph: her "heart". The group returned to Westruun to meet Realmseer Eskil Ryndarien, and the ritual to rid Grog of the phylactery succeeded. | ||||
| 06 (Pre-stream) |
"There Will be Brawl" (Pre-Stream) | 2013-09-27 | VOD | - |
| Drez Vina was sent by his master who was displeased that they had failed to retrieve the chest. He demanded that their debt be paid off by retrieving the Arcane Cortex from the chest of an iron golem in the Shadebarrow, an ancient druidic burial chamber. The Cortex was returned to Vina, fulfilling their contract. A dwarf named Kradin Grimthorne then offered to represent them in a nearby underground fighting ring, where they fought their way to victory. | ||||
| 07 (Pre-stream) |
"A Cold Opening" (Pre-Stream) | 2013-11-22 | VOD | - |
| During Winter's Crest, a strange blue crystal was delivered to Westruun in the name of Archmage Eskil Ryndarien, which froze the city in ice. The party saw a nude woman emerge from the crystal, open a portal and leap through. They followed her to a frozen world where she revealed her true form: the white dragon Skysunder. The party defeated her, freeing the people of Westruun from the ice. Eskil Ryndarien was put on trial for the attack, but the party proved his innocence. He discovered that the crystal had actually been delivered by the Clasp. Vax'ildan, a former member, knew that their headquarters were in Emon. | ||||
| 08 (Pre-stream) |
"Arrival at Emon" (Pre-Stream) | 2014-03-29 | VOD | - |
| In Emon, the party completed a few odd jobs, one of which led them to Syldor Vessar, the father of Vex'ahlia and Vax. The twins learned that their father had married and had a new daughter. In town as ambassador to Syngorn, Syldor hired the party to search for Sir Gregory Fince, his missing contact with the Tal'Dorei Council. The party also heard rumors about children disappearing after they were seen befriending a black-haired, golden-eyed boy. | ||||
| 09 (Pre-stream) |
"The Fall of the House of Fince" (Pre-Stream) | 2014-06-14 | VOD | - |
| The party infiltrated Sir Gregory Fince's house, talked to an imp, battled a succubus and at least one demon in his basement, then found his tortured corpse, as well as his notes on an attempted assassination of Sovereign Uriel Tal'Dorei II and his family. Since that attempt, Uriel had been largely absent from the Council, and his wife had been whispering in his ear and scoffing at any who defied them. The party left to inquire with General Krieg, who had thwarted the attempted assassination. | ||||
| 10 (Pre-stream) |
"The Dwarf, the Hag and the Monstrosity" (Pre-Stream) | 2014-07-12 | VOD | - |
| As they exited the basement, Grog, Tiberius Stormwind, Vex, Percy, and Keyleth fell into a subterranean river system leading to the Crystalfen Caverns, where they encountered a hag named Trysta. In her hut, Tiberius found one of the artifacts he was searching for, the Mending Wheel, and made a deal with Trysta to obtain it. The hag showed them the way back to the surface in exchange for slaying a newly nested umber hulk. After a harsh combat, the party succeeded and surfaced in Emon. | ||||
| 11 (Pre-stream) |
"Into the Clasp's Grasp" (Pre-Stream) | 2014-08-07 | VOD | - |
| Meanwhile, as Scanlan Shorthalt looked for a map of the sewer system, Vax and Pike were attacked and taken to the headquarters of the Clasp, where Spireling Modeth Lai told them that Sir Gregory's house was under surveillance. Vax revealed his past membership to the Clasp, but he and Pike, after battling a chained Chimera in the Clasp's arena, managed to sneak out in the night to reunite with the rest of the party. | ||||
| 12 (Pre-stream) |
"Forgery and Scrying" (Pre-Stream) | 2014-08-15 | VOD | - |
| The party met the man who had thwarted the royal family's assassination, General Krieg, who was interested in their information regarding Sir Gregory Fince and the Clasp, but asked them not to meddle in the investigation. Vox Machina were denied entry at the Palace of the Sovereign but met Allura Vysoren, a powerful arcanist and a member of the Tal'Dorei Council. She invited them to her home, the Ivory Tower, where she and Keyleth Scryed into the palace, revealing that Uriel and his entire family were under the influence of a demonic force. The party visited the Clasp, where they killed Spireling Modeth and stole four glowing crystals. | ||||
| 13 (Pre-stream) |
"Out of the Blue" (Pre-Stream) | 2014-09-12 | VOD | - |
| Returning to Allura's tower, they found she had been attacked by a demonic entity but escaped. The tower began to collapse due to a defense mechanism, but the party escaped when they discovered a Carpet of Flying. They found a teleportation circle at General Krieg's home which transported them to a cavern holding a treasure hoard and four large obsidian orbs. A reptilian eye appeared within one and a voice called for "Brimscythe". Noticing the party, the voice said, "Intruders. I know your face now. He is a fool, and so are you, insect." The orbs all cracked and became inert. General Krieg then appeared and revealed his true form: the blue dragon Brimscythe. The party killed him but the chamber began to collapse and they escaped via the Teleportation Circle. | ||||
| 14 (Pre-stream) |
"The Power Behind the Throne" (Pre-Stream) | 2014-10-10 | VOD | - |
| Back in Emon, the party went to see Gilmore and was found by Allura who had been attacked. She led them in infiltrating the Cloudwatch Palace, where they stormed the throne room. Vox Machina banished the shadows in the royal family's bodies, summoning the entity behind the entire scheme: a devil prince named Juurezel. | ||||
| 15 (Pre-stream) |
"The Soul Jars" (Pre-Stream) | 2014-11-09 | VOD | - |
| Juurezel told the party of a great war between devils and demons, requesting their aid in destroying demons in the city and offering a single Wish if they agreed to make a pact with him. After initially agreeing, Vox Machina decided to use their wish to cancel their contract with the fiend, who then revealed his true form: a glabrezu demon. During the ensuing fight, "Juurezel" killed Pike. After killing the demon, the group rushed to a nearby temple of Pike's deity Sarenrae, where they brought her back to life via a resurrection ritual. Using the four crystals they stole from the Clasp, which were actually Soul Jars, they restored the royal family's souls to their bodies. In thanks for all their help, the king offered the party a place on the Tal'Dorei Council and commissioned the construction of a keep for them on the outskirts of the city. He also declared a new Winter's Crest festival. | ||||
| 16 (Pre-stream) |
"GoldenEyes" (Pre-Stream) | 2014-12-19 | VOD | - |
| The party noticed Gren Tal'Dorei, the son of Uriel, chatting with a boy with black hair and golden eyes. The party chased them into an alley and through a portal, finding themselves atop a forested island in the Astral Plane. Inside a mansion, they found a number of kidnapped children. The strange boy, calling himself the Dread Emperor, revealed his true form as a golden-armored man with long, black hair. As the party fought, they realized that any damage dealt to him was also transferred to the four children chained to his breastplate. One boy fell to Keyleth's magic, but they managed to take out the Dread Emperor and return with the kidnapped children to Emon. | ||||
| Sx03 | "D&Diesel" (Sx03) | 2015-10-19 | VOD | 29:45 |
| A party of adventurers, led by Kaulder the Witch Hunter, and including Vox Machina's own Grog and Vex'ahlia, agree to help a small village called Bronbog rid themselves of a terrible curse. | ||||
| n/a | "CelebriD&D with Joe Manganiello" (special) | 2017-03-24 | VOD | 58:30 |
| Arkhan joins forces with members of Vox Machina, on a mission of life and death as they delve into an abandoned temple in search of an ancient relic. | ||||
| n/a | "CelebriD&D with Game of Thrones' John Bradley" (special) | 2017-08-03 | VOD | 1:04:51 |
| Mankum, joined by Dietrich, Dupont Dupont, Vex'ahlia and Vax'ildan, leads the adventurers through the dangers and the stench of a cannibalistic orc camp. | ||||
| 17 (Pre-stream) |
"Six Months Later..." (Pre-Stream) | 2014-02-07 | VOD | - |
| Six months of peace followed the defeat of the Dread Emperor as Greyskull Keep was constructed. During this time, the party scattered on personal business. Upon their return, they sent out job inquiries for guards and servants to maintain it and settled into their new home. Soon after, they were visited by Allura, who sent them on a mission to locate her missing friend, Kima of Vord who had left for Kraghammer, undertaking a quest for her deity, The Platinum Dragon. | ||||
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