Critical Role Wiki

This wiki contains spoilers for the entirety of Critical Role and The Legend of Vox Machina. Proceed at your own risk!

READ MORE

Critical Role Wiki
Advertisement
Critical Role Wiki

Campaign Two is the second campaign of Critical Role. It takes place beginning in Sydenstar,[2] 835 P.D.,[3] approximately twenty years after the adventures of Vox Machina. The returning cast plays all-new characters and features the continent of Wildemount as its primary setting. In the eighth episode, the adventuring party adopted the name "The Mighty Nein".[4]


The Cast[]

Main article: Mighty Nein

Main[]

Actor Character Race Class
Laura Bailey Jester Lavorre Tiefling Cleric (Trickery Domain)
Taliesin Jaffe Mollymauk "Molly" Tealeaf Tiefling (Devil's Tongue) Blood hunter (Order of the Ghostslayer)
Caduceus Clay Firbolg Cleric (Grave Domain)
Kingsley Tealeaf Tiefling (Devil's Tongue) Blood Hunter (Order of the Ghostslayer)/Rogue (Swashbuckler)
Ashley Johnson Yasha Nydoorin Aasimar (Fallen) Barbarian (Path of the Zealot)
Aasimar (Protector)
Liam O'Brien Caleb Widogast Human (Variant) Wizard (School of Transmutation)
Marisha Ray Beauregard "Beau" Lionett Human (Variant) Monk (Way of the Cobalt Soul)
Sam Riegel Nott the Brave Goblin Rogue (Arcane Trickster)/Wizard
Veth Brenatto Halfling (Lightfoot)
Travis Willingham Fjord Half-orc Warlock (The Hexblade, Pact of the Blade)/Paladin (Oath of the Open Sea)
Matthew Mercer The Dungeon Master

Guests[]

Actor Character Race Class
Khary Payton Shakäste Human Cleric (Tempest Domain)
Mark Hulmes Calianna Mordsson Half-elf Sorcerer (Draconic Bloodline)
Ashly Burch Keg Dwarf Fighter (Champion)
Sumalee Montano Nila Firbolg Druid (Circle of the Shepherd)
Deborah Ann Woll Twiggy Gnome (Forest) Rogue (Arcane Trickster)
Chris Perkins Spurt Kobold Inventor
Mica Burton Reani Aasimar (Scourge) Druid (Circle of the Moon)

Story arc summaries[]

→ Main article: The Adventures of the Mighty Nein

Story arc First episode Last episode
Arc 1: Come Together "Curious Beginnings" (2x01) "Divergent Paths" (2x25)
Seven disparate individuals first meet by chance in the sleepy town of Trostenwald, but they quickly become involved in an investigation after a zombie attacks the recently arrived traveling carnival. Out of necessity, they come together as a group, calling themselves the Mighty Nein and setting off north. In the aftermath of the attack on the Zauber Spire, they find themselves exploring the underbelly of Zadash, gambling their fates with the Gentleman, and riding across the swamps of Berleben before engaging in merriment and mayhem among the folks of Hupperdook, oblivious to their soon-to-be changing fortunes.
Arc 2: The Bad Guys "Found & Lost" (2x26) "The Second Seal" (2x47)
The Mighty Nein scramble to recover those who were lost, and the attempt bears a heavy cost and an unexpected gain. Then, in pursuit of clues as to Fjord's mysterious patron, the party arrives in Nicodranas, the home of Jester. But their respite is short-lived as their adventure sets sail to the seas, where both answers and dangers lurk from above and beneath.
Arc 3: The Bright Queen's Favor "Homeward Bound" (2x48) "The King's Cage" (2x69)
The Mighty Nein return to the mainland and travel deep into Xhorhas in search of the missing Yeza. Upon finding an "anchor" to the Abyss, the party earns the favor of the Bright Queen Leylas Kryn. From their new home base in the capital of Rosohna, they continue their search for answers and in the course of their chase, they end up losing one of their own to Obann, a servant of the Chained Oblivion.
Arc 4: Swords and Angels "Causatum" (2x70) "Stone to Clay" (2x91)
The Mighty Nein seeks to free Yasha from Obann's control while Fjord struggles to free himself from Uk'otoa's. Meanwhile, the Angel of Irons cult has their own plans to release their god. Complicating things further, the party finds themselves drawn deeper into the tangled webs of intrigue between the Dwendalian Empire and the Kryn Dynasty with the fates of both territories hanging in the balance.
Arc 5: Family Ties "Home is Where the Heart Is" (2x92) "The Chase Begins" (2x112)
With a tentative cease-fire in place, the Mighty Nein make time within their hectic schedules to plan for Traveler Con and to catch up with their own separated families and former friends. Soon after peace is apparently made a reality, the party finally arrives at the long-awaited destination of Rumblecusp for the event that Jester and the Traveler spent half a year preparing for. However, they discover more secrets, oddities, and threats than expected, including the potential loss of their own memories and selves and an even more chilling omen on the horizon.
Arc 6: Weird Magic "A Heart Grown Cold" (2x113) "Fond Farewells" (2x141)
The Mighty Nein pursue a familiar face north to Eiselcross toward the ruins of the ancient magocracy of Aeor. The cold circumstances lead to even colder complications, however, with knowledge of an encroaching threat from the distant past threatening to return: the Somnovem. Armed with this knowledge, the Mighty Nein consolidate their alliances and goals, travel across the land and even the planes, and engage in a desperate race against time that will determine the fate of their home and those they hold dear.
The Mighty Nein Reunited "Unfinished Business" (Sx73) "Uk'otoa Unleashed" (Sx74)
Several months after the events in Cognouza, The Mighty Nein have all started new chapters in their lives. However, when some discover that there are still old chapters yet to be closed, our unsung heroes must reunite for more stories untold…
The Mighty Nein Reunion "Echoes of the Solstice (Sx79)
Live from Wembley Arena in London, UK! In the wake of the chaos after the Apogee Solstice, The Mighty Nein join forces yet again to deal with the rolling dangers suddenly unleashed…

Production[]

The Mighty Nein by Taylor Weltzer

Fan art of the Mighty Nein, by Taylor Weltzer.[art 1]

Before the campaign began airing, most of the players participated in a session 0 with Matt Mercer so that they could get a feel for their characters and the setting they would be playing in.

The first part of the second campaign was live streamed on the Geek & Sundry Twitch channel and YouTube, on Thursdays at 7pm (Pacific Time). In February 2019, Critical Role parted ways with Geek & Sundry, launched their own Twitch and YouTube channels, and started to self-produce new shows and content under the name Critical Role Productions LLC.[5] Eventually the live broadcasts of Critical Role and VODs aired exclusively on Critical Role's channels. Episodes are archived on the Critical Role website and the Critical Role and Geek & Sundry YouTube channels.

On 17 March 2020, Critical Role announced[6] that it was suspending all live broadcasts of both the D&D stream Critical Role and Talks Machina due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Critical Role returned in a prerecorded format on 2 July 2020 with the broadcast of "Hunted at Sea" (2x100).[7]

The second campaign started on January 11, 2018 with "Curious Beginnings" (2x01), and ended three and a half years and 141 episodes later on June 3rd, 2021 with "Fond Farewells" (2x141). After the second campaign ended, the group played two canonical one-shot games with the Mighty Nein including a two parts one-shot, "The Mighty Nein Reunited Part 1" (Sx73) and "The Mighty Nein Reunited Part 2" (Sx74), and a live show in London, "The Mighty Nein Reunion: Echoes of the Solstice" (Sx79).

On January 25, 2023, Amazon Studios and Critical Role announced a forthcoming animated series to be based on the second campaign and the adventures of the Mighty Nein. Production was expected to begin "shortly". The announcement summarized the storyline as: "The Mighty Nein adventuring party — a band of criminals and misfits — are the only ones who can prevent the kingdom from plunging into chaos when an arcane artifact capable of reshaping reality falls into the wrong hands."[8]

Trivia[]

References[]

  1. Episodes 20+
  2. See "The Gates of Zadash" (2x08) at 1:29:07.  Matt states that the date is the 12th of Fessuran. In-game, the campaign started approximately a month earlier.
  3. Matthew Mercer clarified via Twitter that the second campaign starts in 835 P.D.
  4. See "The Gates of Zadash" (2x08) at 1:03:18.
  5. Spangler, Todd (March 8, 2019). "Critical Role Team, After Record-Breaking Fan Crowdfunding Response, Vows to Make 'The Best Goddamn Cartoon Anyone Has Ever Seen'". Variety. Retrieved March 29, 2019.
  6. The tweet announcing the hiatus and Critical Role's website post.
  7. YouTube video of the announcement.
  8. Todd Spangler, "Amazon Inks Critical Role to Overall TV and First-Look Film Deal, Greenlights ‘Mighty Nein’ Animated Series" on Variety.com January 25, 2023
  9. Matthew Mercer explained the houserule for rolling stats during character creation (source 1 and source 2).

Art:

  1. Fan art of the Mighty Nein, by Taylor Weltzer (source). Used with permission.
Advertisement