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Pre-stream home game

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Founding[]

The initial idea of playing a TTRPG came from a series of discussions that Matthew Mercer and Liam O'Brien had during the recordings of voice over for Resident Evil 6 somewhere between February 2011 and May 2012,[1][2][3][4] in which Matthew invited Liam to join his current home campaign. Liam declined, but kept thinking about it, and he eventually took Matt up on his offer to play a one-shot session for Liam's birthday (May 28th).[5][6] However, the game was postponed to December 2012. Liam invited Sam Riegel, Orion Acaba, Travis Willingham and Laura Bailey to join him (none of them had ever played TTRPGs), whereas Matthew invited Marisha Ray and Taliesin Jaffe, knowing that they were seasoned players.[7][8][9][10]

Sam's involvement in the game is due to Liam's enthusiasm and the launch of the All Work No Play podcast in which Liam and Sam's objective was that they would "do something fun and tell people about it".[5][11][12][13] Liam initially only asked Travis to join them, whereas Laura wasn't invited at all. However, she wanted to be involved, being geekier than her husband, who was more hesitant to play D&D but eventually accepted.[14][15]

Ashley Johnson's involvement in the game began while she was doing the recording sessions of The Last of Us which Liam was voice directing. He described the game to her and she joined the party after they had played their first session.[16][17][18][19]

Disclaimer
Although "there’s no need to thumb through wiki pages to find stories told from person to person across electronic whispers of the internet"[20] as the main pre-stream events of Campaign One were shared in "The Story of Vox Machina" (Sx06), this page tries to elaborate on them.

Due to the nature of those private home-games, the dates and sessions in relation to the narrated events to some extent are speculative, as the cast's social media contents sometimes lacked narrative context. Unless proven via a source, these events might have happened in a previous session or in a following one. The sources for this wiki, and this page in particular, remain dependent on what the cast has publicly shared. The dates given below are solely based on the group's publications on social media. It is also worth noting that they might not have commented and/or shared publicly all sessions.

And last, the names given for these sessions are based on the events happening during those sessions and are obviously not official at all.

Pre-stream adventures[]

A Myriad of Possibilities[]

The team, originally comprised of Grog Strongjaw, Tiberius Stormwind, Scanlan Shorthalt, Vax'ildan, Vex'ahlia and Taliesin's dragonborn paladin, met in the swamp town of Stilben as a ragtag group of mercenaries in search of work. They found a job board posting from Fendril Vas, the elven head of a small merchant empire, who hired the group to investigate new competition in town known as the Myriad. Their mission led them to a chamber containing a planar rift that pulled the group into the plane of the undead fetal-formed deity Crysa-Thul, who revealed that their contract with the elven merchant was merely a ruse to lure them so the god could feed on them. The party fought back, destroying the creature, and returned to Stilben to kill Vas in revenge.

Quotations[]

  • Liam: "I'm bull shitting, so I have to roll to see if I bull shit successfully."[21]

Trivia[]

  • This session took place on the 8th of December 2012.[22]
  • For this session, Matthew Mercer used Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition set of rules.[23][24][25]
    • As the game was supposed to be a one-shot, Matt had created the characters for the players.[26] They started at level 3.[27]
    • At some point, while the characters were in a trapped hallway, he also used an hourglass to keep pressure on the players.[28]
  • Marisha was present, but instead of playing, she helped the others with the game, as most had never played Dungeons & Dragons before.[28][7]
  • Similarly, Taliesin played a different character for the first session of the game, a dragonborn paladin. This character hasn't been mentioned as existing in official Critical Role media, and it is unknown if he appeared in other sessions of their home-game.
  • As a joke and a callback to the moral panic in the 1980s, Matt and Marisha had prepared a setup with candles, incense and music.[29][7]
  • After Liam insisted on playing a Rogue, Laura wavered between Druid and Ranger, both of which can allow the character to have a pet.[30]
  • Travis showed up late to the game and was baffled to see Laura and Taliesin fully roleplaying their characters.[31][32] Sam even arrived after him.[33]
  • One of the first things Travis ever did in-game was to break a guard's jaw. This eventually led him to understand what TTRPGs are about.[29]

Wisdom and Lichdom[]

Screenshot of  being controlled by a lich, along with the reanimated corpse of his father, , by  from "" (Sx06)'"`UNIQ--nowiki-00000026-QINU`"' at '"`UNIQ--nowiki-00000027-QINU`"'1:31

Screenshot of Grog being controlled by a lich, along with the reanimated corpse of his father, Stonejaw, by Wendy Sullivan Green from "The Story of Vox Machina" (Sx06) at 1:31.[art 1]

After their original mission in Stilben, the group stayed in town to do some odd jobs. Grog left to return to his hometown of Westruun, but after a few weeks, the party began to worry and went to look for him. In Westruun, they met his childhood friend Pike Trickfoot, who said that Grog had been acting strangely and went off on his own towards the looming Gatshadow Mountain, marching off through the Bramblewood Forest. On their way, they also encountered Keyleth and got rid of a band of thieves. Joined by Pike and Keyleth, they discovered an abandoned subterranean city and then a crypt in the mountain where they found Grog and the reanimated corpse of his father Stonejaw Strongjaw, controlled by a dying mage attempting a ritual to lichdom. He managed to complete the ritual and embed his phylactery into Grog's chest before the party killed him.

Quotations[]

  • Scanlan: "Sometimes I heal myself with my left hand, so it feels like someone else is doing it."[34]

Trivia[]

  • This session took place on the 10th of February 2013.[35]
  • Travis missed the session, thus the group found out in-game the reason for Grog's departure.[6]
  • According to Matt, while the group was in Westruun and looking for Grog, they went to a temple of Bahamut where they could have met Kima of Vord but, unfortunately, she had already begun her pilgrimage.[36] The group would hear from her sometime later.
  • This session was Ashley's first game;[18][37] her involvement might have been related to Travis' absence.[38] She hesitated between two of the classes remaining at the time: Cleric or Wizard.[39]
  • This session was also the first featuring Marisha as a PC.[7][40][41]
  • This session was probably also run under Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition set of rules.[disputed]
  • From the start, Scanlan hit on Pike.[29]

The Chest[]

While looking for help, the party was approached by Drez Vina, who offered to pay them well to infiltrate the tower of an Archmage and retrieve a certain brass chest for him. Hoping to speak with this Archmage, the party accepted the task and made their way to the top of the tower. They decided against stealing the box, instead asking the keeper of the tower, Realmseer Eskil Ryndarien, for help. He sent the party 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 also told them that if the phylactery was not removed in time, the lich would be reborn within Grog in two weeks.

Quotations[]

Trivia[]

  • This session took place on the 9th of June 2013.[42]
  • Given the character sheets featuring in pictures and videos, this session might have been the one where the group switched to the Pathfinder set of rules.[42][43]
  • Carrying over Grog from D&D 4th edition to Pathfinder required a little bit of homebrew.[44]
  • The party at one point came across a puzzle that took them 30 minutes to resolve.[45]
  • Scanlan once rolled a natural twenty on deception, and by putting a finger over his upper lip so it looked like he had a mustache, was able to trick a man into thinking that he was "Burt Reynolds", a moniker he would don throughout the series.[6][16][disputed]
  • Taliesin might have missed this session. There is no mini for either of his characters (the dragonborn or Percy) shown in the available pictures.[presumed]

A Prisoner and a Nightmare[]

Art of Percy in a prison cell before being freed by , by

Art of Percy in a prison cell before being freed by Vox Machina, by Wendy Sullivan Green. [art 2]

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[disputed] which was trying summon a dark envoy from the Shadowfell in order to kill his Nightmare steed and collect its skull.

Quotations[]

  • Matthew: "Oooooooh, sassy."[46]
  • Keyleth: "I guess we just talk to Ox the Dork… wait, I mean Dork the Ox."[47]
  • Pike: "Glad to be the pee…pee."[48]
  • Tiberius: "Is there someone in charge with these rings? Like, a LORD of the rings?"[49]
  • Vex'ahlia: "We drop some bitches, we kill a nightmare, we go find a nymph."[50]

Trivia[]

  • This session took place on the 26th of July 2013.[51]
  • This session is likely to be the one where Percy first appeared.[52][53][54] The character was created using the Pathfinder's Ultimate Combat companion, which features the gunslinger class.[55]
  • While infiltrating the cult, Vex saved Pike with a shot by deflecting a blade aimed at her.[6]
  • During the session, Liam rolled two natural 20s in a row.[51]
  • During this session, Vex'ahlia might have purchased Dork the Ox and Keyleth might also have tried to converse with it.[56][57][presumed]

The Heart of a Nymph[]

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.

Quotations[]

Trivia[]

  • This session took place on the 6th of September 2013.[59]
  • During the basilisk encounter, Vex was turned into stone.[60]
  • Grog handled the social encounter with the nymph, avoiding the group having to fight her.[61][62]

There Will be Brawl[]

Fan art of '"`UNIQ--nowiki-00000052-QINU`"'Vox Machina retrieving the arcane cortex from the iron golem guarding 's tomb, by '"`UNIQ--nowiki-00000053-QINU`"'

Fan art of Vox Machina retrieving the arcane cortex from the iron golem guarding Sevil Howthess's tomb, by Wendy Sullivan Green.[art 3]

Drez Vina, sent by his master who was displeased at the outcome of their former mission infiltrating Realmseer Eskil Ryndarien's tower, approached the party to demand that their debt be paid off. The party accepted a new mission and headed to the Shadebarrow, an ancient druidic burial chamber, that had been bought and remodeled by an eccentric lord who intended to make it his own tomb. After fighting the denizens of the barrow, they encountered an iron golem and manage to defeat it. They tore the Arcane Cortex from its chest and then returned it to Vina, fulfilling their contract.
A dwarf named Grimthorne then approached them and offered to represent them in a nearby underground fighting ring, where they fought their way to victory.

Quotations[]

Trivia[]

  • This session took place on the 27th of September 2013.[63]
  • The group might have acquired their Bag of Holding while in the Druid barrow.[64]
    • At this time the group was around 6th level.[65][presumed]
    • It was also during this session that Dork the Ox met his demise, being placed inside the Bag of Holding by Grog.[66][67][68][presumed]
  • The group introduced themselves during the tournament as the S.H.I.T.s (Super High-Intensity Team).[69]
  • Grog and Scanlan managed to intimidate a group of hostile mages in the fighting pit when Scanlan summoned a pony, that Grog abruptly decapitated before smearing its gore on his body while screaming. Scanlan also had Percy build him a bomb to use in that event, but since Grog's intimidation worked, Scanlan kept the bomb, which was later used in "K'Varn Revealed" (1x10).[70][71][72]
  • The group faced Loran the Bear and his teammates in the fighting ring.[73]

A Cold Opening[]

Official art of , by 

Official art of Skysunder, by Wendy Sullivan Green.[art 4]

During the Winter's Crest season, a strange blue crystal was delivered to Westruun in the name of Archmage Eskil Ryndarien, and it froze the entire populace in ice. The party, shielded from the icy blast by a merchant named Noja, saw a nude woman with long, white hair emerge from the crystal, open a portal and leap through. The party gave chase, finding themselves in a frozen world where the woman revealed her true form: the white dragon Skysunder. The party defeated her, and with the dragon dead the people of Westruun were freed from the ice. Eskil Ryndarien was put on trial for the attack, but the party intervened and proved his innocence. Eskil discovered that the crystal was delivered by a powerful organization of thieves known as the Clasp. Vax, once a member of the Clasp, knew that their headquarters were in Emon, the capital city of the Tal'Dorei Empire.

Quotations[]

Trivia[]

  • This session took place on the 22nd of November 2013.[74]
  • Ashley missed this session.[75] Although, it seems that Pike was the one who killed Skysunder.[76]
  • The group confirmed their group name during this session.[77]

Arrival at Emon[]

In Emon, the party completed a few odd jobs, one of which led them to Syldor Vessar, the father of Vex and Vax. The twins learned that their father had remarried 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.

Quotations[]

Trivia[]

  • This session took place on the 29th of March 2014.[78]
  • The party stayed at the Laughing Lamia Inn when they first arrived in Emon.[79]

The Fall of the House of Fince[]

The party infiltrated Sir Gregory Fince's house, talked to an imp in his upstairs library, battled a succubus and at least one other fiend in his basement—likely a hezrou[80][81] but possibly a spined devil[82][83][disputed]—and either witnessed Fince being killed[84] or found his tortured corpse, as well as his notes on an attempted assassination of Sovereign Uriel and his family. According to the notes, since the attempt, Uriel had been absent from the Council most hours, and his wife had been whispering in his ear and scoffing at any who defied them. As General Krieg, who thwarted the attempted assassination, was often mentioned in the notes of Sir Gregory Fince, the party decided to inquire with him.

Quotations[]

  • Percival: "Thank you for the muffins and the awkward conversation."[85]

Trivia[]

  • This session took place on the 14th of June 2014.[86]
  • This session might have been the first time the group encountered Gilmore.[86]
  • During the exploration of Fince's house, the group fought a drider.[86][disputed]
  • After the group killed the demon in the basement, Grog took a ring it wore.[87]
  • This session is also the one in which Matt told the group about his meeting with Geek & Sundry executives.[88]

The Dwarf, the Hag and the Monstrosity[]

An umber hulk in the Crystalfen Caverns tosses Grog from the ceiling, nearly killing him, by  from "" (Sx06)'"`UNIQ--nowiki-00000073-QINU`"' at '"`UNIQ--nowiki-00000074-QINU`"'9:03

An umber hulk in the Crystalfen Caverns tosses Grog from the ceiling, nearly killing him, by Wendy Sullivan Green from "The Story of Vox Machina" (Sx06) at 9:03.[art 5]

As they exited the basement, Grog, Tiberius, Vex, Percy, and Keyleth fell into a trap and into a subterranean river system leading to the Crystalfen Caverns. After meeting with Ghostfist, a dwarven monk, and escaping from an aboleth, they found themselves in the ruins of an ancient town where they encountered a hag named Trysta. In her hut, Tiberius found one of the artifacts he was searching for, the Wheel of Mending, and made a deal with Trysta to obtain it. The hag showed them the way back to the surface in exchange for their aid in slaying a newly nested umber hulk. After a harsh combat, in which Grog was tossed from the cavern ceiling, the party eventually succeeded and surfaced into the Graveyard District of Emon.

Quotations[]

Trivia[]

  • This session took place on the 12th of July 2014.[89]
  • Yuri Lowenthal guested this session as Ghostfist, a dwarven monk.[90][91]
  • Sam and Ashley weren't there,[92] and possibly Liam as well.[presumed]
  • Vex and Percy castrated the two trolls that were "attacking" Tiberius. Grog decided to keep one of the penises of the trolls as a souvenir; it was later used as a distraction in an encounter.[93][94]

Into the Clasp's Grasp[]

Screenshot of the Clasp's chimera in the battle with Vax and Pike, by  from "" (Sx06)'"`UNIQ--nowiki-0000007C-QINU`"' at '"`UNIQ--nowiki-0000007D-QINU`"'10:32

Screenshot of the Clasp's chimera in the battle with Vax and Pike, by Wendy Sullivan Green from "The Story of Vox Machina" (Sx06) at 10:32.[art 6]

Meanwhile, as Scanlan 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.

Quotations[]

Trivia[]

  • This session took place on the 7th of August 2014.[95]
  • This session was only played by Ashley and Liam.[95][96]
  • Pike purposely injured Vax by stepping on his foot when she found out he had been a "peeping tom". She dealt one point of nonlethal damage.[96]

Forgery and Scrying[]

The party decided to meet the man who had thwarted the royal family's assassination, General Krieg. Krieg met with the party and was interested in their information regarding Sir Gregory and the Clasp, but asked the party not to meddle in the investigation. Vox Machina headed to the Palace of the Sovereign to try to speak with Uriel, but they were denied entry. At the palace gate, they met Allura Vysoren, a powerful arcanist and a member of the Tal'Dorei Council. She invited the party 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 decided to pay a visit to the Clasp, where they killed Spireling Modeth and stole four glowing crystals.

Quotations[]

Trivia[]

  • This session took place on the 15th of August 2014.[98]
  • Pike was the only one to level up to level 8.[98]

Out of the Blue[]

Returning to Allura's tower, they realized that she had been attacked by a demonic entity but managed to escape. The tower suddenly began to collapse due to a defense mechanism, but the party escaped thanks to their discovery of a Carpet of Flying. They saw that Allura's tower had compacted itself into a small, magical pearl.
The party then headed to the home of General Krieg, where they found a teleportation circle that transported them to a cavern high in the mountains. Inside, they discovered an incredible hoard of treasure, and four large, obsidian orbs placed in the rock walls. After touching one of them, a giant reptilian eye appeared in it and a voice erupted, calling for "Brimscythe". Noticing the party in the cavern, 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 in the teleportation circle, and revealed his true form: the blue dragon Brimscythe. The party managed to kill him and escape. In his agony Brimscythe smashed the pillars which supported the cavern, causing the chamber to collapse. The party barely escaped via the Teleportation Circle.

Quotations[]

  • Pike: "Aren’t you dressed professionally, Scanl[a]n, you… you dirty bard."[99]
  • Pike: "I have NO knowledge. I have knowledge in NOTHING."[100]
  • Grog: "Would you be interested in trading one troll dick for a cure moderate wounds potion?"[101]
  • Keyleth "I’m not going through the portal yet."
    Pike: "Definitely not as a sugar glider squirrel."[102]
  • Vax'ildan: "Thank god for that troll dick…"[103]
  • Matthew: "You guys are so f$£ked."[104]

Trivia[]

  • This session took place on the 12th of September 2014.[105]
  • During this session the longest video of the group playing was shot by Liam. The sequence shows how the group managed to escape from Allura's tower and the circumstances in which they discovered the Carpet of Flying.[106][107]
  • There's also a trailer of the group playing, edited by Ashley,[108] which was probably intended to be shown to Geek & Sundry executives.[presumed] This video features actual footage of Grog's "rage loot".
  • After finding Brimscythe's treasure hoard, Grog went into a "rage loot";[109][110] when the dragon emerged, he paused to acknowledge it before he continued looting the room. Grog's choice almost cost some members of Vox Machina their lives, but it also significantly increased their party funds, as the room was destroyed afterwards.
  • Liam killed Brimscythe with a natural 20.[111]
  • It was later mentioned that Vex'ahlia had a crush on Krieg before his true from was revealed to be a dragon.[112]

The Power Behind the Throne[]

Back in Emon, the party went to see Gilmore and was found by Allura who had been attacked. She led them in infiltrating the 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.

Quotations[]

  • Laura: (to Marisha)[presumed] "Are you still a squirrel?!"[113]
  • Vex'ahlia: "I say we go back and burn down the house. No, I'm just saying..."[114]
  • Percival: "Do you know what's less conspicuous than a house fire? NOT a house fire."[115]
  • Grog: (about Brimscythe's hoard)[presumed] "We didn't touch any of the gold."
    Tiberius: Er, that is a lie.[116]
  • Orion: "I transmogrify into General Grievous."
    Everyone: "What??"[117]
  • Vex'ahlia: (throwing a rock, distracting guards) "The old Last of Us trick!"[118]
  • Pike: "I think we should just kill him."
    Vax'ildan: "What kind of fucking cleric are you??"[119]
  • Liam: "So we're gonna Star Wars this?"
    Laura: "We're gonna Star Wars this."[120]
  • Taliesin: "I've a very important question. Does the bear look like a guard? We could make a bear sandwich."[121]
  • Liam: "Let's see if this Monty Python's sketch can save the world."[122]
  • Scanlan: "My name is Michael Knight and these are my friends."[123]

Trivia[]

  • This session took place on the 10th of October 2014.[124]
  • The group celebrated Sam's and Orion's birthdays.[124]
  • During this session several members of the group hacked each other's Twitter account (Travis, Liam, Sam and Ashley).[124]

The Soul Jars[]

Official art of Vox Machina attacking , by 

Official art of Vox Machina attacking Juurezel, by Wendy Sullivan Green.[art 7]

Juurezel told the party of a great war between devils and demons spilling into the Material Plane that could threaten all creation, and justified his actions with the devastation that would ensue if the party stopped him. He requested the party's aid in destroying demons in the city and offered 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. Vox Machina decided to attack him. During the fight, "Juurezel" killed Pike by cutting her in half with his pincer. After killing the demon, the group rushed to a nearby temple of Pike's deity Sarenrae, where they attempted a resurrection ritual, and succeeded in bringing her back to life. 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, since previous ones had been interrupted by attacks.

Quotations[]

Trivia[]

GoldenEyes[]

Official art of , by 

Official art of Dread Emperor, by Wendy Sullivan Green.[art 8]

During the festivities, the party noticed Gren Tal'Dorei, the son of Uriel, chatting with a boy with black hair and golden eyes. Remembering rumors of children meeting a boy of that exact description before disappearing, the party chased them into an alley and through some kind of portal. They found themselves atop a large, forested island drifting through the Astral Plane, surrounded by a perilous bramble forest. In the forest Keyleth avoided a confrontation with a treant.[133] 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.

Quotations[]

  • Keyleth: "Wait! I’ve been wanting to do this for a year! I transform into a kitten!"[134]
  • Keyleth: "If we can get ‘em into the bramble yert, they’ll be stuck."
    Taliesin: "I’m gonna Google bramble yert."[135]
  • Matthew: "You take full damage from the fireball."
    Sam: "I have gloves of climbing."[136]

Trivia[]

  • This session took place on the 19th of December 2014.[137]
  • During this session, the group exchanged gifts, in character.[138][139][140]
  • When Keyleth attempted to rescue one of the children from the Dread Emperor with her Grasping Vine spell, the child accidentally died when his neck broke from too much pressure around the collar.[141] She later experienced great difficulty in her Earth Trial due to the trauma of the child's death still fresh in her mind.[142][143]
  • Along with Gren Tal'Dorei, Simon Brist was one of the children captured by the Dread Emperor.

Six Months Later...[]

Official art of , by 

Official art of Greyskull Keep, by Wendy Sullivan Green.[art 9]

Six months of peace followed as Greyskull Keep was constructed. During this time, the party scattered on personal business; Keyleth to the Earth Ashari to continue her Aramenté, Pike to the sea to train, Percy building new weapons. 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, Bahamut.

Quotations[]

Trivia[]

  • This session took place on the 7th of February 2015.[145]
  • This session was also the first one in which the group used Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition,[145] which demanded a little bit of customization and homebrew.[146]
  • As a "try-out" or "audition", Grog convinced the group that in order to find good security for Greyskull Keep, the potential guards would have to fight each other to the death. During the fight, Keyleth turned into a giant scorpion and Vex noticed Jarett Howarth's ability in combat.[147][148]
  • On the road from Emon to Kraghammer during the mission to aid Kima of Vord, Grog successfully prevented a fight between a roving band of goliath barbarians, led by his uncle Kevdak's son, Zanror, and Vox Machina after he recognized his cousin.[149] However, the truce was only temporary.[150]

Trivia - Other moments[]

  • In retrospect, those events are set in game to start before the beginning of winter 809 PD and to end before 10 Quen'pillar 810 PD.[151]
    • Also in retrospect, Vox Machina's adventures with Arkhan, Mankum and Kaulder might have happened during their six months hiatus.[disputed][152]

Other moments from the pre-stream game have been shared by the main cast:

  • Trinket was nearly killed when Grog attempted to disarm a room full of traps by hitting the bear on his backside with the broad side of his axe, causing Trinket to charge straight into the traps, triggering all of them. Vex was very angry with the goliath afterwards.[153]
  • Scanlan, disguised as Burt Reynolds, was able to convince some guards to free Keyleth from prison after convincing them that she had pubic lice. She played along by foaming at the mouth and acting insane. Percy acted as her lawyer.[154][disputed]
  • Keyleth's white saber-toothed tiger animal form, "Minxie", was named by Grog during a social encounter. Grog pretended Minxie was his pet tiger. Both Grog and Keyleth as Minxie managed to intimidate the person they were talking to.[155][disputed]
  • Vox Machina encountered at least one drow in the pre-stream adventures. Scanlan had drow poison[156] from a previous adventure,[157] and Grog was carrying an old "dark elf brain" that had long since rotted.[158]
  • Ashley, Liam and Sam might have played one more session in order to prep more for the stream and to get accustomed to Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition.[presumed] This session took place on the 4th of March 2015.[159] The group fought some undeads/skeletons, which was never referenced after.

Pre-production of Critical Role[]

Sometime before June 2014, Felicia Day wanted to introduce TTRPGs to her Twitch channel Geek & Sundry. Then, on the set of Spooked she met Ashley Johnson, who talked to her about her home game including other actors.[160][161] Felicia was initially supposed to be in the D&D group that the newly founded Geek and Sundry Twitch channel would broadcast, but due to a conflicting agenda she then turned to Ashley's group.[162] Felicia, who was at the time on the verge of selling Geek & Sundry to Legendary Digital Networks, pitched the ideas to Geek & Sundry's executives.[163] In turn, they approached the group to stream their campaign live.[164][165]

On June 14th, 2014, Matt told the other cast members about Geek & Sundry's offer;[86] the group's reactions were recorded for posterity.[88]

Zac Eubank and Ryan Copple, directors and producers at Geek & Sundry, came to take footage of one of their subsequent sessions,[17][160] and the cast initially agreed to appear for six weeks at Geek & Sundry and to continue the adventure if they saw fit.[165]

The pre-production period took about "six to eight months" and one of the original ideas for the show included playing partly as a TTRPG and then switching to MMORPG for boss battles, which was rejected by the group.[166][167] One of the agreements between the cast and Legendary Digital Networks was that the cast would retain creative and artistic control of the show during its broadcasting period and that it was their property.[168] Hence the cast created Critical Role Productions LLC shortly after the first broadcast.[169]

In preparation for the streamed series, Matt converted the game over from Pathfinder to Dungeons & Dragons to speed up combat and because D&D has more name recognition.[170][171][172][25]

Promotional pictures, taken by Pamela Joy,[173][presumed] of the group cosplaying their characters and the first opening video were shot on the 24th of February 2015, but the video wasn't broadcast until "Breaching the Emberhold" (1x06).[174]

Technical rehearsal took place on March 9th 2015, less than a week before the show premiered.[175]

Trivia[]

  • Before appearing on Critical Role, several cast members had worked with Geek & Sundry:

Featured Characters[]

Vox Machina

Temporary Members

NPCs

Deities

References[]

  1. ↑ See Liam's interview at Nerdist.com (2015-09-01): "We [Sam & Liam] started a podcast back in 2012 in an attempt to hang out together more. […] Early on, I suggested we rope in some of our acting colleagues to play a one-off night of Dungeons & Dragons. Matt had actually tried in the past to get me to play in a game he was running when I was directing him for a video game project. […] Jumping ahead to 2012, I called up Matt, we rounded up the rest of our cohorts, and the rest is history."
  2. ↑ See Matthew Mercer's interview at CBR.com:"We started production, recording at least, in February 2011 and finished the final session May of this year."
  3. ↑ See Matt's episode of Between the Sheets at 1:13:55 through 1:15:46.
  4. ↑ See Zack Furniss article: "Inside Critical Role: The Live D&D show led by voices you might recognize" posted at Destructoid.com. (2016-02-26)
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 See Liam's recollection of the events at Critical Role's panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2015 at 8:00 through 9:15.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 See Matt's recollection from the initial game until August 2013 at AYACON 2013 (Day 2) at 45:34 through 51:25.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 See Marisha's episode of Between the Sheets at 1:25:15 through 1:27:43.
  8. ↑ See "The World of Critical Role", p.12.
  9. ↑ See Taliesin's episode of Between the Sheets at 47:05 through 48:28.
  10. ↑ See Dungeons & Dragons' video "Critical Role’s Origins: Why We Play Dungeons & Dragons!" from 0:33 to 0:55.
  11. ↑ See the All Work No Play podcast, episode 1, at 03:43 through 04:15 (posted 2012-12-02). See also Sam's commentary after their first session the same podcast, in episode 3 at 29:51: "That’s all because of this podcast that we did it, damn it!" (posted 2013-01-20).
  12. ↑ See "Attack on the Duergar Warcamp" (1x04) from 3:13:52 through 3:14:22.
  13. ↑ See Sam's episode of Between the Sheets at 59:56 through 1:01:56.
  14. ↑ See Travis's episode of Between the Sheets at 55:43 through 57:04.
  15. ↑ See Dungeons & Dragons' video "Critical Role’s Origins: Why We Play Dungeons & Dragons!" from 0:00 to 0:15.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 See "The World of Critical Role", p.13.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 See "Honesty Hour" ft. Ashley Johnson (G&S AMA) at 1:38:34 throught 1:40:33.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 See Ashley's recollection of the events at Critical Role's panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2015 at 9:30 through 10:37.
  19. ↑ See Ashley's episode of Between the Sheets at 56:25 through 1:00:10.
  20. ↑ As Geek & Sundry put it on their website (2016-01-06).
  21. ↑ Twitter icon Marisha Ray (@marisha_ray) on Twitter: ""I'm bull shitting, so I have to role to see if I bull shit successfully." - @VoiceOfOBrien" (2012-12-08).
  22. ↑ Based on the timestamps, the game began on the night of December 8th and continued past midnight into December 9th. Sources: Liam's tweets 1 , 2; Sam's tweets 1, 2; Travis's tweet.
  23. ↑ Twitter icon Matthew Mercer (@matthewmercer) on Twitter: "The veeeery first session was very simplified 4E combat rules (we had new players), so we used he sheets/color coding" (2015-11-19).
  24. ↑ See also Travis' character sheet Twitter icon Critical Role (@criticalrole) on Twitter: "A young Grog learning what a "hit point" is…" (2015-11-19). Sam's character sheet Twitter icon Sam Riegel (@samriegel) on Twitter: "This is happening. Now." (2012-12-08).
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 See "The World of Critical Role", p.17.
  26. ↑ See "How Campaign 4 Changed Everything for Critical Role" at 02:01.
  27. ↑ See Matt answers on this topic on Twitter: tweet 1, tweet 2 and tweet 3.
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 From the recorded excerpt of their game that Sam and Liam played during episode 3 of the podcast All Work No Play at 24:28.
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 29.2 See Matt's recollection of the event in August 2013 at AYACON 2013 (Day 1) at 7:04 through 10:12.
  30. ↑ See "How Campaign 4 Changed Everything for Critical Role" at 05:06.
  31. ↑ See Travis's episode of Between the Sheets at 59:02 through 59:40.
  32. ↑ See Dungeons & Dragons' video "Critical Role’s Origins: Why We Play Dungeons & Dragons!" from 0:15 to 0:33.
  33. ↑ Read Travis's interview for Geek and Sundry "Critical Role’s Travis Willingham: I’m gonna rearrange your fa–ooh shiny!" (October 8th 2015).
  34. ↑ Twitter icon Liam O'Brien (@voiceofobrien) on Twitter: "D&D quote of the night- “Sometimes I heal myself with my *left* hand, so it feels like someone *else* is doing it.” -Sam Riegel, gnome." (2013-02-11).
  35. ↑ Based on the timestamps of tweets and Vines. Sources: Ashley's tweets 1, 2; Liam's tweet; Sam's tweet.
  36. ↑ See "Talks Machina #43: 'The Chapter Closes'" (TMx43) at 54:24.
  37. ↑ Twitter icon Ashley Johnson (@thevulcansalute) on Twitter: "I have returned to you a new woman. With new abilities (maybe not to be used in this world) that I think you'll find useful." (2013-02-11).
  38. ↑ See Ashley's interview for The Mary Sue. (2016-03-31) However, in relation to social media content she, and other members of the group, posted, the date she gave in the interview could be wrong.
  39. ↑ See "How Campaign 4 Changed Everything for Critical Role" at 04:17.
  40. ↑ See Marisha's interview at Nerdist.com: "For a one-shot Matt ran a long time ago, I played a druid. At the time, we were still on 4th Edition, and it was terrible! […] Anyway, the mechanics for druids in Pathfinder were a huge improvement, and I really wanted to redeem my first experience, so I decided to give it a shot…" (2015-10-01)
  41. ↑ See Marisha's and Matt's first Periscope on 2015-11-05 at 35:45 through 37:31.
  42. ↑ 42.0 42.1 Based on the timestamps of tweets and Vines. Sources: Ashley's tweet; Laura's tweet; Liam's tweets 1 2, 3, ; Sam's tweets 1, 2, 3
  43. ↑ See Matt's repeated answer on the conversion from D&D 4e to Pathfinder: tweet n°1, tweet n°2.
  44. ↑ Twitter icon Matthew Mercer (@matthewmercer) on Twitter: "The very first game (the one-shot that wasn’t a one-shot) was a stripped down 4E D&D game. We switched to Pathfinder when we decided to make it a campaign, so I customized a Goliath for it." (2018-08-18).
  45. ↑ Twitter icon Sam Riegel (@samriegel) on Twitter: "This thing took 30 minutes to solve. Argh." (2013-06-09).
  46. ↑ Twitter icon Liam O'Brien (@voiceofobrien) on Twitter: "“Oooooooh, sassy.”" (2013-07-26).
  47. ↑ Twitter icon Liam O'Brien (@voiceofobrien) on Twitter: "“I guess we just talk to Ox the Dork… wait, I mean Dork the Ox.”" (2013-07-26).
  48. ↑ Twitter icon Liam O'Brien (@voiceofobrien) on Twitter: "“Glad to be the pee…pee.”" (2013-07-26).
  49. ↑ Twitter icon Liam O'Brien (@voiceofobrien) on Twitter: "“Is there someone in charge with these rings? Like, a LORD of the rings?”" (2013-07-26).
  50. ↑ Twitter icon Liam O'Brien (@voiceofobrien) on Twitter: "“We drop some bitches, we kill a nightmare, we go find a nymph.”" (2013-07-26).
  51. ↑ 51.0 51.1 Based on the timestamps of tweets and Vines. Sources: Liam's tweets 1,2, 3
  52. ↑ See "K'Varn Revealed" (1x10) at 3:56:42.
  53. ↑ See "The Family Business" (1x47) at 2:35:13.
  54. ↑ See "Taryon, My Wayward Son" (1x97) at 1:53:33.
  55. ↑ Twitter icon Matthew Mercer (@matthewmercer) on Twitter: "It's in the Pathfinder Ultimate Combat book!" (2016-01-19) — in reply to @JuddYoung: "im playing in a 3.5 game and playing a percy based class i bought your 5ed gun class. Is it possible to get the original 3.5"
  56. ↑ See "Consequences and Cows" (1x26) at 2:43:38.
  57. ↑ See "Consequences and Cows" (1x26) at 3:44:47.
  58. ↑ Twitter icon Liam O'Brien (@voiceofobrien) on Twitter: "“You made a dork sled.” - @matthewmercer" (2013-09-07).
  59. ↑ Based on the timestamps of tweets and Vines. Sources: Liam's tweets 1, 2; Sam's tweets 1, 2.
  60. ↑ See "Breaching the Emberhold" (1x06) at 1:03:58.  See also 1:06:43.
  61. ↑ See "Attack on the Duergar Warcamp" (1x04) at 04:19:45.
  62. ↑ Twitter icon Matthew Mercer (@matthewmercer) on Twitter: "Avoided a fight through diplomacy, and Grog helmed that social encounter" (2017-07-10) — in reply to @CR_Translate: "We also couldn't figure out, in the pre-stream episode, if they avoided or stopped a fight by talking to the nymph. Thanks for everything <3"
  63. ↑ Based on the timestamps of tweets and Vines. Sources: Sam's tweet, Taliesin's and Liam's tweets exchange.
  64. ↑ Matthew Mercer stated that Vox Machina's first bag of holding was looted from an ancient druid barrow.
  65. ↑ Matthew Mercer estimated that Vox Machina acquired their first bag of holding around sixth level.
  66. ↑ See "Arrival at Kraghammer" (1x01) at 50:42.
  67. ↑ See "Attack on the Duergar Warcamp" (1x04) at 3:36:17.
  68. ↑ See "Ruidus" (3x83) at 2:46:25.
  69. ↑ The history of the party name was discussed in a Q&A.  See "Attack on the Duergar Warcamp" (1x04) at 4:04:31.
  70. ↑ See "Attack on the Duergar Warcamp" (1x04) at 04:01:17.
  71. ↑ See "K'Varn Revealed" (1x10) at 01:49:25.
  72. ↑ See "K'Varn Revealed" (1x10) at 03:46:30.
  73. ↑ See "Best Laid Plans..." (1x50) at 2:50:13.
  74. ↑ Based on the timestamps of tweets and Vines. Sources: Liam's tweets 1, 2, 3
  75. ↑ Twitter icon Sam Riegel (@samriegel) on Twitter: "you will be missed tonight, Pike." (2013-11-22).
  76. ↑ See "Trial of the Take: Part 1" (1x18) from 0:39:44 through 0:40:11.
  77. ↑ Twitter icon Liam O'Brien (@voiceofobrien) on Twitter: "“We are… The Super High Intensity Team. Or, the S.H.I.T.’s” -D&D’" (2013-11-22).
  78. ↑ Based on the timestamps of tweets and Vines. Sources: Liam's tweets 1, 2, 3, 4, 5; Orion's tweet.
  79. ↑ See "Echoes of the Past" (1x38) at 34:14.
  80. ↑ An early, deliberate recounting of the events says they battled "demons" and shows original art of a fiend that looks like a hezrou alongside a succubus.  See "The Story of Vox Machina" (Sx06) at 7:11.
  81. ↑ Later that year, when Matt brings up Fince, Laura recalls the event as "demons in the succubus's house".  See "Path of Brass" (1x74) at 1:19:57.
  82. ↑ Liam says, "Out of curiosity, these spined devils look like the thing we fought under Krieg's house. Was that Krieg's house?" Matt responds, "Yes." Liam continues, "It was, wasn't it?" Laura responds, "Oh, yeah yeah yeah." Liam continues, "With the succubus."  See "Vox Machina Go to Hell" (1x91) at 2:35:10.
  83. ↑ The next episode, Liam remembers an imp back at "Krieg's house", but this time Matt realizes it wasn't at Krieg's and tries to clarify it was at Fince's, though he can't remember the name of Syldor's ally. In the basement, Grog took a signet ring of Asmodeus off of "that demon we killed". Demons do not generally follow Asmodeus, who rules over devils, but later the party encountered a demon pretending to be a devil as the culmination of this same plot.  See "Deals in the Dark" (1x92) at 25:30.
  84. ↑ See "Vox Machina Go to Hell" (1x91) at 2:35:10.
  85. ↑ Twitter icon Liam O'Brien (@voiceofobrien) on Twitter: "“Thank you for the muffins and the awkward conversation.” - @executivegoth" (2014-06-14).
  86. ↑ 86.0 86.1 86.2 86.3 Based on the timestamps of tweets and Vines. Sources: Laura's tweet; Liam's tweets 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 (retweet of Sam); Orion's tweets 1, 2, 3, 4; Sam's tweets 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.
  87. ↑ See "Deals in the Dark" (1x92) at 26:17.
  88. ↑ 88.0 88.1 See Liam's video on YouTube.
  89. ↑ Based on the timestamps of tweets: Laura's tweet, Marisha's tweet, Orion's tweet.
  90. ↑ See "K'Varn Revealed" (1x10) at 3:47:32.
  91. ↑ See Yuri's tweets and Vines about this session 1, 2, 3. Yuri posted his character sheet a couple of days before.
  92. ↑ See "K'Varn Revealed" (1x10) at 3:47:32.
  93. ↑ Marisha's tweet.
  94. ↑ See "Attack on the Duergar Warcamp" (1x04) at 3:33:56.
  95. ↑ 95.0 95.1 Based on the timestamps of Liam's tweet.
  96. ↑ 96.0 96.1 See "Attack on the Duergar Warcamp" (1x04) at 4:14:25.
  97. ↑ Twitter icon Liam O'Brien (@voiceofobrien) on Twitter: "“The stairs were descending upwards…” -stoned druid" (2014-08-16).
  98. ↑ 98.0 98.1 Based on the timestamps of tweets and and Vines. Sources: Liam's tweets 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9; Sam's tweets 1, 2. See also Matt's tweet.
  99. ↑ Twitter icon Liam O'Brien (@voiceofobrien) on Twitter: "“Aren’t you dressed professionally, Scanlon, you… you dirty bard.” - @TheVulcanSalute" (2014-09-12).
  100. ↑ Twitter icon Liam O'Brien (@voiceofobrien) on Twitter: "“I have NO knowledge. I have knowledge in NOTHING.” - @TheVulcanSalute" (2014-09-12).
  101. ↑ Twitter icon Liam O'Brien (@voiceofobrien) on Twitter: "“Would you be interested in trading one troll dick for a cure moderate wounds potion?” - @WillingBlam" (2014-09-12).
  102. ↑ Twitter icon Liam O'Brien (@voiceofobrien) on Twitter: "@Marisha_Ray “I’m not going through the portal yet.” @TheVulcanSalute “Definitely not as a sugar glider squirrel.”" (2014-09-12).
  103. ↑ Twitter icon Liam O'Brien (@voiceofobrien) on Twitter: "“Thank god for that troll dick…” -me" (2014-09-12).
  104. ↑ Twitter icon Liam O'Brien (@voiceofobrien) on Twitter: "“You guys are so f$£ked” - @matthewmercer" (2014-09-13).
  105. ↑ Based on the timestamps of tweets and and Vines. Sources: Liam's tweets: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21; Orion's tweets: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, Sam's tweets: 1, 2; Taliesin's tweet.
  106. ↑ See Liam's video on YouTube.
  107. ↑ Allura and this event are still remembered by the cast years later, as they were briefly mentioned during "4-Sided Dive: Anxiety Game Gauntlet" (4SDx18) at 1:05:35.
  108. ↑ See Twitter icon Ashley Johnson (@thevulcansalute) on Twitter: "Here it is. A sneak peak into an evening of Dungeons & Dragons with me and my clan" (2014-09-15). The video is available on Ashley's YouTube page. See also Twitter icon Matthew Mercer (@matthewmercer) on Twitter: "@TheVulcanSalute cut together this awesome vid of our D&D game, because we are dice-rolling nerds. The glory..." (2014-09-15). The video is also available on Matt's YouTube page.
  109. ↑ See "The Story of Vox Machina" (Sx06) at 1:14:41.
  110. ↑ Twitter icon Liam O'Brien (@voiceofobrien) on Twitter: "@WillingBlam has just started rage looting a dragon's hoard of gold. Probably not gonna end well." (2014-09-13).
  111. ↑ Twitter icon Liam O'Brien (@voiceofobrien) on Twitter: "It’s 2:30 in the morning & I just killed the dragon with a natural 20. Air guitar solo." (2014-09-13).
  112. ↑ See "Omens" (1x39) at 0:09:42.
  113. ↑ Twitter icon Liam O'Brien (@voiceofobrien) on Twitter: ""Are you still a squirrel?!" - @LauraBaileyVO" (2014-10-10).
  114. ↑ Twitter icon Liam O'Brien (@voiceofobrien) on Twitter: ""I say we go back and burn down the house. No, I'm just saying..." - @LauraBaileyVO" (2014-10-10).
  115. ↑ Twitter icon Liam O'Brien (@voiceofobrien) on Twitter: ""Do you know what's less conspicuous than a house fire? NOT a house fire." - @executivegoth" (2014-10-10).
  116. ↑ Twitter icon Liam O'Brien (@voiceofobrien) on Twitter: ""We didn't touch any of the gold" - @WillingBlam "Er, that is a lie." - @orionacaba" (2014-10-10).
  117. ↑ Twitter icon Liam O'Brien (@voiceofobrien) on Twitter: ""I transmogrify into General Grievous." - @orionacaba "WHAT??" -everyone" (2014-10-10).
  118. ↑ Twitter icon Liam O'Brien (@voiceofobrien) on Twitter: "(Vex throws a rock, distracting guards) "The old Last of Us trick!" - @LauraBaileyVO" (2014-10-10).
  119. ↑ Twitter icon Liam O'Brien (@voiceofobrien) on Twitter: ""I think we should just kill him." - @TheVulcanSalute "What kind of fucking cleric are you??" -me" (2014-10-10).
  120. ↑ Twitter icon Liam O'Brien (@voiceofobrien) on Twitter: ""So we're gonna Star Wars this?" -me "We're gonna Star Wars this." - @LauraBaileyVO" (2014-10-10).
  121. ↑ Twitter icon Liam O'Brien (@voiceofobrien) on Twitter: ""I've a very important question. Does the bear look like a guard?" "We could make a bear sandwich." - @executivegoth" (2014-10-10).
  122. ↑ Twitter icon Liam O'Brien (@voiceofobrien) on Twitter: ""Let's see if this Monty Python's sketch can save the world." -me" (2014-10-10).
  123. ↑ Twitter icon Liam O'Brien (@voiceofobrien) on Twitter: ""My name is Michael Knight and these are my friends." - @samriegel" (2014-10-10).
  124. ↑ 124.0 124.1 124.2 Based on the timestamps of tweets and Vines. Sources: Liam's tweets: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15; Orion's tweets: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6; Sam's tweet.
  125. ↑ Twitter icon Liam O'Brien (@voiceofobrien) on Twitter: "“Pansofical? …that’s a cool name…” - @TheVulcanSalute" (2014-11-09).
  126. ↑ Twitter icon Liam O'Brien (@voiceofobrien) on Twitter: "“It’s no pants o’clock time.” - @executivegoth" (2014-11-09).
  127. ↑ Twitter icon Liam O'Brien (@voiceofobrien) on Twitter: "@matthewmercer: “ok, where are you aiming smite.” @TheVulcanSalute: “Just right here, in his tummies.”" (2014-11-09).
  128. ↑ Based on the timestamps of tweets and Vines. Sources: Liam's tweets: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21; Orion's tweet.
  129. ↑ Twitter icon Liam O'Brien (@voiceofobrien) on Twitter: "Keeping our absent bard in the loop…" (2014-11-09).
  130. ↑ See Laura's recollection of the event at Critical Role's panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2015 at 37:48.
  131. ↑ See "Crimson Diplomacy" (1x25) at 2:25:03.
  132. ↑ See "Talks Machina #21: 'Jugs and Rods'" (TMx21) at 54:42.
  133. ↑ See "Critical Role Q&A and Battle Royale: Take II" (Sx10) at 1:26:21.  See also Marisha's and Matt's Periscope on 2016-04-23 at 59:09 through 1:00:16.
  134. ↑ Twitter icon Liam O'Brien (@voiceofobrien) on Twitter: "“Wait! I’ve been wanting to do this for a year! I transform into a kitten!” - @Marisha_Ray" (2014-12-19).
  135. ↑ Twitter icon Liam O'Brien (@voiceofobrien) on Twitter: "@Marisha_Ray: “if we can get ‘em into the bramble yert, they’ll be stuck.” @executivegoth: “I’m gonna Google bramble yert.”" (2014-12-20).
  136. ↑ Twitter icon Liam O'Brien (@voiceofobrien) on Twitter: "@matthewmercer: “you take full damage from the fireball.” @samriegel: “I have gloves of climbing.”" (2014-12-20).
  137. ↑ Based on the timestamps of tweets and Vines. Sources: Liam's tweets: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9; Sam's tweets 1, 2, 3.
  138. ↑ See Liam's tweets: 1, 2, 3.
  139. ↑ See "The World of Critical Role", p.15.
  140. ↑ See "How Campaign 4 Changed Everything for Critical Role" at 16:06.
  141. ↑ See "K'Varn Revealed" (1x10) at 3:23:42.
  142. ↑ See "Aramente to Pyrah" (1x22) at 2:58:38.
  143. ↑ See "Talks Machina: Campaign Wrap-up" (Sx31) at 9:14.
  144. ↑ Twitter icon Liam O'Brien (@voiceofobrien) on Twitter: "Ooh, a skeezy halfling… - @TheVulcanSalute" (2014-02-07).
  145. ↑ 145.0 145.1 Based on the timestamps of tweets and Vines. Sources: Liam's tweets 1, 2, 3, 4.
  146. ↑ See "Attack on the Duergar Warcamp" (1x04) from 3:14:42 through 3:15:52.
  147. ↑ See "Daring Days" (1x86) at 56:24.
  148. ↑ See "Talks Machina #13: 'A Bard's Lament' and 'Daring Days'" (TMx13) at 28:12.
  149. ↑ See "The Kill Box" (1x52) at 2:48:47.
  150. ↑ See "Wizard World Gaming Portland Panel" (Sx07) at 55:04.
  151. ↑ See the time line starting at 809 PD and ending at "After the stream begins".
  152. ↑ See respectively "CelebriD&D with Joe Manganiello", "CelebriD&D with Game of Thrones' John Bradley and "D&Diesel" (Sx03). Those episodes are regarded as "semi-canon".
  153. ↑ See "Wizard World Gaming Portland Panel" (Sx07) at 46:18.
  154. ↑ See "K'Varn Revealed" (1x10) at 4:14:39.
  155. ↑ See "Talks Machina #20: 'Bats Out of Hell'" (TMx20) at 1:08:54.
  156. ↑ DDB Drow Poison (Injury) on D&D Beyond
  157. ↑ See "The Temple Showdown" (1x11) at 1:02:29.
  158. ↑ See "Those Who Walk Away" (1x45) at 1:57:01.
  159. ↑ Based on the timestamps of tweets. Sources: Liam's tweets: 1, 2; Sam's tweet.
  160. ↑ 160.0 160.1 See Felicia Day's Between the Sheets at 53:11 through 56:22.
  161. ↑ See "The World of Critical Role", Foreword and p.16.
  162. ↑ See her #ThrowbackThursday on Instagram on October 19th 2023.
  163. ↑ Felicia finally sold Geek & Sundry to Legendary Pictures Digital in August 2014. See her recollection of the events on her personal blog. See also Geek & Sundry's Wikipedia page and Legendary Entertainment's Wikipedia page for more information.
  164. ↑ See Matt's interview at Nerdist.com: "Eventually, Felicia Day got wind of the game via (I believe) Ashley Johnson, and we were contacted by Geek & Sundry to discuss perhaps developing our game into a show" (2015-10-29).
  165. ↑ 165.0 165.1 See the cast's interview at C2E2 2018 at 4:14 through 5:20.
  166. ↑ See Marisha's and Matt's Q&A at HAVEN Expo 2016.
  167. ↑ See "The World of Critical Role", p.16.
  168. ↑ See Zac Eubank's answer to a Reddit.com question: "The group is their own company and we [Geek & Sundry / Legendary Digital Networks] facilitate them. We do what we can to give them what they need, but it is their show and the most we can do is make suggestions" (2015-11-19).
  169. ↑ The company was officially registered on May 6th 2015. See their entry at opencorporates.com. You may also use the Business Search at bizfile Online California Secretary of State.
  170. ↑ See "Attack on the Duergar Warcamp" (1x04) from 3:14:40 through 3:16:48.
  171. ↑ See "K'Varn Revealed" (1x10) from 04:13:07 through 04:13:50.
  172. ↑ Twitter icon Matthew Mercer (@matthewmercer) on Twitter: "I like the customization depth of PF, but overall prefer the streamlined, narrative-friendlier D&D 5e" (2016-02-13).
  173. ↑ See "Best Laid Plans..." (1x50) at 6:56.
  174. ↑ See Orion's tweet on February 23th 2015. Liam's tweets on February 24th 2015: Geek & Sundry's studio, Pike's breastplate, Scanlan's lute, Tiberius' staff, Vax's dagger, Vex's bow, an axe, a pair of boots. See also Sam's tweet on the same day while in his makeup.
  175. ↑ See Liam's tweet, Marisha's tweet and Orion's tweet.
  176. ↑ See the All Work No Play podcast, episode 6, at 08:45 through 09:16 (posted 2014-05-24).

Art:

  1. ↑ Screenshot of Grog being controlled by a lich, along with the reanimated corpse of his father, Stonejaw, by Wendy Sullivan Green from "The Story of Vox Machina" (Sx06) at 1:31. Used with permission.
  2. ↑ Art of Percy in a prison cell before being freed by Vox Machina, by Wendy Sullivan Green.  See "The Story of Vox Machina" (Sx06) at 0:02:54.
  3. ↑ Fan art of Vox Machina retrieving the arcane cortex from the iron golem guarding Sevil Howthess's tomb, by Wendy Sullivan Green (source). Used with permission.
  4. ↑ Official art of Skysunder, by Wendy Sullivan Green (source). Used with permission.
  5. ↑ An umber hulk in the Crystalfen Caverns tosses Grog from the ceiling, nearly killing him, by Wendy Sullivan Green from "The Story of Vox Machina" (Sx06) at 9:03. Used with permission.
  6. ↑ Screenshot of the Clasp's chimera in the battle with Vax and Pike, by Wendy Sullivan Green from "The Story of Vox Machina" (Sx06) at 10:32. Used with permission.
  7. ↑ Official art of Vox Machina attacking Juurezel, by Wendy Sullivan Green (source). Used with permission.
  8. ↑ Official art of Dread Emperor, by Wendy Sullivan Green (source). Used with permission.
  9. ↑ Official art of Greyskull Keep, by Wendy Sullivan Green (source). Used with permission.
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