So you may have noticed that there’s a lot of buzz surrounding the new Prime TV show, The Legend of Vox Machina. If you’ve read our review then you’ll know that we think it’s really good. Alas, Amazon have seen fit to release the show in three episode instalments, so if you don’t want to wait for a week, you may be delighted to know there’s plenty more Critical Role related stuff out there.
The Legend of Vox Machina is an animated adaptation of the D&D actual play Twitch stream, Critical Role. More accurately, it’s the first campaign. Basically the first ‘run’ of the game as played by a bunch of Nerdy Voice Actors. It’s available via Twitch, YouTube and Podcast, but each episode is three to five hours long and there’s literally hundres of episodes. Fortunately, they’ve recently started a new Campaign (number three), which is set in the same world as Vox Machina, but with different characters. They are some nods to the original campaign in the new one, but right now is a perfect time to jump on as it’s just starting out.
If you’re in a hurry, Dani Carr has produced a series of Recaps, but really they’re for skipping the odd episode rather than cramming the whole thing.
Alternately, you might want to know more about the two half-elven orphans, Vex and Vax. One’s a rogue with a sharp wit, the other is a ranger with a pet bear. The recently released novel Vox Machina – Kith and Kin is a prequel of sorts, detailing the adventures of everyone’s favourite sarcastic warriors. It’s a fun bit of tie-in fiction and quite a light (but entertaining) read.
Comics publisher Dark Horse have been producing tie-in comics for a while now; anyone familiar with Dark Horse will know they love to get the most out of franchise. In addition to prequel series called Vox Machina Origins, they are also books that cover the other campaigns. The art is very well done and the writing captures the sort of fun we’ve come to expect from the show.
If reading is your thing, it’s also worth pointing out that Critical Role is a table top RPG, and Matt Mercer, the game’s dungeon master, has very kindly written an RPG sourcebook called Tal’Dorei Reborn, which we really liked. It’s a very detailed description of the setting and it works as a fun fantasy read, but of course it has spoilers for Campaign One and therefore The Legend of Vox Machina. And finally, Wizkids do a a whole range of models connected to the show, just in case you just really like the look of the characters and monsters.
We expect there to be many more tie-in products to come; right now Critical Role is a franchise juggernaut. But it’s also an amazing bit of fantasy fun.
