Since its inception in 2015,Dungeons and Dragons-focused web seriesCritical Rolehas featured three main campaigns and a number of one-shots, spin-offs, and limited series. In 2022, the first campaign was turned into an animated series:The Legend of Vox Machina.Now,The Legend of Vox Machinaprepares to enter its third season, in which the titular adventuring party battles the dragons of the Chroma Conclave. The actors, all of whom replay their roles in the animated series, loved returning toVox Machinayears later, finding it a comforting experience.
Game Rant spoke toTheLegend of Vox Machina’sentire primary cast: Matthew Mercer, Marisha Ray, Laura Bailey, Travis Willingham, Sam Riegel, Ashley Johnson, Liam O’Brien, and Taliesin Jaffe. All the cast members expressed joy at returning totheirVox Machinacharacters for the animated series. Bailey pointed out thatThe Legend of Vox Machina,the development of the upcomingMighty Neinanimated series, and the ongoing “Bell’s Hells” campaign all occurring at once have allowed the cast to celebrate all thingsCritical Rolein a unique way.
Returning To Vox MachinaBrought Warmth, Comfort, And Familiarity
The originalVox MachinaDungeons & Dragonscampaign ran for over 100 episodes between 2015 and 2017. It featured the titular adventuring party taking down vampires, gods, chromatic dragons, and a variety of other iconic foes. The cast was thrilled to be able to retellVox Machina’sstory via the animated series. “I feel a warmth, like seeing old high school friends,” said Taliesin Jaffe. Laura Bailey agreed, saying:
“It feels like you’re coming home again, you know, especially with as much as we do have going on. Playing Campaign Three, and also exploringMighty Neinright now with that animated series, to come back toVox Machina,every single time we get to, it feels like you’re putting on a warm blanket.”
Marisha Ray, who plays the druidKeyleth, found both joy and sadness in working onThe Legend of Vox Machina.To Ray, there is “an element of tragedy” in retelling their characters' stories. At the table, they didn’t know how things were going to turn out - but now they do, and not every character is going to get a happy ending. However, no matter what happens, the party has one another both in and out of universe.
The Cast Was There To Support One Another
The team, who have now been playingDungeons and Dragonstogether for a decade, were thrilled to have each other’s support.Vox MachinaSeason 3 was developed during a busy time for the crew - Matthew Mercer, in particular, was balancing hisCritical Rolework with his appearances in titles such asFinal Fantasy 7 RebirthandBaldur’s Gate 3.“The benefit of us, as friends, all collaborating together, is we all can…take each other’s slack when we need to, and lean on each other when we need support,” enthused Mercer with his trademark glee.
Travis Willingham, whose character Grog Strongjaw keeps the party centered with his constant good humor, agreed with the group’s Dungeon Master. He expressed his joy at returning toVox Machina’sparty dynamic once more in the animated series, comparing it to the group’s real-life friendship. “It’s just us,” boomed Willingham with an enthusiasm matching his character’s. “It’s us against the world. It’s relatable.” He ended by paraphrasing Mercer’s now-iconic quote, used when a character makes a particular good roll at the table: “How are we going to do this?” The answer, both in real life and in Season 3 ofThe Legend of Vox Machinais clear: they’re going to do this together.
