The Dungeons & Dragons actual play web series Critical Role wouldn't be the massive hit that it is without the most powerful Vox Machina NPCs (non-player characters). NPCs flesh out the story of a D&D campaign as well as provide aide, information or challenges to the players. Part of what makes Critical Role's Campaign One so good is the brilliance of its Dungeon Master, Matthew Mercer, in bringing so many NPCs to vibrant life.
As with any homebrew cammpaign, populating Exandria with various notable NPCs was crucial to making it feel like a real, lived-in world. Some NPCs are minor figures, but others wield considerable power and are crucial to the campaign's overarching story. Undoubtedly, Vox Machina's most powerful NPCs can be just as memorable as the best player characters in Critical Role. Here are the most powerful and best Vox Machina NPCs, who, alongside the party itself, have played huge roles in shaping the histories and lore of this era in Exandria.
10 Lady Kima
Kima was one of the first main NPCs to be featured once Campaign One started streaming. Despite ranking low among the most powerful Vox Machina NPCs, Kima is a halfling who can use heavy weapons without any penalty, and also has a variety of spells and abilities that help strengthen and protect her and others due to her paladin class. She played a major role in the Chroma Conclave arc, even going so far as to assist Vox Machina in their final battle against Raishan. With a lot of heavenly power on her side and an arsenal of heavy weapons, Kima is undoubtedly among the most powerful Vox Machina NPCs.
9 Shaun Gilmore
Gilmore is easily one of the top NPCs in Critical Role history, and underneath his jovial personality is an immensely powerful sorcerer. As a Runechild, he was gifted with natural magical abilities through his bloodline, which easily counts him among the most powerful Vox Machina NPCs. He has a vast array of spells at his disposal, including an immensely powerful Disintegrate spell that managed to expose Thordak's heart crystal, making Gilmore a bigger threat than he originally appears. Gilmore's roster of protective spells also made him crucial to protecting innocents whenever danger arose.
8 Delilah Briarwood
Delilah Briarwood was one of the best villains in Critical Role, with enough power behind her to also make her one of the biggest threats that Vox Machina ever faced. Delilah is able to use her necromancy powers to raise the dead to do her bidding, not to mention having access to spells all the way up to ninth level. By channeling the power of the Whispered One, Delilah became one of the most powerful Vox Machina NPCs, and even managed to come back to life after her death a year earlier. Moreover, it was her machinations that led to the death of nearly all of Percy's family.
7 Artagan
While Artagan's appearances in the Vox Machina Campaign were limited, he made quite an impact and showed off some of his great power when the heroes needed it most. Artagan possesses powerful archfey magic, which allowed him to disguise himself as a satyr and trick even the likes of Vox Machina. While in the Feywild, he could manipulate the time dilation effect to his liking, which came in handy when Vox Machina returned for his help. Artagan truly became one of the most powerful Vox Machina NPCs after transforming into the Traveller, a minor deity whose most important follow is, of course, Jester Lavorre.
6 Orthax
A demon of vengeance, Orthax managed to cause a lot of trouble for Vox Machina by making deals with first Percy and then, later, Anna Ripley. Orthax is one of the most powerful Vox Machina NPCs for his sheer influence on others. The more souls that Orthax devours, the stronger the demon becomes, especially when those souls were murdered by his oathbound killers. Even without the souls, Orthax is still pretty powerful, given his shadow powers that allow the fiend to fend off attacks and injure opponents with psychic damage. Though weakened by the light, Orthax's cunning keeps the demon away from anything that could lessen his influence, making him very hard to kill.
5 Vorugal
Hailing from the Chroma Conclave, Vorugal, the Frigid Doom is an easy contender for the most powerful Vox Machina NPCs. Given that he's a dragon, Vorugal already has immense strength and power behind him. His threat level increases due to the fact that, rather than breathing fire, he breathes ice that freezes anyone and anything instantly. Due to this, he is also immune to cold damage. Combined with his natural dragon attacks, including tail swipes and claws, Vorugal is a dangerous dragon to fight, especially when fighting him on his terrain, as Vox Machina did during the campaign.
4 Thordak
Vox Machina's battle with Thordak might be one of the best fights in Critical Role, and it also shows off why Thordak is such a great threat. Apart from being the dragon who organized the Chroma Conclave, Thordak could be considered one of the most powerful dragons ever. Not only does he start with an extra 1,000 hit points, but he also does fire damage to anyone within 10 feet of him at the start of their turn. It took Vox Machina and multiple different allies working together to even have a chance to stop the dragon's reign over Emon and the threat he posed to the world.
3 Raishan
Before Vecna, Raishan was the greatest threat that Vox Machina ever faced. Raishan is cunning and devious, able to manipulate both Vox Machina and Thordak into getting what she wants. While she is weakened a little by her long-term illness, this does nothing to slow her down, especially when it came to battling her for the last time. She is easily able to take down party members instantly, and with four legendary resistances and an arsenal of powerful spells at her disposal, Raishan is not someone that can be defeated easily. Raishan's machinations mean that, among the most powerful Vox Machina NPCs, she's the most dangerous dragon.
2 The Raven Queen
Though she mainly appears outside of combat and acts as more of guide for Vax than anything else, there's no question that the Raven Queen ranks high among the most powerful Vox Machina NPCs. While she doesn't physically interact with the world, as the literal goddess of death in Exandria, the Raven Queen holds power over life and death - alongside an undying hatred of undeath. Her god powers aside, she was even the first mortal to become a god after ascending and destroying the original god of death. This backstory, which provides unique lore to the history of Exandria, also makes the Raven Queen one of the best Vox Machina NPCs.
1 Vecna
Upon his return, Vecna instantly became the biggest and most powerful threat Vox Machina ever faced, nearly even succeeding in his plans just through sheer godlike power. Vecna's powers are almost limitless, with plenty of spells that he can use to kill people almost instantly, especially when coupled with his legendary actions. It's not surprising that in almost every list of the most powerful Vox Machina NPCs, Vecna tops the list.
Vecna could paralyze people with a single strike, resist any spell damage below level six, and has three ninth-level spell slots that he can use whenever he wants. Vecna is essentially a god, and as such, has godlike powers and abilities that make him nearly impossible to defeat at the height of his power. Inspired by the one of the most iconic Dungeons & Dragons villains in tabletop RPG history, Critical Role's Vecna definitely ranks among the best Vox Machina NPCs, period.