Here's your beginner's guide to the main mercenaries leading the way in Amazon's animated The Legend of Vox Machina TV show. Between 2015 and 2017, a band of voice actors under the name Critical Role streamed their weekly Dungeons & Dragons sessions, gathering a huge online following. Thanks to a wildly-successful Kickstarter, Critical Role's first campaign now forms the basis of an animated fantasy series streaming on Amazon Prime Video, in which the almost-heroic mercenaries of Vox Machina fight monsters and get kicked out of bars up and down the land of Tal'Dorei.
For longtime followers of Critical Role, the seven colorful Vox Machina warriors will feel like a second family. For others, the animated TV show represents their maiden trip to Exandria. The titular team has already been working together for some time when The Legend of Vox Machina begins, and though the series provides snapshots of individual backstories (as well as Scanlan's epic introduction song, of course), The Legend of Vox Machina essentially jumps straight into the action, skipping over the group's origins.
As Prime Video opens the Vox Machina tome and brings the wonderful world of Critical Role to a broader audience, here's everything you need to know about The Legend of Vox Machina's seven main characters, including backstories, powers, and motivations.
Vex'ahlia & Vax'ildan
As twin siblings, Vex'ahlia and Vax'ildan share a common origin story in Critical Role's mythology. Born to a human mother and an elven ambassador father, Vex and Vax (Vex is the female if, like Scanlan, you can't tell which is which) lived a humble life in the world of men, before the twins' father summoned them to the elf city of Syngorn aged 10. Due to their mixed heritage, Vex and Vax found themselves rather unwelcome among their father's kin, and eventually opted to return home. Tragically, their mother had died at the hands (or, more likely, the mouth) of a dragon in their absence. Isolated from both sides of their heritage, Vex and Vax became nomads, traveling around picking up mercenary work, but always remaining loyal to each other. When The Legend of Vox Machina starts, the twins are around 27/28 years-old.
Despite sharing an origin, Vex'ahlia and Vax'ildan boast very different skill sets. Vax became a rogue, proficient at stealth, sleight of hand, and trickery. Vex became a ranger, more attuned to tracking and hunting, whilst also absorbing as much dragon lore as possible so the siblings might one day take revenge upon the beast responsible for their mother's death. As rangers are wont to do, Vex wields a bow and arrow. Vax throws enchanted daggers that return to his hand after striking - a skill he learned from Tharendril while living in Syngorn. Vex also comes accompanied by a bear called Trinket, who she saved as a cub from poachers. Captured by the bandits herself, Vex mercy-killed Trinket's mother, before noticing the young baby hiding nearby and adopting it as her companion.
Grog Strongjaw
The Legend of Vox Machina's resident tank, Grog Strongjaw belongs to the Goliath race, distantly descended from giants of ancient times. Grog was born into his Uncle Kevdak's Herd of Storms - a nomadic group following a warrior culture of violence and honor, but frequently attacking passers-by and vulnerable settlements. Grog was perfectly suited to this lifestyle, and enjoyed the constant physical challenge of fighting other Goliaths in the herd to prove his strength, but whereas the Herd of Storms was happy to decimate targets weaker than themselves, Grog Strongjaw found a conscience somewhere inside that massive skull. He spoke out against the herd's assault on a frail, elderly gnome (Wilhand Trickfoot), and got badly beaten and banished in return. Wilhand returned the favor by sending his great-great-granddaughter, Pike, to heal Grog's wounds and bring him to their home. As told in Vox Machina: Origins, an adult Grog later left the Trickfoots to become a mercenary, where he met future comrades Scanlan, Vex'ahlia, and Vax'ildan.
As a Barbarian class, Grog has no talent for sorcery, but his Goliath biology provides immense physical strength, ridiculously high resilience, and an insatiable appetite for battle. His weapon of choice is a giant two-handed great axe... but he'd rather be holding a barrel of ale instead.
Percival "Percy" de Rolo
With The Legend of Vox Machina season 1 adapting Critical Role's Briarwood arc, Percy de Rolo's backstory will be covered in considerably more detail than his Vox Machina companions. Born as the third of seven de Rolo children, Percy's family were the kind and just leaders of Whitestone, popular among local townsfolk despite their nobility. When Percy was in his young teens, the de Rolo household hosted Silas and Delilah Briarwood, who gradually wormed their way into the family's trust before violently betraying them in a takeover of Whitestone castle. Though most of his family were killed, Percy and his sister, Cassandra, were imprisoned and tortured. They attempted an escape, but only Percy left the Briarwoods' clutches alive. Whilst later seeking revenge against Dr. Anna Ripley - the woman who tortured him on the Briarwoods' behalf - Percy encountered Scanlan, Pike and Keyleth to become the final piece in Vox Machina's dysfunctional puzzle. When the Amazon Prime Video series begins, Percy is in his early 20s.
Percy's signature weapons are his firearms - tools that are entirely alien to much of Tal-Dorei's sword-waving population. Though already interested in engineering and chemistry, the knowledge to build guns came to Percy following his escape from Whitestone, when a mysterious dark entity called Orthax appeared in a dream, offering the chance for vengeance. Percy's go-to shooter in the Amazon series is his Pepperbox Pistol.
Keyleth
Voiced by Marisha Ray, Keyleth handles most of Vox Machina's magical requirements. A half-elven druid, Keyleth hails from the Ashari's air tribe, who guard the elemental plane of air where it converges with the realm of Exandria. Keyleth's father acts as the Air Ashari's serving headmaster when Amazon Prime Video's The Legend of Vox Machina begins, and has decreed Keyleth his successor. Setting out from her isolated home at the age of 20, she must now complete the Aramenté trial required to inherit true leadership, trekking across the land and meeting the other Ashari elemental tribes, thereby proving herself worthy as a future Ashari headmaster. The pressure of succeeding her father is increased by the fact Keyleth's mother never returned from her own Aramenté quest. Initially falling in with other magical types after leaving home, Keyleth eventually stumbled across Vex'ahlia, and Vax'ildan.
Keyleth's connection with nature allows her to wield all manner of druid spells and abilities. Most common in The Legend of Vox Machina are air manipulation (i.e. thunder attacks), other nature-based magic attacks, and plant growth (big thorny vines sprouting from the ground). However, Keyleth can also transform into animals, and communicate directly with local flora and fauna.
Scanlan Shorthalt
The randiest member of Vox Machina by a considerable distance, Scanlan Shorthalt will be the character most often tickling the limits of Amazon Prime Video's censors. This gnome lothario is Vox Machina's ballsy bard, proficient in a wide variety of genres and styles. Despite his bravado, Scanlan's origin story is a tragic one. With his father absent, Scanlan was raised by his mother alone in poverty, but he supported her as a performing musician before joining Dr. Dranzel's Spectacular Traveling Troupe. Sadly, Scanlan could do nothing but watch as his only parent was murdered by goblins. As told by the Vox Machina: Origins comics, Scanlan initially joined another band of mercenaries known as The Wing, where he met Grog.
As with all good bards, Scanlan's power is directly connected to his musical prowess, offering him a wide variety of spells to cast with characteristic flamboyance. In The Legend of Vox Machina, these largely involve firing off purple waves of offence, or conjuring physical shapes, such as the Bigby's Hand spell, which allows Scanlan to manipulate a giant fist made from purple magic. Needless to say, Scanlan's greatest powers won't be shown onscreen.
Pike Trickfoot
Pike Trickfoot's great-great-grandfather, Wilhand, defied his family's long-standing reputation as infamous gnome thieves (that's thieves who are gnomes, not thieves who steal gnomes)by finding religion, worshiping the goddess known as Everlight, or Sarenrae. Pike proudly follows in Wilhand's footsteps, and they lived together in Westruun during her early life. When Wilhand found himself targeted by the Herd of Storms and protected by Grog, Pike was sent to heal the mysterious Samaritan, and they become firm friends, significantly closer in spirit than height. So, when a rough group of mercenaries (an early Vox Machina) came knocking asking where Grog had disappeared to, Pike quickly joined their ranks to rescue her big, ale-guzzling pal.
Pike's power derives from her religious beliefs and cleric status, calling upon the Everlight for strength. Typically, this involves creating a magical shield of faith to protect herself and the Vox Machina crew from harm, or healing them when harm happens anyway. The Everlight can be used as an offensive tool too - both for the gnome herself and by enhancing her allies - and as Pike's connection to the Everlight strengthens, so too does her power.
The Legend of Vox Machina streams Fridays on Prime Video.