The Legend of Vox Machina is crashing onto Amazon in a storm of stale ale and dysfunction, but what is Critical Role's animated TV series actually based on? Set within the fantasy realm of Tal'Dorei, The Legend of Vox Machina stars a rough-and-ragged band of mercenaries, all deeply flawed and carrying ample emotional baggage. Eschewing the traditional politeness of fantasy animation in favor of copious F-bombs, cartoon nudity, and the kind of violence you won't find in Middle-earth, Vox Machina make an unapologetic first impression, and Amazon's Prime Video service gives their epic journey a bigger platform than ever before.
The Legend of Vox Machina hits the mainstream riding a massive groundswell of support from its cult following - all of whom will be super-familiar with Vox Machina's unconventional behind-the-scenes origin. For the average Amazon subscriber, however, The Legend of Vox Machina's creation isn't your typical TV adaptation tale. Audiences are all too accustomed to comics and fantasy books getting the live-action treatment. The Legend of Vox Machina is, characteristically, not following the pack.
Broadly speaking, The Legend of Vox Machina is based on the role-playing realm of Dungeons & Dragons, but the story and characters hail entirely from Critical Role. In 2015, a group of major names from the voice-acting industry began streaming their personal Dungeons & Dragons nights - the core creators comprising of Matthew Mercer, Ashley Johnson, Laura Bailey, Taliesin Jaffe, Marisha Ray, Liam O'Brien, Travis Willingham, and Sam Riegel. This vocal bunch became collectively known as Critical Role, with episode 1 kicking off partway through their "Vox Machina" campaign. The characters, setting and narratives featured back then now provide the source material for Amazon's The Legend of Vox Machina TV show.
Critical Role's Vox Machina streams ran for over 100 episodes and earned immense popularity among the Dungeons & Dragons community. As the weekly sessions gathered momentum, Critical Role expanded into all manner of online media, and the company has since aired second and third campaigns starring the same cast members playing new characters. Nevertheless, Critical Role's current success stems from Vox Machina's adventures between 2015 and 2017, and that initial campaign has spawned graphic novels, art guides, and books, such as Critical Role: Vox Machina - Kith & Kin, and Critical Role: Vox Machina Origins. In 2019, Critical Role launched a Kickstarter to turn one of Vox Machina's pre-stream missions into a lone animated special. The crowd-funder smashed through its initial target with ease and quickly evolved into a fully-fledged season. Amazon then joined as a partner, and commissioned a second season in addition to the fan-funded first.
The most charming aspect of Legend of Vox Machina's origin story is how the project began with a group of friends playing Dungeons & Dragons around a table, harboring no designs of financial riches or mainstream renown (unlike Vox Machina themselves). The TV show's storylines are mostly (albeit not entirely) derived from that initial run of Vox Machina streams, with the same cast members returning to the characters they personally ushered into existence, creating a role-playing phenomenon entirely by accident.
The Legend of Vox Machina premieres January 28 on Prime Video.