There have been multiple powerful villains over the course of the Critical Role's Vox Machina campaign. From the sinister machinations of the Briarwoods to the overwhelming power of the Chroma Conclave dragons, the ragtag band of heroes has had to deal with some very strong characters. Sometimes, a character is so powerful that it takes all of the team's strength and cunning to take them down.Powerful villains have always been a staple for campaigns in the world of Critical Role, making the team work harder than ever to ensure that the world is safe from them. Some villains use their raw power to smash through everything, while others are more cunning than they appear. They may just be prominent NPCs in Critical Role, but they are still extremely powerful, and few would dare to mess with them.
10 Hotis
Hotis, seen above in fan art from Twitter's David Rodrigues, was a rakshasa that Vox Machina was contracted to kill at the behest of the Slayer's Take in Vasselheim. While not nearly as strong as some of the other villains in the show, such as the Chroma Conclave and the Briarwoods, Hotis makes up for it with a few of his nastier spells and, above all, his cunning nature and his unrelenting desire for revenge.
Hotis' trickery nearly strayed the heroes from their trial to kill him in Vasselheim, and he possesses many spells that can dominate the will over another, such as charm person and dominate person. Not only that, but he was able to take the form of Gilmore in order to trick Vax, one of the best player characters in Critical Role. He even revived after a time to try to get revenge on Vax, forcing Vox Machina to travel to his plane to kill him for good. However, his limited powers are weak in comparison to other villains the team has fought.
9 Orthax
Orthax was a shadow demon manipulating Percy into getting revenge against the Briarwoods and their allies, which, in turn, gave the creature a multitude of souls to feed on. It was a dangerous threat for them to face, but one that was somewhat easily dealt with despite all the power that It had.
As a shadow demon, Orthax could teleport between shadows and launch psychic attacks on enemies. While this does make it a strong enemy to fight, the problem with the monster is both a sensitivity to light and the need for a host to stay on the material plane. When going up against the most overpowered character builds in Critical Role history, it just doesn't seem like Orthax is as big of a threat as certain other villains due to these weaknesses.
8 Sylas Briarwood
One half of the Briarwood coin, Sylas was a vampire, and as such, had multiple vampiric powers to use to his advantage. He is also quite brutal and sadistic, easily one of the most powerful foes that Vox Machina has faced over the course of the campaign. But one fatal flaw prevents him from being ranked any higher.
As a vampire, Sylas has enhanced strength and vampiric powers, such as charming and a mist form. However, his big weakness is to spells that radiate sunlight, such as sunbeam. These kinds of spells can weaken him and kill him if he's not careful. He may be one of Critical Role's top NPCs, but he still has to face the limitations of the creature he is, especially when he is not with Delilah. When faced with sunlight, Sylas just isn't as strong as he usually is.
7 Delilah Briarwood
Delilah is clearly the strongest of the 2 Briarwoods with her prowess in magic and her complete devotion to Vecna. She is cruel, devious, and willing to sacrifice just about anyone and anything she needs to get what she wants and bring back Vecna. The only thing she truly cares about is her husband, Sylas.
Delilah has multiple powerful spells at her disposal, including spells like Finger of Death and Disintegrate. The final battle with her is one of the best fights in Critical Role, as she kept nearly everyone at bay with how versatile her magic is. Her power is so great that she is even brought back to life to assist in her master's rebirth. She is a dangerous opponent, for sure, and has caused many hardships for Vox Machina, but even with all her power, there are still some that are even stronger than her.
6 K'Varn
K'Varn, seen in Stephen Oakley's fan art above, may have been one of Vox Machina's earliest enemies, but he still proved to be a massive challenge for the group. He had a massive amount of spells and powers at his disposal and was a terrifying beholder to fight, especially considering he had the Horn of Orcus under his control.
While the fight with K'Varn may not have been the best of the Vox Machina story arcs, his multiple different eyes, each with their own powers proved to make him nearly impossible to beat. Even after death, the Horn of Orcus attempted to revive him to continue the fight, making him an even stronger and more dangerous threat. With such a large amount of health as well, he is also one of the toughest foes that the group has had to defeat.
5 Umbrasyl
Without a doubt, the Chroma Conclave dragons were among the deadliest foes Vox Machina ever faced. Among the four dragons was Umbrasyl, the black dragon with acidic breath and abilities. A powerful dragon for sure, especially given the acid powers that he had to call upon during battle.
Not only did Umbrasyl pose a major threat, but as a dragon, he was massive and had an enormous amount of health. It took Vox Machina and a great guest character everything they had to defeat the black dragon, making him the first of the Chroma Conclave to fall. Despite this, he is still a deadly threat thanks to his acid powers that could melt people into a puddle in an instant, as The Legend of Vox Machina's adaption of the character clearly showed.
4 Vorugal
Vorugal was another member of the Chroma Conclave, a white dragon with deadly frost and ice abilities that could freeze a person solid in a heartbeat. While he may not be as smart as some of his fellow dragons, he makes up for it with his insanely bestial nature and his need for a worthy adversary to provide himself a challenging hunt.
While his brutal tactics and ice powers certainly make him a dangerous foe to fight, his need for a worthy hunt proved to be his undoing at the hands of Vox Machina's most intelligent members. His anger also increased upon realizing that Raishan had betrayed the Chroma Conclave, making him more wild and unpredictable in his actions. An unpredictable dragon is an even more dangerous one, especially when it comes to an ice-breathing dragon like Vorugal.
3 Thordak
As the leader of the Chroma Conclave, Thordak was immensely powerful. So powerful, in fact, that he was sealed away in the Elemental Plane of Fire to keep him from harming the world. Of course, this would not hold the massive dragon for long, especially with Raishan helping him escape for her own purposes.
Thordak had intense fire breath and a large chunk of extra health to keep himself going in battle as long as possible. Even those that got close to him took fire damage due to just how powerful he really was. Even the most powerful Vox Machina members struggled to stand a chance against him thanks to the crystal he had in his chest. His only weakness was this crystal, which, when destroyed, made him much less of a threat and slightly easier to manage.
2 Raishan
As the final member of the Chroma Conclave, Raishan may seem weaker due to the disease she had been cursed with, which was slowly killing her. But, in reality, she is by far the most dangerous member out of all of them--not just from the poison she could breathe, but because of her intelligence.
Raishan easily could manipulate anyone she wanted. She manipulated and deceived both Thordak and Vox Machina into doing what she wanted. The final battle against her proved to be one of the best episodes of Critical Role's first campaign and really showed how dangerous of an enemy she really was. She may not have had as much health as the other Chroma Conclave members, but her wide array of magic and her conniving mind made her Vox Machina's most dangerous villain until the rebirth of Vecna.
1 Vecna
No villain in the Vox Machina campaign can even come close to comparison when dealing with the raw power of Vecna, as seen in Stephen Oakley's artwork above. He is essentially a god, and thus, has godlike strength and power. Even when contained, his influence still manipulated people into working towards his return. Once he had come back, he proved just how powerful he was.
In his first fight with Vox Machina, easily one of the most important moments in the Vox Machina campaign, Vecna managed to easily overwhelm them with sheer power thanks to his multitude of spells that could kill even members of the party instantly. It took Vox Machina, aided by the power of the gods, everything they had just to seal him away again. Without a doubt, Vecna is not only one of the biggest and most powerful villains in the Vox Machina campaign, but also in the entirety of Critical Role.
Source: 3rddClover/Twitter, Stephen Oakley/ArtStation 1, 2