Season 1 ep 1-12
Starring Laura Bailey, Liam O’Brien, Ashley Johnson, Marisha Ray, Taliesin Jaffe, Travis Willingham, Sam Riegel
If you’ve ever had someone lean across a table and seductively whisper “roll for initiative,” then you’re certainly in the bag of holding for this one. Although not the first show to be based on a tabletop adventure or even the first cartoon based on Dungeon and Dragons (those poor lost children), it’s still a rarity. Coming off the heels of the Critical Role’s series of broadcast D&D sessions, The Legend of Vox Machina sees the players (and Dungeon Master Matthew Mercer) return to voice their tabletop adventures for a new Amazon Prime animated series.
Vex (Laura Bailey), Vax (Liam O’Brien), Pike (Ashley Johnson), Keyleth (Marisha Ray), Percy (Taliesin Jaffe), Grog (Travis Willingham), and Scanlan (Sam Riegel) form the adventuring party Vox Machina. Together they face the greatest challenge they have ever faced, finding gainful employment, preferably the sort that won’t get this motley crew swallowed by a dragon.
From the initial TPK (total party kill) bar brawl, and the casual dropping of the phrase Murder Hobos (as a mercenary group name), The Legend of Vox Machina nails its colours to the mast in the first five minutes. It’s a darkly satirical look at the fantasy genre, with its tongue firmly planted in its cheek. The half hour format works in the show’s favour giving it a punchier pacing, but as the season progresses it also manages to demonstrate both some dramatic flair and emotional depth. It might be playing to established tropes for the fantasy genre; familial revenge, wishing to prove yourself, a horny bard etc… but they’re well executed.
Which is what The Legend of Vox Machina brings to the party, it’s managed to capture that love of Dungeons and Dragons and translate the experience to a series. Scattered amongst the high drama and the occasional divine saves, there’s also the unexpectedness of random chance – be that an unusual spellcasting, or a cavalcade of mighty heroes being defeated by a door. It’s the quintessence of what originally made Critical Role successful, rather than being diluted by the shortened format.
Even if you can’t tell your THACO from your Wisdom Save there’s certainly enough here to entice the viewers. Good roleplaying is about the story and the characters, and that’s what is on display here, with all that geeky game mechanics being removed from the background. It’s a rollicking fantasy adventure in an animation style slightly reminiscent of the Dungeons and Dragons cartoon, or the Dragonlance adaption, but still its own distinctive thing with an added dash of gore and adult sexuality. Certainly a critical hit.
