Critical Role, an American web series in which a group of professional voice actors play Dungeons & Dragons, has spawned many related products, including books, comics and an animated series, which are produced by Critical Role Productions. Various third-party, licensed works have also been released since Critical Role began in 2015.

Animated series

The Legend of Vox Machina

On March 4, 2019, the Critical Role cast launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for a 22-minute animation called Critical Role: The Legend of Vox Machina Animated Special."Critical Role: The Legend of Vox Machina Animated Special". Kickstarter. Critical Role: The Legend of Vox Machina Animated Special. Retrieved March 4, 2019. The animated story was to be set just before the streaming portion of the campaign started—when the players were around level seven—during a time when, canonically, there is an in-game period of roughly six months when the members of Vox Machina were not all together at the same time. The cast projected a cost of US$750,000 for a single 22-minute animated short, fulfilling the other campaign rewards, and the fees associated with a crowdfunding campaign. Not knowing how long this would take to raise, the campaign length was set at 45 days.

Within an hour of launch, however, the Kickstarter had reached more than $1,000,000. At the end of the first full day, all of the announced stretch goals had been unlocked, and the total had reached more than $4.3 million. With four 22-minute episodes funded in the first 24 hours, additional stretch goals were added, expanding the project into an animated series. The first two episodes would cover the pre-stream story arc. The subsequent episodes would adapt the Briarwoods' arc, also from the Vox Machina campaign. By March 18, 2019, eight 22-minute episodes had been funded."Update #10: $7.5 MILLION". Kickstarter. Critical Role: The Legend of Vox Machina Animated Special. March 17, 2019. Retrieved March 18, 2019. "In just 13 days, you have completely crushed SEVEN stretch goals, raised over $7.5M to help us create The Legend of Vox Machina, and have unlocked EIGHT total episodes of animated goodness. We're also going to host a very special battle royale with some of our favorite guests from our Vox Machina campaign -- including Felicia Day, Will Friedle, Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, Wil Wheaton, Noelle Stevenson, and Patrick Rothfuss (all schedules permitting, of course). Our next (and final??) stretch goal is $8.8M, and if we're able to hit this goal together, you will unlock another TWO episodes of Briarwoods magic (for a whopping total of TEN The Legend of Vox Machina episodes) and a one-shot GMed by our beloved Ashley Johnson." Finally, on April 4, 2019, the last published stretch goal of $8.8 million was reached during the airing of episode 57 of campaign two, pushing the total length of the animated series to ten episodes. A "secret" $10M stretch goal of Willingham being filmed going around a haunted house was reached April 16."Update #15: $10 MILLION". Kickstarter. Critical Role: The Legend of Vox Machina Animated Special. April 16, 2019. Retrieved April 18, 2019. "Our kinda secret $10M stretch goal is now finally official: Because you wonderful human beings raised over $10M (and counting!) we will take our very own Travis Willingham on a spooky journey through a haunted house. If you know Travis, you know that he's not fond of scary things -- in fact, you might say that he's vehemently opposed to all things frightening." The final total raised by the Kickstarter when it closed on April 19, 2019, was $11.3M."Update #16: THANK YOU". Kickstarter. Critical Role: The Legend of Vox Machina Animated Special. April 19, 2019. Retrieved April 19, 2019. "Over the past month and a half, 88,885 Critters from around the world have raised over $11.3M to help us create the animated series of our dreams. What started as a lofty idea of maybe making a few episodes of a cartoon has evolved into something really special: AN ENTIRE SERIES." When the campaign closed, it was one of the most quickly funded in Kickstarter history, and was the most funded Kickstarter for TV and film projects.

The cast reprise their respective Vox Machina roles, with the exception of Orion Acaba."Frequently Asked Questions". Kickstarter. Critical Role: The Legend of Vox Machina Animated Special. Retrieved March 5, 2019. "Will Tiberius appear in The Legend of Vox Machina? Tiberius will not appear in The Legend of Vox Machina." The animated series is written by Jennifer Muro, and animated by Titmouse, Inc. In November 2019, Amazon Prime Video announced that they had acquired the streaming rights to The Legend of Vox Machina, and had commissioned 14 additional episodes (two additional episodes for season 1 and a second season of 12 episodes). An update posted to the Kickstarter campaign assured backers they would have access to the first season."Update 23: BIG NEWS: Critical Role: The Legend of Vox Machina is Coming to Amazon Prime Video! · Critical Role: The Legend of Vox Machina Animated Special". Kickstarter. Retrieved November 6, 2019. "with 24 episodes to play with, instead of just 10, we'll not only complete the entire Briarwood storyline in the animated series, but we'll forge ahead into other classic Vox Machina story arcs as well! [...] Kickstarter backers [...] will still have an opportunity to watch the two-part special that kicks off the series before anyone else AND because you're a backer, you'll be able to access the first season for free." The project was originally slated for release in late 2020, however in June 2020, it was announced that the debut would be missed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Legend of Vox Machina premiered on January 28, 2022; the soundtrack for the first season premiered the same day digitally.

The Mighty Nein

In January 2023, it was announced that the second campaign will receive an animated television adaptation for Amazon Prime Video. The series will be executive produced by Tasha Huo, Sam Riegel, Travis Willingham, Chris Prynoski, Shannon Prynoski, Antonio Canobbio, and Ben Kalina; Metapigeon, Amazon MGM Studios, and Titmouse, Inc. will serve as the production companies. In July 2025, it was announced that the first season of The Mighty Nein is scheduled to premiere on November 19, 2025.

Books

Art books On August 18, 2017, at a live show in Indianapolis, a Critical Role art book titled The Chronicles of Exandria Vol. I: The Tale of Vox Machina was announced. It includes backstories for Vox Machina and some of the non-player characters (NPCs), and features artwork from the community. It was released in November 2017. The Chronicles of Exandria Vol. II: The Legend of Vox Machina, a sequel to the first art book, was released in November 2018.

The Mighty Nein art book, The Chronicles of Exandria: The Mighty Nein, was published on March 31, 2020. In Publishers Weekly's "Best-selling Books Week of June 15, 2020", The Chronicles of Exandria: The Mighty Nein was #19 in "Hardcover Nonfiction" with 3,968 units sold. A sequel, The Chronicles of Exandria: The Mighty Nein Part Two, released on February 11, 2025. It was written by Dani Carr, in collaboration with the Critical Role cast, from the perspective of the fictional bookshop proprietor Iva Deshin, an NPC introduced in the second campaign.

On July 29, 2025, the art book Critical Role: The Armory of Heroes was published. It focuses on the outfits, armor, weapons, and magic items of the Vox Machina, the Mighty Nein, and the Ring of Brass characters. It was illustrated by Ana Fedina and written by Martin Cahill. It also features the in-universe "perspective of three Exandrian historians" who "commentate on the artwork, diagrams, and histories" of the featured characters. Jack Filsinger of TheGamer called the book "a loving tribute" and praised the artwork, commenting that the "details of every item, costume, piece, and accessory are so specifically rendered that each illustration ends up feeling like a challenge for cosplayers to recreate to a tee". Filsinger also highlighted that the "framing and commentary" along with the "diagram-esque zoom-ins on weapons of choice, give the entire book a sense of historical reverence, as though this is a book that could be distributed within Exandria itself".

Novels A prequel novel set before campaign one, Critical Role: Vox Machina – Kith & Kin by Marieke Nijkamp, was released on November 30, 2021. The novel focuses on the twins, Vex'ahlia and Vax'ildan, and their encounter with the criminal organization known as The Clasp. "This is the first fiction novel released by Penguin Random House's Del Rey imprint, following a 2019 licensing agreement".

A prequel novel set before campaign two, Critical Role: The Mighty Nein – The Nine Eyes of Lucien by Madeleine Roux, was released on November 1, 2022. It focuses on the backstory of Lucien the Nonagon including his origins in Shadycreek Run and becoming a Blood Hunter along with the discovery of the tome that leads him to become the Nonagon.

A prequel novel set before campaign three, Critical Role: Bells Hells – What Doesn't Break by Cassandra Khaw, was released on October 8, 2024. It focuses on the backstory of Laudna as she leaves Whitestone and explore her travels as she makes her way to Marquet.

An anthology of short stories focused on non-player characters (NPCs) from campaign one, Critical Role: Vox Machina – Stories Untold, was released on March 4, 2025 in celebration of Critical Role'''s tenth anniversary. It features a foreword by Liam O'Brien, and stories written by Jess Barber, Martin Cahill, Rebecca Coffindaffer, Aabria Iyengar, Sam Maggs, Sarah Glenn Marsh, Rory Power, Nibedita Sen, Izzy Wasserstein, and Kendra Wells. An anthology focused on campaign two NPCs, Critical Role: The Mighty Nein – Stories Untold, is scheduled for release on August 11, 2026. It features a foreword by Taliesin Jaffe, and stories written by Betsy Aoki, Kiri Callaghan, Dani Carr, Mae Catt, Mike Chen, Rin Chupeco, Nino Cipri, Nadia El-Fassi, and Chase K.

A fairy-tale collection, Critical Role: Der Katzenprinz & Other Zemnian Tales, written by Liam O'Brien and illustrated by Charlie Borovsky, was released on April 8, 2025. It is based on in-universe books from campaign two.

The romantasy novel Tusk Love by Thea Guazon was released on July 1, 2025. It is based on the "fictional smutty romance" Tusk Love novel that "started off as an inside joke" during campaign two. DW McKinney, for Publishers Weekly, highlighted that the Tusk Love cover is part of the "interspecies embraces" trend in romance cover design. Additionally, it has a reversible cover jacket – "Erion Makuo created the outer jacket, meant to appeal to romantasy readers; Joanna Johnen, who has illustrated assets for Critical Role in the past, did the inner jacket, designed to resemble an in-world object for fans of the series". It was #4 on Publishers Weekly's "Best-selling Books Week of July 13, 2025" in "Hardcover Fiction". MJ Franklin of The New York Times stated that Tusk Love "sold close to 10,000 copies in its first week, according to NPD BookScan. In mid-July, it landed at No. 4 on the New York Times hardcover fiction best-seller list".

A novel set after the second campaigns, Critical Role: The Mighty Nein – Children of Empire (2026) by Nibedita Sen, is scheduled for release on November 10, 2026. It will focus on the actions of Caleb and Beau in the leadup to the third campaign.

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