Since 2015, the “nerdy ass voice actors” of Critical Role (2015) have been thrilling fans with their Dungeons & Dragons adventures, changing the gaming and online content creation landscapes as they go. Ten years in, the franchise is growing and changing in ways no one could have predicted a decade ago. Campaign Four just kicked off with some dramatic changes, including several new cast members and longtime Dungeon Master Matthew Mercer moving to the other side of the table.
Outside the main campaigns, Critical Role has also published original tabletop games, Candela Obscura and Daggerheart, announced development on a video game, and much more. Their latest project is The Mighty Nein (2025), a series based on Campaign Two coming to Prime Video this month. Whether you’re looking to get into the actual show early in Campaign Four or curious about the animated series, this guide will go over all Critical Role campaigns so far, including spin-offs connected to the original Exandria setting.
Campaign One: Vox Machina (2015-2017)
What started out as a birthday present for Liam O’Brien turned into the original cast’s home game, then into a groundbreaking D&D actual play series, and now into an animated series. Campaign One and The Legend of Vox Machina (2022) follow the eponymous team—of course voiced by their original players alongside Mercer and a fantastic guest cast—as they explore the Exandrian continent of Tal'Dorei and go from misfit mercenaries to unlikely heroes. Of the three campaigns, Vox Machina is the closest to a traditional D&D team, comprised mostly of noble heroes who usually do the right thing, even if they eff things up along the way.
Campaign One is far less polished than newer Critical Role content, which can make it a harder watch. The episodes are also quite long, with most falling into the three to five hour range, though that’s true of most Critical Role content. Give it a chance if you’re a die-hard fan who wants to see where the magic started, but more casual viewers will get the most enjoyment out of The Legend of Vox Machina.
With half-hour episodes, the animated adaptation obviously isn’t a one-to-one recreation of the campaign, but it’s done a great job of making Vox Machina’s adventure more accessible to a wider audience. The series also fleshes out things that the campaign did not or could not explore due to the nature of tabletop RPG storytelling or real-life circumstances, such as cast member Ashley Johnson’s frequent absences due to her Blindspot (2015) filming schedule. The first three seasons of The Legend of Vox Machina are available on Prime Video. Season 4 is set to release in 2026, with a fifth and final season to follow.
Campaign Two: The Mighty Nein (2018-2021)
Behind the scenes and on-screen, Campaign Two is where Critical Role really came into its own. About a year into this campaign, the series moved from its original home Geek & Sundry to Critical Role’s own production company, which has now expanded to game development and publishing, a record label, a charity, and so much more. The show itself also underwent changes, as it stopped streaming live after its COVID-related hiatus and has remained pre-recorded to this day.
While Vox Machina are the legendary heroes celebrated from ages to follow, the Mighty Nein are the kinds of heroes whose names will be lost to time, not because they failed, but because they succeeded. Though they each start out with secrets and misgivings about one another, the Mighty Nein really become a family that supports one another through trials and triumphs.
Like The Legend of Vox Machina before it, The Mighty Nein on Prime Video will bring what I and many fans would call Critical Role’s best adventure to a new audience. Expect the series to be more mature and dramatic than Vox Machina, as well as changes and additions to the story beyond the original campaign. It’s also packed with big-name guest stars, including Alan Cumming, Mark Strong, and Moana (2016) actress Auliʻi Cravalho. Campaign Two is where I’d recommend Critical Role newcomers start, and The Mighty Nein seems to be the new best point of entry.
Campaign Three: Bells Hells (2021-2025)
Critical Role’s third campaign is a culmination of a decade of TTRPG storytelling. In addition to introducing a new party, Campaign Three brings back almost all of the previous player characters for its final arc, with cast members sometimes playing multiple roles in the same episode. That makes for an epic conclusion to the era of Exandria, which will for now continue through live shows rather than the main campaign.
Campaign Three is also where Critical Role started playing with the formula, setting the stage for Campaign Four’s bigger changes. Some of Bells Hells were first seen in the miniseries Exandria Unlimited, led by guest DM Aabria Iyengar with Mercer as a player. This is where Critical Role fans were introduced to Robbie Daymond, now a main cast member for Campaign Four. Iyengar returned to DM Exandria Unlimited: Kymal and a brief ExU interlude in the main campaign; she also served as a guest player before joining the cast full-time for the new campaign.
Another miniseries, Exandria Unlimited: Calamity, also released during this era. Run by Brennan Lee Mulligan of Dimension 20 and other Dropout content, Calamity depicts events that occurred 1,000 years before the campaigns. Mulligan also DMed prequels Downfall, a three-part special within Campaign Three, and Exandria Unlimited: Divergence, a miniseries that aired after the campaign ended, before officially joining Critical Role as a main cast member for Campaign Four.
Campaign Four: Aramán (2025-Present)
Campaign Four is a major departure for a series that, generally, had been pretty stable for a decade-old show. After years of the original cast—Mercer as DM with Johnson, Travis Willingham, Laura Bailey, Marisha Ray, Liam O’Brien, Taliesin Jaffe, and Sam Riegel—remaining the same, the new campaign sees Mercer as a player with Mulligan taking over as Dungeon Master and five new players joining the table: Daymond, Iyengar, Alexander Ward, Luis Carazo, and Whitney Moore.
The game itself has changed this time around, too. Campaign Four uses D&D’s 2024 rules revision and takes place in the new fantasy world of Aramán. Additionally, while the entire cast appeared for the first couple episodes, the players have been split into three tables: the Soldiers, the Seekers, and the Schemers. That means the cast will be rotating, with the actions of each group impacting the shared world
Though it’s quite different from everything up to this point, Campaign Four’s new setting makes it a good jumping on point, especially since there’s only a handful of episodes to catch up on. It might not be the same Critical Role fans know and love, but Campaign Four proves that the franchise is still capable of surprises and evolution, and that’s a great sign for upcoming projects in and outside of Exandria.
