The Legend Of Vox Machina includes plenty of references, sidenotes and Easter eggs to Critical Role.

The Legend Of Vox Machina doesn't adapt every second of Critical Role's first campaign, considering the campaign has 115 episodes and hundreds of hours of content. Vast swathes of the campaign are removed, modified, or simplified to better fit The Legend Of Vox Machina's narrative, changing the story in minor and significant ways

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Nonetheless, The Legend Of Vox Machina is full of references to the original campaign even when it doesn't perfectly adapt it. Despite being approachable for non-fans, The Legend Of Vox Machina contains easter eggs, sidenotes, and even entire moments clearly designed to reward those who watch Critical Role.

The Legend Of Vox Machina's first two episodes are largely divorced from the Briarwood Arc that comprises most of the first season. Instead, they follow Vox Machina going from lowlife mercenaries and adventurers to bonafide dragon slayers. Heavily altering pre-stream content, the players wind up investigating the home of General Krieg, the humanoid guise of the dragon Brimscythe.

Although most of the time is devoted to clues that Krieg is the dragon they are investigating, Vox Machina also finds references to the five colors of a chromatic dragon - green, blue, red, white, and black. It is a clear hint to the Chroma Conclave, the alliance of dragons Brimscythe is part of, and the villains of the longest story arc in Critical Role's first campaign.

The Legend Of Vox Machina's third episode primarily adapts The Feast from Critical Role, where Vax'ildan investigates the rooms of the Briarwoods while the rest of the party engages them in conversation. Before he leaves, the party comes up with a 'safeword' to use if Vax gets in trouble, settling on 'chenga'.

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The word is obviously nonsensical, and the party themselves lampshade its oddness. It is actually a reference to a running gag from Critical Role, beginning in the very same episode, where 'Jenga' is used as a sign of trouble. Being a copyrighted term, The Legend Of Vox Machina changed it to something more neutral, but still recognizable.

A major element of the Briarwood Arc that makes up the bulk of The Legend Of Vox Machina's first season is Percival de Rolo struggling with his dark nature as he takes his revenge. In The Legend Of Vox Machina's fourth episode, Percy first demonstrates this darkness by maiming the Briarwoods' carriage driver and then preparing to kill him while declaring "Your soul is forfeit."

Although the maiming happened in Critical Role as well, Percival uttered "Your soul is forfeit" under entirely different circumstances. As one of Percy's most iconic lines, however, The Legend Of Vox Machina made sure to include it.

The opening credits of The Legend Of Vox Machina show golden threads connecting each of the members as they demonstrate their skills, and a flying raven bursts into these threads. Those who don't know the first campaign may dismiss it as a metaphor, or even merely striking visuals.

However, opening on a raven is likely a reference to the major role played by the goddess known as 'The Raven Queen' over the campaign. Becoming one of the party's patrons and involved in several major plot twists, (including a brief nod to the goddess in the opening) may imply bigger plans for The Legend Of Vox Machina in the future.

As part of the adaptation process, The Legend Of Vox Machina largely ignores the first twenty-three episodes of Critical Role. The combat-heavy story arcs, while beloved, are typically agreed by fans to be less compelling than the massively-popular Briarwood Arc.

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This includes the Kraghammer Arc, the first story arc of Critical Role that sees the players visit the titular Dwarven settlement before delving into the Underdark. Despite being adapted out, Percival mentions at the party that the guests include diplomats from Kraghammer, a welcome nod to the origins of the show.

The Legend Of Vox Machina's first two-episode arc focuses on Vox Machina battling the blue dragon Brimscythe, who has been terrorizing the outlying villages of Tal'Dorei. This storyline draws heavily from the pre-stream campaign, which saw Vox Machina encounter the dragon under entirely different circumstances.

Although the details are heavily changed (the pre-stream campaign sees Vox Machina accidentally discovering Brimscythe's lair and invoking the dragon's wrath by stealing from it), the inclusion of the fight is a clear nod to an event fans have only been able to dream of seeing.

In a primarily comedic scene in the fifth episode of The Legend Of Vox Machina, the members of the team discuss their adventuring days, reminiscing about their prior exploits. One topic of discussion is the kills they've made in the past, with some bragging about impressive monsters they've slain.

Keyleth's story instead has her unintentionally pushing a foe into a pool of lava and watching him burn to death, horrifying the rest of Vox Machina. Fans of the campaign will recognize this as a moment taken almost directly from the Kraghammer Arc, right down to Keyleth's dialogue.

As the Dungeon Master for Critical Role, part of Matthew Mercer's duties includes playing every single NPC that the players interact with, providing the voice of an entire world. The Legend Of Vox Machina uses Mercer a lot less, having most characters voiced by many other voice actors.

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Mercer's most notable role in The Legend Of Vox Machina is the villainous vampire Silas Briarwood, one of his more iconic villains. Mercer also has a minor cameo as other characters in every single episode. Mercer will voice guards, doomed soldiers, or zombies. These roles are inconsequential but remind viewers that Tal'Dorei was voiced by one man.

As a show about Dungeons & Dragons, d20s are a major part of Critical Role, deciding the outcome of nearly any action. They are so crucial that Critical Role incorporates the shape into their logo, and sells several sets.

Being a more traditional cartoon, The Legend Of Vox Machina lacks any actual d20s - aside from a brief shot of some guards playing Dungeons & Dragons. Instead, The Legend Of Vox Machina incorporates d20's shape into a great many objects, most notably a rock that almost kills Vax'ildan in the Brimscythe fight.

A running joke in The Legend Of Vox Machina is the team's frequent perils involving doors. The most notable occasion involves Percival, Vax'ildan, and Scanlan all struggling to open a door into the prison despite their skills. Also, a door cuts Scanlan's retreat short in The Legend Of Vox Machina's seventh episode.

Fans of the campaign will recognize the running joke from the campaign itself. Owing to some unlucky dice rolls, Vox Machina had several bouts of door-related bad luck, leading to failed plans, injuries, and near-deaths. The moment with Percival, Scanlan, and Vax'ildan is lifted almost verbatim from the campaign.

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Isaac Williams is a movie-goer, TV watcher, journalist, blogger, gamer, comic book-fan, and roleplayer. He's been a bartender and a waiter, and now he writes lists for CBR. He focuses on TV shows and movies. In his free time, Isaac can be found gaming, reading, playing D&D, walking Birmingham's lengthy canals, and catching up on movies.

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