VM 1x1

I’m sure you did since, but I was a bit surprised you didn’t clock Roy Mustang or Lust early on.

Eric Justice

I love that pun/bit so much!!!🤣

Phoenix Mackenzie

AHHHH im so excited yall started watching this! I mentioned this on the latest episode of Solo Leveling thats been posted on youtube, but I have been wanting yall to watch it since Kenny very first mentioned being interested in DND in a very literally years ago haha! I have been watching Critical Role since like the earlier days of campaign 1 and I absolutely love seeing people getting into DND/Critical Role!! (Now we just need Kenny to do campaign dairies for his dnd sessions lol and have Montana try out DND lol I feel like she would love Druid or Clerics haha or Ranger bc animal companions lol) EDIT: so I wrote this before I started the video and I love that the 3 classes I mentioned for Montana were the 3 yall said too haha Also the dnd equivalent for me is "the dice love to tell the story" aka good or bad the dice dont care they have their story they will tell it haha

AuroraZero_

Im glad Montana knew what Vox Machina translates to: voice machine. It's essentially just a reference to the fact that they're all voice actors

dannydarko27

My fav Sam Riegel va is probably Viral from Gurren Lagann

dannydarko27

aren't* They're not considered beasts nor animals. They're their own subtype

dannydarko27

That sounds like fun maybe even a Livestream of them doing it would be cool

dannydarko27

If i remember correctly it was none other than Felicia Day herself who reached out to them. She wanted them to play on her channel Geek&Sundry and they eventually accepted the offer. She actually plays a guard in the second ep who dies in the beginning. The blonde one shown screaming while the lightning destroys them lol

dannydarko27

Oh my god I have been waiting for this I AM HYPED!!! Can't believe I'm late lol

ConnorDCL .

i feel like the comments on all of these are just gonna be everyone explaining dnd terms to kenny lol.

gamerx

Yeah Dragons have their own language that Kobolds and Dragonborn and Lizardfolk can often speak naturally (Draconic) but sometimes Dragons can speak "Common" which is whatever human language the irl players happen to speak, usually english

Jachariah

Omg I’m so excited

Kam

24:10 in DND you can't cast Speak with Animals on Dragons because they aren't beasts (animals). Dragons are highly intelligent creatures and aren't considered beasts in DND.

patricia jimjimcherie

10:01 Percy isn't an artificer actually, this is where Pathfinder technically comes in. Matt adopted Pathfinger's Gunslinger as a Fighter Subclass for Taliesin Jaffe's Percy. He's a Fighter (Gunslinger).

patricia jimjimcherie

Someone probably already commented it, but 1:36 this was their home game, they used to post vines of their game, someone reached out to Matt and asked if they'd like to stream their game, the gang said no but then agreed, and then they started streaming. Which is why the live play starts while they're already into their campaign, they had been playing for a whiiiiile at that point. Also, fun fact! This all started as Liam O'Brien's birthday gift (he's Vax), they got a group together, played once, and then they all wanted to play again so it became a thing. I'm not an OG critter, but I've been following them for around 7 years now.

patricia jimjimcherie

Omg how did I not connect the two!!! Hes so amazing

Erin Ryan

Pike, the cleric, gave a pretty lackluster blessing of the villager's home and seemed hesitant - even prompting the villager to ask if she's really even a cleric. What are your speculations as to the reasoning for the hesitance? Kenny had mentioned 'trouble with the god/goddess'. ----------------------------------------------- As Kenny mentioned rounds of combat are six seconds, you'll see in a lot of the action sequences that the party members are acting in sequential order and following timing for rounds, its super cool and important attention to animation detail. ----------------------------------------------- DnD being fantasy usually has a lot of magical or just fictional aspects whether its a monster, or plant, or a spell, OR even broader - a type of magic. Magic is a blanket term but generally the weirdness of the DnD universe can be categorized into Natural, Arcane, or Divine. Druids' magic is natural. Wizards' magic is arcane. Clerics' magic is Divine. In this setting, Dragons are simply put - the product of Arcane Magic, and are monsters not animals. Keyleth could by all means talk to a squirrel or a horse, she even talked to a tree this episode. Additionally, some intelligent and usually magic monsters or beasts have their own spoken language - like Draconic.

a few cents

Montana, who is your favorite character based on first impressions and why is it Trinket?

a few cents

I would recommend giving it until at least episode 4 or 5. These first two episodes are definitely the weakest ones

Ellie

He also voices Gaara in Naruto and is amazing in that role as well!

Ellie

Dragons speak draconic. So speak with animals wouldn’t work here per rules. I’d let you roll for it.

Æther Paradox

wait I have been watching from campaign one and I never connected that they are all voice actors and the party is called voice machine

River Marshall

Personally, I'd say give it the 3 episode treatement, if by the end of ep3 you don't like it, then clearly the show isn't for you. Unfortunately the first 2 episodes aren't the best of what this show has to offer. They have a tough job of introducing 8 main characters in 2 episodes and it's pre-campaign material too, but ep3 is freaking amazing imo.

David Bodor

Yes!

💥Katsuki BakuGOAT💥 (Tobio)

Somehow, I'm not shocked.

H-Bomb 24

Wait, he voices Trinket??

H-Bomb 24

Fair enough bro, to each their own. The first two episodes are a bit tinny, to be fair. Ironically. I am in the exact opposite position. Couldn't stand MOST of the anime stuff, but this? This is what I've been waiting for!

Zain Cassis

YES

Zain Cassis

Ok. Thanks for your opinion.

CharlieDaisy

Mathew Mercers best work at Trinket

Erin Ryan

Yeah nah.... I am good. I gave it a shot with this episode but I don't like it. I will just stick with the anime reactions. This honestly just gave me more of a headache than enjoyment.

L.C.

Ill I hear is Tenma from Vax but I love it so much. Kenzo Tenma from Monster is one of my all time favourite characters. I'm was happy to hear Liam O'Brian this is the only other role I heard him from but hes so good.

Erin Ryan

You would have to know the Dragons language to speak to him but there's also a good chance the dragon would know common because they are intelligent generally

Lilgggg

I know every show is different but would a tier list of all the shows you guys have watched be a acceptable idea for a YouTube vid I feel like you’ve watched enough to compile a list at this point

Justin Spencer

Animation was done by the same studio that did ATLA, that's why we all knew you'd instantly vibe with it

Sheldon Chambers

Campaign 2 is my favorite, Mighty Nein campaign was just soooooo good with amazing characters

Raymond Hernandez

Percy isn’t an Artificer he’s a fighter specifically gunslinger fighter a subclass that Matt Mercer specially made for the player, in campaign 2 he also makes that player not just a special subclass but a whole entire new Class that is “technically” an official class in DND

Raymond Hernandez

Travis willingham voice of grog also voices Roy Mustang from full metal

Raymond Hernandez

When they spoke about hiring mercenaries they mentioned the Murder Hobos that’s a reference to what they call a problematic type of player that solves all problems with killing

Raymond Hernandez

Incase no one had said it they recorded this campaign after already been playing in it for a while after a friend suggested uploading it, which is way theay resolve a lot in the coming episodes, also some parts have been slightly changed in the start of the campaign bc they didn’t want the inclusion of a problematic player they had at the start

Raymond Hernandez

The first 2 episodes a bit different than the full show. Still great but gets more serious as you really dive into the main plot. Still retains the humor and jokes, but really does take a tonal shift and feels a little out of place compared to episode 3 onwards. When they funded this it was originally just meant to be a 1 episode prequel but kept hitting stretch goals turning it I to a 2 episode animated special, which turned into 1 season with 1 of their earlier main story arcs. Season 3 just wrapped up a few months ago and they are already working on season 4 (and potentially 5) to wrap up the rest of their whole campaign. If you like it now, just you wait till it really gets good.

Port34

Dragons are considered beasts. There’s a difference between speaking to nature, animals, and beasts

Austin Adamski

I am a park naturalist by occupation so it's Keyleth by a country mile! Her character development is one of the best things about this show.

Robert Bonfante

Ha, Scanlan really did the Elvis line after Vox Machina's song. 😅 "Thunk ya very much."

H-Bomb 24

So just some of the voices you might recognize among the party! Grog (Travis Willingham)- Mustang from FMAB, Ace from One Piece Scanlan (Sam Riegel)- Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney, Prince Clovis from Code Geass Vex (Laura Bailey)- Lust from FMAB, Abby from TLOU Vax (Liam O’Brien)- Lloyd from Code Geass, Gaara from Naruto Pike (Ashley Johnson)- Ellie from TLOU

zzsaturn

The sensing that Vex is doing is a ranger ability known as "Favored Enemy". One of her Favored Enemies is Dragons and that is why she knows when they or someone who is associated with them are close.

Gage Eakins

Also just a fun fact, their group name was originally The Shits but once they decided to start streaming they decided to come up with a more family friendly name and decided on vox machina bc they're all voice actors

Ellie

The best part of getting into tlovm through the show is that you have hundreds of hours of content to get into once you're finished :) Campaign 1 of critical role is my favorite and Vax is the absolute love of my life

Ellie

I've been waitin for this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Loki

Oh my babies Percy and Pike💚💚

Alayna Petty

Also, you think Kenny, as a DnD guy, is gonna edit this for YouTube, or Gabe?

H-Bomb 24

Not even in terms of behavior but abilities too. Mineta, well...he's SOMETIMES useful, whereas I think Scanlan is actually a powerhouse when he wants to be.

David Bodor

Yeah I think ep3 is where the show really start in earnest.

David Bodor

Am I the only one who thought of Daereryus Targaryen when I saw Allura?

H-Bomb 24

In regards to the animation. It’s outsourced to Production Reve, which is a substudio of Studio Mir which worked on The Legend of Korra! Also many of the staff at Mir worked on Avatar at JM animation! So they’ve got a long history of being peak

Jachariah

Ok so that was awesome! I'm sold! Haha I was surprised at the depravity of this, but it's not TOO overdone and pretty damn hilarious 🤣

Jinchuriki87

So fun fact while Artificer is what you would typically assume is your gun-toting spellcaster in TTRPGs, when Critical Role partnered with D&D and converted their game to it they actually made the Gunslinger a Fighter Subclass. So yeah Percy I assume is actually a fighter because guns and no-magic. I have a Goblin Fighter/Artificer who uses the Gunslinger as their fighter subclass. She is a fun/weapon-smith. Also while it may be different in other games, in D&D Dragons have their own classification separate from both beasts and other monsters. So spells and things affect them differently than they would a more ordinary creature or monster.

Drake

This is so exciting!!

Addy

Not only that, but Pike's VA is Ashley Johnson, aka Ellie from The Last of Us!

H-Bomb 24

SAME

H-Bomb 24

Fun fact: Grog's burp at 14:25 wasn't actually done by the VA Travis Willingham. It was his wife, Vex's VA Laura Bailey. 🤣

H-Bomb 24

So glad you guys are watching this, I know you're are going to love it!

pineapplegreg

Just started watching the show a bit ago and I’m loving it

Braden Jackson

I AM SO FREAKING EXCITED FOR THIS

Cameron Dougherty

Thankfully, Kenny hadn't watched it previously for that. 😅 I always find the duel blind reactions to be the best ones.

H-Bomb 24

Right? It's bout dang time.

H-Bomb 24

Also to further expand on it, for legacy reasons there is a mechanical difference between the "real world" animals and the "magical world" monsters, although ultimately its a distinction that is up to the DM. I suspect that barrier is sort of softening over time as the idea of it being a "natural but fantastical world" is becoming more commonplace, although that could just be me projecting my own preferences.

David L

I was wondering if perhaps Montana needed a warning again, cuz yeah these first ep has a lot of vomit lol

David Bodor

Oh this'll be fun, yeah these first 2 episodes are the only ones that are not directly adapted from the streamed show but from one of their pre-stream home games, they are also in my opinion the 2 worst episodes of the show (so far.) To be clear I am not saying they are bad by any means. On the contrary I think these first 2 episodes are fun and are great episodes of animated television, just that every episode after these first 2 are even better so if you have fun with these I think you'll love this show.

Kyle Junge

"Slang term for the dice doing what the dice do" my favorite is "the dice tell a story." Often followed by "and today the story is 'fuck Ferret I guess.'"

Ferret

Percy isn't actually an artificer! The campaign started in the Pathfinder system where Percy was a gunslinger. When they went to stream, they decided to switch to D&D 5e because they figured it would be easier to follow, but Artificer didn't exist yet, so Matt homebrewed Taliesin a fighter subclass so Percy could keep his pepperbox.

Ferret

Also I find it funny that Trinket wasn't allowed into the throne room, and yet he was what won Uriel over to hiring Vox Machina. 😅

H-Bomb 24

When Keyleth vomited into that dog man's mouth, I couldn't help but think of Denji. 😅

H-Bomb 24

Yup! They're Grog and Vex in their show!

H-Bomb 24

I freaking CALLED IT that Grog would be Kenny's favorite and that Keyleth would be Montana's!

H-Bomb 24

Travis Willingham is Roy Mustang and Laura Bailey is Lust from FMAB and they are married in real life.

GreatRiverofKings

He's not that bad. 😅 Besides, it's not one to one. Scanlan's an adult while Mineta isn't. Mineta's (probably) straight while Scanlan DEFINITELY isn't.

H-Bomb 24

I'd say a double drop would cover it.

H-Bomb 24

despite bards having high charisma, I feel like Scanlan rolled a nat 2 on charisma when talking to that fisherman lol. btw I do not know this for a fact, havent watched the actual campaign which I believe is on YT. Also, REALLY looking forward to Kennys D&D ventures and pointing out any potential inconstancies in the show(not saying there actually are any, just that I wouldnt recognize a mistake😅)

Cyan_SkyAnfall

I feel like being compared to Mineta is slander against Scanlan lol

David Bodor

Okidoki I'll delete it :)

wanira 11

Talk about a labor of love. Take notes, Invincible.

H-Bomb 24

WHOOOOOOO!! YEEAAH, BABYYYYY!!

H-Bomb 24

That you did! Welcome!

H-Bomb 24

Close, they made Korra.

H-Bomb 24

Maybe don't reveal that just yet, as it's kinda plot relevant.

H-Bomb 24

wanira 11

"The Dice Gods hate me" If that's not a great name for a YouTube counter for this show, I don't know what is. 🎲

H-Bomb 24

I just realized: between this show, Solo Leveling, and Frieren, they're watching THREE fantasy DnD-esque shows right now! Guess 2025 will be a fantastic year for the channel. ✨️

H-Bomb 24

"Who was your favorite character besides Trinket?" 🤣🤣🤣 To answer that, Keyleth, hands down. 🌱 🌿

H-Bomb 24

1:40 - Fun fact - It actually started out as a Birthday gift for Liam O'Brien, they started the campaign on his birthday and then kept it going and eventually they were asked if they could stream it on Geek n Sundry

David Bodor

Vox Machina is a name that references the fact that when this was a D&D campaign, all the players were/are voice actors. So it’s just some clever wordplay for a cool team name

Paul Rhodes

So vex she is a ranger so one of their abilities is favorite enemy, she chose dragons to tie into her back story. The ringing is that ability kicking off. but good guess on the aleart feat.

Zelkova LRU

If it wasn't completely unreasonable I'd ask for a triple drop to power through the first mini arc because I can not wait for more! As a massive Critter and fan of LoVM, as the show goes on the writing and animation just get better and better. You'll love it!

Phantom Egg

To answer your speak with animals question - Most if not all Dragons actually speak common in D&D. They can 100% have a conversation with people no problem, without even the need of such a spell. The issue is that dragons like this one are classed as Chaotic Evil. So it's very unlikely that talking to it will in any way sway it from wanting to kill you, if that's what it's decided to do.

Blayke

I think one of my favorite parts of the series, like Kenny said, is that the main cast is already preestablished. We don't know need to spend time introducing them to each other. We can already see all the character dynamics on display.

H-Bomb 24

Percy is a fighter. gunslinger reskin from Pathfinder cause they didn't exist at the time in DND 5e

Contrastjd

The animation was done by the same fokes that worked on avatar the last air bender I believe, so that's why you guys will enjoy the art style and animation.

Zelkova LRU

Scanlan's hilarious. He's basically if Mineta had rizz.

H-Bomb 24

I became a member at the BEST time! Oh you guys are gonna LOVE Vox Machina!

Cristobal Tienda

This show's cast is low-key WAY more star-studded than Invincible's.

H-Bomb 24

KIKI! 🥰

H-Bomb 24

After ten thousand years...it's finally time!

David Bodor

Yay! VAX, PERCY AND SCANLAN!! MY FAVS!

💥Katsuki BakuGOAT💥(Kacchan)

So so so excited this finally won

Kaleb

Will you be reacting to the latest MHA movie ?

Big Fuze

Exactly. TBH, I was wanting this to come after Gravity Falls instead of Invincible.

H-Bomb 24

I actually squealed when I saw this notification, so excited

wanira 11

OH YES

💥Katsuki BakuGOAT💥(Kacchan)

Yeah dude you’ve been requesting this show for years, pretty sure since even before I was a patron

Big K

Sorry huge critter. I'll try not to bomb the comments too much. But this story is cute. It began as a birthday present. Liam Obrien wanted to play dnd for his birthday with friends. They got together and played a one shot. The people there who enger played dnd got addicted and it became a campaign at their house. Then Felicia day asked player Ashley Johnson if they wanted to stream the campaign for geeknand sundrys new twitch channel. They were like mm maybe but who will want to watch that

Suplee215

Can confirm: it started as a home game using Pathfinder. They switched to D&D 5e when they started streaming on Geek & Sundry (after being approached by Felicia Day). Also, IIRC, "Vox Machina" is a portmanteau of "Vox Populi" and "Deus ex Machina" they chose because most of them knew each other from their voice acting careers.

Soup in Boots

They wanted like 500 dollars for a 2 episode pilot basically. They got over 10 millions. So over 20 times.

Suplee215

Magnificent fit Kenny

Big K

"And today, we'll be reacting to season one episode one of Vox Machina" You have no idea how LONG I've waited to hear those words. 😌😄😁

H-Bomb 24