Revisit Vox Machina from new perspectives with this upcoming short story collection
Critical Role has announced Vox Machina: Stories Untold, an upcoming anthology of short stories narrated by characters from the actual play’s flagship first campaign. Over the last decade, the Dungeons & Dragons livestream has evolved from a single weekly game into a media empire that encompasses a proprietary streaming service, animated television shows on Amazon Prime, a series of novels and comics, and a tabletop game publishing company.
While the main campaign — along with the subsequent animated show and prequel comics — focused on the core cast of Vox Machina, the anthology will look at the land of Exandria through the perspective of the story’s supporting characters whose lives have intersected with the band of adventurers. Fair warning, there are spoilers ahead for those who haven’t seen the full campaign.
One of the stories within the anthology, written by Critical Role guest star and actual play powerhouse Aabria Iyengar, centers on Shaun Gilmore, the magical merchant and flirtatious friend to the party, as he reflects on the life he has chosen. Another, by NYT bestselling author Rory Power, follows green dragon Raishan as she descends into madness while plotting the release of Thordak, the Cinder King. Also included in the collection is a story by young adult author Sarah Glen Marsh that follows the unofficial Vox Machina mascot, Trinket the Wonder Bear, as he accompanies the descendants of Vox Machina on their first adventure.
Vox Machina: Stories Untold will also include seven other short tales about characters like Scanlan Shorthalt’s daughter Kaylie, Taryon Darrington’s automaton Doty, and Grog’s antagonistic goliath uncle Kevdak. With a forward by Critical Role cast member Liam O’Brien, other contributors to the anthology include Jess Barber, Martin Cahill, Rebecca Coffindaffer, Sam Maggs, Nibedita Sen, Izzy Wasserstein, and Kendra Wells.
The anthology will be available to the public on March 4 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the franchise. Vox Machina: Stories Untold is currently available for presale for $30 through Penguin Random House.
