It would be naive to expect zero changes when adapting something as expansive as Critical Role’s actual play Dungeons & Dragons campaigns. The series has over 100 episodes, and each can run between 2 and 4 hours. So when the group announced plans to turn their first campaign into an animated series, it was obvious that some moments from the original campaign would change or disappear altogether.
However, the changes for The Legend of Vox Machina started from the beginning, causing a ripple effect that ultimately led to one particularly heartbreaking quote from Campaign 1: Vox Machina hitting very differently within the constraints of its animated adaptation.
The Critical Role quote that changed everything
From left to right Percival de Rolo, Pike Trickfoot, Grog Strongjaw, Scanlan Shorthalt, Keyleth, Vax’ildan, and Vex’ahlia.Critical Role, Amazon Prime, animation, Dungeons & Dragons, D&D, actual play
Throughout Campaign 1: Vox Machina and The Legend of Vox Machina, Scanlan, a gnome bard played by Sam Riegel, was a reliable source of comedic relief. He often caused trouble alongside the other members of Vox Machina, whether by pranking others or playing into the Don Lothario archetype. Yet as the campaign progressed, it became clear there was more to Scanlan than met the eye — especially when the campaign introduced his estranged daughter, Kaylie. He remained a jokester, but now he had a solid reason to change his ways and become a better man. In episode 85, “A Bard’s Lament,” Critters saw how strong that desire was when Scanlan asked a question that stopped the party in their tracks: “What’s my mother’s name?”
Coming shortly after Scanlan’s resurrection following the defeat of the Chroma Conclave, Riegel’s single question became one of the most jaw-dropping moments in Campaign 1: Vox Machina. Despite having told the party he wanted to connect with his daughter, Vox Machina defiled Scanlan’s comatose body by covering his room in pudding, dressing him in Pike’s nightgown, and, in short, making him look like a fool in front of her. If the party had done this during the early stages of Campaign 1, we don’t doubt Scanlan would have laughed it off. Yet, with all that Scanlan has been through, the gnome bard turns the tables on his party and accuses them of caring about him only for what he can do for them in return.
Scanlan lists all the times the party has sacrificed for one another — battling giants for Grog, going to the Hells for Pike, etc. — but not for him. When some of the party begin to protest, Scanlan’s question and later demand that they tell him his mother’s name (Juniper, if you’re curious) is so scathing the party can do nothing but fall silent. After all Vox Machina has been through, Scanlan uses his mother’s name — and the party’s ignorance of it — as further proof that they don’t really know or respect him.
What’s particularly memorable is that this quote marks the first time in Campaign 1 that Riegel raises his voice in anger at Vox Machina. Riegel often played Scanlan as exasperated, but here he reveals a man who realizes his choices have made his relationships feel transactional or skin-deep. It’s little wonder that Scanlan chooses to leave to work on his relationship with Kaylie.
How the “What’s my mother’s name?” changes in The Legend of Vox Machina
The cast of Critical Role Campaign 3, left to right, includes Taliesin Jaffe, Laura Bailey, Liam O’Brien, Travis Willingham, Matt Mercer, Sam Riegel, Ashley Johnson, Robbie Daymond, and Marisha Ray.Image: Critical Role via YouTube
The “What’s my mother’s name?” quote in The Legend of Vox Machina differs markedly from the actual play. For one thing, we spend much more time with Scanlan as he grapples with his strained relationship with Kaylie. Second, Pike Trickfoot (Ashley Johnson) appears far more often in The Legend of Vox Machina than in the actual play, so Scanlan has someone in his corner much more often. The animation also gives Scanlan less time for pranks and jokes, focusing more on his heroics than on portraying him as comic relief.
Most importantly, the quote occurs in different circumstances. In The Legend of Vox Machina, it happens after Scanlan learns that Vox Machina visited him during his musical tour with his daughter, Kaylie. Scanlan thinks the party has come to visit him after being apart for so long, but in reality they’ve arrived to obtain the magical item Mythcarver. While still hurtful, that isn’t quite the same as being thrown at the party after they had humiliated him in front of his daughter.
As a result, Scanlan’s quote isn’t as shocking as it is in the tabletop campaign. It still shames Vox Machina when they realize they don’t know the answer, but the circumstances around the quote aren’t as dire as in the actual play.
Image: Prime Video
Yet that doesn’t mean the shift from actual play to animation is inherently bad. As we’ve mentioned, the change largely stems from Critical Role’s need to condense hundreds of hours into 12-episode seasons. It also reflects the co-founders’ hindsight about their characters’ endgame in Campaign 1, and how to introduce them to an audience that hasn’t watched hundreds of hours of the tabletop campaign. Would viewers who know nothing about Critical Role’s history as friends — or how wacky shenanigans can get during a tabletop role-playing campaign — accept Vox Machina’s heroes torturing one of their own in a moment of vulnerability? We doubt it.
Critical Role made a bold shift in how it presented Scanlan’s powerful quote, and it’s clear every Critter has a favorite version. Ultimately, though, we’re satisfied that both versions — tabletop and animation — work well in depicting what the narrative needed at the time.