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No one could ever accuse Critical Role fans of being shy about showing their appreciation. Critters are, almost as a rule, very passionate about the series, so it shouldn’t have been too surprising when the original Kickstarter for the Legend of Vox Machina animated series set all kinds of records. However, as longtime DM Matt Mercer explained to us, that first night, when they raised over $1 million almost immediately, was still an eye-opening experience.

While he was at PAX East 2026, we managed to catch up with Matt Mercer to discuss everything from Daggerheart to Critical Role’s place in the modern history of tabletop gaming. As he admitted that the company has a history of underestimating both themselves and their fans, we mentioned the first Kickstarter campaign for The Legend of Vox Machina as evidence that maybe they shouldn’t. We then got to see Matt Mercer’s eyes widen as the memory of that night came flooding back to him. 

“Oh yeah,” he said. “It’s forever burned into my soul in the best way.”

For those who don’t recall, the Critical Role Kickstarter was something truly remarkable to witness at the time. It opened with a $750,000 goal, which was intended to fund a single animated special. Within an hour, it was fully funded. Within four hours, it had raised more than $2 million and had far surpassed any of the stretch goals the cast had set in place. It went on to raise more than $11 million and spawned not just one season but four seasons of The Legend of Vox Machina (with one more on the way) and a Mighty Nein animated series as well. So it seems fair that Matt Mercer and the Critical Role crew remain a little shell-shocked by the whole ordeal.

With two animated series on Prime Video, Campaign 4 in full swing, and so much more Exandrian lore to come, Critical Role is showing no signs of slowing down. That's why the adventuring party at Popverse are here to bring you everything we can from those nerdy-ass voice actors & Bo., including:

• Critical Role release schedule
• Critical Role's Campaign 4 characters ranked
• How to watch Critical Role in order
• Ways for you to relive the Critical Role panel from ECCC '26
• Taliesin Jaffe on playing Mollymauk Tealeaf for Campaign 2 vs. playing him for Prime Video
• Matt Mercer's homebrew warrior class (created originally for Vin Diesel)

...and much, much more. Roll initiative, player. Magic awaits.