voice actor and Dungeon Master

for Critical Role on Geek and Sundry,

where I take a bunch of other voice actors and

run them through a fantastical fantasy adventure

through the world of Dungeons and Dragons.

We play every Thursday at 7 PM Pacific Standard time

on Geek and Sundry's Twitch stream.

Please come watch us live if you have the opportunity.

Back episodes and future episodes will be

uploaded on the Geek and Sundry website.

So, you can also check them out there.

In the meantime, enjoy!

Matt: Welcome to first episode of Critical Role,

and what this basically is,

is a continuation of our weekly D&D game.

Me and a bunch of other likely nerdy and enjoyable

voice actors gathering around,

rolling some dice, killing some creatures,

having some adventure.

And now we have the pleasure of it bringing it

on the stream for you to watch,

enjoy, and occasionally interact with.

So before we get to that: to give you a little backstory

on the characters you'll be seeing this evening,

we're going to play some videos for you in just a second.

But, do note for all you hardcore gamers out there,

a lot of this is house-ruled,

kinda loosey-goosey having a good time.

So all you number crunchers, stop paying attention there,

just have fun with it.

But nevertheless, we have some background story

on many of the characters you'll be seeing this evening

to help you jump into the story.

Let’s go ahead and enjoy those in just a minute then

we'll introduce the players, so, have fun.

Grog: Right, Listen up! If you have ale,

then you have a friend in Grog Strongjaw!

A goliath of towering height and size,

this barbarian has an appetite for the two great

loves in his life: combat, women, and ale! (chuckle)

(record scratch)

Wait.

Easily the brains of the group,

Grog is often consulted for his vast knowledge

of shapes, colors, and (chuckle) shiny things!

...also ale.

In his early years, armed with his two handed great axe,

Grog often enjoyed proving his might amongst the ranks

of his family's wandering herd.

But after coming upon an unsuspecting elderly gnome in the woods,

he objected to the killing of such an innocent life.

A creature of impulse, Grog felt only pity for this...

well this terrified little thing.

And his disobedience cost him dearly.

(weapon crack)

Beaten bloody, and banished by the herd leader,

his uncle Kevdak,

Grog was abandoned and left to die.

Exiled from his herd, it was then that

the relative of the very gnome he fought to save,

saved him.

It was the kindness of a gnome cleric named Pike,

that healed Grog, bringing him back from death's edge.

And they have remained close friends ever since.

(brawling sounds)

Most nights, Grog can be found challenging

entire taverns to wrestling matches! Ha!

...or accompanying Scanlan to the nearest house,

where you pay for...

lady favors.

Also ale!

Keyleth: A first Impression of Keyleth would

leave you with little information

on the half-elven druid.

You might even think that her social awkwardness

due to her sheltered upbringing is kinda sweet.

(chuckle)

Of course, it would be unwise underestimate her

based on first impressions.

(thunder crack)

Under that unintimidating petite frame is a

vicious beast waiting to be unleashed,

whose natural powers have made even the fiercest of

champions pee their pants, literally!

(soft chuckle)

Born to the Air Tribe of the Ashari people,

Keyleth was raised with a deep love

of nature and the elemental magics.

It is her people’s inherent duty to protect the

delicate areas in Tal'Dorei

where the four elemental planes begin to bleed with this realm.

Since she was a little girl, she had quite a knack

for air manipulation and beast shaping abilities.

Well, if you consider kittens and

flying squirrels to be little beasts.

Which, I do.

(clears throat)

Anyways, it wasn't long before the headmaster of the tribe,

her father, Kohren,

realized her true prodigious abilities and

she was inveterated to succeed him as the next headmaster.

Just like that, her jovial childhood was stripped and

replaced with endless spell memorization,

teachings from ancient traditions,

and exceedingly high expectations.

Every druid leader to be must embark on a journey

to seek out the sister tribes

in order to introduce and establish respect

amongst the fellow headmasters.

They call this the Aramente, or Noble Odyssey.

When her father felt she was ready, he set her on the path

to truly discovering herself.

Not knowing when, or if she will ever return.

As she hiked down the mountain towards Stillben,

she meditated on the task ahead.

Part of the Aramente is proving yourself

a strong warrior, a valiant protector,

and a wise and compassionate leader.

With this knowledge, one thought plays

in repeat in her mind:

Is she even worthy?

Percy: Percy was the third child of 7 children,

born to a noble family who lived far to the

north in the ancient castle of Whitestone.

With so many siblings to share the burdens of

lordship, Percy turned his attention to the

sciences, engineering, and naturalism.

One day, a mysterious couple,

named Lord and Lady Briarwood, came to court.

During a feast held in their honour,

the Briarwoods violently took control of the castle,

killing or imprisoning everyone who would stand in their way.

Percy awoke chained in the dungeon,

only to be freed by his younger sister.

Together they fled, chased by the Briarwoods’ men.

As they ran, Percy’s sister took

several arrows to the chest and fell.

Percy kept running, eventually jumping into

a freezing river and floating unconscious to freedom.

He did not remember waking up on a fishing boat.

He barely remembered the next two years, as he

slowly made his way as far south as possible.

Then one night, Percy had a dream.

A roaring cloud of smoke offered him

vengeance against those who destroyed his family.

When he awoke, Percy began to design his first gun.

Scanlan: Oh, you haven’t heard of Scanlan Shorthalt?

Well, gird your loins, ladies,

because he has his eye on you.

A talented musician, master of disguise, and dashingly

handsome in his own mind, Scanlan sings songs

almost as much as he sings his own praises.

Born a poor Gnome, Scanlan used his endless

charm and soaring tenor voice to

croon for coin and support his single mother.

One day he was discovered by a half-orc promoter,

and joined Dr. Dranzel’s Spectacular Traveling Troupe

where he learned the ways of the world,

and honed his skills as a bard extraordinaire.

A loner much of his life, Scanlan has never quite

come to terms with the violent

death of his mother at the hands of a Goblin invasion.

While his years on the road provided many, shall we say,

educational experiences with the opposite sex,

deep down Scanlan yearns for the one thing

he’s never known: the true love

of a fellow Gnome.

Still, Scanlan considers himself a lover first,

performer second, and fighter distant third.

On the battlefield, he’ll support his allies,

but rarely draws blood unless it’s to protect

fellow Gnome, Pike. Count on Scanlan for a hearty laugh,

a rollicking song, and a twinkle in his eye that melts hearts

and makes the females swoon.

Tiberius: Greetings and salutations.

I am Tiberius Stormwind.

I hail from a town called Ty'rex,

located in the heart of Draconia,

born from a politically respected family.

At the age of 15, I succeeded in passing the Sorcerer’s Rite,

showing prodigy-like control of my magic.

The judges and the Draconian high council were amazed at

how powerful my spells were for how long I had been training.

At 20 years old, I was the youngest appointed member

of the magic guild in Draconian history. For the

next few years, I almost went mad from the

malaise of being a guild member,

as it’s rather boring.

However, one day I happened upon a chamber,

unused for quite some time.

In the room were stacks of books and maps

of the surrounding cities and areas

around the known world.

For months I would frequent the chamber, and learned

of artifacts from legend.

After a long period of research, I made a list of artifacts

that caught my eye.

I brought these findings to the high council and was told that

all of the information in the chamber I had stumbled upon

was either believed to be fiction, or unsolvable mysteries,

and hence were lost forever.

I found those answers to be unacceptable.

A year later I devised a ruse and managed to

convince the city council to lend support

in me leaving Draconia on a mission of peace

and diplomacy for the surrounding kingdoms.

Going from town to town and making friends and allies,

in and for the name of Draconia.

Being a red dragonborn,

I had quite the task on my hands in that respect,

but it was exactly what I needed so I could explore

the world and find these artifacts,

as I felt the truth was out there.

Some may describe me as buffoonish,

but I say poppycock to all that.

I am much sharper than most give me credit for.

I just don’t pay attention to things sometimes.

I’ve also been known to be rather cunning, loyal,

happy-go-lucky, and well, dangerous.

I can’t help but show my true scales every now and then.

But overall, I think I’m quite friendly for a Dragonborn.

Vax: Never entirely welcome in the company of

elves or men, Vax'ildan learned

at a young age to skip past formality,

preferring instead to invite himself in your door.

Along with twin sister Vex'ahlia,

Vax was born by a chance encounter between Elven

royalty and Human peasantry.

Raised by their mother in their early years, the twins

were eventually sent off to their father

in the Elven capital of Singorn.

But their cool reception among the Elves there never warmed,

and their time in the capital didn’t last.

The siblings stole away one autumn night and set out on

the open road.

After a few years of wandering, they eventually decided to

return to their mother, and journeyed

back to the lands of their youth.

But instead of finding their childhood home,

they returned to a pile of rubble.

Their mother was gone, their home burned to ash.

Pressing the townspeople for answers,

they learned of the day the dragon came.

With their ties all severed, Vax'ildan and his sister

set out to find their fortune together in Tal'Dorei.

An outsider since birth, Vax quickly learned to solve life’s

challenges in his own particular way,

often by sidestepping them entirely.

And when his knack for circumventing adversity isn’t enough,

the way of blades the elves schooled him in