Exandrian Evil: Who are the Main Villains of Critical Role?

Every TTRPG needs a BBEG.

That is to say, every tabletop roleplaying game needs an enthralling plot, emotional stakes, and a “big bad evil guy” to blast with all those high level spells you’ve been saving through the adventure. And in a world as sprawling, evolving, and intricate as Critical Role‘s Exandria, there are bound to be plenty of villains both big and small for our heroes to combat throughout their journeys.

But these baddies aren’t just stock characters or pushovers. Their machinations and motivations are complex, challenging, and really force players to reflect on their own goals and beliefs. The best villains compel heroes to grow, to persist, and in some cases, to sacrifice in order to achieve a hard-fought victory. And how satisfying, if bittersweet, that victory usually is.

Through battles great and terrible, these fearsome foes remain the most enduring villains ever faced throughout the three Critical Role campaigns.

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The Villains of Vox Machina

The Briarwoods

While the Briarwoods might be some of the earliest enemies of the legendary Vox Machina team, they’re certainly two of the most enduring. That’s what happens when necromancy gets in the mix. Lord Sylas and Lady Delilah Briarwood are a terrifying twosome, madly in love with each other — so much so that Delilah “broke the world” for her love.

These usurpers to the de Rolo seat in Whitestone brought the vibrant city to its knees with hordes of undead. They squashed every possible rebellion until Percy de Rolo and Vox Machina returned, undeterred by the chilling reception that awaited them at the Sun Tree. Lord Sylas’ vampiric nature and malevolent, sentient sword Craven Edge are lethal in a manner of elegant brute force. But Lady Delilah’s wicked cunning and proficiency in the darkest magic defy the laws of nature to bring their lord, the Whispered One, to power — death be damned.

Thordak, Raishan, and the Chroma Conclave

If you thought one dragon was enough of a fantasy showdown, try taking down an alliance of five. The Chroma Conclave launched a coordinated attack on the nation of Tal’Dorei, and namely its capital Emon, hoping to carve it to pieces and claim their own dominions. Spearheaded by Thordak the Cinder King, these serpentine monsters proved a massive threat for Vox Machina — so much so that they required the aid of legendary artifacts, the Vestiges of Divergence, to defeat the dragons.

The Conclave consisted of a cadre of colorful dragons, each with their own terrifying elemental powers: the red Thordak was lord of fire, green Raishan was a pox-spotted dragon of poison, white Vorugal commanded the cold and ice, black Umbrasyl sprayed corrosive acid, and the young blue Brimscythe generated lightning. Each dragon had their own ambitions, and inner betrayal by the Diseased Deceiver Raishan helped to tear the alliance apart.

The Whispered One

Vox Machina’s ultimate foe, the Whispered One, was a being of unrivaled power. A power-hungry mage who traded his humanity for godhood, it was he who first empowered the Briarwoods. The couple then devoted themselves to the service of the Whispered One, using their own abilities to empower him and his cult — they built a ziggurat beneath Whitestone that was one of several corrupted by the lich-mage’s followers.

Ascended to power, the Whispered One laid siege to Vassalheim in Tal’Dorei. A long and grueling battle expended nearly every ounce of strength the heroes of Vox Machina had, including a powerful wish spell that could have saved the soul of Vax’ildan. Still, it was here that their legend was truly cemented as the team managed to banish the demigod from the mortal plane and seal him away permanently behind the Divine Gate. Their victory came with great sacrifice, but Exandria was spared the Whispered One’s full wrath, allowing Tal’Dorei and beyond to rebuild in the wake of his defeat.

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The Villains of the Mighty Nein

Lucien Tavelle

Sometimes, heroes are defined by their villains. In the strange case of the Mighty Nein, their friendship redefined a villain, and ultimately proved his defeat. Following the death of beloved teammate Mollymauk Tealeaf, the Mighty Nein were distressed to discover the circus man’s grave empty (Mollymauk’s initials, M.T., are even a play on the word “empty”). Their friend’s body was now under the ownership of its rightful soul, that of Lucien Tavelle. And Lucien hd no fondness for this band of would-be heroes.

Ambitious to a fault, Lucien claimed the title of Nonagon, as he and his band of blood hunters known as the Tombtakers sought to revive an ancient council known as the Eyes of Nine. Also called the Somnovem, the Eyes of Nine were leaders in the pre-Calamity city of Aeor, and their hubris led to its downfall. The Mighty Nein chased Lucien to the ends of their reality, stopping at nothing short of divine intervention to bring Mollymauk’s soul back to his body as Lucien transformed into the nightmarish Neo-Somnovem.

Uk’otoa

There are many malevolent forces willing to bestow magical gifts on mortals in exchange for a pact. One such entity is the false leviathan Uk’otoa, a large aquatic serpent demigod imprisoned beneath one of Exandria’s oceans. Uk’otoa has great, glowing eyes that resemble the seals holding him imprisoned, known as the Cloven Crystals. Promising great power to those who worked to free him, Fjord Stone and Captain Avantika were two such mages bonded to the beast’s magic.

The Mighty Nein actually didn’t fight Uk’otoa during the course of their main campaign, though they fought his emissaries. Fjord even severed his pact with great consequence. However, in a special 2022 reunion episode, Uk’otoa was freed when Fjord was forced to hand over the third and final Cloven Crystal to save his and Jester Lavorre’s lives. The Mighty Nein raced to stop the seal from being broken, but were too late — they were, however, able to wound and re-imprison Uk’otoa after a lengthy, grueling combat.

Trent Ikithon

Sometimes teachers instill important values into their students, teaching them invaluable lessons about life and the world. Sometimes, those lessons are unfortunately learned the hard way from awful mentors. Trent Ikithon proves to be the Mighty Nein’s final campaign foe after his malicious mentorship of Caleb Widogast in his early, impressionable years.

Archmage of Civil Influence in the powerful Cerberus Assembly, this cruel spellcaster was actually shown to be completely incapable of empathy. Caleb, along with students Astrid and Eadwulf, were his proteges he experimented on in their youth. The Mighty Nein managed to take him down, brought to heel with a collar that silenced his voice and a legendary glue that fused his hands together, preventing him from performing the necessary steps to use his magic.

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The Villains of Bells Hells

Ludinus Da’leth

Martinet Ludinus Da’leth was alive at the founding of the Cerberus Assembly, an extremely powerful order of mages dedicated to advancing the arcane knowledge of the Dwendalian Empire. While he was first a notable figure in the Mighty Nein’s adventures, his true rise to villainy came during the events of Bells Hells’ journey. Calculating and reserved, the spellcaster sought to unleash Predathos and amass power greater than King Dwendal and the Assembly for himself.

Bells Hells first truly confronts him on the Apogee Solstice as Ludinus attempts to bind the moon Ruidus to orbit above Exandria and break open Predathos’ prison. He views the gods of Exandria as hindering societal progress with their egos and lies of mortal dependence. Later, they manage to defeat him in the Hallowed Cage region of Ruidus housing Predathos. Before he expired, he asked the heroes to finish his work freeing the god-eater for him. However, it is believed he was able to send his soul elsewhere into a new body, though his immediate threat seemed contained for the moment.

Otohan Thull

Leader of the mercenary group Paragon’s Call, General Otohan Thull was a ruthless Ruidusborn empowered psionically by the Red Moon. Her status as an “Exaltant” signified an even greater connection to the moon and its pull, attracting the attention of Ludinus Da’leth. Beyond that, Thull was a famed warrior who could bring even the rowdiest killers to quiet reverence in her presence.

Goading Imogen Temult, a fellow Ruidusborn teamed with Bells Hells, Thull managed to slay several of the heroes across multiple battles in an effort to get Temult to unleash her true psionic powers. The warrior woman could create echoes of herself that were capable of wounding others while incredibly difficult to fend off. It took an act of true heroic sacrifice from one of the team to send her to her grave on Ruidus, though not before the team nearly lost several other members in the process.

Predathos

Exandria has long lived under the light of two moons — Catha, the larger, and Ruidus, known for its ominous red hue. Bells Hells eventually discovered that Ruidus itself is actually a prison (as well as a world that hosts its own unique ecosystems and societies). Inside the red moon is Predathos, the God Eater, intent on devouring every deity in existence. Those born under the moon’s influence, such as Imogen and Fearne, have special abilities granted to them by their connection to the entity.

Bells Hells’ ultimate confrontation against Predathos is tense, with the entire balance of Exandrian magic and religion at stake. Imogen even merges with the entity, becoming “Predatho-gen” for one phase of the battle. Still, the empathetic heroes don’t ultimately annihilate the Red End, instead recognizing its hunger as an endless cycle. They take the conflict to the gods themselves, offering them the chance to run eternally from the God Eater or to give up their deific natures in order to live among the mortals they have guided and blessed for eons.

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The Door

Sometimes the worst, most unstoppable villain is one the players create themselves! But not through careful cunning and betrayal — no, sometimes bad dice rolls and a few running jokes are all it takes to turn something seemingly innocent into an antagonist at every turn. Take Vox Machina and doors, for example.

The CritRoleStats blog counted over 25 incidents involving failed attempts at opening doors in just the first 40 episodes of Campaign 1 alone. Some of these moments even made it into The Legend of Vox Machina animated series! Whether it’s a failed transport spell, a botched lockpick job, or simple brute force gone wrong, the door is truly an enduring evil of the heroes’ own making — and shows how just about anything can be made into an engaging challenge at the gaming table.

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Across hundreds of hours of campaign gameplay, the characters of Critical Role have faced countless evils and morally gray antagonists. These are just a few who proved the most lethal, longtime threats to our heroes.

Who is your favorite Critical Role villain? Join the conversation with other Critters over at Sideshow Social Network or in side.show/geekgroup, and don’t forget to Let Your Geek Sideshow!