Vox Machina — Who are the Dragons of the Chroma Conclave?

Amazon Prime is taking fans back on an Exandrian adventure as Critical Role: The Legend of Vox Machina season 2 makes its big debut. All-star voice castings have upped the hype on the show’s sophomore outing, which brings in two fan-favorite plot lines — the Vestiges of Divergence and the Chroma Conclave. Among the Conclave will be the incredible talents of Lance Reddick (as Thordak) and Cree Summer (as Raishan). But what does all of this mean for Vox Machina?

The Vestiges of Divergence are legendary, godly artifacts needed to defeat the Chroma Conclave. The Chroma Conclave is a malicious alliance of chromatic dragons (known for being very, very evil) set on conquering the entirety of Tal’Dorei, the Exandrian continent the members of Vox Machina call home. Many of these dastardly dragons have personal history with our intrepid heroes, and the journey to overcome their elemental evil is a difficult one.

While the fight against these flying fiends will likely extend into the already-confirmed season 3 renewal, Critters should refresh themselves on these winged villains if they want a hint at what’s coming next.

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Brimscythe, the Iron Storm

• Chromatic Color: Blue
• Breath Weapon: Lightning

Vox Machina already met and defeated Brimscythe in TLOVM season 1 in a pair of premiere episodes that detailed some of the team’s adventures before Critical Role became a livestream show. He was voiced by a duplicitous David Tennant, credited as General Krieg, a powerful and strategic ally to Sovereign Uriel Tal’Dorei II. In the world of Critical Role, many dragons are capable of transforming into human guises, and Brimscythe took full advantage of this.

The youngest member of the Chroma Conclave, Brimscythe the blue dragon had a fascination with human political structures and a desire to corrupt them. He captured and assumed the form of the real General Krieg and was then confronted by Vox Machina, who ultimately defeated him. As it turns out, Brimscythe was overly ambitious and planned to keep control of Emon (the capital of Tal’Dorei) for himself once the Conclave succeeded — insolence for which Thordak was planning to kill him anyways.

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Umbrasyl, the Hope Devourer

• Chromatic Color: Black
• Breath Weapon: Acid

Though Umbrasyl is an ancient dragon, not much is known of his history prior to his encounters with Vox Machina. What is known is that he had been chased from so many domains over time that he grew tired of being hunted, finally allying with the Chroma Conclave in hopes of having his own lair from which to rule over uncontested. His name comes from the word for the darkest part of a shadow.

After the Conclave’s attack of Emon, the great dragon attacked Westruun and then claimed Gatshadow Mountain as his own. Umbrasyl was quickly hunted down by Vox Machina, who used some unconventional methods of fighting the dragon (from both the outside and inside of the beast — yeah, really). Ultimately, he was struck down by Grog Strongjaw.

In the animated series, Umbrasyl is voiced by Matt Mercer.

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Vorugal, the Frigid Doom

• Chromatic Color: White
• Breath Weapon: Ice

Considered the most beastly of the Chroma Conclave, the ancient white dragon Vorugal was a hunter and collector of treasures rather than a political schemer. He was known to stay in the frigid north of Tal’Dorei before the Conclave’s assault on Emon. In search of worthy prey, it was Vorugal’s love of a challenge that ultimately led to his defeat by Vox Machina.

The party of heroes preyed on Vorugal’s desire for a proper lethal hunt and baited a trap with a demon from the abyss. Next, Pike’s deity the Everlight struck the dragon from the sky, and then in a surprise turn, the green dragon Raishan of the Chroma Conclave engaged in the battle to subdue the icy villain. Vex’ahlia eventually dealt the killing strikes with her bow, and down went another member of the Conclave.

In the animated series, Vorugal is voiced by Liam O’Brien (Vax’ildan).

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Raishan, the Diseased Deceiver

• Chromatic Color: Green
• Breath Weapon: Poison

The ancient green dragon Raishan was directly responsible for unleashing Thordak from his imprisonment in the Elemental Plane of Fire. Blighted by a curse from a dying druid, she was covered in pustules and sores, which left her physically weaker than the other Conclave members but perhaps the sharpest of mind. Her desire for a cure led her to disguise herself as a Fire Ashari girl as she worked to free Thordak.

Raishan was the one who brokered the entire idea of the Chroma Conclave, but upon freeing Thordak she realized he never intended to give her a cure for her sickness. Thus, her plan became to kill the Cinder King and force his spirit to give her the answers she needed. Raishan was a prolific deceiver as her honorific implies, and eluded Vox Machina in several human disguises. Her time with the Fire Ashari even led to the tribe’s genocide, an act for which Keyleth swore she would be brought to justice.

We won’t spoil her ultimate defeat here, as it’s likely to extend into The Legend of Vox Machina season 3 — but Raishan truly proves to be one of the greatest villains the heroes face in all their time traveling Tal’Dorei.

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Thordak, the Cinder King

• Chromatic Color: Red
• Breath Weapon: Fire

The biggest and baddest of the Chroma Conclave is the ancient tyrant Thordak, the Cinder King. He once ruled over half the continent of Marquet before eventually traveling across the oceans to Tal’Dorei. He destroyed dozens of cities and strongholds in his wake, including the town of Byroden — once home to the young Vex’ahlia and Vax’ildan Vessar. Ultimately, their mother died in the blaze.

After having enough of Thordak’s reign of fire, Lady Allura and other powerful mages finally trapped the red dragon in the Elemental Plane of Fire. He was anchored to the place with a crystalized fire titan’s heart, embedded in his chest where scales usually would be. It was during his imprisonment that Raishan approached with the idea for the Chroma Conclave, promising Thordak freedom in exchange for knowledge of how to cure her blight.

His claim to Emon was uncontested when the Conclave attacked, and Thordak lorded over the other dragons and demanded tribute from the people of Tal’Dorei. While we also won’t spoil his ultimate defeat here, Vox Machina received a surprising ally during the fight as the adventurers, and especially the twins, sought revenge against the Cinder King.

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These magnificent, malicious beasts are massive challenges for Vox Machina — but our favorite heroes didn’t achieve legendary status for nothing!

You can watch the continuing fight against the Chroma Conclave as The Legend of Vox Machina season 2 airs on Prime Video and bring home some glorious goods inspired by your favorite Exandrian heroes at side.show/criticalrole. Then, visit side.show/geekgroup and find your fellow Critters to share your collection with!

So, how do you want to do this?