Exandria is about to welcome some unexpected new heroes. Critical Role and hololive production have announced Shattered Legends, a brand-new actual play series that uses Darrington Press' Daggerheart system and is officially canon to Critical Role's world of Exandria.
The project was announced last week (October 13th) by hololive's parent company COVER Corporation, and it marks the first ever collaboration between the two groups. Shattered Legends is set to premiere in mid-November, with Matthew Mercer taking his familiar seat behind the screen as Game Master.
Meet The Shattered Legends Party
Mercer will be guiding a party made up of Critical Role's own Marisha Ray and four hololive talents. According to the official announcement, the cast and their characters are:
- Matthew Mercer as the Game Master
- Marisha Ray as Florence
- Nerissa Ravencroft as Siliun "Sil" Faell
- Mori Calliope as Kaz Oogod
- Shiori Novella as Marchen "March" Rosemyne
- Gigi Murin as Giryn
Ray has played some of the most beloved characters in Critical Role history, including Keyleth in the first campaign and Beauregard in the second, so fans will be curious to see what kind of character Florence turns out to be. The hololive side of the table brings a mix of personalities, with Mori Calliope in particular having a huge following thanks to her music career.
Why Canon Matters
The big detail for longtime Critical Role fans is that Shattered Legends is confirmed as canon to Exandria. Critical Role has used one-shots and miniseries to explore other corners of its world before, and stories like Exandria Unlimited ended up feeding directly into later campaigns. Whatever happens in Shattered Legends will officially become part of the setting's history, which means there could be connections to the main campaigns hiding in the story.
The use of Daggerheart instead of Dungeons & Dragons is also notable. Daggerheart is Darrington Press' own fantasy tabletop RPG, built around a card system and a Hope and Fear mechanic that shapes how the story ebbs and flows. COVER's announcement describes it as a game where every player is encouraged to be a storyteller, which should suit a cast of performers who are used to entertaining live audiences.
The crossover arrives while Critical Role is busier than ever. The main table is deep into Campaign 4, which recently aired its 38th episode, "A Heavy Crown," and the company's animated adaptations The Legend of Vox Machina and The Mighty Nein are both streaming on Prime Video. hololive even nodded to Critical Role's weekly Thursday night streams in its announcement post, opening with a playful "Is it Thursday yet?"
Where To Watch
The campaign will be released as an online mini web series, and every episode will be available for free on Critical Role's YouTube channel, Nerissa Ravencroft's YouTube channel, and the hololive English YouTube channel. It will also stream on Beacon, Critical Role's subscription service. Japanese subtitles will be available for all episodes on YouTube.
Beyond the main episodes, there will be an Episode 0 where the cast builds their characters and backstories, along with "cooldown" after-episode talks on Beacon. Members of Nerissa Ravencroft's YouTube channel will also get exclusive behind-the-scenes content. The series is sponsored by Ultra PRO, and a promotional convention tour across North America, Europe, and Asia is planned, with exclusive merchandise and more updates to come.
hololive has already released a trailer for the series, and the hololive English team says its website will be updated with more details as they are revealed. You can watch the trailer below.
Would you rather see Shattered Legends tie directly into the events of Critical Role's main campaign, or stay a self-contained story in a new corner of Exandria?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.