What The “Clever Wordplay” Behind Vox Machina’s Name Is

Since Percy is rudely interrupted before he can elaborate, what “clever play on words” lies at the heart of The Legend of Vox Machina‘s protagonist band name? As the Amazon adaptation of Critical Role’s The Legend of Vox Machina begins, the stumbling septet of Vax, Vex, Grog, Keyleth, Pike, Percy and Scanlan have already found each other and united as a team of mercenaries under the name “Vox Machina.” Despite proclaiming themselves the best warriors-for-hire Tal’Dorei has to offer, the group’s professionalism leaves something to be desired.

So when Vox Machina responds to a request for brave warriors at the royal court of Emon, the ragtag collection of barbarians, bards, and bears don’t exactly feel at home in such regal surrounds. As a former man of nobility, Percy de Rolo steps forward to introduce his companions, addressing Sovereign Uriel and his advisors proudly with, “Vox Machina! You see, it’s actually a somewhat clever play on words…” Sadly, Percy is cut off by Sir Fince before he can explain this humorous hidden meaning behind the “Vox Machina” name. What would he have said, if given chance to finish?

Vox Machina translates from Latin to “voice machine” – a reference to how the Critical Role cast behind these characters are all professional voice actors. Matthew Mercer, Laura Bailey, Marisha Ray, Travis Willingham, Sam Riegel, Taliesin Jaffe, Ashley Johnson, and Liam O’Brien devised these characters for their personal Dungeons & Dragons campaign, and their collective team name derives from that shared career path. The “voice from the machine” translation also works as an allusion toward Vox Machina’s conception as an online Dungeons & Dragons stream. Despite landing upon a cool name eventually, Vox Machina first – at Scanlan’s suggestion – operated under the moniker “Super-High Intensity Team,” before dropping that due to its unfortunate acronym and plumping for the less turd-centric Vox Machina.

Though not necessarily a deliberate connotation, there’s also some wordplay between “Vox Machina” and the common literary phrase “deus ex machina.” Aside from a villain in The Matrix, deus ex machina refers to when a fictional story suddenly drops in a convenient godlike solution to a plot problem – the final moments of War of the Worlds, for example. The phrase has its roots in Greek theater, where actors playing Gods would be lowered onto stage using a crane – the God from the machine. That image feels apt for the The Legend of Vox Machina‘s D&D origins, where players puppeteer characters in a make-believe world who, more often than not, go on to save the realm heroically.

In that case, it’s perhaps best Percy doesn’t get to finish his explanation in The Legend of Vox Machina‘s premiere episode. Had he told Sovereign Uriel, “You see, it’s actually a somewhat clever play of words, since we’re all portrayed by well-known voice actors, and “Vox” is latin for “voice”” he might’ve attracted a few funny looks, both from his own comrades and the assembled royal court. Nevertheless, Critical Role fans will undoubtedly get a kick out of these subtle, behind-the-curtain references and Easter eggs.

The Legend of Vox Machina streams Fridays on Prime Video.

About The Author

Craig Elvy
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Craig first began contributing to Screen Rant in 2016, several years after graduating college, and has been ranting ever since, mostly to himself in a darkened room. Having previously written for various sports and music outlets, Craig’s interest soon turned to TV and film, where a steady upbringing of science fiction and comic books finally came into its own.
Craig has previously been published on sites such as Den of Geek, and after many coffee-drenched hours hunched over a laptop, part-time evening work eventually turned into a full-time career covering everything from the zombie apocalypse to the Starship Enterprise via the TARDIS.

Since joining the Screen Rant fold, Craig has been involved in breaking news stories and mildly controversial ranking lists, but now works predominantly as a features writer.
Jim Carrey is Craig’s top acting pick and favorite topics include superheroes, anime and the unrecognized genius of the High School Musical trilogy.

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