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Francesco is an editor with a background in academic research, journalism, and content strategy, specializing in entertainment news and curation. He works across all of Polygon's verticals, specializing in tabletop games, with a focus on D&D and Magic.
Shattered Legends is the newest Critical Role campaign
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Critical Role's newest collaboration could be its most unexpected yet. The media company, famous for turning Dungeon & Dragons games into a multi-platform entertainment phenomenon, is partnering with Cover Corporation's Hololive Production, the Japan-based virtual YouTuber (VTuber) agency, for Shattered Legends, a new actual play miniseries set in the world of Exandria, launching in mid-November 2026.
This is big news for fans of Critical Role's first three campaigns, Vox Machina, The Mighty Nein, and Bells Hells, which also take place in Exandria. According to a news release, Shattered Legends will be "canon" to that world, meaning that fans could see cameos from iconic characters such as Grog, Scanlan, Jester, Yasha, Fearne, and Imogen. Unlike the main Critical Role campaigns, however, Shattered Legends will use Daggerheart, the tabletop role-playing game from Critical Role's publishing arm, Darrington Press.
Star VTubers join Critical Role in a new Daggerheart miniseries
Critical Role co-founder Matthew Mercer will be the Game Master for Shattered Legends, while fellow co-founder Marisha Ray will be the only member of the regular Critical Role cast to join the adventure as a player. She will be accompanied by Hololive’s Nerissa Ravencroft, Mori Calliope, Shiori Novella and Gig Murin. It's still unclear what the integration of in-person actual play and digital avatars will look like. Fans will be able to watch Shattered Legends on Critical Role's streaming platform, Beacon, along with exclusive content like a “Session Zero” focused on character creation and backstories, and the post-episode “Cooldown” chat sessions. Episodes will also be available on the official YouTube channels of Critical Role, Nerissa Ravencroft, and Hololive English.
There is a lot more planned for Shattered Legends besides the actual play miniseries. A promotional tour will hit conventions in North America, Europe, and Asia. There is also exclusive merchandise and other collaborations planned, but the details will be revealed in the future.
Fans of Critical Role eager for more Daggerheart content will surely welcome this new miniseries, which follows the acclaimed Age of Umbra: Sallowlands. Collaborating with VTubers will make this show look different from anything Critical Role has done in the past, and hopefully it will bring more attention to the TTRPG world. Shattered Legends will premiere in mid-November 2026 on YouTube and Beacon.