Critical Role‘s latest villain is almost definitely a souped up version of a classic Dungeons & Dragons monster. [Spoilers follow for Campaign 2’s Episode 100 – 103.] Critical Role‘s latest adversary is the entity Vokodo, a strange creature that resides within the volcano of Rumblecusp. While Vokodo is described as a fire god and protector of the island, the Mighty Nein have quickly discovered that the entity what he seems. The party’s first encounter with Vokodo revealed that he was a greedy and capricious creature that demanded offerings in exchange for its protection. The Mighty Nein gave up several of their precious magical items, but they later decided to confront the monster after learning that it was either behind the memory-erasing effects that plagued the residents of Rumblecusp or was at least using those effects to his benefits.
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While Vokodo’s true nature hasn’t been revealed outright, his abilities and the very nature of Rumblecusp seem to indicate that he is a Morkoth, a powerful creature born from the husk of a long-dead deity of greed and strife. Every morkoth has its own island that it rules over with absolute authority, which often contains strange features (such as a waterfall that flows upwards) that defies the laws of nature.
We’ve seen several hints that Vokodo is actually a morkoth, beyond its greedy personality and behavior. Vokodo was able to control the water in his lair, raising its temperature and turning it into “breathable water,” which matches one of the morkoth’s regional effects. Additionally, several members of the Mighty Nein “lost” mundane possessions after spending the night on the island, which matches another effect. The most notable clue from the last episode was when Caduceus Clay (played by Taliesin Jaffe) failed a Wisdom saving throw and had an overwhelming urge to enter Vokodo’s lair. This matches a morkoth regional ability that allows it to draw in visitors.
While a morkoth only has a Challenge Rating of 12, Vokodo likely has some beefed up abilities that will make it much more of a threat to the Mighty Nein. We’ll likely see how a confrontation between Vokodo and the Mighty Nein goes during next week’s episode.
Critical Role airs new episodes every Thursday at 7 PM PT on their Twitch channel. On demand episodes are available on their YouTube channel.
