“Critical Role: Vox Machina – Stories Untold” explores ten new short stories about NPCs connected to Vox Machina. This includes iconic allies and enemies who have each been touched by the heroes of Exandria. One of the characters at the center of these stories is Kynan Leore.
Kynan is perhaps a lesser-known character in Vox Machina’s tale, but he plays a key role in many of their stories. A young man who idolizes Vox Machina, his first experience of Vax is the epitome of “Don’t meet your heroes.” When he meets Vax, the rogue beats him in a fight, humiliating him as he warns him against adventuring. This choice changed the trajectory of his life forever. In an exclusive interview with Temple of Geek, author Rebecca Coffindaffer discussed this moment and why it was important in her research process.
Rebecca Coffindaffer:
“Vax was trying to do a tough love thing. So, the fans of this community are incredible. I haven’t watched the Vox Machina campaign for a long, long time. And so, I had to go back and dig up the episodes. I found somebody who had done basically a Kynan compilation. So anytime he showed up, they put those clips together. That was incredible because I was able to just use that to focus. Going back to it, you can see the faces of the rest of the people at the table going, What is he doing?
It was just so mean. Laura Bailey’s like, I’m so heartbroken. So, the general consensus was that yes, Vax is pretty mean, but then he was trying to do a tough love thing, which I thought was an interesting take. Even more interesting, of course, is Matt Mercer coming back and going like, Oh, that decision you made is going to come back and kind of bite you in the ass. So that was such an interesting place to explore.”
Sending Kynan Leore On The Wrong Path
The decision that Vax made fundamentally changed Kynan’s story. He lost faith in those he saw as heroes. Instead, he felt the need to prove himself. This ultimately led him to Ripley’s side. He found a new mentor in her. Coffindaffer shared how she approached the relationship between Ripley and Kynan, notably making his connection to her deeper than simply finding someone other than Vax to follow.
Rebecca Coffindaffer:
“It’s not just about Vax knocking him on the back of the head. What makes him go so deeply from I met my heroes, and they kind of sucked” to “I’m going to follow somebody who’s actively trying to destroy them?” The only thing I could think of is [Ripley] had to be charismatic. She had to be sort of this cult leader, this manipulative, toxic figure. I wanted to make it clear that he was a favorite.
He was being shown that love and that, oh, you’re so special, you’re so cool. Nobody else gets you. That stuff that would feed into a 19-year-old brain and go like, yeah, I am. And you finally see it, and that’s how you get the hooks in. That’s how he ends up helping kill people on a beach that he previously loved.”
Part of what makes Kynan’s story so tragic is that it isn’t unique. Heroes give people hope. They are a symbol for many of what someone can be on their best day. Vax’s actions caused him and Vox Machina as a whole to not only lose their shine in Kynan’s eyes but to be yet another person who saw him as less. Kynan is a young man who has been beaten down and looked down upon his entire life, and when he finally meets those he idolizes, they do the same thing.
The First Step To Kynan Leore’s Redemption
Often when heroes make the choice to show someone that they aren’t good enough, it can lead to horrors down the line. Coffindaffer not only examined this piece of Kynan’s past but also how it influences his present and future. He made poor choices in response to this devastation, losing himself in someone who made him feel worthy. Coffindaffer shared how she approaches his mindset now and how he will become the hero he will be in the future.
Rebecca Coffindaffer:
“I think that that’s what made Kynan most relatable. We all want to think that we could be a Vox Machina-type member, but the truth is that most of us are going to be like Kynan. My way into him was, What do you do when you are saddled with guilt and regret? How does he grow into the kind of person who’s a figurehead in Whitestone? He’s leading the rifle guard, and he’s become somebody who’s important and a leader.
How does he even begin that journey from the past where he’s accidentally, in some cases, killing people that were heroes to him? When I was trying to figure out where to go, I liked those moments that we saw where Vax was going back and checking on him when he was in Whitestone.
We got a little bit of a hint of Jarett taking him under his wing, but there was so much more to unpack there that Matt had already laced into the character. How does he break past that? He sat in a mansion all night and looked at a dead body. I really wanted to focus on his emotions. How do you get past that block? It’s not going to be easy. So, let’s start. Where does his starting place come from”?
Why Jarett Is The Right Mentor
Kynan has been searching for a mentor his entire life. First Vax, then Ripley, but he finally finds one in Jarett. A loyal soldier and guard first in Emon and then Whitestone, Jarett is a hero in his own right. While he isn’t famous in the way Vox Machina is, he spends his life protecting and helping people. He is a hero in the way so many average citizens are and, like Kynan, could be.
One of the most notable aspects of the relationship between Kynan and Jarett in “The Lives We Make” is how they parallel each other. Coffindaffer explained why she wanted to lean into this. Coffindaffer also broke down how Jarett evolves throughout this short story as well.
Rebecca Coffindaffer:
“[The parallels of Kynan and Jarett] was interesting because that was something that sort of came out while I did the first draft, and then we brought it out on successive drafts because I wanted [Jarett] to have this fully fleshed out role in it too. Going back and looking at his stuff, he went through it. He fled his country; he had nothing. Kynan also at that point has nothing, made a mistake, had to fully have nothing; what now?
Jarett took that fear and ran with it, and Kynan’s letting it collapse him. How does Jarett look at this, and how does he bring him out of this? It was a little bit more bombastic in earlier drafts, and the people at Random House, the editors, were so great, and they were like, Let’s hone it in. I really liked how it turned out with them being those foils for each other.
I think the important part too is that Jarett’s also learning at the beginning. He is sort of just like, I don’t get you; what is wrong with you? Why Broken? Fix. And so, he learns at the end. He’s like, Oh, now I can see it, and now I can kind of talk to you more on that level. He is growing along with Kynan, and they’re both growing into it. I can teach you how to survive this. And he’s like, Good, because I’m in the sh*t.”
Kynan Leore is a complicated character, and “The Lives We Make” perfectly explores him. The short story examines his trauma in the aftermath of his action. Losing himself to Ripley’s machinations has had a huge impact on him. This story is the perfect examination of the darker internal turmoil of a redemption arc. While his journey is long with many wrong turns, Kynan Leore will eventually become the hero he always wanted to be.
“Critical Role: Vox Machina – Stories Untold” is available for purchase now.
