“The Mighty Nein” premiere is just days away. The animated adaptation of Campaign 2 of Critical Role follows a motley crew of misfits and criminals. Each of them is slowly brought together against the backdrop of a world in the midst of a brewing war. With deadly dangers and political pitfalls at every turn, the war seems impossible to prevent. However, this group may be the only hope even though they aren’t who anyone would have chosen as heroes.

“The Mighty Nein” introduces a whole new cast of characters. It is set in a different era and part of Exandria. It is also a major tonal shift from Critical Role’s “The Legend of Vox Machina.” That series is a more traditional fantasy epic in a comedy vein. “The Mighty Nein” is a grittier political espionage thriller.

With so many new aspects, Temple of Geek wanted to give fans a bit of a refresher course going into the series. Thus “Nine Days Until The Mighty Nein” was born. In our previous episodes we introduced the titular crew. This includes Fjord Stone, Jester Lavorre, Beau Lionett, Caleb Widogast, Nott The Brave, Mollymauk Tealeaf, and Yasha Nydoorin.

Meet The NPCs of The Mighty Nein

Episode eight is a bit different than our other episodes. With every member of the Mighty Nein introduced, we are delving into the NPCs. NPCs are Non-Player Characters. These are the characters that embody the world. They are all played by Dungeon Master Matthew Mercer in Campaign 2 of Critical Role. In the animated series Mercer will reprise at least one, likely more, of these roles. However, many are voiced by an incredible cast of guest stars.

The first of our NPCs is Essek Thelys, voiced by Mercer. Essek is a complicated character living in a very morally grey space. He is a powerful wizard in the Kryn Dynasty who uses Dunamancy. He works for our next character, The Bright Queen. She is voiced by Lucy Liu in the animated series. The Bright Queen is the leader of the Kryn Dynasty. She is an old soul, whereas Essek is much younger, and cares deeply for her people as well as their culture.

Moving to the Dwendalian Empire, we have Dairon. Voiced by Ming-Na Wen, Dairon is a part of the Cobalt Soul. She is an expositor, which is essentially a spy. Dairon also takes on a mentorship role for Beau Lionett, seeing her potential where others haven’t. An even bigger player in the Empire is Trent Ikithon, voiced by Mark Strong. He is an extremely powerful mage, both in magic and politics. A part of the Cerberus Assembly, he has the king’s ear and uses this position to vie for more power. Extremely corrupt and sadistic, he is a major villain.

More NPCs Of The Mighty Nein

Next we have Marion Lavorre, aka The Ruby of the Sea. She is voiced by Anika Noni Rose and is the mother of Jester Lavorre. Marion is an acclaimed singer, courtesan, and burlesque performer. She lives and works in the Lavish Chateau. Deeply afraid of the dangers of the world, she sheltered Jester until Nicodranas was no longer safe.

We also have members of Mollymauk’s carnival troupe. This includes the owner and proprietor of The Fletching and Moondrop Traveling Carnival of Curiosities, Gustav Fletching. Voiced by Alan Cumming, he cares deeply for those in the carnival and has a close relationship with Mollymauk. The troupe also includes Toya, voiced by Auli’i Cravalho. She has a powerful voice that can tame even monsters.

Finally we have Fjord Stone’s mentor, Vandran. Voiced by Tim McGraw, he was the captain of Fjord’s ship. He stepped into a mentorship role for Fjord, who thus far had never had anyone to care for or teach him. Although Vandran had secrets even from Fjord. This impressive voice cast also includes Nathan Fillion, Anjelica Huston, T’Nia Miller, Felicia Day, Graham McTavish, Ivanna Sakhno, and countless others who have not yet been revealed.

“The Mighty Nein” premieres on Prime Video November 19. Check back tomorrow for another episode of “Nine Days Until The Mighty Nein.”