Many Critical Role fans did a double take when they saw Laudna in season 4 episode 7 of The Legend of Vox Machina, “The Ghosts of Whitestone.” She’s not from Campaign 1, the original Vox Machina story this show is based on. She’s from Campaign 3: Bells Hells that’s set roughly 30 years after the events of Campaign 1. So why is she hiding underneath Whitestone Castle, years before she was even introduced as a character?
Who is Laudna?
A warlock and a sorcerer, Laudna lived a hard life. Born on a farm in Whitestone as Matilda Bradbury, she had magical abilities even at a young age. Unfortunately, those abilities frightened those around her and she was an outcast.
When the Briarwoods took over Whitestone, they invited people over to dine with them, including Laudna and her parents. Laudna went to the dinner with the hope that Delilah Briarwood would teach her how to control her magic. Instead, she was killed and made to resemble Vex’ahlia of Vox Machina before she was hung up on the Sun Tree. Laudna was 20 years old at the time of her death.
However, she woke up hanging on the tree as a Hollow One, someone who’s a strange cross between being half-alive and not quite dead. She left the city and spent years wandering Exandria until she joined a group of adventurers called Bells Hells.
How Laudna is introduced in the show
In “The Ghosts of Whitestone,” Laudna is drawn back to Whitestone sometime after Delilah Briarwood’s resurrection, feeling the presence of “her mistress” inside her mind.
While Vox Machina are exploring the secret rooms Delilah built underneath Whitestone Castle during the Briarwood Occupation, Laudna pulls Vex into her room. She immediately backs away in fear when Vex threatens her with her bow Fenthras. Vex stands down once she realizes this is a scared young woman, not an enemy.
Rambling about her mistress and the ghosts lurking in Whitestone, Laudna projects Vex into her memories. That’s when we learn that the dark-haired woman who was hung from the Sun Tree while dressed as Vex in season 1, episode 5 “Fate’s Journey” was actually Laudna. What’s even stranger is that “Fate’s Journey” was in development before Campaign 3 started, so the resemblance is probably a coincidence. Her backstory is similar to the original campaign, where she was part of the group the Briarwoods invited to a dinner, then murdered and hung as a twisted message to Vox Machina.
Laudna helps Vex take on Delilah by using a fake version of Sylas to torment her and giving Vex the opening to shoot her in the neck with an exploding arrow. Delilah’s head is turned into bloody mush but unfortunately for Vox Machina, she regenerates due to the Whispered One’s power. But Laudna does learn that she can weaponize her connection to Delilah and escapes Whitestone at the episode’s end.
What’s different from the original campaign?
The way Vox Machina is introduced to Laudna is very different in Campaign 3. During a fight in Bassuras, Otohan Thull cuts through Bells Hells members, killing Orym and Fearne and leaving Laudna on the edge of death. Imogen Temult finally loses control of her powers trying to save everyone, but it’s too late for Laudna.
Imogen gets in touch with Keyleth, who suggests taking Laudna’s corpse to Whitestone as Pike Trickfoot is capable of resurrecting her.
Vex’ahlia and Percy realize Laudna is the same woman who was turned into an effigy of Vex on the Sun Tree years before. Pike Trickfoot tries to raise her, but discovers two souls are bound to her body, with one of them being Delilah Briarwood. Pike astral projects Bells Hells into a shadow realm to fight a corrupted version of the Sun Tree, so they can break Delilah’s hold on Laudna before they can resurrect her. The party succeeds in destroying the corrupted tree and severely weakening Delilah’s hold on their friend, allowing Pike to successfully bring Laudna back.
What does this mean for future adaptations?
Intially, The Legend of Vox Machina started off as a mostly faithful adaptation of Campaign 1. A lot of story arcs were either compressed, merged into other arcs or just weren’t adapted for the TV series.
Season 4 has taken their own approach to the Cult of Vecna arc by introducing things that weren’t in the original campaign, like Vax’s blight after helping to resurrect Percy. Pike’s arc is a clear example of this. Matthew Mercer confirmed in the Campaign 3 wrap-up that in the show’s continuity, Pike is a descendant of Trist, the mortal avatar of the Everlight. That detail comes from flashback material from Campaign 3’s “Downfall.”
Laudna’s appearance shows the people working on The Legend of Vox Machina and The Mighty Nein recognize these two shows exist as one shared universe. Because of that connection, they’re willing to plant the seeds for future plotlines early on. This means that future seasons probably won’t be locked to a single campaign’s timeline. Expect more crossover moments from characters from different campaigns, with shocking reveals that only make sense to those who followed the original campaign.
I want to make it clear that for now, Critical Role hasn’t announced any plans for an animated adaptation of the Bells Hells campaign. But the positive reaction Laudna is getting from both fans of Critical Role and The Legend of Vox Machina could open the door for her to return as the show’s continuity continues to tell its own story.
