Critical Role: Campaign 3 Guest Characters & Where You've Seen Their Players
Figuring out the correct order to watch everything is one of the first decisions most newcomers to "Critical Role" have to make. Those viewers could approach the series a number of different ways, including by going back and starting with the online actual play show's first campaign or by checking out its one-shot adventure with Stephen Colbert from April 2022. They could, alternatively, decide to dive headfirst into the third and latest "Critical Role" campaign, which has been running since the fall of 2021.
That wouldn't be a bad decision, either. Together, the cast and creative team behind "Critical Role" have made Campaign 3 the show's biggest and most ambitious to date, and they've gone out of their way to subvert viewers' expectations multiple times over the course of its run. The campaign has, specifically, relied more on guest players than either of its predecessors. Consequently, Campaign 3 of "Critical Role" has introduced more than its fair share of memorable supporting characters, nearly all of whom have been played by performers who should be instantly recognizable to anyone familiar with the series' past or the wider actual play space.
From Robbie Daymond and Aabria Iyengar to Christian Navarro and Emily Axford, the latest "Critical Role" campaign has greatly expanded its brand's team of fan-favorite, recurring guest players. With that in mind, here's everything "Critical Role" viewers need to know not only about its Campaign 3 guest characters but also the people who play them.
Dorian Storm is played by Robbie Daymond
Campaign 3 of "Critical Role" begins with not just the show's usual eight cast members, but also a ninth guest player in the form of Robbie Daymond. An accomplished voice actor, Daymond made his "Critical Role" debut in the summer of 2021 when he played Dorian Storm in the spin-off, eight-episode mini-campaign, "Exandria Unlimited Prime." He then reprised his role as Dorian, a kindhearted bard with a secret, royal past, for the first 14 episodes of "Critical Role" Campaign 3.
Since he stepped away from the company's main campaign, Daymond has portrayed Dorian again in the "Exandria Unlimited: Kymal" two-parter. He also starred in the first season of the horror drama series, "Candela Obscura." Meanwhile, outside of his work in the "Critical Role" world, viewers may recognize Daymond for his voice performance as Peter Parker on the Disney XD animated series, "Spider-Man," or for his turn as Jesse on "Infinity Train." He's additionally had notable voice roles in everything from "Horizon Forbidden West" and "Tiger & Bunny" to "Hi-Fi Rush" and "Ghost of Tsushima."
While he didn't get to appear in as many episodes of "Critical Role" Campaign 3 as many hoped, either, it seems safe to say that Daymond still made quite an impact with his performance as Dorian. Indeed, he's since become a fan-favorite "Critical Role" guest star, one whose presence is always welcome whether he's playing Dorian Storm or not.
Dusk/Yu is played by Erika Ishii
It wasn't long after Robbie Daymond's Dorian Storm made his exit that "Critical Role" Campaign 3 introduced another recurring guest player. It is, specifically, in Episode 24 of the campaign that Erika Ishii makes their debut as Yu Suffiad. Ishii's character is initially introduced as Dusk, a seemingly pleasant, confused elf from the Feywild who shares an uncanny connection with Fearne Calloway (Ashley Johnson). However, Yu's real identity is revealed just a few episodes later when they unveil their true form and explain their secret mission, which involves killing Fearne's parents and reclaiming the powerful artifact that the Calloways had previously stolen from the Feywild.
Yu's deception is generally agreed to be one of the most shocking twists that "Critical Role" Campaign 3 has delivered up to this point. While Yu's tense confrontation with the Calloways and Bells Hells eventually ends in an agreement as well, some fans still think the character will return in a future episode. For what it's worth, the door is certainly open for that very thing to happen.
In addition to their Campaign 3 turn as Yu, "Critical Role" fans will likely recognize Ishii for their voice performance as Valkyrie in the popular video game, "Apex Legends," as well as their roles as Ana Bray in "Destiny 2" and Dr. Wenjie Evans in "Deathloop." They've also had parts in two "Critical Role" one-shots, 2019's "Call of Cthulhu: Shadow of the Crystal Palace" and 2020's "Cinderbrush: A Monsterhearts Story," and have appeared on numerous other actual play shows, including "Dimension 20: Escape from the Bloodkeep," "ForeverVerse," "L.A. by Night," "Misfits and Magic," and more.
Aabria Iyengar plays Deanna Leimert
In "Critical Role" Campaign 3, things get a little crazy after the Apogee Solstice. The Bell Hells' don't just get transported miles away from the Ruby Vanguard's excavation site, but the adventuring party also ends up split into two groups. In the immediate aftermath of their forced relocation, four of the party's members, Chetney (Travis Willingham), Fearne, Imogen (Laura Bailey), and Fresh Cut Grass (Sam Riegel), find themselves face to face with two new characters, F.R.I.D.A. and Deanna Leimert. The latter character is revealed to not only be a once-dead gnome cleric but also one of Chetney's ex-girlfriends.
Deanna is, notably, played by none other than Aabria Iyengar, who is likely best known among "Critical Role" viewers for her work as the host and Dungeon Master of the eight-episode mini-campaign, "Exandria Unlimited Prime," as well as its two-part sequel, "Exandria Unlimited: Kymal." Elsewhere, Iyengar has also appeared as Tavima in the "Critical Role" one-shot, "The Elder Scrolls Online: Blackwood," and as Laerryn Coramar-Seelie in "Exandria Unlimited: Calamity." She has, in other words, slowly but surely become one of the "Critical Role" community's most recognizable faces.
Outside of "Critical Role," she's both played in and run multiple "Dimension 20" campaigns, including "Pirates of Leviathan," "Misfits and Magic," "The Seven," "A Court of Fey and Flowers," and "The Ravening War." She's starred in numerous other actual play shows as well — namely, "Kollok: 1991," "Into the Mother Lands," and "NY by Night."
Christian Navarro plays F.R.I.D.A.
When she makes her "Critical Role" Campaign 3 debut, Aabria Iyengar's Deanna isn't introduced alone. On the contrary, she comes with a companion of her own, an automaton named F.R.I.D.A., who not only boasts an impressive arsenal of weapons but also an impeccable sense of style. As played by actor Christian Navarro, F.R.I.D.A.'s natural curiosity and empathetic nature make it easy for them to befriend the four members of Bells Hells with whom they and Deanna unexpectedly cross paths. Confident and strongly opinionated, F.R.I.D.A. even goes on to strike up an unexpected romance with the group's sole automaton member, Fresh Cut Grass.
All of this is to say that F.R.I.D.A. manages to make a lasting impression in a relatively short amount of time, which is undeniably impressive considering that they're the first recurring character Navarro has played on "Critical Role." Indeed, prior to his debut as F.R.I.D.A., the actor had only previously appeared as Wrigley Rincon in the 2022 one-shot, "Generation Nord." Despite his relatively limited "Critical Role" experience, though, Navarro has already emerged as one of the show's most memorable guest players.
"Critical Role" isn't, by any means, the only noteworthy project that Navarro has worked on, either. He also appeared across all four seasons of Netflix's "13 Reasons Why" as Tony Padilla, a friend of Dylan Minnette's Clay Jensen, and has had roles in films like the Oscar-nominated 2018 dramedy, "Can You Ever Forgive Me?," and the Dave Bautista-led thriller, "Bushwick."
Deni$e Bembachula is played by Aimee Carrero
Aimee Carrero may be best known not for her work on "Critical Role," but for her on-camera performances. Over the past few years, she's given memorable supporting turns in a number of noteworthy projects, including Amazon's "The Consultant," Apple TV+'s "Spirited," and Netflix's "Maid." Carrero was also at the center of several important scenes when she appeared as Felicity, a movie star's unhappy assistant, in 2022's "The Menu." On top of all of those live-action turns, she also voiced the titular character on Netflix's "She-Ra and the Princesses of Power."
"Critical Role" fans will, of course, be familiar with Carrero because of her Campaign 3 performance as Deni$e Bembachula, a dwarf with a bone to pick with her ex-boyfriend. Introduced in the same chapter of the campaign as Aabria Iyengar's Deanna and Christian Navarro's F.R.I.D.A., Deni$e not only bonds quickly with certain members of the Bells Hells — namely, Orym (Liam O'Brien), Ashton (Taliesin Jaffe), and Laudna (Marisha Rya) — but is revealed to be the vengeful ex-girlfriend of Dariax Zaveon, the laidback dwarven sorcerer played by "Critical Role" Dungeon Master Matthew Mercer in "Exandria Unlimited Prime" and "Exandria Unlimited: Kymal." Before her Campaign 3 turn as Deni$e, Carrero also starred opposite Mercer in both of those mini-campaigns as Opal, a warlock with a strong personality.
Like Navarro, Carrero participated in the "Generation Nord" one-shot for "Critical Role" in 2022 as well. She played a hacker named Lilith Ferrera in the one-off session, which was released between her "Exandria Unlimited" and "Critical Role" Campaign 3 appearances.
Bor'Dor Dog'Son is played by Utkarsh Ambudkar
Utkarsh Ambudkar hadn't appeared in a "Critical Role" episode prior to his Campaign 3 debut as Bor'Dor Dog'Son. Viewers' lack of history with him, notably, only made the veil of mystery surrounding his character, a seemingly innocent sheepherder-turned-sorcerer, that much more difficult to peer through. Fortunately, Bor'Dor is not only a far more complicated figure than he initially seems, but his arc has also single-handedly cemented Ambudkar's place as one of the boldest and most memorable "Critical Role" guest players to date.
While Campaign 3 is Ambudkar's first and only "Critical Role" collaboration to date, too, it's worth noting that he did work with the show's central Dungeon Master, Matthew Mercer, years ago. The two famously collaborated back in 2016 and 2017 on another actual play series, titled "Force Grey," which counted stars like Joe Manganiello, Brian Posehn, Dylan Sprouse, and Deborah Ann Woll among its other cast members.
Outside of the actual play space, meanwhile, Ambudkar's film and TV credits include everything from "Pitch Perfect" and "Blindspotting" to "Free Guy," "tick, tick... BOOM!," "The Dropout," and Disney's live-action remake of "Mulan." Most recently, he's had recurring roles on "Ghosts" and "Never Have I Ever." He also starred earlier this year as one of the leads of the Disney+ original movie, "World's Best."
Now, based on the mark his performance as Bor'Dor Dog'Son has clearly left on both the show's viewers and his co-stars, it seems fair to say that "Critical Role" fans are hotly anticipating the moment they get to see Ambudkar act opposite their favorite group of nerdy voice actors again.
Emily Axford plays Prism Grimpoppy
Introduced in the same episode as Utkarsh Ambudkar's Bor'Dor and Aimee Carrero's Deni$e, Emily Axford made her "Critical Role" debut when she appeared for the first time as Prism Grimpoppy. One of the quirkiest Campaign 3 characters to date, Prism is a Cobalt Soul apprentice who quickly proves herself during her adventures with half the members of the Bells Hells as a formidable combatant and arcane spellcaster. Even more importantly, she emerges as a genuine friend and ally to the Bells Hells.
Shortly after she made her "Critical Role" debut, Axford also appeared in "The Legend of Zelda One-Shot: Lookout, Here We Come!" alongside Robbie Daymond, Omar Najam, Liam O'Brien, Marisha Ray, and Matthew Mercer. That one-shot remains the only other "Critical Role" project Axford has been a part of up to this point. However, that doesn't mean she isn't a recognizable performer in the online actual play space. On the contrary, Axford has been one of the primary cast members of "Dimension 20" for years and has appeared in several of the show's mini-campaigns.
She also co-created and starred in the Pop TV comedy series, "Hot Date," and has been a player, composer, and occasional GM on the "Not Another D&D Podcast" since it began in 2018. Prior to her Campaign 3 stint, Axford had long been a recurring name on "Critical Role" fans' guest player wish lists. Now that she's actually starred in not just one but two of the brand's titles, though, those same viewers seem even more anxious to see Axford cause chaos within the world of "Critical Role" again.
When and if they'll get to see that happen remains a mystery, as does the identity of Campaign 3's next guest player.