The second campaign of the Dungeons & Dragons web series Critical Role premiered on January 11, 2018—four months after the conclusion of the first campaign—and concluded on June 3, 2021.^[1][2][3] The series starred Travis Willingham, Marisha Ray, Taliesin Jaffe, Ashley Johnson, Sam Riegel, Liam O'Brien, and Laura Bailey as the players with Matthew Mercer as the Dungeon Master.

The campaign is an actual play which follows the Mighty Nein, a party of seven adventurers, in their travels across the continent of Wildemount. It occurs at a time of very high tensions between the Dwendalian Empire and the Kryn Dynasty—two of Wildemount's major powers, which are divided by the Ashkeeper Peaks mountain range. Over the course of the campaign, the Mighty Nein work towards rooting out political corruption, especially within the Cerberus Assembly, and establishing peace between the Kryn Dynasty and the Dwendalian Empire after war breaks out. They also thwart apocalyptic threats such as Tharizdûn's attempt to escape his imprisonment and the Somnovem's attempt to return to the Prime Material Plane.

Campaign two aired each Thursday at 7 p.m. PT on Twitch, YouTube, and Alpha. When production switched from Geek & Sundry to Critical Role Productions in February 2019, distribution on Alpha and the other Geek & Sundry channels ended; the campaign then aired on Critical Role Productions' official channels.^[4][5][6] It consisted of 141 episodes with a total run time of over 550 hours.^[2] The show has returned twice with specials set after the conclusion of the campaign – a two-part special titled The Mighty Nein Reunited in 2022^[7] and a live show titled The Mighty Nein Reunion: Echoes of the Solstice filmed in Wembley Arena in 2023.^[8] Critical Role won multiple awards during the campaign, such as the 2019 Webby Winner and People's Voice Winner in the "Video Series & Channels – Games" category from the Webby Awards,^[9] and the 2019 Audience Honor in the "Games" category from the Shorty Awards.^[10] An upcoming animated television adaptation for Amazon Prime Video, titled Mighty Nein, was announced in January 2023.^[11]

Campaign two featured all eight primary cast members from the end of Campaign one, in addition to occasional guests. Ashley Johnson was absent for several lengthy periods over the first 86 episodes due to her filming schedule for the NBC drama Blindspot, which ran from 2015 to 2020.^[12]

Two of the player-characters for this campaign are based on characters their actors had previously created. Jester is based on a character Bailey had portrayed in two one-shot adventures, one with GameSpot and one with Kinda Funny. Mollymauk was originally designed by Jaffe as a possible replacement for Percy, his character in Campaign one, in the event of Percy's death.^[13][14]

The show's format was initially largely unchanged from the later episodes of the first campaign with videos of the cast and battle maps presented in three-to-five-hour episodes. During the second campaign's run, technical changes to subtitles and character information were introduced. A D&D Beyond-branded Twitch overlay was available to viewers using web browsers to watch live after February 28, 2019. The overlay displayed character-status information and allowed viewers to access digital character sheets. This was not available on the YouTube platform or for Twitch video on demand (VOD) viewers.^[27] Episodes 1 through 53 were captioned by the same fan group that transcribed Campaign one. From Episode 54 onward, episodes were transcribed live on Twitch by a professional transcription service. The YouTube VOD relied on YouTube's auto-generated captions until the broadcast transcription was reviewed and added "within a week or so of upload".^[28]

The show was primarily filmed in a simultaneous multi-camera setup with two cameras at the players and a third at Mercer, the Dungeon Master. A fourth camera was used during battle scenes "to show a close-up of the miniatures and models used for in-game combat".^[30]: 61 The audience sees the camera feeds "arranged in a single window".^[30]: 61 The cast is seated together at a custom game table which was introduced to the set during the first campaign.^[31][32] It was designed by Wyrmwood to allow the cast to "see each other and interact with each other" while they are filmed from multiple sides.^[32] Mercer is positioned behind a gamemaster's screen in the inset portion with space for his notes; in the center of the table, there is an area for the miniatures and maps used in combat.^[32][33]

The show aired each Thursday at 7 p.m. PT.^[4][6] Like the previous campaign, episodes 1 through 51 were aired live on Twitch and YouTube channels run by Geek & Sundry, and on the Legendary Digital Networks' Alpha service.^[5][50] Critical Role Productions separated from Geek & Sundry and Legendary Digital Networks in February 2019. After the split, the Critical Role series ceased to be distributed on Alpha, and live broadcasts and VODs were exclusively distributed on Critical Role's YouTube and Twitch channels. Alpha was shut down several weeks after the split.^[51][52]

In May 2021, the cast announced Campaign two would shortly end but "the Mighty Nein's story wasn't finished".^[53] ComicBook.com reported that the second campaign had aired for over 550 hours.^[2] Collider stated that the campaign included 100 hours dedicated to battles with "440 slain villains".^[54] The finale aired on June 3, 2021; at seven hours it was also the longest episode of the campaign.^[54][2][3]

The campaign is set in Exandria, a fictional world Matthew Mercer created for the game.^[55] The second campaign is set about 20 years after Vox Machina's final battle against Vecna in Critical Role's first campaign,^[56][57] and except for a few secondary characters has a new cast of adventurers. Most of the story takes place on the continent of Wildemount, which is located to the east of Tal'Dorei, the setting of the first campaign. It takes place at a time of very high tensions between the Dwendalian Empire and the Kryn Dynasty—two of Wildemount's major powers, which are divided by the Ashkeeper Peaks mountain range—and war is imminent.^[58][59]

Western Wildemount is governed by the Dwendalian Empire and is ruled by King Bertrand Dwendal. A council of powerful archmages called the Cerberus Assembly act as advisors to the House of Dwendal. The Empire regards the region of Xhorhas, which occupies the eastern side of the continent, as an inhospitable wasteland. Xhorhas is governed by the Kryn Dynasty, is ruled by the Bright Queen Leylas Kryn, and is primarily home to the drow and other races considered to be monstrous.^[58][59][60] The Menagerie Coast occupies the southwestern coastline and is governed by the Clovis Concord, a coalition of eight city-states that includes Nicodranas and Port Damali. The tundra in the northernmost region of Wildemount is known as the Greying Wildlands; the harsh environment leaves it sparsely populated compared with other regions. Some parts of the story take place on the Lucidian Ocean, off the shore of the Menagerie Coast, and on Eiselcross, a frozen continent north of Wildemount.^[59][60]

Multiple critics recommended the second campaign as the Critical Role series to start with. Dais Johnston, writing for Inverse, commented that the second campaign is the "perfect starting place" as it features "all-new characters and storylines".^[71] USA Today highlighted that by having few references to the events of the first campaign, the second campaign is "a great starting point for new viewers who are mostly unfamiliar with the show's timeline".^[72] According to Alexandria Turney of Screen Rant, Campaign one's lower initial quality "can be off-putting",^[73] while Campaign two is "highly recommended" for newcomers, "as it makes it easier to fall in love with the cast, which then makes it easier to go back and watch" Campaign one.^[74] Emily Duncan of Tor.com wrote; "the second campaign somehow has a radically different flavor to the first, while still being just as charming and chaotic".^[75] On the differences between campaigns, Duncan highlighted that the second campaign has player character death, an ocean based arc and more political tension with two countries close to war with one another leading to difficult "political maneuvers" by the party "to keep the worst from happening".^[75] Duncan also commended the setting design for ignoring "the problematic Dungeons and Dragons concept of 'evil races'" with cities inhabited by traditionally monstrous races such as goblins, kobolds, bugbears and drow.^[75]

Critical Role has been credited by VentureBeat as responsible for making actual play shows "their own genre of entertainment", and has since become one of the most prominent actual play series.^[76] In December 2018, Chey Scott, for Inlander, wrote; "one of the most popular live-play Dungeons & Dragons web series is Critical Role ... the first episode of the series' current season, which debuted in January 2018, has more than 3.1 million views".^[77] In February 2019, Jeremy Thomas of 411Mania highlighted that Critical Role "regularly garners viewership in the tens of thousands each Thursday night. It and its Tuesday discussion show Talks Machina are Geek & Sundry's most popular shows by far, both on Twitch and Legendary's Project Alpha".^[5] Andy Wilson, for Bleeding Cool, called Critical Role "the best show I've watched all year" in 2020, and "one of the most-watched" shows on Twitch; he also noted that it had a COVID-19 safe-filming protocol which allowed the show to continue production.^[78] Wilson wrote on the importance of giving fans "something to look forward to every week" during the "monotony and despair" of quarantine.^[78]

However, critics emphasized the length of Critical Role as a potential entry barrier to viewers. Both Turney and Johnston called starting the series "daunting" due to the episode lengths.^[73][71] Brie Mihele of TheGamer wrote the show's length "can be a huge barrier to starting" the show as Critical Role has produced new content every week "for the past two years" and that watching that enormity can seem "like an uphill battle".^[79] She noted three ways to catch up: Critical Role's official Critical Recap videos, the fan-run website "CritRoleStats", and traditional binge-watching.^[79] Turney also wrote that viewers should enjoy the show at "their own pace" and "not stress about completing all episodes" within a set period of time;^[73] additionally, there are many "Critical Role summaries and recaps" online for those "who want to quickly catch up to a certain arc".^[74]

Critics also commented on the campaign's various plot twists and revelations, with a particular emphasis on Mollymauk's death and the return of his body in the form of the antagonist Lucien. Tyler Wilde, writing for PC Gamer in 2018, said Molly's death impacted both the cast and the community with the Twitch audience left "inconsolable".^[81] Wilde commented that it showcases the difference between live and scripted shows – "it was heartbreaking, but chance is partly what makes Critical Role and other tabletop gaming shows alluring".^[81] Wilde also highlighted that the player character death changed how "play is interpreted" as with the addition of proven mortality, recklessness feels like a bolder choice by the players.^[81] Margarida Bastos included Molly's funeral on Collider's "9 Most Memorable Moments From Critical Role's The Mighty Nein" list stating that "it's impossible not to be moved by the actors' heartfelt performances. Moreover, the fact that Molly's funeral acquires a whole new connotation almost a hundred episodes later, establishes the full relevance of this moment in the grander scheme of the story".^[82]

Christian Hoffer of ComicBook has highlighted multiple revelations in Campaign two,^[83] including Molly's body appearing to be alive in Episode 111.^[84] According to Hoffer, "one of the biggest twists of the series" is Molly's resurrection – "we could be heading towards another an epic storyline centered around the only Critical Role PC who died in the middle of a campaign and wasn't brought back to finish his story.^[84] Madison Durham, writing for Polygon in 2022, stated that "unlike the somewhat cut-and-dried villainy of earlier Critical Role villains like Vecna, Lucien posed a particular problem for the party during his tenure" especially as the player characters "were forced to weigh the atrocity of Lucien's actions against the preciousness of his body".^[85] Several critics also highlighted how the Mighty Nein changed over the course of the campaign. Duncan found the party healing from trauma over the course of the campaign "wonderfully rewarding".^[75] Wilson stated that from the perspective of a fan:

We cheered for characters in their growth and development. We got gigantic payoffs for story seeds planted literally years earlier, mysteries uncovered, and romances finally consummated. There is more heart, more pain and glory, more comedy, more tension on Critical Role every week than any other show on television. And they do it all with the most basic of methods.^[78]

Robyn Hope, in an essay in the book Watch Us Roll (2021), felt the show's set design was "not distracting" but instead "evocative of the fantasy genre" with a façade of wood and stone along with "lighting on the back walls" that is changed "to match the mood of the scene".^[30]: 61 Hope commented that show is highly narrative focused, however, during combat "the players and viewers alike must understand the exact positions of their characters and the enemies, and so, [...] the Battle Cam shows us the miniatures Matt uses to model the battle for his players. Battle is when the mechanical frame tends to dominate" which is why an additional camera is used to clearly communicate the "battle flow". Hope also highlighted that the "expensive miniatures and maps" seen during combat scenes adds "gloss" to the "narrative immersion".^[30]: 61 Academic Jan Švelch wrote that the impact of official sponsorship by D&D Beyond "was immediately seen in the physical space of the gaming table. All main cast members now had tablet computers in front of them, allowing them to access their digital character sheets. Instead of shuffling through papers, players hunched over tablets trying to read an ability modifier or a spell description from a small screen".^[38]: 1672 While the cast switched to tablets for this campaign, some "analog components" – from player diaries to dice and dice trays – "remained on the table". Švelch noted that the cast used dice trays provided by another sponsor, Wyrmwood.^[38]: 1672 He highlighted that the mediatization of Critical Role is seen through its various sponsorships, however, the show still "promotes and celebrates analog play despite its mediated form".^[38]: 1674

Multiple spin-offs and adaptations of the campaign have been released. The campaign sourcebook, titled Explorer's Guide to Wildemount, is a guide to the fictional setting of Campaign two; it includes series canon up to Campaign two episode 50.^[87][88] It is published by Wizards of the Coast and Critical Role.^[88] Two series of comic books expand on the campaign's setting; Critical Role: The Mighty Nein Origins focuses on the backstories of the main characters^[89] and Critical Role: The Tales of Exandria covers the side-stories of non-player characters such as Leylas Kryn, and the Bright Queen of the Kryn Dynasty and her eternal lover Quana.^[90][91] The novel Critical Role: The Mighty Nein – The Nine Eyes of Lucien (2022) focuses on Lucien, the tiefling antagonist of Campaign two, and his life before and after he meets the Mighty Nein.^[85][92] Other products based on the campaign include the art book Critical Role: The Chronicles of Exandria The Mighty Nein,^[93] and the board game Uk'otoa.^[94]

In January 2023, it was announced that the campaign will receive an animated television adaptation for Amazon Prime Video titled Mighty Nein. The series will be executive produced by Tasha Huo, Sam Riegel, Travis Willingham, Chris Prynoski, Shannon Prynoski, Antonio Canobbio, and Ben Kalina; Metapigeon,^{[lower-alpha 4]} Titmouse, Inc., and Amazon Studios will serve as the production companies.^[11][95]