If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy.

After Critical Role's Tusk Love and Armory of Heroes, more in-universe Exandrian books are on their way

Expect more texts published as though they were written by citizens of Exandria themselves, says Licensing Brand Associate Niki Chi

Critical Role Tusk Love — Image credit: Critical Role

Features by Grant DeArmitt, Staff Writer

Published on Fri Aug 29 2025

Popverse's top stories

What Critical Role's Liam O'Brien imagined for the Vox Machina 'Deathwalker's Ward' armor is not what the costume ended up looking like
Simon Kinberg on writing X-Men movies, producing Glenn Powell's The Running Man remake, and co-creating Star Wars Rebels [Popversations]
DC Comics, Matt Dinnamin, Kickstarter, Jim Butcher, Warner Bros. Animation & more are part of NYCC 2025 Professional Programming line-up

After beginning as a humble game of D&D between a couple of nerdy voice actors, Critical Role has turned into a full-fledged media empire. The TTRPG liveplay series has taken on the form of comics, a Prime Video animated series, and prose novels, and recently, we've seen those quirky kinds of adaptations loop back in on themselves. Twice this year, Critical Role has published works that aren't just adaptations, but metatexts that were created as though they were written in the universe of Critical Role itself (or Exandria, for all you Critters out there).

One of those texts is Critical Role: The Armory of Heroes, a detailed art book written by Martin Cahill featuring gorgeous imagery of the tools and outfits from the world's characters by artist Ana Fedina (AKA Anafi). During the book's promotion, Popverse got to chat with Critical Lore's Licensing Brand Associate, Niki Chi, who reminded us that AoH wasn't the only recent art compendium written from an in-universe Exandrian perspective.

"Our Chronicles of Exandria: The Mighty Nein Part Two artbook," Chi said, "Also features a unique in-universe perspective, written by our very own Dani Carr!"

Carr, for those not in the know, is Critical Role's own lorekeeper, the person who keeps track of the many historical events and mythology that come together to make up Exandria. In 2024, she was also the author of the aforementioned artbook, which makes use of her wide-ranging knowledge to dive into details that fans might not have caught in Critical Role's Campaign 2.

But that's not the end of the list - 2025 also saw the release of romantasy Tusk Love, a novel which began as a story-within-a-story in the mind of GM Matthew Mercer, but is now a book by Thea Guanzon that you can actually buy. So will there be more books in the same vein of these two, wherein the reader will feel they exist right alongside their favorite Critical Role characters? Chi says, Yes.'

"We're always brainstorming on new stories that we can expand on within the world of Exandria," Chic concluded, "And sometimes it can be difficult to choose which characters we want to explore further. Collaborative projects are a great avenue for opening up new storylines, and we already have some projects in motion as we speak."

Critical Role: The Armory of Heroes is available now.

From the lands of Exandria to your very own smartscreens, Popverse has everything you need to know about the TTRPG phenomenon that is Critical Role. Here you'll find:

...and more. Roll initiative, player. Adventure awaits.

Follow Popverse for upcoming event coverage and news

Grant DeArmitt: Grant DeArmitt (he/him) likes horror, comics, and the unholy union of the two. In the past, and despite their better judgment, he has written for Nightmare on Film Street and Newsarama. He lives in Brooklyn with his partner, Kingsley, and corgi, Legs.