#20 years in xp

[ironinkpen]

the rat grinders getting whomped because they don't know how actual combat works is exactly what I've been waiting for all season. fabian taking down ivy in one turn bc they have no hp, them grouping up bc they don't know they're not supposed to and getting immediately shit on by adaine, riz's attack of opportunity doing more damage to kipperlilly than her actual attack did to him, gorgug taking down oisin by the end of round 1 bc they didn't protect their wizard, kristen and k2 both bringing all their friends up while keeping themselves strategically hidden bc they know better, riz diving into the lava like it's nothing bc he's a badass, adaine slapping jace's counterspell out of the air, fig tanking that hit from porter and casting that clutch fireball. just. beautiful. iconic. poetic. exactly what the rat grinders deserve after xp grinding for three years instead of actually adventuring. you fucking suck at this game kipperlilly!! you might be high level but you're shit at pvp!!!!!

#get fucked baby #stomping on rats and handpicking easy quests and letting teachers give you xp doesn't teach you how to catch these fucking hands #dimension 20 #d20 #fhjy #fantasy high #fantasy high junior year #fabian seacaster #adaine abernant #riz gukgak #gorgug thistlespring #kristen applebees #fig faeth #kipperlilly copperkettle #the rat grinders #the bad kids

[writer-and-thrasher]

I get why the real-life players are mad about the Rat Grinders doing power leveling -- like, that's fucking annoying. I get it.

But I love Riz's anger about it. I need more of that, to be honest. What do you mean, he's had to save the world 3 times and he's maybe 17? What do you mean, his friends have died in front of him over and over? What do you mean, after all of that, it's still not enough to keep his mom from worrying about his future? What do you fucking mean???

Gorthalax said that the fucking Rat Grinders have killed like 80,000 rats. At 10XP a pop, that's 800,000 XP just for the rats. Which puts them at, like, level 12 or 13 or something when you divide it up.

They didn't have to die or watch their friends die. They weren't kidnapped by a mirror person or confronted with watching their parents be interrogated in hell. They got to go into the forest after school for hours and kill tiny forest creatures over and over.

It didn't have to be this way. None of this had to happen. They got a fuck ton of trauma (that they're only vaguely dealing with, really, if that) and pain and time spent away from their loved ones and birthdays missed and none of it had to happen.

So yeah, fuck the Rat Grinders. But, more than that, fuck the whole fucking thing.

#dimension 20 #fantasy high junior year #d20 fantasy high #fantasy high #riz gukgak #fhjy #d20 #the rat grinders #milestone vs xp leveling #d&d #this is not a criticism of brennan #and i also get that the rat grinders are kids who don't deserve trauma #but i hate how superior they act about it #the bad kids #they didn't deserve all that either

[xprojectrpg]

The last three interviews are up - Aisy, Marlena and Conner! Go to the link and read the full set to appreciate what XP has meant to folks over the 20 years it’s been running.

#20 years in xp #20 years anniversary #feedback #player interviews

[wolfziedraws]

I wanda see you dead (sketch dump)

#the ratgrinders can xp farm forever and never acheive the one thing that makes the bad kids so strong #their sheer fucking collective insanity 💅 #d20 #dimension 20 fhjy #fantasy high junior year #the bad kids #riz gukgak #adaine abernant #fig faeth #gorgug thistlespring #fabian aramais seacaster #porter cliffbreaker #rat grinders #fhjy spoilers #fanart #comic

[thisisnotthenerd]

The Last Stand Exam

This file documents the questions administered to the adventuring party known as the Bad Kids during their Last Standard Exam, in their junior year at the Aguefort Adventuring Academy. This assessment was produced from a variety of class materials relevant to the curriculum of the Aguefort Adventuring Academy, as submitted to the principal Arthur Aguefort prior to the start of the school year. This list is accompanied by documentation of the creatures the party known as the Bad Kids was required to face as part of the exam.

The exam is graded out of 100 points; the scoring involves the students correctly answering the questions in the appropriate time interval as well as their heroic last stands. The students are expected to simultaneously fight off a horde of creatures and participate in the examination equally; each student in this party must answer two of the twelve questions.

Neither exam aids, nor outside interference are permitted during the examination period--this excludes clerical divine intervention, as appropriately performed by a member of the party in question. By standard, the proctor must be protected--death of the proctor results in a 30 point score reduction regardless of circumstance.

By Solisian School District Standards, this party reports excellent grades and a high level of competency with regard to independent adventuring.* They were allotted a grace period prior to exam initiation for preparatory spellcasting and review of the exam parameters. Based on prior academic achievement**, the students were allowed two chances to defer a question or utilize previous materials in their response. Questions where these materials were used will be marked with a **.

Exam Proctor: Gavin Pundle

Assisting Cleric: Buddy Dawn

Party Members:

Adaine Abernant | Wizard

Kristen Applebees | Cleric

Figueroth Faeth | Bard / Paladin / Warlock / "Barbarian"

Riz Gukgak | Rogue

Fabian Aramais Seacaster | Fighter / Bard

Gorgug Thistlespring | Barbarian / Artificer

---------------- AAA ----------------

Exam Questions

These will be listed with the appropriate subject as well as the allotted time, and prospective solutions. This is ordered with respect to how the students answered the questions, with the primary respondent indicated.

Investigation: (2 min)

Question: BONY GIRTH

Solution: NIGHT YORB

Primary Respondent: Riz Gukgak

Athletics: (1 min)

Question: What rival Bloodrush team do our beloved Owlbears most often compete against?

A) Buccaneers

B) Hellions

C) Grapplers

D) Scoundrels

Solution: B) Hudol Hellions

Primary Respondent: Fabian Aramais Seacaster

Religion: (1 min)

Question: Which rad Dwarven deity holds dominion over the art of Shredding?

A) Orrie

B) Ollie

C) Ormry

D) Oggie

Solution: B) Ollie

Primary Respondent: Kristen Applebees

Performance: (3 min)

Question: Please compose a limerick, sonnet, or haiku expressing your feelings and emotions relating to the exam you are currently taking.

Solution:

There was an exam that was hard

But luckily, I am a bard

The demons are slayed

'Cause of how we played

They're hoisted by their own petard

Primary Respondent: Figueroth Faeth

Elven: (1 min)

Question: Please translate the following phrase into Common:

"Pedo Mellon a Minno"

Extra Credit: The word "Mellon" is the root word for which extremely weak form of magic?

Solution: "Speak friends and enter"

Extra Credit Solution: Friendship

Primary Respondent: Adaine Abernant

History: (2 min)

Question: 225 immaculate conceptions occurred on the same day in Solace in reaction to the first public performance of which instrument?

A) The octocord

B) The electric lute

C) The astral piano

D) The hurdy-gurdy

Extra Credit: Nine months later, the newborns were discovered to have been wearing vests in utero. What material were the vests made out of?

Solution: B) The electric lute

Extra Credit Solution: Denim

Primary Respondent: Riz Gukgak

Common: (5 min)

Question: Please write a 300 word essay arguing for a proposed improvement at the aguefort Adventuring Academy in the space provided below.

Solution: We believe a greater amount of our grade should come from the actual good we do in the world. Given the number of times our adventuring party have been put in a situation where the actual fate of our very existence has hung in the balance, it seems only fitting that the result of our efforts impact our academic study. Considering the ultimate goal is to become adventurers, it makes the most sense that actual application of our skills would be most important. If actual adventuring doesn't show our skills, what will? No matter how many class I take, it won't make me a better bard or fighter. I, Fabian Seacaster, son of the great Bill Seacaster, privateer, not pirate... (108)**

Primary Respondent: Fabian Aramais Seacaster

Driver's Ed: (1 min)

Question: What is the proper way to reverse a vehicle's orientation 180 degrees while driving at top speed?

A) Signal the turn correctly

B) Slowly decrease acceleration

C) Engage the emergency brake

D) Rebuild the car facing the other way while driving

Solution: C) Engage the emergency brake

Primary Respondent: Figueroth Faeth

Medicine: (1 min)

Question: What is the most certain way for a wounded adventurer to make a full recovery from even the most grievous injuries?

A) Be healed by a powerful cleric

B) Drink an artifact-level healing potion

C) Receive a greater restoration from a celestial

D) Lie down for eight hours

Solution: D) Lie down for eight hours

Primary Respondent: Kristen Applebees

Arcana: (1 min)

Question: What is the most powerful form of magic?

Extra Credit: What is the easiest object in which to magically trap an opponent?

Solution: Chronomancy

Extra Credit Solution: A Gem

Primary Respondent: Adaine Abernant

Mathematics: (2 min)

Question: Two trains are driving toward one another on the same track. The first train leaves Elmville at 5:05 AM traveling at 60 miles per hour. The second train leaves Bastion City, 135 miles away, at 5:30 AM traveling at 70 miles per hour. What is the exact time that the collision will occur?

Solution: 6:20:46 AM**

Primary Respondent: Gorgug Thistlespring

Biology: (45 sec)

Question: Of the following creatures, which cannot turn its prey into stone?

A) Basilisk

B) Cockatrice

C) Gorgon

D) Manticore

Solution: D) Manticore

Primary Respondent: Gorgug Thistlespring

Written Portion of Exam: Passed (100% + 2 points extra credit)

---------------- AAA ----------------

Last Stand Monsters

This table documents the monsters faced by the party within the duration of the Last Standard Examination. Note the indicated modifiers for the quantity of enemy combatants and the exam questions.

Format: Monster - Killing Blow

Otyugh - Fireball from Figueroth Faeth

Ochre Jellies - Fireball from Figueroth Faeth, Word of Radiance from Kristen Applebees

Gorgon - Sneak attack with arquebus from Riz Gukgak

Hydra - Attack with Fandrangor from Fabian Aramais Seacaster + Fire Breath from Hangman

Skeletons - Turn Undead from Kristen Applebees

Mimic - Green Flame Blade from Figueroth Faeth

Manticore - Banishment from Kristen Applebees

Shrimp Dragon - Hellish Rebuke from Figueroth Faeth

Roper - Sneak attack with arquebus from Riz Gukgak

Stirges - Spirit Guardians from Figueroth Faeth

Umber Hulk - Sneak attack with arquebus from Riz Gukgak

Wyvern - Spirit Guardians & Booming Blade from Figueroth Faeth

Crab Man - Attack with Fandrangor from Fabian Aramais Seacaster + Bite Attack from Hangman

Rust Monsters - Spirit Guardians from Figueroth Faeth, Erupting Earth from Adaine Abernant, Fire Breath from Hangman

Pentacorn - Green Flame Blade + Divine Smite from Figueroth Faeth

Purple Worm - Soloed by Gorgug Thistlespring

---------------- AAA ----------------

Proctor Notes:

Party bard Figueroth Faeth used Disguise Self to assume form of proctor

Proctor attacked by Gorgon, not killed

Significant critical hits throughout combat from Gorgug Thistlespring.

Attendant Cleric Buddy Dawn was killed during the exam by unknown assailants; clarification on this event obtained post-exam and reported to the superintendent.

This party is on record as the first party to complete the Last Standard exam without perishing, thereby understanding Arthur Aguefort's intent for the assessment.

---------------- AAA ----------------

*Reference files for evaluating adventuring party competency: AAA-BKQ-01-KVX, AAA-BKQ-02-CNK, AAA-BKQ-03-CNY

**This was awarded to Gorgug Thistlespring, for exemplary work as a triple-year artificer student, in addition to the junior year barbarian curriculum

#dimension 20 #dimension 20 spoilers #fantasy high #fantasy high junior year #fhjy #fhjy spoilers #dimension 20 meta #thisisnotthenerd's d20 stats #musings on the solisian school district #the perils of xp leveling #the last stand #the bad kids

[thecompasspoints]

i fear brennan accidentally made the rat grinders too tragic and compelling for me to be cool with the penelope everpetal amount of murdered they’re getting. like fantasy high has always been a show about teens murdering other teens, but i’ve become endeared to these twisted, rage-filled, narrative foils. huge bummer for weird girl enjoyers everywhere.

#dimension 20 #fantasy high #fantasy high junior year #the rat grinders #oisin hakinvar #kipperlilly copperkettle #ruben hopclap #ivy embra #mary ann skuttle #buddy dawn #the bad kids #like damn i got a little too invested in a joke about xp leveling and now i’m mourning a dragon nepo baby #sigh #i hope desperately for a seven maidens style revival and redemption arc #i must learn more

[buwheal]

If it has a pen and a canvas spamton will be drawn‼️

Never finished the neo XP piece </3

Plus also my DS case !!!

Get turned into a sticker idiot (he looks weird though its been a month or two)

#YEGAGHHHWOOOOYEAHWOOOO I LOVE LIMITED ART FORMS #never finished the neo cause he was on a windows XP computer tower that isnt mine #i have the file though but i like doing it better with a mouse in a 20 year old operating system #AND MY DS!!!!!!! #YEAHHHHHH!!!! #love my ds #spamton #spamton g spamton #deltarune #deltarune spamton #deltarune chapter 2 #spamton fanart #buwheart #spamton neo #i had no idea i had something on my ds to draw #i was trying to find an art game for my r4 card but none of them worked :bwomp: #DS game notes save me

[anarchypumpkincowboy]

If I had a nickel for every time the Rat Grinders killed their cleric I’d have two nickels

which isn’t a lot but it’s weird that it happened twice right?? RIGHT???

#this is what you can expect from xp grinders #killing one of the most important people in your party (cleric) in such a brutal and cold way #the rat grinders #dimension 20 #fhjy #fhjy spoilers #buddy dawn #kipperlilly copperkettle #oisin hakinvar #fantasy high junior year #if i had a nickel

[okthatsgreat]

ok a bitttt of a theory about the rat grinders now that we know they use xp levelling. we know that kipperlilly copperketal is running on a platform of "fairness", stating that some students have been favoured over others. we know the bad kids have saved the world on multiple occasions, and likely levelled up because of all of the hard work they have put in to achieve that. is being at level 10 uncommon for juniors??

idk i might be spitballing here, and we got confirmation from brennan that "levels" don't necessarily exist in universe. but it is clear the bad kids have been getting much stronger because of the adventures they had been on, that (to kipperlilly's knowledge) no other student has really been afforded. maybe the reason the rat grinders feel so inclined to go xp grinding all of the time is so they have a much easier means of meeting the bad kids at their "level". in the rat grinders eyes, the bad kids have been given multiple massive, world-saving quests that allow them to gain experience and power, often WITH the assistance of their principal. regardless of whether or not aguefort actually favors anybody, through the eyes of an over-achieving, straight a student (who is supposed to mirror riz), it is a bit reasonable that kipperlilly would assume he is selecting favourites to take these quests. she doesn't know (or care probably) that the bad kids are exhausted, or that they didn't ask to throw away their summers and school years for these difficult quests. all kipperlilly knows is that they are getting stronger, they are REPEATEDLY getting selected to get even MORE powerful by principal aguefort, and there is no way for her to match their level unless she finds another, cheaper option in xp grinding.

#also the ratgrinders might be using that time quangle to have enough time for all the xp grinding but thats another post #fantasy high #fantasy high junior year #dimension 20 #lee chat #kipperlilly copperkettle

[tinygalaxykid]

Guys, the ratgrinders are not kids studying hard. They are juniors rapidly filling out 8th algebra homework instead of taking advanced classes and then complaining about "unfair treatment" and "work ethics"

#Like #that's the critique of xp grinding is that they're actively avoiding learning in the name of gaining grades #theyre not real kids #they are narrative foils babe #dimension 20 a crown of candy #dimension 20 #fantasy high junior year #fantasy high

[drowning-in-webnovel-chapters]

#dimension 20 #are you pro ratgrinders #or pro murder the xp levelers #fantasy high #fantasy high junior year #rat grinders #the bad kids #poll

[crellanstein]

The Rat-Grinder Cleric is a new transfer student.

Brennan made a point of explaining that if a single member of an Aguefort adventuring party died then the rest of the parties grades become pass/fail for that year.

I’m thinking there’s a tragic reason behind why they started grinding in the Far Haven Woods.

If they lost a member in freshman year, a friend obviously, they’d all most likely be pretty traumatized and then all their classes would no longer matter and that probably freed up a lot of their time.

Down a party member, a cleric in particular, it would have been hard for them go out on adventures, maybe the school didn’t even let them.

That’d make sense with Kipperskittle Cloppersnake running on a platform about student equality / favoritism.

So maybe they didn’t have many options, and grinding exp in the woods seemed like the best choice until a new cleric came along in junior year and they decided they could do more now.

#brennan lee mulligan #dimension 20 #dnd #emily axford #siobhan thompson #fantasy high #new helio cleric is probably the real bbeg and rat grinders are minions/puppets #found a group of suped up xp farmers and convinced them to do what they say #and has a grudge against Kristen for abandoning helio & 4 months of Night Yorb night #im betting they suck hard too #junior year #fantasy high junior year #kalina #cassandra #helio sucks #ally beardsley #lou wilson #zac oyama #brian murphy

[azurecanary]

How is there Kipperlily Copperkettle morality discourse?

#were people this pressed when penelope everpetal and dane blade (also teenagers) were the villains? #kipperlilly copperkettle #fantasy high junior year #dimension 20 #i just have questions #that all basically stem from ''this character concept is one part bit one half ragging on xp levelling''

[xprojectrpg]

The interviews continued, with Sam, Isa and Seraph added today.

#20 years in xp #20 years anniversary #feedback #xprpg #xproject

[thisisnotthenerd]

god such good tactics from the bad kids in this fight.

quick level update: fig is a devotion paladin! joining the ranks with our most popular paladin subclass, among tuc ricky matsui, sunny biscotto, andhera, and viola. coincidentally she sits in the paladin chair (L1).

the bad kids have capped off at level 14; reference my last post on this for what they have here. they're going to this fight at like 3/4s of a tank; high level spells spent on healing and used in the last fight, hit die used, magic items spent.

ice feast prep: exhaustion and 1d12 damage, but cured of all poison and disease, immune to fire damage and stun, con saves with advantage, and hit point max increases by 2d10. incredible homebrew spell that complete fucks brennan in this fight. the immunity to fire lets them use the lava and environment to their advantage while making the enemies have to avoid the consequences of their own actions.

kristen getting k2 back? lovely story move. wanting a sister to share in your faith? brilliant. tactically, it gives them another full cleric who can move around the battlefield and heal while splitting attention. she has greater invisibility on and can just move around and get heals to people.

prepping fly on almost all of them means they avoid the difficult terrain and have mobility around the battlefield where they can get cover, remove line of sight, and calculate their ranges easily.

fabian killing ivy in one turn? exceptional. not just a good turn from lou but an example of what was to come from them. fabian has had one turn up in this combat and still fully removed the danger of ranger/fighter weapon attacks while drawing attention from the biggest threat.

riz casting slow with magical ambush? phenomenal. functionally took care of one of the big melee and one of the big spellcasters. mary ann did nothing, and ruben being slowed got rid of his counterspells. it made buddy waste a turn. also just fucking diving into the lava.

adaine with synaptic static? fantastic. really hitting the clump and making jace start damaged, when sorcerers are squishy to begin with. at level 20, and lets say a con modifier of +3, max he could get is 180, and realistically its closer to 120.

gorgug killing oisin in one turn and preventing him from going at all? fabulous. he's the one who could summon allies for the rat grinders--getting rid of him gets rid of that possibility.

kristen using the cover and then doing double rounds of healing from herself and k2? astounding. keeping out of sightlines for damage to hold bless. staying uncounterspellable.

fig with the enormous fireball? stupendous. sent ruben to hell, damaged mary ann, and really got all of the jaces, and broke buddy's banishment concentration

shout out to the melees: fig, fabian, and gorgug concentrated fire from porter as they took out the rat grinders. even though they all went down, they have reliable healers to get them off the ground. no holds barred. they took out the three rat grinders that are now dead.

none of them had rage tokens and they didn't get turned against their allies. they've spent this fight fully just dunking on the rat grinders, jace, and porter.

for the rat grinders: they've taken out ivy, oisin, and ruben--ivy with big ranged damage, oisin and ruben with 9th level spells and counterspells. they've bloodied all of the jaces and broken his big damage concentrations, broken buddy's concentration on banishment and damaged him, kept mary ann out of the fight pretty much until now, mostly avoided kipperlilly's sneak attacks, and riz is prepping to hit her with a spell on her turn. porter has taken some damage, but has been forced to use legendary resistances and can't get them to take him seriously.

realistically the difference between them comes from tactics. the rat grinders are being piloted by one guy who has to manage a lot of factors in this fight. they are not a team of adventurers who have read the book front to back and used it to prime advantage. they have not actually faced the monsters they farmed for xp. they likely don't have the types of magic items or feats that the bad kids have earned through their adventuring. their buffs have been knocked off one by one as the bad kids wreck house.

from a watsonian perspective they're not using basic party strategy: not protecting their wizard, not moving their melees to give the rogue sneak attack, clumping up and getting AOEed thrice to great effect, expending their big resources at the top of the fight, not using cover or other tactical advantages, giving themselves difficult terrain and having to deal with hazards the bad kids don't have, not coordinating their counterspells and other debuffs, not protecting their cleric or encouraging him to heal, and working on a ritual that they don't have all the tools for.

they're statted like power-leveled pcs, not npcs, and what do npcs have? magic items, unique abilities, and hit points. jace and porter have homebrew shit going on. the rat grinders are 20th level with the hit points of maybe 10th level characters. ivy only took 78 points of damage before going down. 2 attacks from fabian plus incidentals from fig's green flame blade. they all have glass cannon type builds except for maybe mary ann, and we haven't seen her go to work yet.

incredibly excited for the finale next week. sidenote the outfits are so fun. i might be late next week because i have a concert to go to, but still. i'll be back with xp counts and some reflection on what the rat grinders have actually done.

#dimension 20 #dimension 20 spoilers #fantasy high junior year #fhjy #fhjy spoilers #the bad kids #the rat grinders #adaine abernant #kristen applebees #fig faeth #riz gukgak #fabian seacaster #gorgug thistlespring #ivy embra #oisín hakinvar #ruben hopclap #kipperlilly copperkettle #mary ann skuttle #buddy dawn #jace stardiamond #porter cliffbreaker #thisisnotthenerd's d20 stats #dimension 20 meta #the perils of xp leveling

[feelingtheaster99]

A THIRTY FIVE??? Which was not generated by a Nat 20??? WHAT THE FUCK???

#bloodrush #fantasy high #fantasy high spoilers #fantasy high junior year #fhjy #fhjy spoilers #fhjy ep 4 #under pressure spoilers #under pressure #mary ann skuttle #I know we’re supposed to hate the rat grinders but I kind of love her energy #dimension 20 #d20 #gorgug thistlespring #fabian seacaster #fabian aramais seacaster #like how crazy do her stats have to be??? #is it because of the XP leveling or whatever??? #live reaction #jaw literally dropped right alongside Zac’s #zac oyama #lou wilson #brennan lee mulligan