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thisisnotthenerd · 9 days

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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

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thisisnotthenerd · 3 months

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the ratgrinders' potential levels

cannot believe i was right about the xp reqs. the bad kids & the seven get 'special treatment' (milestone leveling and saving the world), while others have to work with xp. which tells you a lot about why people fled during prompocalypse.

ok getting into the algebra now: the rat grinders have gone into the far haven woods every day for the last two years, for 3 hours after school, and 9 hours/day on weekends. presumably they keep this up during the summer.

they have supposedly defeated 80,000 or more of three types of creatures: rats, spiders, and twig blights. there are some variations to what these could be, so here's a list of what this could encompass, assuming the ratgrinders are not facing creatures over CR 1.

giant rat: CR 1/8, 25 XP

swarm of rats: CR 1/4, 50 XP

giant wolf spider: CR 1/8, 25 XP

swarm of spiders: CR 1/2, 100 XP

giant flying spider: CR 1, 200 XP

giant spider: CR 1, 200 XP

ice spider: CR 1, 200 XP

twig blight: CR 1/8, 25 XP

needle blight: CR 1/4, 50 XP

thorn slinger: CR 1/2, 100 XP

vine blight: CR 1/2, 100 XP

razorvine blight: CR 1, 200 XP

thorny: CR 1: 200 XP

the full list is a little difficult to do calculations on, so let's condense it. assume a quarter of the 80000 creatures were CR 1/8, a quarter were CR 1/4, so on and so forth.

how much xp would they earn? how much would they level for the amount they ground? grinded? for?

critical assumption here: in the games i've played, we've always done milestone or zeroed out xp with each level, i.e. after earning 300 xp to get to level 2, you have to earn 900 xp to get to level 3, not 600. this analysis assumes that you have to earn the next levels xp reqs on top of your current total. i'm including the xp chart here to clarify:

level 1: 0 XP, +2, total 0 XP

level 2: 300 XP, +2, total 300 XP

level 3: 900 XP, +2, total 1200 XP

level 4: 2700 XP, +2, total 3900 XP

level 5: 6500 XP, +3, total 10400 XP

level 6: 14000 XP, +3, total 24400 XP

level 7: 23000 XP, +3, total 47400 XP

level 8: 34000 XP, +3, total 81400 XP

level 9: 48000 XP, +4, total 129400 XP

level 10: 64000 XP, +4, total 193400 XP

level 11: 85000 XP, +4, total 278400 XP

level 12: 100000 XP, +4, total 378400 XP

level 13: 120000 XP, +5, total 498400 XP

level 14: 140000 XP, +5, total 638400 XP

level 15: 165000 XP, +5, total 803400 XP

level 16: 195000 XP, +5, total 998400 XP

level 17: 225000 XP, +6, total 1223400 XP

level 18: 265000 XP, +6, total 1488400 XP

level 19: 305000 XP, +6, total 1793400 XP

level 20: 355000 XP, +6, total 2148400 XP

if we went cumulatively, based on the number of creatures the bad kids have defeated, they'd be getting up there in xp. we know they've had opportunities to defeat creatures outside of the quests that we've seen, given the oneshots. thus, i'm going with the second explanation, because otherwise the ratgrinders would be 19th level, and i don't think they are, because it would make any pvp setups super unbalanced, which are neither fun to play nor watch. this puts them on a little more even ground and emphasizes the amount of work it takes to xp grind to level against milestone leveling.

for the CR 1/8s: assuming roughly 20,000 creatures, they'd get 25 XP per, which means 500,000 xp. that's cumulatively enough to get to level 13, on just those creatures. divided 6 ways, assuming the ratgrinders have 6 members, it's 83,333.33, which is enough to get you to 10th level cumulatively and 8th non cumulatively.

this scales up to the 1/4s, 1/2s and the 1s since the xp gains double for each challenge rating rather than plateauing as they do at higher levels.

for the CR 1/4s: 1,000,000 xp. that's cumulatively enough to get to level 16 on just those creatures. divided 6 ways, assuming the ratgrinders have 6 members, it's 166,666.66, which is enough to get you to 15th level cumulatively and 9th non cumulatively.

for the CR 1/2s: 2,000,000 xp. divided 6 ways, assuming the ratgrinders have 6 members, it's 333,333.33, which is enough to get you to 19th level cumulatively, and 11th level non cumulatively.

and for the 1s, 4,000,000 xp. well over what you'd need to get to level 20, on just the CR 1s. divided 6 ways, assuming the ratgrinders have 6 members, it's 666,666.66, which is well over 20th level cumulatively, and 14th level non cumulatively.

using this estimate and adding all of this up, each member of the ratgrinders would have gathered enough xp to be level 20 cumulatively, and level 17 non cumulatively.

obviously the actual numbers would scale differently; initially, they would likely have to tackle these creatures as a party, but over time would take care of them individually. this is a bunch of kids doing the intro to class assignment for every assignment for two years straight.

level 20 seems extreme for the aguefort adventuring academy; let's scale it down a bit. the creatures specifically mentioned are probably giant rats, giant wolf spiders, and twig blights, based on the descriptions from jawbone.

all of these are CR 1/8, or 25 XP each. 80000 would give an xp total of 2,000,000, which would put each of the ratgrinders at around 11th level, a little higher level than the bad kids at the moment. however, since their fighting prowess scaled up, and they're probably going out in elmville and actively hindering the bad kids in some way, that level is very likely to increase.

what we saw in the episode

now the sticking point is mary ann rolling a 35. we know she got some kind of transmutation buff. a little tricky wording from brennan; fabian had enhance ability on, which is a transmutation spell. he did not say it was enhance ability.

mary ann is a barbarian, so she already gets advantage on athletics if she's raging, which i assume she was. the buff probably wouldn't be something that grants advantage.

assuming the lower estimate of 11th level, mary ann would get a +4 proficiency bonus, and i'm assuming she has 20 in strength, so +5 to her strength based skills, for a total of +9. at the high estimate of level 17, she would have a +6 to her proficiency bonus, which would give her a total of +11 to athletics. this is still not high enough to get a 35, even on a nat 20, which brennan would have declared if he had rolled one. she could conceivably accomplish this with the brawny feat, which allows for expertise in the athletics skill, which would give her a +17, meaning she could hit a 35 on a 18.

or, the buff was something like skill empowerment, which is a 5th level transmutation spell that gives the target expertise in a skill that they already have proficiency in. this spell is available to bards and wizards, among other classes, both of which we presume are in the ratgrinders. ruben could have cast skill empowerment on mary ann and given her bardic inspiration (lower estimate: d10, higher estimate: d12), both of which would have enabled that 35.

judging by the implication that she could not accomplish that feat without some kind of buff, i'm going with the latter explanation.

anyway i did too much math for this to not go in the stats series, or the school series. so this will be added to the spreadsheet later.

i hope this is useful.

#dimension 20 #dimension 20 spoilers #musings on the solisian school district #dimension 20 meta #dungeons and dragons #milestone vs xp leveling #thisisnotthenerd's d20 stats #fantasy high #fantasy high junior year #ratgrinders #the bad kids #dnd mechanics #fhjy #fhjy spoilers #d20 spoilers #d20 #d20 fantasy high #the perils of xp leveling

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thisisnotthenerd · 16 days

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such a good episode. the battle of the brands for the bad kids.

everyone has As. riz found the rogue teacher. fig's new song went so hard she took possession of an infernal deity's domain. adaine issued 13 impossible prophecies. gorgug can concentrate while raging. kristen is the favored candidate for student body president. fabian is the future/oracool of dance. they can take the last stand even when kristen is expelled.

lore notes:

kipperlilly found the rogue teacher at 8:01 on the first day of the year.

kipperlilly has been dealing with anger issues that are seemingly related to riz since freshman year

jace stardiamond has been threatening and controlling the hopclaps, both henry and ruben. he has disregarded henry's concerns about ruben, and was the impetus behind my clerical gnomance performing at frostyfaire at the thistlespring tree. this is presumably the connection to ragh that kalina was referencing

the last stand is a combination exam; the participants answer questions relating to different topics, some of which include: investigation, history, athletics, common, driver's ed, elvish, arcana, religion, performance, medicine, biology, and mathematics, while combating wave after wave of monsters in a last stand. the goal is to last as long as possible and answer the questions correctly in a desperate last stand.

in terms of combat, the bad kids are knocking it out of the park. double crits from gorgug, fabian killing the hydra in a round, kristen's big turn undead, fig with the 5th level fireball, riz's sneak attacks, adaine's mass sleep through the mephits. this is their battle of the brands and they are here.

this is the current accounting of the bad kids' xp gains:

and more will be added next week as the bad kids make their last stand.

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

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thisisnotthenerd · 2 months

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little bit of a fucked up idea came to mind

what if kristen and gorgug dying on the first day sent the bad kids into pass/fail unknowingly for that year, and they got back into normal grades for sophomore year because they defeated kalvaxus, resurrected aguefort, and raised a deity. also, it contextualizes the nightmare king quest being 60% of their grade, if they’re transitioning from pass/fail to full grades as a party.

the idea here is that the rat grinders are trying to replicate it and get away with it, which is why they’re shady about the lost lucy frostblade and asking about the site of yes!’s birth. while also sabotaging the bad kids.

#dimension 20 #dimension 20 spoilers #dimension 20 speculation #the bad kids #fhjy #fhjy spoilers #the rat grinders #fantasy high #fantasy high sophomore year #fantasy high junior year #musings on the solisian school district

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thisisnotthenerd · 3 months

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follow up to the rat grinders' leveling post: the bad kids if they did xp leveling.

the rat grinders' leveling post

now that we know what level the ratgrinders could potentially be, let's look at the bad kids.

using milestone leveling, they are level 10 right now. i want to know how that compares to the xp they would have earned.

not all of the creatures they have defeated have been standard monsters from the monster manual, so some of these are going to be guesswork and estimations.

obviously there are some split scenarios; they're not always together during battles, some of them are buffing and achieving other objectives.

this breakdown is going to go battle by battle, for the sake of simplicity, with everyone splitting the xp 6 ways, no matter who killed the target. also i'm going to find xp levels for their humanoid adversaries that they've killed, because they presumably get something for them. also they killed ragh, but revivified him; do they still get xp from his death?

freshman year:

corn cuties + corn blob + doreen:

this encounter works with a spawn point and boss monster; 14 corn cuties are spawned, and seven are killed before riz goes up the corn blob's butthole and shoots the parchment. doreen is killed by adaine, and riz shoots the paper out of the corn blob.

the corn cuties have <9 hp, and based on their damage output, i'd rate them a CR 1/4, so 50 XP each, for a total of 350 gained across the party.

doreen has <11 hp, and based on her damage output, i'd rate her a CR 1/2, given that she has multiple damage options that took several of the bad kids out at 1st level. 100 XP to adaine, but for the encounter it's distributed across the party

corn blob: based on the way it behaves, i would consider it similar to a glabbagool, with pseudopods and engulfing attacks, as well as self-healing. for the sake of the encounter the win condition was not hit point sink but rather getting rid of the enchantment on it. CR 2, so 450 XP.

total XP count: 900 XP, divided by six is 150 each.

johnny spells & the tiefling greasers:

this encounter was a combination of hit point sink and car chase; they killed several by sending them offroad.

one of the greasers died after taking 10 + 3d6 damage, so i'm assuming they probably have anywhere from 20-25 hp. damage output is usually 6-8, which to me says 2d6. so i'd call them CR 1, or 200 each, for a total of 1200.

johnny spells takes 15 + 11 damage before he dies. his damage output is higher than his fellow greasers and he has other spellcasting prowess, so i'd call him CR 2, for a total of 450.

total XP count: 1650 XP, divided by six is 275

the black pit undead:

a little more complex, because the win condition is fleeing from the encounter, so i'm estimating for the big three 'villains' of this encounter and then adding a multiplier for the encounter as a whole.

dj brainzz & the zombies: standard zombies are CR 1/4 (50 XP), and assuming a total of 10 or so, that's 500 from the zombies. from dj brainzz, i'd say something like CR 3 (700), given the abilities he uses, but with hp nerfed to fit the encounter.

sasha, lord of whispers & the vampires: vampire spawn are CR 5 (1800 XP), and 2 had a significant effect, but i'd say that since they aren't technically defeated, i'd half the xp gain (1800 XP)

jawbone & the werewolves: werewolves are individually CR 3 (700 XP) and there were 2 that had a significant effect, but again, none were killed, so we halve that number again (700XP)

total XP count: 3700 XP, divided by six is ~616 each

dwarf skaters + golem:

again a separate win condition; the dwarves run instead of being defeated after fig releases gorthalax. so again, estimates with a multiplier

torek and the dwarves: torek is at least 5th level, since she can cast spirit guardians, so i'd put her at a CR 2 (450 XP). i counted 5 other dwarves, who'd be CR 1/2 each, for a total of 500 XP. totaled it's 950.

crush is like a huge stone golem (CR 10), but is nerfed by the half-pipe, so i'm applying a .66 multiplier, which comes out to 3933 XP.

total XP count: 4883 XP, divided by six is 813 each.

bloodrush skeletons + ragh + daybreak + owlbear:

they got the orb and chest figured out and somehow also made this a hit point sink.

skeletons: individually are CR 1/4, or 50 XP each, but there are 10 or so of them, so i'm applying a 1.5 multiplier to the total, which results in 750 XP

owlbear: pretty standard; CR 3 for a total of 700 XP

ragh: i'd pretty comfortably put him at CR 5, for a total of 1800 XP. they get XP for ragh because they killed him.

daybreak: i'd put him at like a CR 9, based on his use of indomitable and number of attacks, so a total of 5000 XP.

total XP count: 8250 XP, divided by six is 1375 each

aelwyn and her elementals:

smaller split to figure out this time; just aelwyn and her elementals.

elementals: all CR 5 (1800 XP). i think i counted 8: air (2), fire (2), water, earth, slime, and shadow, so that totals to 14400

aelwyn: she casts time stop with aguefort's watch, not from her own magic. i'd put her at like 14th level, and thus CR 9 (5000 XP). they get the full amount because they do defeat her--she doesn't flee or get fled from.

total XP count: 19400 XP, or 3233 each

biz + the arcade ghosts:

a couple of objectives here--getting the girls out, avoiding the traps, and questioning biz, so this split will also consider the arcade traps as part of the cr of the encounter.

ghosts: CR 4 (1100 XP) individually. assumming there's 10 of them, that's 11000 XP right there.

traps: save dc is probably 15, which would set up the games to dole out anywhere from 1800 to 2900 XP. i'm leaning towards the low end, just to contextualize biz. 4 successful captures and releases, so 7200 from the games.

biz is doing a bunch of complex enchantments and summonings. I would set him equal to aelwyn and thus CR 9 (5000 XP).

total XP count: 23200 XP, or 3866 each

the harvestmen:

we don't have a technical count for most of these, so it's going in as a general number for the party, given what they gave up to be at prom and save their families.

fabian gets a little extra for killing bill; i would estimate that bill is CR 10 minimum, so fabian gets 5900 from killing him, even though he didn't do the deed fully.

total XP count: 10000 XP, or 1666 each

kalvaxus, penelope & dayne:

simple splits here; ragh is not being included because he was pretty easily convinced to be an ally.

dayne: i'm using daybreak's stats to put him at a CR 9 (5000 XP)

penelope: high level spellcaster like aelwyn, so she's also a CR 9 (5000 XP)

kalvaxus: adult red dragon. CR 17, 18000 XP

total XP count: 28000 XP, or 4666 each

freshman year total:

99983 as a group, based on these statistics

16663 for each individual. so if the bad kids were running on xp, they'd only have gotten to level 6 cumulatively, and level 5 non cumulatively.

we can probably assume that they receive some xp while attending the AAA to make up the difference; otherwise the school wouldn't really serve a mechanical purpose in this scenario

oneshots: i know not all of them were there for all of these. i am sticking to the 6-way split, because i can assume the missing members would have made it up somehow.

occularia:

she's a beholder. CR 13 (10000 XP)

5 party fouls:

there are 5 of them: the gorgon of shade, minotaur of stunts, centaur of sloppiness, harpy of songs, and sphinx of solitude.

gorgon: CR 5, 1800 XP

minotaur: CR 3, 700 XP

centaur: CR 2, 450 XP

harpy: CR 1, 200 XP

sphinx: CR 11, 7200 XP. i'm going to half that because she got done in by a pun.

oneshots total: 16750 total, or 2791 each.

the going total is then 116733, split into 19455 each. so the bad kids would be around level 6, cumulatively and non cumulatively.

sophomore year:

i know there are hirelings this season. i am maintaining the 6-split because it's easier. this will mostly be addressed by only covering the creatures that the bad kids themselves face.

cambion, barlguras, vrocks:

we're dealing with a couple things here: fig and riz are separated and the party is split. the demons have reinforcements.

cambion: 1 of them. CR 5, 1800 XP

barlgura: total of 8, 6 killed. CR 5, 1800 XP. total of 10800 XP.

vrocks: 2 of them. CR 6, 2300 XP. total of 4600 XP

total XP count: 17200 XP, or 2866 each.

whitclaw + pirates + elves + air elemental:

i am not counting fabian's first attempt, because he doesn't really accomplish anything.

mindflayers: 8 of them. CR 7, 2900 XP each. i'm halving this number because while they get some hits in, i don't think they kill all of them. 11600 total.

elves + elemental: 4 CR 9 spellcasters (20000) plus the elemental (1800). 21800 total, halved because they do not defeat the elves. 10900 total.

whitclaw: i'd put him at around CR 11 (7200 XP), since this includes his magic items and specialized skills

total XP count: 29700 XP, or 4950 each

fire elementals, tree constructs, kir & angwyn:

fire elementals: 3 of them, CR 5, 1800 each. total of 5400

tree constructs: using tree blight stats, with 4 constructs. CR 7, 2900 XP. 11600 total

kir & angwyn: 2 CR 9 spellcasters (10000). i'm giving full value for these because they get them pretty well.

total XP count: 27000 XP, or 4500 each

tiefling greasers + alastair ash + penelope + daybreak + dayne + harvestmen(4) in hell:

a little bit different to how they were freshman year--some of these have stayed the same while others have gone up.

tieflings: i'd say CR 3 (700 XP), but there are 8 of them. so i'm adding a multiplier of 1.33, for a total of 7448 XP.

penelope: still a CR 9 spellcaster based on the spells used, but i'd bump up to 11 given the difference in spell use and damage output. total of 7200 XP.

dayne: still CR 9. 5000 XP.

harvestmen: based on my freshman year estimate, i'd put them at CR 4, or 1100 XP. 4400 XP total.

daybreak: daybreak has changed, now having legendary actions to command his 'troops'. CR 13, 10000 XP total.

total XP count: 34048 XP, or 5674 each

nightmare forest:

similar to family in flames, i'm giving a general estimate for xp gains from the nightmare forest.

total XP count: 30000 XP, 5000 each

angwyn abernant:

this one is exclusive to adaine, because she did execute a fully separate kill beyond what she faced in the forest. angwyn is a CR 9 spellcaster, and thus adaine has 5000 xp extra, much like fabian got from killing bill at the end of freshman year.

nightmare king possession + court of elders + transubstantions + kalina + arianwen:

nightmare king possessed hirelings: i'm going to estimate CR 8 for each of them, so 3900 each, for a total of 11700. XP gained from dispelling the possession.

court of elders: i'm going to estimate that all of the court of elders are at least CR 10, with the centaur and wood elf at CR 10, treant and sprite at CR 11, and the unicorn at CR 12. total of 34600

transubstantiations: this is things like dispelling the dragon madness, cutting down the tree for the broomstick, etc. if you take the tree's hp at around 200 iirc, each transubstantiation is a CR 9 task, for a total of 15000 XP earned.

kalina: she has six attacks, and a variety of intensive illusion magic. she's also prevalent throughout the season in a lot of very complex ways. i'd put her at around CR 18, because even though she's a transubstantiation, she's remarkably difficult to defeat. 20000 XP from kalina

arianwen: high level spellcaster, given that she can power word kill. i'd put her at 18th level, and thus a CR 13, for a total of 10000 XP

resurrecting and naming a deity goes so far beyond the scope of XP that i wouldn't even know how to count it. also the bad kids never technically attack the nightmare king, so the xp would go to gorthalax, who actually attacked. i'm not counting the nightmare king.

total XP count: 91300 XP, or 15216 each.

sophomore year total: 229248 XP, or 38,208 each

going total is 345981, or 57663 each. for cumulative, that works for level 9, for non-cumulative, it's level 7.

night yorb quest:

yorbies: the bad kids have technically unknown amount of yorbies, assume several hundred total. in the fight we saw, they fought ~15 or so grunts. assuming they're around CR 3, that's 700 per. 10500 XP in this fight alone (1750 each), 70000+ XP (11666 each)outside of this particular battle.

the night yorb: in a logical progression from what the bad kids have faced, i'm making the night yorb CR 19, worth 22000 XP (3666 each).

total XP count: 102500 XP, or 17083 each.

The Bad Kids' cumulative total of XP prior to the start of their junior year: 448481, or 74746 each. cumulatively around 10th level, non-cumulatively around 7th.

by comparison, if we use my estimate of 2000000 XP for the rat grinders, they're looking at 333333 each, which is 19th level cumulatively, and 11th non-cumulatively.

now, if we assume an xp model, the 'special treatment' that would enable the bad kids to be almost level with the rat grinders is counting the bad kids cumulatively, and the rat grinders non-cumulatively.

from the perspective of arthur aguefort, this makes sense. he doesn't even like the bad kids; however, they are going out and following his method of adventuring--popping off and saving the world, sometimes from problems you've caused. meanwhile, the rat grinders are devastating the local ecosystem every day for 3 hours a day on weekdays, and 9 hours/day on weekends.

also this scaling speaks to the fact that continually grinding on the beginner level creatures has diminishing returns--always doing the easy thing is not going to help you progress; challenging your limits will.

i hope this is also useful.

#dimension 20 #dimension 20 spoilers #dimension 20 meta #thisisnotthenerd's d20 stats #musings on the solisian school district #milestone vs xp leveling #the bad kids #fantasy high #fantasy high sophomore year #fantasy high oneshots #fantasy high junior year #rat grinders #fhjy #fhjy spoilers #fantasy high spoilers #d20 fhjy #d20 spoilers #long post #the perils of xp leveling

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thisisnotthenerd · 3 months

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follow up to my previous thoughts about the Aguefort Adventuring Academy:

i got more right than i expected, though there's definitely a lot that's being filled in around what we knew from freshman year.

Faculty Updates:

Introduced/Mentioned during the Episode:

Interim Principal: Emergency Backup Principal Arcturus Grix

This is definitely a construct of Aguefort's that's been reprogrammed to focus on an exact impression of "adventuring order".

Interim Vice Principal: Jace Stardiamond, the sorcery professor

Artificer Professor: Henry Something? The original name on payroll was Grunding Tomblast. (mentioned only, since Porter wouldn't recommend Gorgug)

Barbarian Professor: Porter Cliffbreaker. Suspicious and rude.

Bard Professor: Lucilla Lullaby (changed from music professor). Fey/Eladrin

Bardic Dance Teacher: Terpsichore Skullcleaver. Tiniest half-orc you've ever seen, always says what you need to hear even if it isn't what you'd expect.

Cleric/Religious Studies: Yolanda Badgood. Air genasi who broke up with a deity to pursue faith.

Fighter Professor: Corsica Jones (mentioned only, though we met her in the Seven)

Wizard Professor: Tiberia Runestaff. Originated in the Mountains of Chaos, very traditional old wizard now teaching the wizards of the Aguefort Adventuring Academy. Adaine desperately wants to impress her, and she gets called out for predictions.

We've gotten more information about the other professors though we already knew their names. Eugenia Shadow is the supposed rogue professor that must be found in order to get an A for the year.

Class Content:

For the Barbarians, Porter is an asshole that focuses on the destructive parts of rage rather than the protective elements.

We had a reference to Fighter classes and learning different fighting styles with Ms. Jones, though we didn't see it in this episode.

Cleric classes center around individual connection with a deity, as well as some discussion of spreading faith and proselytizing. Kristen is a very talented cleric who doesn't do homework and is struggling on her faith journey.

Rogue classes are more independent study; finding the professor is the win condition. If the class is based on self-motivated investigative work and research, I can understand why all of the rogues we've seen at Aguefort (Riz Gukgak, Penny Luckstone, Kipperlilly Copperkettle) are the way they are.

Bard Classes can come in a couple of different types: obviously there's the traditional class that Fig attended for the first time, as well as smaller concentrations like Fabian's dance class. The dance course seems to be a smaller track, with fewer students but a more intensive schedule. Granted, we're getting Fabian's multiclassed view of it, so it's not entirely accurate to the experience of a typical bardic dance student.

Wizard classes revolve around studying and practicing spells, as expected, but aren't taught with school endowed material components as I would have expected. Aguefort cares about a robust Wizard's education, but doesn't have classroom material components? He's making it a class of only privileged students. We can't have a poor wizard around here, can we.

Sidenote to that: we know now that Hudol places a focus on theoretical magic while Aguefort focuses on practical workings--actually practicing the skills needed to bind, conjure, enchant, etc.

Sidenote to the sidenote: I started looking into higher level wizard spells with high cost items as material components:

5th level:

create spelljamming helm (5000 gp crystal rod, consumed)

dawn (100 gp sunburst pendant)

legend lore (250 gp of incense, 200 gp of ivory strips)

infernal calling (999 gp ruby)

planar binding (minimum 1000 gp jewel, consumed)

scrying (1000 gp focus, such as a crystal ball, silver mirror, or font of holy water)

summon draconic spirit (500 gp object with engraved dragon iconography)

teleportation circle (inks infused with gems worth 50 gp)

6th level:

circle of death (500 gp black pearl)

contingency (1500 gp gem encrusted statuette)

create homunculus (1000 gp jeweled dagger)

create undead (150 gp black onyx stone per corpse)

drawmij's instant summons (1000 gp sapphire)

magic jar (500 gp gem/crystal/reliquary)

7th level:

create magen (500 gp quicksilver and human sized doll)

draconic transformation (500 gp dragon statuette)

forcecage (1500 gp ruby dust)

mordenkainen's sword (250 gp platinum sword)

plane shift (250 gp rod attuned to plane of choice)

sequester (5000 gp of diamond, emerald, ruby & sapphire dust)

simulacrum (1500 gp ruby dust)

symbol (1000 gp of mercury, phosphorus, diamond dust and opal)

8th level:

clone (1000 gp diamond, 2000 gp coffin/urn, cubic inch of flesh)

mighty fortress (500 gp diamond)

9th level:

astral projection (1000 gp jacinth + 100 gp carved bar of silver, per person affected)

gate (5000 gp diamond)

imprisonment (500 gp component per hit die of the target, changes depending on spell type: mithral orb for burial, precious metal chain for chaining, miniature jade prison for hedged prison, gemstone of corundum or diamond for minimus containment)

invulnerability (500 gp adamantine)

shapechange (1500 gp jade circlet)

so the request for 10 barrels of diamonds tracks; they need enough material components to be able to repeat the spells and practice them and that doesn't run cheap.

personal theory: when aguefort went to war with fallinel he pulled on the school's supplies of material components in order to cast on that scale, and he couldn't maintain it, so even stuff that wouldn't be consumed by the casting probably got dumped somewhere in fallinel or given away as reparations.

I'm also going to guess that in the lower grades, the students wouldn't be paying for everything, but rather paying something like a lab fee that took care of material components on a smaller scale.

Multiclassing:

There's a few things that have that this episode clarified:

If a student wants to multiclass on their transcript, they must fill out a request to their current class' professor in order to request a change to their courseload. The student may be prevented from attending their secondary or tertiary courses if their current professor believes that they cannot keep up with the increase in rigor, or if the student is underperforming in their current class. As shown with Porter, a teacher can technically refuse for other reasons (thinking the student isn't suited to the new class, or determining a lack of class compatibility). This recommendation is easier for some classes than others; it is simple to combine most martial classes, especially those that have compatible traits such as fighters and barbarians. However, it is difficult to combine classes that are prohibitive of each other; the example we have is Gorgug, since his barbarian rage prevents him from casting and holding concentration spells from his artificer levels in battle.

If they get approval, they must take the MCAT, or Multiclass Achievement Test, in order to prove competency in their secondary class. This functions as a way of proving that the student can enter the class at their current level and keep up with their peers.

Upon passing the MCAT, the student's courseload changes; rather than taking 4 semesters of one class, they will take 3 semesters of each class, presumably with some leveling to fit their particular split in multiclass. This results in a 150% courseload as opposed to single-classed students, with a high level of rigor, especially heading into the upperclassmen years

Quest Theory:

We got tacit confirmation from Brennan that the Bad Kids, and even the Seven are unusual for saving the world, when most Aguefort students are doing local dungeon crawls and going to school. This fits with my overleveling theory, especially if they're going to be going back to a major progression cycle as they did during freshman year. I highly doubt it, given the content and themes of this season, but I think the overall structure fits.

This also fits with my theory about D-F class quests; students may only need to complete one or more of these to pass the yearly quest. Technically, retrieving the Crown of the Nightmare King could have been considered a fetch quest, but there ended up being more to it than that. The Bad Kids haven't done traditional dungeon crawls, at least not from what we've seen. There are qualified adventuring parties in Spyre, but the Aguefort Adventuring Academy produces the 'premier parties of teen heroes' that go around addressing world-class threats.

The examples that we have of Solisian adventurers come from the Bad Kids' parents, and the Seven's parents. Sandra Lynn works with the Solisian rangers; the Applebees' (ew) work as paladins, guarding against threats from the Mountains of Chaos, presumably in tandem with the rangers. Karl Cleaver stayed with his party for decades--they went on a dungeon crawl in the 888th and 889th layers of the Abyss during the events of the Seven. There are adult adventurers, but it's made clear that they are dealing with everyday threats, while the teen heroes are out in the world causing problems and solving them.

To add to my previous theory: the Seven were given two weeks to investigate the disappearance of Tectonya Karkovnya and go on their GED quest. The Bad Kids got an extra week of spring break. This allowed them to get their world-saving done, but may have led to the accusations of special treatment.

Theories on the Season:

I'd wager that Kipperlilly and the Ratgrinders are trying to make Aguefort more egalitarian by getting rid of the Bad Kids' quest progress i.e. the reason they're overleveled and getting special treatment. The Rogue Professor seekign Kipperlilly out as opposed to her actually doing the work? Sounds like funny business to me.

Next episode is probably going to be the rest of the day of classes and the start of extracurriculars, based on the mentions of the bloodrush team and student government candidacy.

Riz looks like he's going to be in the driver's seat for seeking out the Bad Kids' academic and greater interests, though Fig is leaning in on the investigation of the Ratgrinders, and they're all full force on the presidential campaign. I think Gorgug's work as an artificer is going to come into play with the main plot if they're facing down the reprogrammed Arcturus Grix.

#dimension 20 #dimension 20 meta #dimension 20 spoilers #dimension 20 speculation #fantasy high #fantasy high sophomore year #fantasy high junior year #the bad kids #the seven #musings on the solisian school district

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thisisnotthenerd · 1 month

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Notes on the Bylaws of the Aguefort Adventuring Academy

We've had some revelations in this episode, so I thought it might be a good time to go back to my Musings on the Greater Solisian School District.

Before this season, we had learned a few things about the Aguefort Adventuring Academy's Bylaws from Fantasy High, Fantasy High: Sophomore Year and the Seven that are ambiguously canon:

Adventuring Parties are established on the first day of freshman year so that the party can graduate together and begin working as an adventuring party. The party is expected to participate in activities together such that they might go forth and be violent lunatics enforcing their will upon the world.

There are a variety of reasons one might leave an adventuring party--the one that applied to the members of the Seven was severe injury, incapacitation, or capture to the point of losing more than a semester of school. By technicality, the Bad Kids circumvent this by virtue of going to jail as a group for ~2 months towards the end of their freshman year--not enough to cause them to repeat the semester or break the party.

The Crowning of a Prom King & Queen was prohibited due to the prophesized return of Kalvaxus, Emperor of the Red Waste, given that Kalvaxus was in fact working as the Vice Principal in the form of a dragonborn named Goldenhoard.

Arthur Aguefort keeps numerous magical artifacts in his office and in various locations around the school, this includes objects like Watches and Wards, an abjurative ward that can only be affected by Arthur Aguefort and the Elven Oracle [Adaine Abernant], the Crown of the Nightmare King, and the Bylaws of the Greater Solisian School District.

Presumably, beginning in sophomore year, an adventuring party attending the Aguefort Adventuring Academy must complete a quest that accounts for 60% of their grade for that year. It is unclear whether this rule is universal or whether it applies to specific parties who have direct involvement in larger quests, i.e. the Bad Kids tracking down the Crown of the Nightmare King, the Seven Maidens going to the Red Waste to eliminate the remainder of the Cult of Kalvaxus. This ties into a later application of the bylaws regarding the Last Stand Exam.

Parties can have members in different grades, however, graduation and further work can cause the disbandment of the party.

To acquire a GED diploma from the Solisian School District, an adventurer/adventuring party must get the signature of the Superintendent of Schools of the Solisian School District and complete a class A, B, or C quest [reference my previous meta for more discussion of this]

Now, at the halfway mark of Junior Year, we have some more bylaws and school rules to consider.

Administrative

In the absence of the Principal of the Aguefort Adventuring Academy [Arthur Aguefort] the Vice Principal [Gilear Faeth] is the Acting Principal of the school and carries out all administrative decisions thereof.

In the absence of both the Principal [Arthur Aguefort] and the Vice Principal [Gilear Faeth], administration of the School falls to the Principal's appointed emergency staff: Principal [Interim Emergency Backup Principal Grix] and Vice Principal [Jace Stardiamond]

The bylaws of the Aguefort Adventuring Academy in particular are based on a combination of written and oral proclamations from Arthur Aguefort; thus some bylaws may be contradictory in their application, given the man's proclivity for bits and exaggerated speech.

The election of a student body president typically occurs around the end of a given school year, with students in their junior year competing to be president in their senior year. There is no indicated option for a vice presidential position, though there are other administrative positions such as treasurer.

Thus, when all options for administrative staff have been exhausted e.g. all appointed candidates have passed or are absent, the role of principal falls to the student body president, who presides over the Academy as a democratically-run educational institution.

Academic

Generally, students are expected to progress in the class in which they first joined the Adventuring Academy. While leveling can differ based on extracurricular achievement as well as background, the existing hypothesis places students in tier 2-3 starting in Junior Year*. Currently the Bad Kids are exceeding the hypothesized levels, but given their extracurricular achievements in adventuring, this is to be expected.

To Multi-class and effectively take both classes in which the student has interest, they are able to utilize the MCAT, upon given the consent of the class instructors for both courses. Reference previous meta for more information on the MCAT.

Measures of success in each class varies significantly; a wizard is not graded on the same curve as a sorcerer. One of the more extreme examples of this is the conditional pass of the rogue class; upon finding the rogue teacher, the student passes the year and no longer has to attend class.

Pass-Fail and Conditional Examinations

If a member of an adventuring party leaves for any given reason: irreconcilable differences, severe injury/incapacitation, capture or other forms of imprisonment, death, etc., the entire party is shifted to pass-fail for the entire year, and is thus prohibited from extracurricular activities.

If the faculty member/instructor of a particular class passes away during the school year, the entire class is shifted into pass-fail. This can have further effects on the adventuring parties of those students, since they are shifted into pass-fail along with their allies in the given class. The most recent example of this is the death of Yolanda Badgood and the shift of the Cleric class to pass-fail.

If a student, for whatever reason, has had difficulty throughout the year with academic success, especially due to systemic barriers, they may be eligible for a exam called the Last Stand, which is taken later in the year, and replaces the student's transcript. This exam can be taken as a party, or individually, depending on the students' needs.

*Tier 1 = Levels 1-5, Tier 2 = Levels 6-10, Tier 3 = Levels 11-15, Tier 4 = Levels 16-20

#dimension 20 #dimension 20 spoilers #fantasy high junior year #fhjy #fhjy spoilers #dimension 20 meta #musings on the solisian school district #dimension 20 speculation

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thisisnotthenerd · 3 months

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for those of you who like spreadsheets as much as i do:

xp leveling chart:

the bad kids' xp progression in spreadsheet form:

freshman year:

oneshots:

sophomore year:

night yorb quest:

bad kids' overall totals:

the rat grinders' xp progression in spreadsheet form:

all of the arithmetic has been standardized; any errors from the original post have been corrected.

i hope this is useful.

#dimension 20 #dimension 20 spoilers #dimension 20 meta #thisisnotthenerd's d20 stats #musings on the solisian school district #the perils of xp leveling #the bad kids #the rat grinders #fantasy high #fantasy high sophomore year #fantasy high junior year #fantasy high oneshots #intrepid heroes #d20 spoilers #fhjy #fhjy spoilers

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thisisnotthenerd · 3 months

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Curriculum at the Aguefort Adventuring Academy

Now that the Night Yorb adventure has concluded and the Bad Kids are headed back to school I have thoughts about the structure of the Aguefort Adventuring Academy.

The Solisian School District in Elmville, as far as we know, consists of Skullcleaver Elementary School, Oakshield Middle School, Mumple School, Hudol College, and the Aguefort Adventuring Academy. While Skullcleaver and Oakshield serve the population as a whole, Mumple focuses on NPC trades, while Hudol is a private school that focuses on theoretical magic for the ‘upper class’ of Elmville, and the Aguefort Adventuring Academy focuses on training adventurers from within their specific classes while also providing general education.

Obviously, the differing structures of each of these institutions brings up some questions. Since the Solisian School District presumably has a school board and a superintendent, are there any enforceable curriculum standards that the high schools have to abide by? What common classes do Mumple, Hudol, and Aguefort have? What does a high school diploma from each of these mean?

Given the endless questions brought up by the organization of this school district, I’m going to try and make logical sense of it by tackling them as they come to me.

First, I’m going to focus on the Aguefort Adventuring Academy, since that’s what we have information on. I can speculate on the nature of Mumple and Hudol, but we have actual info about the AAA.

What has to be in the base curriculum for each school?

For the AAA:

I’m basing this on a combination of what we know from the Bad Kids’ classes and their investigation during Family in Flames.

Here’s what we know of the AAA faculty:

Administrative Staff:

Principal: Arthur Aguefort

Vice Principal: Goldenhoard/Kalvaxus, Gilear Faeth

Lunch Lad(y): Doreen, Gilear Faeth

Guidance Counselor: Mr. GIbbons, Jawbone O’Shaughnessy

Librarian: Maugly Dimweather

Nurse: Fatima al-Aydaa

Receptionist: Chart Bomsk

Custodian: Kasavian the Wise

Bloodrush Coach: Coach Daybreak, Gorthalax the Insatiable

Gen Ed/Elective Teachers:

History: Kurby Rockstone

Linguistics: Efevrian Stuttle

Home Ec: Pilby Hatchet

Driver’s Ed: Alphonse Doublefist

Health: Spunge Dirtfoot

Theater: Ebria Dwimmerwaithe, Mr. Pepper

Music: Lucilla Lullaby

Arcana: Joria Casterwall

Class-Specific Teachers:

Artificer: Grunding Tomblast

Barbarian: Porter Cliffbreaker

Bard: none listed

Cleric/Religious Studies: Yolanda Badgood

Druid: Ellarian Fallowglade

Fighter: Corsica Jones

Monk: River Moondaughter

Paladin: Halo St. Croix

Ranger: Ellen Fleetfoot

Rogue: Eugenia Shadow

Sorcerer: Jace Stardiamond

Warlock: Evan Freem

Wizard: Tiberia Runestaff

So we know there is at least history and linguistics, as well as many elective options. Math and science likely run differently when Arthur ‘Chronomancer’ Aguefort is around, so I can understand them not being present on this list, though I would say that math is probably present in the elementary/middle schools, just because having a basic understanding of how arithmetic and geometry work forms a lot of what goes into basic life skills and also things like material components and ritual circles for casters. Adaine has made reference to math classes before, so the existence of them is kind of up in the air–we don’t have direct confirmation, but they’re likely present.

I took the liberty of moving arcana to the elective category because while it is a specific specialization, it doesn’t fit with the rest of the class model, and it fits more as a class that would be shared between the casters that have to learn things. Understanding the foundations of each type of magic, learning the bases of material, verbal, and somatic components bc even if you use an arcane focus, it’s important to understand where the idea is coming from.

Based on my own American high school experience, I would have expected a few more core classes. There really are a lot of electives. There don’t seem to be specific curriculum standards that would transfer well from school to school. Thus, I would expect that earning a diploma and/or a GED would have significantly different requirements.

Class-specific curricula:

Artificers

They likely have some sort of shop class/STEM course to learn how to build things and repair them–easy way to get tool proficiencies. Also a class on the different infusions and how to use them?

Subclasses: Once you get past 3rd level and choose a subclass I'd assume they would have optional electives for each subclass (alchemist, armorer, artillerist, battlesmith). Ultimately it just comes down to different skills, but artificers do a lot of the same things from subclass to subclass.

Barbarians

We have insight into these classes because Fig and Gorgug attended them; they are learning about the sources of rage, and how to control the rage state while in combat.

Subclasses: electives likely split into controlling magical elements of rage for wild magic, zealot, totem, storm herald, and ancestral guardian barbarians, and martial elements of rage for battleragers, berserkers, beasts, giants, and juggernauts.

Bards

Bards are one of the classes that often have a strong theoretical basis, so I would assume they have a relatively heavy curriculum. We know there’s bardic history, because Aguefort talks about it in Sophomore Year, but bards would likely have some required music classes as well.

Subclasses: Lore bards would definitely have some history crossover and maybe arcana crossover with the wizards once they started taking electives for their subclasses, while swords and valor bards would share classes with the fighters, creation bards with the artificers, glamour bards with the charisma rogues, and eloquence, spirits, tragedy, and whispers would likely have similar electives.

Clerics

Healing/medicine is likely one of their core classes, but generally clerics are probably going to be learning rituals and the histories of deities, along with other wisdom based skills.

Subclasses: like the bards, there’s a ton of variance with clerics. A knowledge cleric is not going to have the same classes as a trickster cleric, or a grave cleric, etc.. Now that I think about it, it makes sense for forge clerics to be taking shop classes with the artificers.

Druids

Ecology, druidic magic, survival classes? They’re probably paired with the rangers often. I think I recall Aabria and Erika talking about Danielle helping Antiope with more traditional ranger skills, so it makes sense that they share some classes. Wildshape training and summoning practice probably factor in when they can perform the skills more than once a day.

Subclasses: the things that druids can do can vary significantly, but if i had to guess: moon & shepherd druids would get paired because they’re working with creatures, spores & blighted druids would work with more necrotic spells, dreams & stars druids would get paired because they’re associated with night in differing ways, land druids have their own classes, and wildfire druids would be arsonists. Just kidding.

Fighters

Fighters are explicitly trained warriors, so learning strategy, different fighting styles and martial skills depending on what fits their needs best. Learning to use action surge and attacking quickly would be a big one.

Subclasses: Each subclass would get slightly different training, but ultimately they’re all learning to fight, so it would be more like groups within a larger class. Fighter is also a solid multiclass, so I’d expect a bunch of multiclassed kids to join in with training.

Monks

Monks are also explicitly trained warriors, though the focus is ki and finding enlightenment at a base level. We haven’t had a monk PC in the world of Spyre, but there is a monastic studies chair, so there presumably are monks at the AAA

Subclasses: some monks learn more ki-based techniques while others learn more arcana, so there’s probably some really split classes there.

Paladins

Paired with the clerics for deific history, though they have electives on the different forms of oaths as well as fighting classes/training. Ultimately paladins are a partial caster combination of a fighter and a cleric, so I would expect them to share classes with both of those

Subclasses: as stated, it would mostly be based on the differing oaths and the magics they get from each.

Rangers

They’d share ecology/survival classes with the druids, though the rangers are given more specific combat training and ways of tracking favored enemies and such. There’s probably a class that helps you decide your favored terrain.

Subclasses: all of the animal companion subclasses would get paired, while the hunter/assassin types would probably have some kind of stealth and tracking classes.

Rogues

Rogues would get skills training for expertise but also stealth training. Basically assassin training but also charisma classes for charisma rogues and elective magic for the arcane tricksters

Subclasses: not huge differences here except for the arcane tricksters because they’re partial casters. they're learning to sneak around and kill people by surprise.

Sorcerers

Sorcerers would get basic magic training, with a focus on controlling sorcery points/fonts of magic, and understanding where sorcerers come from. Sorcerers don’t technically have to do work to get their magic, rather, it’s a matter of precise control of what they have i.e. metamagic.

Subclasses: There’s a wide variety of sorcerous origins, so each would have pretty different classes associated. Divine soul sorcerers would probably get paired with the clerics, but everyone else would have their own options.

Warlocks

Warlocks are the weirdest type of full caster, so they probably don’t combine with other classes very much. I imagine that not many high schoolers are making these kinds of deals early on, so it probably involves learning about patrons, and maybe negotiation with your patron? There’s also probably classes on invocations and the different benefits of each. To be completely honest, I wouldn’t expect them to offer much in the way of warlock classes anyway. The only warlocks we’ve run into have been Johnny Spells and the greasers, Fig, Bill Seacaster’s cult, and Sam’s eldritch adept feat. Most of these are outside organizations, and if they aren’t it’s been based on in-game deals and negotiation.

Subclasses: very split. Different patrons have very different demands.

Wizards

They’re already nerds that learn magic from books. Arcana and history classes, split courses to work in different schools of magic. Aguefort is a wizard–you think he wouldn’t have a robust wizard’s education at his academy?

Subclasses: one for every school of magic and also chronomancy.

Next Question:

How does leveling work at the AAA?

Everyone presumably starts around level one in freshman year, probably with some variance based on family background and previous experience. The seven are level 10 when they get their GED, and all of them lost at least part of a school year. According to the RTX college visit oneshot, college students are ~level 15. I would say they probably don’t enter at level 15–somewhere around level 12-13 maybe?

This is not canon, but I think what’s maybe intended is annual progression requirements. You start at level 1 and get to 5ish freshman year, start at 5 and get to 8 sophomore year, start at 8 and get to 10 junior year, and start at 10 get to 12 in time for graduation. While they’re forming adventuring parties on the first day, most groups are not going to be going out and finding encounters immediately in Solace. They’re going to school. They’re learning how to work together as a party. They’re participating in extracurriculars. The lower levels are easier to get through–that’s why the progression slows down at the higher levels, because you get diminishing returns on leveling the higher level you are.

This seems to fit–the 7 are evenly leveled, but fit into the junior-senior model that would allow them to get their GEDs while being a little underleveled for graduation. The assumption is that they’re immediately going to go and be an adventuring party–they’ll make up any difference very quickly. By contrast, the bad kids had progressive leveling during freshman year that left them at level 8 during the Prompocalypse fight. I’m fairly sure that Penelope and Dayne were level 10 at least, and during sophomore year she can cast 6th level spells and has 3d10 fire bolt damage, so she’s at least 11th level if not higher. So being at level 12 in senior year tracks.

Thus the bad kids over-level during freshman year, even going by milestone leveling. if you go on an xp model you’d have to get around 10000 throughout the year to hit level 5–they’re running into so many encounters that they overshoot. And thus they’re still over-leveled in sophomore year, but if they had a relatively quiet year up to spring break, then not leveling up significantly makes sense.

Numerically, if a student is assessed on xp basis for what they have to earn in that year to level up appropriately, if they go back to zero at the start of each level.

Freshman year: 10,400

Sophomore year: 71,000

Junior Year: 112,000

Senior Year: 185,000

That tracks for high school–you can do very well in freshman year classes and then all of a sudden start struggling, and it’s more work every year. you’re capable of more, sure, but you also have way more responsibility.

How does the quest assignment system work?

What we know: they have adventures during the year as a party that serve as a sort of capstone project–60% of their grade. My hypothesis: Knowing how high school classes work in a non-fantasy public school, I’d posit that the adventures are considered a form of independent study; every student is required to do a certain amount every year, in order to move to the next grade as an adventuring party. If they don’t complete a quest of a high enough level, or enough lower-level quests, the party can be disbanded, and they may need to repeat grades in order to move to the next grade.

In order to support the infrastructure of a modern school system, and modern technology, Solace can’t be unstable enough to require adventurers. That’s the crux of what Charity Blythe was advocating for with Project Reset–using a catastrophe to drive the market of adventure. Since this was a distinct event that the Ministry of Adventure was planning for, one can conclude that these Class A, B, and C quests are not happening all that often. What are those you ask?

The Ministry of Adventure classifies quests in a six-tiered system, from class A to class F, in order of decreasing severity. Class A quests threaten the existence of the Universe and planes beyond the prime material; class B quests threaten the prime material/the world of Spyre; class C quests threaten nations; classes D-F are for localized threats, the ‘bread-and-butter’ quests, though an adventurer that can handle a class F quest may not be able to handle a class D quest. There is likely some further calculus when it comes to these classifications–the classes simply refer to the scope of the threat with regard to what it threatens, not specifically how difficult it is to complete the quest.

A GED from the Larger Solisian School District requires the sign-off of the Superintendent of Schools as well as the completion of a Class A, B, or C quest. By classification: the Bad Kids’ defeat of Kalvaxus was a class C quest, their defeat of the Nightmare King was class B, and the Seven’s quest to release Talura to infinity was a Class A quest. Sidenote: if a GED requires quest completion, how does anyone not from the AAA get a GED? Do they still have exams for non-adventurers? What subjects are required in the world of Spyre? Is it even needed?

So, Solace isn’t unstable enough to induce quests beyond class D on a regular basis; where, then, do these teen adventurers get high level quests? We first need to talk about how the rest of the world and their capacity for teen adventurers.

Highcourt: Nation ruled by monarchy that reigns over most of the rest of Spyre, the have an ongoing treaty with spyre–they were the source of the original Sol worshippers that became the harvestmen. Thus, the mentions of perditional contradoxy in their treaty with Solace make sense. Not suitable for adventures beyond D class as it would likely violate treaties, unless the adventurers are specifically hired.

Fallinel: high elven nation ruled by the court of stars, or Seven Immortal Dancers on a Spindle, who Sing to the Various Phases of the Moon, with lower courts for bureaucracy. No lawyers. Not suitable for adventures beyond D class as it would likely violate treaties, unless the adventurers are specifically hired.

Sylvaire: aka the forest of the nightmare king. south of Highcourt, home of cassandra’s original worshippers, the town of arborly, and a bunch of captured gnomes who were sustaining magic for the druids of the storm king. The forest itself was walled off for ~850 years. Quests are feasible along the coast and around the borders of the forest, but quests to enter the forest would not succeed without infernal permission.

Red Waste: Kalvaxus’s initial territory but his lair was in the mountains of chaos? Desert-like, full of Kalvaxus worshippers and Yorbies. The Seven went there for their sophomore year quest. Developed enough to have a tattoo parlor where Antiope could get her leader tattoo. Suitable for higher level adventures.

The Baronies: collection of small city states/nations that are constantly at war, where the richest of the rich have access to technology while others are still operating in a medieval society. Suitable for higher level adventures.

Mountains of Chaos: where Kalvaxus’s lair is located, but also home to the Temple of the Earth Defiant. Sklonda Gukgak has family from there, though she is from Bastion City in Solace. Suitable for higher level adventures.

Swamps of Ruin: Not much that we know currently; Kristen was building swamp Venice there while on a humanitarian/missionary trip. Suitable for higher level adventures.

Nekronomicron: subterranean city of necromancy and the undead, the location of Talura’s final stand. Kalvaxus was allied with the necromancers–which extended his control beyond the Red Waste. Suitable for higher level adventures.

Leviathan: the pirate city made of ships cobbled together into a functional city. if you can find it. They have their own adventurers though. they’re more likely to kill you. Technically suitable for higher level adventures.

Throshk: North of the Mountains of Chaos and Solace, home to Kalebrimbor, not much known in canon. clear for adventure. Suitable for higher level adventures.

Frostheim: North of Throshk, snow-covered according to maps of Spyre. Suitable for higher level adventures.

And that’s just the continent we’ve been shown; there’s probably more to Spyre that we have yet to explore. Sidenote: the map poster from the seven has been taken off the dropout store and i’m sad about it. I know this means they’re probably doing a poster for this season but still.

So what does this all mean? Well, all students of the aguefort adventuring academy must engage in a quest of an appropriate level with their adventuring party in order to jointly pass the year and move to the next grade. They are allowed to travel to achieve their objective, and can enlist paid assistance from non-students known as hirelings. They must go on at least one higher level quest, or multiple D-F quests, presumably starting in sophomore year, since parties are generally formed on the first day of freshman year, and the expectation is that the students are not of a high enough level to engage with threats of class C and above.

This contextualizes Antiope failing a year for non-palimpsest reasons–her party would have failed their yearly quest and been disbanded. It also gives context to the rest of the Seven losing their adventuring parties; if one of your members is not participating in the completion of the quest, they can be removed from the party and left as a solo adventurer.

That’s all I have for now on this because I don't have the energy to keep digging at the moment. We’ll see about more as this season progresses.

#dimension 20 #dimension 20 meta #dimension 20 spoilers #dimension 20 speculation #fantasy high #fantasy high sophomore year #fantasy high junior year #the seven #d20 the seven #musings on the solisian school district

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