What a masterclass of D&D combat from the players and the DM.
Brennan did such a good job of making the combat engaging and dynamic. He juggled so many plates and kept his cards close to his chest regarding aspects no one was aware of until near the end.
The Bad Kids maximized their effectiveness and importantly, they stayed on top of their HP better than they ever have before.
Adaine did some really great spellcasting plus the exploding mephits. Her Bigby’s Hand (or whatever it’s called) dealt solid damage and using it as a bonus action after casting is great. Really helped whittle down the purple worm’s massive HP.
Gorgug took all the punishment from a CR 15 purple worm and beat it after already fighting other monsters. Zac was in crit city this episode and he needed to me to beat that fucker.
Fig got to smite and used Booming Blade and spirit guardians to fuck up enemies basically doubling (sometimes more) her damage output every round (Really effective against the swarms.) and she 1v1ed a Wyvern, which is only a CR 6 but she also had other monsters after her because was disguised as Gaven. Really the mix of hexblade, paladin and bard stuff she did was cool. (Bonus action heals were good.)
Fabian as sort of a floating fighter, getting into the mix and fighting monsters wherever needed was so helpful and his flourishes and using his spell slots for his magical sword were great. He didn’t necessarily get the biggest moments this fight but he was integral and they’d have sorely missed him because he killed a lot of creatures. Not to mention the Hangman’s breath and bite attacks.
Riz doing peak rogue shit with haste and coming in clutch sniping monsters. Saving Gavin’s life, being able to ready an action to shoot from hiding and just all the sneak attack goodness. Plus Murph was so good about the test parts. He and Riz both seem to really thrive in stressful situations.
And Kristen who took her role as the primary healer so seriously it kept everyone up and banished a monster for good. Ally has been far more diligent about using Kristen’s abilities this season and it’s been such a big help. Plus truesight wrecked Killerpally’s plot to fuck them.
And they did all of this while answering timed test questions. This is the best they’ve ever played from a technical standpoint. Bill Seacaster would be proud they took his afterschool lessons to heart.
she found the rogue teacher at 8:01 bc she spent a year or two looking last loop and just knew where to start
she's hated riz since freshman year for something he hasnt done yet or for something he's in the process of doing this year
she doesn't want oisin involved because last time it went wrong for him
maybe she keeps looping to prevent something from happening. maybe it's to stop ankarna. maybe the bad kids initially brought back ankarna and caused a disaster and thats why she hates riz gukgak. Maybe riz is the one who ran against her the first time
maybe she filled out lucy's paperwork to swap gods because she learned the gods name in an alternate timeline and it didnt break oblivati mori bc it hadn't happened yet
i really like the theory that she was impersonating jace when henry got yelled at. maybe last time henry got too involved and pulled ruben out before they could finish whatever it is theyre doing
maybe she's got her party grinding rats day in and day out bc the alternative missions were just as grindy and dull to her and at least this way she can guarantee they're safe
she just has the vibes of someone who thinks she knows exactly how the game is supposed to go and then gets mad when her speed run is ruined by a little chaotic rng (the bad kids)
hello, sexiest man alive committee? yes I'd love to nominate Lou Wilson and Brian Murphy for attempting to speed-write an actual in-universe 300-word essay in 5 minutes of real time as Fabian and Riz posing as Fabian with complete earnest and a 120 percent commitment. both this effort and the incredibly smooth hand-off in the middle of it was maybe the most attractive thing i've ever seen a man do
yes it's a dungeons and dragons show. don't put me on hold. hello
”average adventuring party kills two clerics a year” factoid actualy just statistical error. Average adventuring party kills 0 clerics per year. Spiders Ratgrinders, who hangout in the far haven woods & kills a whopping two clerics a year, is an outlier adn should not have been counted.
Riz rolling a 30+ to find the Rogue teacher and then acing his Last Stand with extra credit and no deaths the literal next day. Our boy is GETTING into college.
shoutout to riz boasting in the essay on fabian's behalf. like theres monsters rushing him and hes scribbling on the wall "I, FABIAN SEACASTER, SON OF BILL SEACASTER—"