Stress Tested

0:00:19 Fantasy High: Junior Year Emily Axford as Fig Faeth; Zac Oyama as Gorgug Thistlespring; Siobhan Thompson as Adaine Abernant; Lou Wilson as Fabian Seacaster; Ally Beardsley as Kristen Applebees; and Brian “Murph” Murphy as Riz Gukgak Episode 7: Stress Tested < [Previous Episode] | [Next Episode] > [Intro Theme]

0:00:49 Brennan: Hello, one and all. Welcome back to another thrilling episode of Dimension 20: Fantasy High Junior Year. I'm your humble Dungeon Master Brennan Lee Mulligan with me as always are our Intrepid Heroes. Say hi, Intrepid Heroes.

0:00:59 Players: Hi, Intrepid Heroes.

0:01:02 Siobhan: An earthquake!

0:01:02 Brennan: Whoa. Last we— A little aftershock on the earthquake there.

0:01:08 Zac: It was a beautiful vibrato, too.

0:01:10 Ally: Yeah.

0:01:11 Brennan: Last we left off, our Intrepid Heroes threw the rager of the goddamn century. Maximum Legend.

0:01:20 Lou: Maximum Legend.

0:01:20 Ally: Maximum Legend.

0:01:22 Brennan: Fabian Aramais Seacaster with "Kristen Applebees" in quotation marks— actually Figueroth Faeth— landing an incredible shrimp jump, nat 20, to kick off the campaign announcement of all campaign announcements, Candidate Applebees glad-handing. It's always happy hour when you're at Applebees. Glad-handing, and the party was a smashing success. And we met some new characters as well. We met—

0:01:49 Ally: Fuckin' turncoats. [all laughing]

0:01:52 Murph: We did meet some turncoats.

0:01:53 Brennan: Now, when you say turncoats, against whom? Like what cause are they betraying?

0:01:57 Ally: Just like her. [all laughing]

0:02:00 Brennan: Remember the mirror that Fabian was in love with at the beginning of the season?

0:02:04 Ally: She was a turncoat.

0:02:04 Lou: Ecaf.

0:02:05 Emily: She died.

0:02:05 Lou: She's dead.

0:02:06 Brennan: She died.

0:02:07 Lou: We should have a funeral. [overlapping dialogue]

0:02:09 Lou: Oh, she betrayed us, yes.

0:02:11 Brennan: There's so many lies Fig is living right now. Gorgug defeated The Night Yorb, Kristen jumped the ramp and Ecaf died.

0:02:17 Lou: I remember when—

0:02:20 Siobhan: No, she know she didn't die, she ran away 'cause she's a freakin' turncoat and we saw her running away into the distance. She's definitely not living a full life inside my jacket.

0:02:28 Brennan: Exactly.

0:02:28 Ally: I would say, like, we thought these new people were on our side, so they did technically turn their coat on us.

0:02:35 Emily: Wait, which new people are you talking about?

0:02:37 Murph: The people at the party—

0:02:37 Siobhan: All the hotties.

0:02:38 Murph: ...that were trying to get us—

0:02:38 Lou: The hotties.

0:02:39 Murph: ... to do drugs.

0:02:39 Lou: All these absolute hotties.

0:02:40 Brennan: We met two hotties. We met Oisín.

0:02:41 Ally: We met many hotties.

0:02:43 Brennan: We met many hotties.

0:02:44 Siobhan: There were so many hotties.

0:02:45 Brennan: Max Durden? Yeah, I guess Max Durden—

0:02:47 Emily: You just like the last name Durden. [all laughing]

0:02:50 Ally: Like, that's a hot last name, sorry. Scumbag mole behavior.

0:02:55 Siobhan: Yeah.

0:02:55 Emily: That's good.

0:02:56 Siobhan: He had real line cook energy.

0:02:58 Brennan: We met Oisín and Ivy, as well as Buddy Dawn, the last three members of the Rat Grinders who were present at the party.

0:03:06 Ally: Honestly, also hot.

0:03:06 Brennan: Buddy? Buddy Dawn?

0:03:09 Siobhan: Get it together.

0:03:09 Emily: Seriously, do you need a cold shower?

0:03:10 Siobhan: You're too horny.

0:03:11 Ally: [laughing] No, no, no. I just mean you introduced us to all these kinda A-lister, the ones in the nice, new black jerseys that are like well-funded and have a German coach. [Emily laughs]

0:03:23 Brennan: I will say—

0:03:23 Ally: You know what I mean? Zac/Murph: "The Mighty Ducks 2" reference.

0:03:27 Lou: Yes.

0:03:27 Ally: Name a hotter movie. I'll wait. [all laughing] [Emily clapping]

0:03:31 Siobhan: I instantly was like, are you talking about "Pitch Perfect 2?"

0:03:35 Brennan: We did some quick investigations. The yearbook had us discover that because Buddy had joined only this last summer, that there had been a previous member of the High 5 Heroes, aka, the Rat Grinders. One Lucy Frostblade, a Frost Genasi who passed away in a very slim window of time last year, in between whenever grades were submitted and the end of the school year 'cause of that in memoriam slip in the yearbook. We also met a number of other people that dedicated themselves to Kristen Applebees' candidacy.

0:04:05 Ally: Got it all right here.

0:04:05 Brennan: And we met Sprak LeFevre, President of the Aguefort Aviation League. We met Molman Holden—

0:04:10 Siobhan: Loved him.

0:04:13 Brennan: Who was the President of the Soil Club and we met Gertie Bladeshield.

0:04:14 Siobhan: Loved her.

0:04:16 Brennan: Of the Apiarists' Society. Fabian?

0:04:18 Lou: Can't wait. Can't wait. Can't wait to go. We're all going.

0:04:21 Siobhan: That's gonna be my first roll.

0:04:23 Lou: That's all of our first roll in downtime, right?

0:04:24 Siobhan: Fuck my job. Fuck Academics.

0:04:26 Lou: We all have to go to Apiary.

0:04:27 Ally: How do you spell that?

0:04:27 Murph: It's not about the honey.

0:04:29 Emily: And have a shirt for it. "Apiary Club: it's not about the honey."

0:04:33 Murph: It's about helping bees.

0:04:35 Brennan: We also found that there had been some weird goings-on at the party. You got down to the basement. You know Max Durden let you know as the sun was coming up after this extraordinary party that some stuff got knocked over by Ice Mephits, which Adaine had summoned in a very cool popular kid move from Adaine to keep everyone's drinks frosty with some Ice Mephits.

0:04:55 Lou: My party wizard.

0:04:57 Siobhan: I really had a good time at that party.

0:04:59 Brennan: Yeah, party wizard.

0:04:59 Siobhan: Nothing can go wrong because of it.

0:05:01 Brennan: Yeah, nothing can go wrong. And the day after went and had a huge delicious meal of chicken parmesans cooked by Lydia Barkrock over at Mordred Manor.

0:05:13 Ally: After that bread salad.

0:05:15 Brennan: After, oh the weird breakfast sandwich scramble.

0:05:18 Zac: It's gonna make me too mad. We kinda have to move on from it.

0:05:22 Brennan: Breakfast sandwiches are so good that when they are ruined—

0:05:25 Ally: Exactly.

0:05:25 Brennan: It's like extra...

0:05:26 Siobhan: Yeah, it's heartbreaking.

0:05:27 Brennan: So, all of you went to more Mordred Manor where you learned about the pit fiend Bakur, a ritual that was subverted back in Lydia Barkrock's younger days and the loss of her party, including two of her party members, Cormyr and Rana. And the ritual that they all stopped back in the Red Waste that led to Lydia putting the gem into her chest. She told you that she would try to track down her old party members as most of her heirlooms from them were sentimental, rather than research-oriented, but to get you as much information as possible about Bakur's ritual back in the day. With that, that Sunday, all of you had that nice big meal, sleep off whatever you need to sleep off and return to the Aguefort Adventuring Academy Monday morning. A surprise assembly is called that morning. And you were all brought into the auditorium where Interim Backup Emergency Principal Grix wheels out to the podium. You see Principal Grix survey the student body. [dramatic whooshing]

0:06:37 Grix: Students of the Aguefort Adventuring Academy. I would like to take this moment to introduce all of you to a figure that you may see around the halls and campus of the Aguefort Adventuring Academy. Please give a warm welcome to law enforcement officer and agent of the Council of Chosen, Agent Clark. [Brennan clapping]

0:06:59 Brennan: And you see an aarakocra walks out, sort of eagle aarakocra walks out for a second to the podium.

0:07:05 Emily: Is this that guy?

0:07:06 Brennan: This is the guy.

0:07:07 Emily: Oh, I Disguise Self as Kristen. [Ally laughing]

0:07:12 Zac: Gorgug is sitting between two Kristen.

0:07:14 Fabian: Do anybody else.

0:07:14 Murph: Anyone.

0:07:16 Fabian: Anyone else.

0:07:17 Brennan: I rolled the nat 20 on my Perception. Agent Clark goes,

0:07:19 Agent Clark: There you are!

0:07:21 Brennan: And I'm gonna roll a Luck check. One of you pick odds. One of you pick evens. [all laughing]

0:07:28 Emily: I'll pick odd.

0:07:28 Kristen: Fuck, Fig! Fig!

0:07:30 Brennan: This episode's off to a rocky start, gang.

0:07:32 Murph: Can I Silvery Barbs? The Perception check, can you Silvery Barbs?

0:07:35 Brennan: You wanna Silvery Barbs it? Okay. It's gonna be clear you're casting a spell. [Murph groans]

0:07:39 Siobhan: You got a two.

0:07:41 Brennan: Oh, he got a two on the Perception?

0:07:43 Siobhan: Yeah.

0:07:44 Brennan: Give me a Deception check.

0:07:47 Emily: I do that with an advantage when I'm disguised.

0:07:50 Zac: Gotta beat a two.

0:07:52 Emily: Okay, I rolled really poorly but—

0:07:54 Brennan: He got a two, and he adds a 10 to that, so that's a 12. [Zac gasps]

0:07:58 Emily: I got a 17. [Brennan chuckling]

0:08:03 Emily: On a 3 and a 4, it becomes a 17.

0:08:05 Ally: Oh my God.

0:08:07 Brennan: You see that Agent Clark, this literal eagle-eyed special agent, looking over a crowd that has two of the same person in it, begins to— he takes the mic off the podium—

0:08:19 Emily: With Gorgug in between.

0:08:21 Zac: I put my huge axe—

0:08:21 Ally: I'm just smiling. I don't even know you've done it yet. I'm like...

0:08:25 Brennan: And goes,

0:08:25 Agent Clark: Disguises. Pretty fun. Right, gang? Pretty fun to commit fraud, to pretend.

0:08:34 Kristen: What is he talking, oh my God. What the fuck are you doing? What are you fucking doing?

0:08:37 Fig: What are you doing?

0:08:38 Kristen: What are you fucking doing?

0:08:38 Fig: What are you doing?

0:08:40 Agent Clark: To pretend to be someone you're not. It's all fun and games.

0:08:45 Gorgug: (To Kristen) Change into Fabian.

0:08:47 Kristen: Okay. [Ally grunting]

0:08:48 Fabian: Stop. Stop. [Ally yelling quietly]

0:08:52 Fabian: Stop. That was sophomore year. I'm cool now. No. Ally starts dancing [all laughing].

0:09:01 Fabian: Stop. Stop, this is just rude. This is just rude. The Ball, do something.

0:09:11 Brennan: Your entire section loses it over this bit. Honestly, make a Persuasion check. [all laughing]

0:09:21 Ally: Not good.

0:09:21 Brennan: Not good?

0:09:22 Ally: Oh, maybe, maybe. It's plus seven. All right, 16.

0:09:26 Brennan: So you guys sort of check out of Agent Clark's speech to watch Kristen kind of body roll for a second until you hear,

0:09:32 Agent Clark: All fun and games until Doppelgangers burn your nest! [eerie music]

0:09:43 Agent Clark: Thank you for your time.

0:09:44 Brennan: And then you see he hands the mic over to Principal Grix again.

0:09:49 Fig: That's a lot of emotional baggage to dump on some high schoolers.

0:09:51 Kristen: Wow.

0:09:53 Gorgug: You'd think some sort of agent would be able—

0:09:56 Kristen: Maybe reel it in.

0:09:58 Brennan: Principal Grix says,

0:09:58 Grix: As this injunction has been filed in between two segments of an auditorium assembly, the question and answer period will be limited to [beeping] three questions.

0:10:10 Adaine: Okay, so are we not allowed to disguise ourselves or use Mirror Image or anything anymore? 'Cause like we've specifically been learning that in school and it's not against the law. So, like, why is—

0:10:22 Grix: Did you not hear the middle portion of Agent Clark's speech?

0:10:25 Adaine: I just wanna clarify for everybody here that maybe didn't.

0:10:30 Grix: Please consult the Adventurer's Handbook regarding—

0:10:33 Fabian: It's more like this anyway. It's a lot more like this.

0:10:35 Grix: Authorized usage of disguise and enchantment spells are—

0:10:37 Fabian: Your shoulders need go up.

0:10:40 Brennan: The entire section just starts going, woo!

0:10:45 Adaine: I'm sorry. I don't think we ever received an Adventurer's Handbook. We were just told that chronomancy was the best kind of magic and then kinda sent on our way.

0:10:53 Grix: I must to the printing room at once. Copies will be provided at end of day of the Adventurer's Handbook. Only authorized uses of disguise in the service of a sanctioned adventure will be allowed on Aguefort campus.

0:11:08 Brennan: You see that he looks out and says,

0:11:10 Grix: For the final bit of business today at the assembly, it has come to the attention of the student government that there may have been some illicit activity during non-school hours. You will all now be submitted to a mandatory drug test. [scanner whirring]

0:11:33 Brennan: He scans the entire student body.

0:11:35 Fig: It's a good thing I've been too busy to do drugs.

0:11:38 Riz: I think we're okay, right?

0:11:38 Kristen: Are we all okay?

0:11:40 Brennan: All of you guys drank on Saturday and it's Monday morning. So you are—

0:11:44 Emily: I didn't drink.

0:11:45 Brennan: You didn't drink. Sorry, what I mean is none of you guys did anything that stays in your blood that long.

0:11:49 Emily: Yes.

0:11:49 Murph: Right.

0:11:50 Ally: Would alcohol count as a drug you think?

0:11:52 Brennan: Yes. If you were to show up to class drunk, that would be bad.

0:11:54 Fabian: Oh, I took a bunch of mushroom supplements this morning. Do you think those are gonna show up?

0:11:57 Kristen: Ashwagandha?

0:11:57 Fabian: Yeah, exactly.

0:11:58 Kristen: Okay. Okay. I think you should be good.

0:12:00 Fabian: And a lion's mane.

0:12:00 Kristen: You're good.

0:12:02 Fig: I love lion's mane. It's like mushroom brains.

0:12:04 Brennan: You see Principal Grix lingers on Fabian for a second. [scanner whirring]

0:12:09 Gorgug: Be still. Be still.

0:12:09 Brennan: A hologram comes up of Terpsichore Skullcleaver saying,

0:12:13 Terpsichore: I've prescribed all of my students Ashwagandha.

0:12:17 Brennan: And you see that he— [Emily laughing]

0:12:23 Brennan: And you see he says,

0:12:23 Grix: Delinquents detected.

0:12:26 Brennan: And just straight up fires a net at Max Durden, in like the third row.

0:12:31 Adaine: Max! [Max grunts]

0:12:32 Brennan: Gets grabbed. And just screams and people start fleeing the auditorium as the principal just starts grabbing people in there.

0:12:39 Fabian: Oh my God.

0:12:39 Kristen: What?

0:12:40 Adaine: Oh my God.

0:12:42 Fabian: Should we also?

0:12:42 Kristen: We're good, right?

0:12:45 Riz: Let's get outta here.

0:12:45 Ally: Yeah.

0:12:46 Gorgug: We gotta get outta…

0:12:47 Ally: Can we see if any of the Rat Grinders are getting netted?

0:12:50 Emily: Yeah. I wanna see who's getting netted.

0:12:52 Lou: Yeah.

0:12:53 Emily: I'm gonna cut 'em out if I like them. [Ally laughing]

0:12:55 Brennan: You see Max Durden looks surprised and horrified and—

0:12:58 Emily: I'll throw a Fireball at that net.

0:13:01 Siobhan: Just at the net?

0:13:02 Emily: No, I can't.

0:13:02 Ally: No way.

0:13:04 Fig: Someone, Riz, shoot the net. Poor Max Durden.

0:13:07 Adaine: Both of those are bad choices. You have a knife.

0:13:09 Murph: Okay, I'll use... Yeah, I'll do bonus action. Mage Hand.

0:13:15 Emily: You don't have to do that.

0:13:16 Lou: You don't even wanna use a full action on Max Durden?

0:13:18 Murph: No, no, no, no. So I can use an action to use it. I wanna do my Arcane Trickster ability to essentially use my improved Mage Hand. Its spectral hand is invisible. I can use thieves tools to pick locks or disarm traps at range. Can I use it to try to untie it real quick so he can run?

0:13:36 Brennan: Yeah, absolutely.

0:13:37 Gorgug: I'll fall down some steps over here really loud.

0:13:39 Fig: Woah!

0:13:40 Brennan: Go ahead and do it with a Help action.

0:13:41 Murph: Great. Okay.

0:13:42 Adaine: Wow, these stairs are so loud. [stairs banging] Like that's really dangerous. Maybe somebody should be looking into that. Like, somebody who cares about rules should care about these stairs.

0:13:52 Murph: Thieves tool check is an 18.

0:13:54 Brennan: You come over and are able to slice him out as Grix just starts chasing down other students. You see Jace, the Vice Principal, the Sorcery Teacher, is going,

0:14:01 Jace: Oh, whoa, whoa, Principal!

0:14:04 Brennan: Running after him, trying to wave him down. But he quickly leaves the auditorium as he just starts capturing students. As Max looks up and he says,

0:14:11 Max: What? I didn't, they did nothing in the past. I've been smoking Gorgenfern forever.

0:14:19 Riz: Yeah, I don't know. This new guy's weird. Did you sell us out?

0:14:21 Max: What?

0:14:23 Fabian: You tried to get us to come down there with you.

0:14:25 Fig: Yeah.

0:14:25 Max: Yeah 'cause it's awesome.

0:14:28 Riz: Okay, that's it?

0:14:29 Emily: Can I do an Insight check if he's telling the truth?

0:14:30 Brennan: Do an Insight check.

0:14:31 Lou: I'll also do an Insight check.

0:14:33 Kristen: Who else was down there, Max?

0:14:34 Gorgug: I'm on the ground just rubbing my arm.

0:14:36 Lou: Yes.

0:14:36 Siobhan: I got a 23.

0:14:38 Brennan: You got a 23. Did anyone else get a 23 or higher?

0:14:42 Ally: Ooh, yeah. Oh, yeah, baby, 28.

0:14:44 Zac: I'm screaming in your ear.

0:14:46 Kristen: Was anybody else down there with you when you went?

0:14:48 Brennan: He's like,

0:14:48 Max: Oh, well, like, my other pals. Like, a couple people were down there. Ficus was down there. There were a few other people that were kicking it down there. But, like, we— I just, like...

0:15:00 Riz: What's the name of that dragonborn? Oh—

0:15:01 Fabian: Oisín.

0:15:03 Riz: Was Oisín down there?

0:15:03 Kristen: Was Oisín down there?

0:15:04 Adaine: Or Ivy?

0:15:05 Riz: We know Ivy wasn't.

0:15:06 Max: Well, Oisín was not down there. Ivy was supposed to be down there though. She was the one who gave me the—

0:15:13 Fig: Okay.

0:15:13 Riz: So you got set up too?

0:15:15 Kristen: The fern?

0:15:15 Max: Yeah, the fern. I mean, I had some back at my house, but I didn't bring—

0:15:18 Adaine: Did she tell you?

0:15:19 Max: I didn't have enough to... Like, my family, I don't have enough to like share.

0:15:22 Adaine: Did she tell you to share it with us?

0:15:23 Fig: Did she cast a spell on you?

0:15:25 Max: I mean, in a sense.

0:15:28 Ally: Okay, I start putting the net back on.

0:15:30 Max: No, no, no! [all laughing]

0:15:32 Brennan: He says,

0:15:32 Max: No. I just, like, I don't know! It was a p— Like how many parties have I been to where you go smoke in the basement?

0:15:39 Adaine: I don't know, how many have you?

0:15:40 Max: Oh, every one of mine.

0:15:40 Adaine: Okay.

0:15:42 Kristen: Did you happen to see Littledoggy Girlcollar? What's her name? Copperlilly?

0:15:49 Adaine: Copperlilly Kittleface?

0:15:51 Fig: Copperlilly Kipperpetal.

0:15:51 Max: Littledoggy Girlcollar?

0:15:55 Adaine: Littledoggy Catlitter, yeah.

0:15:56 Riz: Kipperlilly Copperkettle.

0:15:57 Max: Oh.

0:15:57 Kristen: Copperlilly—

0:15:59 Riz: Kipper.

0:15:59 Kristen: Kipperlilly Copperkettle.

0:16:02 Fig: Kipperlilly Copperkettle.

0:16:03 Max: Oh, Kipperlilly Copperkettle? Yeah, I'm, like, I'm gonna be hitting up the food trucks, like, at lunch for sure.

0:16:10 Adaine: What food trucks?

0:16:11 Riz: Oh!

0:16:11 Adaine: Oh!

0:16:12 Riz: Did she buy everyone lunch?

0:16:14 Fig: Oh, as part of her campaign.

0:16:15 Brennan: You look outside.

0:16:16 Adaine: Is she a rich kid?

0:16:16 Brennan: All along the sidewalk are food trucks that all have banners saying like, "Vote Kipperlilly." They've got huge campaign slogans on all of them.

0:16:28 Gorgug: I better check this out. [all laughing]

0:16:31 Kristen: Gorgug.

0:16:31 Riz: How dare he. None of us...

0:16:33 Fabian: They have organic falafel. We should investigate for sure.

0:16:37 Fig: I mean, I think as a matter of security, I should probably sample a bite of every single—

0:16:42 Lou: Yeah.

0:16:42 Gorgug: Sort of burrito fusion.

0:16:43 Riz: You have to be care— Everyone's trying to trick us and everything, okay?

0:16:46 Kristen: Yeah, you're right.

0:16:46 Fig: I know, I know. That's why I as a security—

0:16:47 Lou: Yeah.

0:16:50 Fig: Have a duty to get stuffed.

0:16:54 Kristen: To get stuffed?

0:16:54 Fig: On food.

0:16:55 Adaine: S-T-U-F-F-D?

0:16:55 Fig: Yeah.

0:16:57 Kristen: Yeah [chuckling].

0:16:58 Riz: All right, Max, we appreciate it.

0:17:00 Max: Thank you for getting me outta the net. Am I dead or like... do I still go here?

0:17:05 Gorgug: I'd just run.

0:17:05 All: You gotta just run.

0:17:07 Max: But I do have to go to this school.

0:17:09 Adaine: Yeah, dude.

0:17:10 Kristen: Do you think it's just on sight next time he sees you, he's gonna fire another net at you?

0:17:14 Fig: I don't think he's gonna remember.

0:17:15 Riz: I feel like he's got a lot on his plate.

0:17:18 Adaine: But maybe like—

0:17:20 Max: We should unionize. Like if we all do drugs, they can't expel all of us.

0:17:24 Kristen: That's not a union. [all laughing]

0:17:26 Fig: I actually think he's on to something. I like this.

0:17:29 Riz: Fig, you're so close to getting expelled.

0:17:31 Kristen: Yeah.

0:17:32 Riz: We got Max.

0:17:33 Kristen: Honestly, Fig, yeah, I am worried.

0:17:35 Fig: I'm just saying, like, I'm not really into the fern stuff as much as psychedelics.

0:17:38 Riz: Okay.

0:17:40 Max: Yeah I can go—

0:17:40 Riz: No, no, no!

0:17:42 Max: My older brother has mushrooms he grows in a cave that kill you.

0:17:45 Riz: We're like—

0:17:47 Fig: Oh, that is awesome.

0:17:49 Kristen: That gave me a great idea. You need money.

0:17:50 Adaine: No, no, no. Absolutely not.

0:17:52 Kristen: Kipperlilly wants to fuck us over. Why don't you ask her for really expensive drugs? She'll give them to you thinking you're gonna get kicked out and then we just sell 'em. And then you have enough money for all your diamonds.

0:18:04 Riz: Kipperlilly won't turn that on us.

0:18:05 Adaine: Why?

0:18:05 Fig: What?

0:18:06 Fabian: We should have conversations like this, I feel like, in more private places.

0:18:09 Kristen: No one's writing this idea down. It's so good.

0:18:12 Max: You know what? I think I'm gonna keep the net for deniability. I'm just gonna walk around with the net.

0:18:17 Kristen: Yeah, walk around with a net.

0:18:17 Fig: Just be like, it didn't work.

0:18:19 Riz: Just drop and cover yourself in the net.

0:18:20 Max: Anytime, that's it! Whenever I see him coming, I'm just gonna drop and be in the net. Okay.

0:18:23 Adaine: Go, "Oh, you got me."

0:18:25 Brennan: He's like,

0:18:25 Max: You're the fucking best, man. I'm voting for you for sure.

0:18:28 Kristen: It's me, it's me.

0:18:28 Riz: Vote for Kristen.

0:18:29 Max: Oh, okay, yeah. Okay, yeah. Voting for you for sure. Absolutely. You got it.

0:18:32 Kristen: Definitely. Yeah. Feel free to eat as much food outside as you want.

0:18:36 Gorgug: They have shrimp burritos.

0:18:37 Brennan: [laughing] Gorgug!

0:18:39 Kristen: You already went out?

0:18:39 Gorgug: I walked out.

0:18:40 Riz: Oh, you turncoat.

0:18:42 Gorgug: I was just—

0:18:42 Kristen: You fuckin' turncoat, man.

0:18:43 Fig: I should get a bite of it to make sure it's not poison.

0:18:47 Kristen: Is that a shrimp taco?

0:18:47 Brennan: This is the best...

0:18:48 Gorgug: Now it's all lopsided.

0:18:48 Brennan: No roll necessary, one of the best shrimp burritos you've ever had.

0:18:52 Adaine: I gotta say, like, look, she knows that shrimp is our bit, right?

0:18:57 Fabian: Oh, definitely moving in on our shrimp territory.

0:19:00 Adaine: That's like our branding, right?

0:19:03 Ally: Were we ever able to check all of the video footage at Fabian's house to see if she was ever at the party?

0:19:09 Brennan: Oh, Kipperlilly? That is something that you can absolutely do as a Mystery roll during downtime.

0:19:14 Ally: Okay. Okay, cool.

0:19:14 Brennan: For sure.

0:19:15 Emily: Do you guys think that I could get away with just throwing off a quick Hex on Kipperlilly?

0:19:20 Siobhan: If you could see her.

0:19:20 Emily: 'Cause I could do—

0:19:21 Siobhan: I think she's wandering around invisible.

0:19:23 Emily: I could do an eight hour Hex on Charisma then she will be rolling with disadvantage on all of her campaigning.

0:19:29 Brennan: As you say, "I'm sure she's invisible," you hear on a old sort of bullhorn outside,

0:19:34 Kipperlilly: Thank you, everyone. Thank you one and all for coming.

0:19:38 Brennan: And see Kipperlilly on top of a little platform. She's got a little sash on that says, "Presidential candidate." And there's a little sort of confetti going around. You see Mary Ann Skuttle is out next to her, just sort of like silently handing out flyers to people as they walk over to the food trucks.

0:19:55 Fig: That Mary Ann.

0:19:55 Gorgug: I fuckin' hate her.

0:19:57 Fig: You say the word, I'll hex her. But I'm also cool to just play this...

0:20:00 Kristen: All right, how about we take the high road and we all walk out there as a group and we each get something to eat and we smile. And we're just like, "What a lovely thing they've brought." With like a little smile on our face that's like, "This is kinda trying pretty hard, right? But I'm gonna enjoy it."

0:20:15 Gorgug: They go truck. We don't give a fuck.

0:20:17 Kristen: I love that, Gorgug.

0:20:17 Fabian: There it is.

0:20:19 Gorgug: They are good though. They're really good.

0:20:20 Kristen: Yeah? Okay. I can't wait to have one. If I'm being honest, I skipped breakfast. I'm so fucking hungry.

0:20:25 Adaine: And they have a cottage cheese truck as well.

0:20:26 Kristen: [gasps] What?

0:20:26 Fabian: Oh!

0:20:28 Adaine: I'm gonna get in there.

0:20:29 Murph: Does anyone have like a Detect Magic or something? Make sure this food isn't like charming people or something.

0:20:34 Siobhan: Good idea. Yeah, I'll cast Detect Magic as a ritual.

0:20:38 Riz: People are after us, everyone!

0:20:40 Kristen: You're so smart.

0:20:41 Fig: I think it's a really good thing that you're thinking.

0:20:44 Ally: Am I still in like a kinda cowboy suit? I'm still in the Wranglers and the dress shirt? [Lou cackling]

0:20:50 Brennan: You must simply tell me what you are wearing.

0:20:54 Ally: Am I?

0:20:54 Brennan: How would I know? I've never had control over that before.

0:20:59 Murph: Brennan has never said 'Wranglers' on this show.

0:21:03 Fig: I'm just saying, Kristen, if you took that cowboy hat—

0:21:05 Siobhan: Since when were you wearing Wranglers?

0:21:07 Fig: You took that cowboy hat...

0:21:07 Ally: This happened last episode!

0:21:08 Murph: It did last episode.

0:21:08 Ally: This happened last episode!

0:21:10 Fig: If you took that cowboy hat, filled it up with salsa, let people dip.

0:21:12 Riz: Let's do that.

0:21:15 Kristen: All right, let's do it. Let's fucking do it. I love it. All right. All right, guys. All right, pour the salsa in. I'm ready.

0:21:22 Riz: Wait, let's first Detect Magic.

0:21:23 Kristen: Oh, right, right, right.

0:21:23 Riz: Let's not get charmed. Let's find out if Gorgug—

0:21:25 Kristen: Oh, wait, Gorgug. You might be charmed.

0:21:27 Riz: Let's find out if Gorgug is charmed.

0:21:28 Kristen: Let's found out. Can we do this?

0:21:29 Adaine: Yeah.

0:21:30 Ally: Okay, we go outside to all the food and we each grab a different thing and can we cast?

0:21:34 Brennan: Yeah, and you cast Detect Magic on everything.

0:21:36 Siobhan: Yeah.

0:21:36 Brennan: You detect faint magic coming from gear that Kipperlilly and Mary Ann have, similar to what you guys have. You detect magic within the food trucks. That seems all very minor artificer stuff, that's like magical chafing dishes or some like Prestidigitations that are effectively like seasonings and stuff like that. Looking at the food, I don't think you see anything, but I think if you are doing Detect Magic, I'm gonna say give me an Investigation with advantage from your Detect Magic. [dice rolling]

0:22:09 Siobhan: 14.

0:22:09 Brennan: Okay. I think you're looking very close at the food, and you just notice that all of the trucks have the same graphic design on it, even though they're all different businesses, for the wax paper in the little baskets or whatever's in the tinfoil. And as you're looking at it, it looks like a company. And on a 14, I think you see the word, sort of over and over, the logo of whatever the wax paper is. It just says, "Okay," with a little green check mark in the "O."

0:22:37 Siobhan: Okay, so that's maybe... the K stands for Copperkettle?

0:22:40 Brennan: I think on that, on a 14, as you Siobhan say that, you see that the O and K of okay, and the faded green check mark in the O, it's a bubble next to the letter K. So there's some kind of subliminal—

0:22:55 Emily: Oh, like vote, like choose on the ballot.

0:22:58 Brennan: Mm-hmm.

0:22:59 Emily: Okay. That's fine.

0:23:03 Ally: It's fine.

0:23:04 Fig: It's just subliminal messaging.

0:23:06 Kristen: Would you guys back me up if I go say hi to her and try to like, kinda—

0:23:08 Fig: Yeah, totally.

0:23:10 Adaine: Yeah, shake her hand.

0:23:10 Kristen: Yeah.

0:23:12 Adaine: Rough her up a little.

0:23:13 Ally: Can go up and get some enchiladas, and then go say hi to her?

0:23:18 Brennan: Yeah, absolutely.

0:23:19 Kristen: Can you guys fill my hat with salsa?

0:23:23 Fabian: Are we sure we wanna run that bit?

0:23:24 Kristen: We don't have to. Okay. Okay.

0:23:27 Siobhan: Salsa is such a wet food to eat.

0:23:29 Fig: Oh, no, it's dripping.

0:23:31 Kristen: It's so heavy. It's so heavy.

0:23:34 Riz: That is so thick.

0:23:34 Kristen: Oh God. Can you hand me...

0:23:36 Fabian: You're so muscular now.

0:23:38 Kristen: Can you hand me the enchiladas?

0:23:39 Fig: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

0:23:41 Kristen: Do I look good?

0:23:42 Riz: You look really good.

0:23:42 Adaine: You look really cool.

0:23:45 Gorgug: The last one's mild.

0:23:46 Kristen: Would you hold a big bowl of chips so she can dip it in? I think that would be a power move if she'll do it.

0:23:50 Emily: I'll tilt it toward her.

0:23:52 Ally: We walk up to her.

0:23:54 Kristen: Hey... Girlie.

0:23:59 Brennan: She has the bullhorn up and she says,

0:24:02 Kipperlilly: Hi, Kristen. How are you?

0:24:03 Kristen: Hey, I'm doing great. This is awesome.

0:24:07 Kipperlilly: You're covered in salsa.

0:24:07 Kristen: No, no, no.

0:24:08 Riz: That hat's covered in salsa.

0:24:08 Kristen: It's a bowl. It's like kind of a dip.

0:24:12 Emily: I dip one to give her the idea of how it works.

0:24:16 Kristen: So that's how it works, milady. [salsa sloshing]

0:24:22 Adaine: Wow, so random. So cool, Kristen.

0:24:25 Kristen: Thank you.

0:24:25 Adaine: You got my vote for sure.

0:24:28 Kristen: This is awesome. How'd you put all this on?

0:24:30 Kipperlilly: Oh, this? This is nothing. This is just, like, I don't know, it's like a fun little thing. I mean, I heard that you guys had an amazing party on Saturday.

0:24:38 Kristen: I thought I saw you there.

0:24:38 Kipperlilly: You did? I wasn't able to make it. I was studying.

0:24:42 Kristen: Oh, dang.

0:24:44 Emily: Insight! Insight!

0:24:44 Adaine: How come you were studying? You don't have anything to study.

0:24:46 Emily: Come on!

0:24:47 Adaine: You already passed this whole year.

0:24:48 Emily: 21.

0:24:50 Brennan: I'm not even gonna say that you think she's telling the truth. I think what you see is a fucking polished steel orb of a personality.

0:24:58 Emily: Okay.

0:25:00 Siobhan: Terrifying.

0:25:01 Kipperlilly: Yeah, home studying. You know, I'm sure you know how it is.

0:25:07 Kristen: But you passed, right?

0:25:07 Kipperlilly: Hm?

0:25:09 Kristen: You don't even have to take classes.

0:25:11 Kipperlilly: Studying student government.

0:25:11 Kristen: Oh, I see. 'Cause I thought that teacher found you so you don't have to take any classes.

0:25:17 Adaine: Right. [chip crunching] [all laughing]

0:25:31 Brennan: You see that she... She looks at you and says,

0:25:43 Kipperlilly: It's nice to be able to focus. How are things going with your goddess?

0:25:48 Kristen: [scoffs] It's been a lot better. Did you hear? She passed. [all laughing]

0:26:00 Ally: I actually meant that seriously.

0:26:02 Emily: Yeah.

0:26:04 Kristen: Yeah. Is this going well?

0:26:07 Riz: We're gonna head out.

0:26:08 Kristen: We are gonna head out. I can't move too fast.

0:26:10 Riz: Good contest. Honest contest.

0:26:11 Ally: I'm trying to run.

0:26:13 Brennan: As you walk away, it's like five seconds later, and you see that Kipperlilly now lets you get a little bit away so she can say,

0:26:17 Kipperlilly: Your goddess passed? [echoing] How can you cast spells?

0:26:23 Brennan: And the whole campus hears it.

0:26:27 Riz: Passed the test.

0:26:27 Kristen: Passed the test to give me extra spells.

0:26:31 Ally: And then I try to Spider-Man web.

0:26:35 Murph: Can I Prestidigitation? [all laughing]

0:26:39 Emily: I also Prestidigitation.

0:26:39 Lou: I'm gonna cast Pyrotechnics. And I'm just gonna shoot off a shit ton of fireworks.

0:26:45 Brennan: I'm gonna say right now that all of you do whatever you need to do. I'm gonna say the difficulty of covering that is a 40. And you may add all of your checks together.

0:26:57 Murph: You in a salsa hat.

0:26:57 Siobhan: I'm gonna cast Nondetection on Kristen so nobody can tell that it's not coming from her.

0:27:03 Zac: I cast Jump on...

0:27:06 Ally: On the salsa?

0:27:07 Brennan: Okay, Nondetection, Jump, you're casting Pyrotechnics.

0:27:09 Lou: Pyrotechnics.

0:27:10 Emily: I'm casting—

0:27:12 Ally: But do we have any Bardics going around that we can try to...

0:27:14 Emily: You don't want mine. I'm gonna cast Fear because it creates an image and I'm just gonna create an image of a huge nefarious spiderweb.

0:27:25 Brennan: So what everyone sees is Kristen shoots spiderweb that also produces a elephant-sized spider that begins to run amuck on the campus as Kristen ejects from a Jump spell straight over the school into another field. [all laughing]

0:27:42 Lou: Through fireworks.

0:27:42 Brennan: Through fireworks. Everyone starts screaming.

0:27:44 Kristen: Passed the test to gimme extra spells!

0:27:46 Gorgug: Do the Kristen!

0:27:47 All: Kristen! Kristen! Kristen!

0:27:52 Adaine: Wow, I'm voting for her for sure.

0:27:53 Riz: You've seen the shrimp jump, and now have you seen the salsa jump?

0:27:58 Siobhan: I'm so wet, it's burning my face.

0:27:58 Brennan: Food trucks peel out from the fucking giant spider.

0:28:03 Gorgug: Get outta here, losers. [all laughing]

0:28:07 Brennan: And with that, what better note to engage in our very first downtime.

0:28:15 Fabian: We gotta get it together.

0:28:17 Kristen: Yeah, I'm so sorry.

0:28:18 Riz: Kipperlilly knows that your other god died but didn't know that this one just died.

0:28:21 Kristen: God dammit.

0:28:23 Fig: Well, I actually liked that you played it honest, though. 'Cause she's telling us lies and you just told the truth.

0:28:28 Kristen: That's true, but—

0:28:28 Fig: Well, until you didn't.

0:28:31 Kristen: Until I lied big time. But you guys really covered it up.

0:28:34 Fabian: Passed the test.

0:28:36 Gorgug: Hey, do we need to lock it in?

0:28:37 Fabian: Yeah, we lock it in.

0:28:37 Ally: I take off my hat.

0:28:41 Kristen: You guys, I'm really sorry.

0:28:43 Riz: Let's all never talk to Kipperlilly ever again.

0:28:46 Fabian: Throw this hat away.

0:28:47 Ally: Can I do an Insight check on when I confronted her about the teacher finding her and her not finding the teacher?

0:28:53 Emily: Yeah. Yeah.

0:28:53 Ally: Did she give me any— Like did I ice through one little barrier?

0:28:58 Brennan: Give me an Insight check.

0:28:58 Ally: Okay. [die rolling] 14.

0:29:04 Brennan: Once again, she didn't say anything in response to it, which feels like a confirmation of it to you, but you didn't see it rattle her. You didn't see anything... Like, in other words, on a 14 you can't get any insight into it. But fundamentally, I think maybe Kristen would feel on some level that if you were to say, "Hey, that was a bullshit technicality," she'd almost be more proud. Do you know what I mean? Like, literally if someone were like, "Hey, the spirit of that rule is you're supposed to find the Rogue teacher, not have the Rogue teacher find you." She would be like, "A success against the spirit of the rule is actually more enticing to me."

0:29:47 Ally: She thinks she gamed it and that's actually more impressive.

0:29:49 Brennan: Yes, precisely.

0:29:49 Ally: Okay, got it. God dammit.

0:29:51 Siobhan: I wonder if the Rogue teacher found her to say, "Hey, grinding is not the way to do this and you actually have to study and you're in trouble."

0:29:58 Ally: Or she like put herself in danger and that's why that person died. The Rogue teacher had to step in and—

0:30:00 Siobhan: Oh, shit.

0:30:02 Ally: ...try to save someone—

0:30:02 Siobhan: Yeah, either way, she sucks.

0:30:06 Murph: Can I say before we leave school that day, I wanna go— because I know he's very conspiracy minded and stuff.

0:30:11 Brennan: Yeah.

0:30:14 Murph: I wanna go to Max Durden and give him the wrapper and just be like,

0:30:18 Riz: It's kinda weird if you look at it. It says like, "Vote Kipperlilly." It seems like some kinda subliminal messaging, like they're trying to fuck with us.

0:30:26 Max: Did you know that advertising was created by a council of Enchanters who were trying to—

0:30:34 Riz: Let's focus it in though on this though.

0:30:36 Max: Dude, why don't we hang out more?

0:30:38 Zac: This kid's still wearing a net, right? [all laughing]

0:30:41 Murph: Okay, we need the guy—

0:30:42 Brennan: He drops to the floor and he is like,

0:30:42 Max: Dude.

0:30:45 Brennan: Folds it up, puts it in his mouth.

0:30:46 Max: I'm on it.

0:30:47 Brennan: And he sort of crawls away in the net.

0:30:50 Emily: See, this is why I wanted to save him. He's on our team now.

0:30:51 Ally: I think you're right.

0:30:53 Siobhan: Yeah, the dude rules.

0:30:54 Brennan: You guys have kinda liked this kid since he yelled "Police state" in freshman year.

0:30:57 Murph: Yeah.

0:30:57 Siobhan: Yep.

0:30:58 Brennan: With that, we are going to jump into our first bit of downtime here, as all of you guys have classes to take and mysteries to solve and stuff to do. For those watching at home, this system is pretty simple. These guys are gonna make skill checks for all the stuff that they're trying to do at school in this first chunk, this first like month or so of the school year. And if they wanna re-roll those skill checks, if they come short, all they have to do [tokens rattling menacingly] is take a stress token. So how bad do you wanna succeed? And do you wanna get a little bit fried to do so? Are there any scenes people would do before they would jump into this school year? Things you need to like set up in order to try to do?

0:31:40 Lou: I just wanna say that I think Fabian's going to give, I would like to give my Bardic Inspirations out to all the party members that aren't The Ball. And I think that that looks like just—

0:31:51 Murph: Riz sits there stone-faced.

0:31:53 Fabian: I only have f— You can still come.

0:31:54 Riz: Yeah, yeah. Of course. Of course.

0:31:55 Fabian: You've got it.

0:31:56 Riz: Everyone has to have a least favorite friend. It's fine.

0:31:58 Kristen: Oh no.

0:31:59 Fabian: No, that's not— The Ball, you're reading into it.

0:32:01 Riz: I know. It's because I excel academically. I get it.

0:32:03 Fabian: Yes.

0:32:04 Fig: Riz, do you want a Bardic Inspiration from me?

0:32:06 Riz: I'm okay.

0:32:06 Fig: What?

0:32:09 Riz: No, wait, no, no. That's not what I meant!

0:32:10 Kristen: You have salsa on your shirt. How did it get there?

0:32:13 Riz: Wait, I will take a Bardic. Definitely.

0:32:15 Lou: But I think it's just I have a study hall at my house that's just— I hire like a local musician to come play acoustic guitar.

0:32:23 Ally: Oh my god.

0:32:26 Lou: And I hire up barista to come. Yeah, it's Lo-Fi.

0:32:28 Ally: Oh, this is so sick. This is so sick.

0:32:31 Lou: I just, I rent a bunch of tables and chairs and there's now a study hall at Seacaster Manor on weeknights.

0:32:37 Murph: That's so cool.

0:32:40 Brennan: I'm gonna say for our purposes that your Bardic Inspiration can only apply to one of the checks you make during this time. And even though it's multiple days, we're gonna kind of count it like a day.

0:32:47 Lou: Yes.

0:32:49 Brennan: Cool.

0:32:49 Lou: Cool.

0:32:50 Brennan: Everyone's first check they make is about the thing you are prioritizing the most as you begin your junior year in earnest. You can select Academics or Popularity. You could select Money and Part-Time Job or Extracurriculars. You could even select Relationships, if you have any of those that you wanna foster, or Mystery if there's any cases you're trying to run down. Having an MCAT means your academic rolls get way, way easier. Everything after the first, you get advantage. Fig and Kristen are in danger of expulsion. Failing an Academic check by more than five means you are expelled from the Aguefort Adventuring Academy.

0:33:36 Ally: Oh, what are we trying to hit with each of these?

0:33:38 Brennan: The DCs go up based on your priorities.

0:33:40 Ally: Oh, it's 5 10, 15—

0:33:42 Brennan: 15, 20, 25.

0:33:42 Ally: Yeah, okay. Got it.

0:33:43 Brennan: And succeeding over a certain amount usually gives you cool little bells and whistles and fun stuff.

0:33:47 Siobhan: Great.

0:33:49 Brennan: Other little fun perks to know about. A special thing happens if Gorgug hits a nat 20. We won't say it on camera, but a special thing happens if Gorgug hits a nat 20 on Academic roll. Adaine is rolling her Academic rolls with disadvantage unless she can get enough money. Kristen, I'm afraid you're gonna have a hard time succeeding at Cleric classes unless you can find a source of spellcasting. And that's all the big ones there. What you guys committed to earlier in the season was Gorgug committed to four academic years at once. First three years of Artificer, and then also Barbarian, plus the Owlbears. Fig had talked about a bunch of stuff, but the main things seemed to be different academic classes. But Fig was also up in the air, so you can announce that this episode, whatever you wanna do. Fabian is the only member that's gotten their MCAT. So you're good for Bard and Fighter classes. You also have the Owlbears and I have to imagine you'll be rolling on the Popularity track. [Lou chuckling] And again, you guys can load up your plate. You can take three, you can take eight. You do you.

0:34:54 Gorgug: Can you say again what happens when you don't actually make the roll?

0:34:57 Brennan: If you fail the roll, it depends. Some of them are more punishing than others. Failing Money means you didn't make any money. Failing Academic could mean expulsion. Riz has Rogue, tons of extracurriculars, and weirdly also Popularity because you're helping with the campaign.

0:35:13 Murph: Got it.

0:35:13 Brennan: Kristen has Cleric class, Popularity and a big extracurricular, which is like the Church of Cassandra, which you may choose to do or not do. Adaine just lost her money, her part-time job, but also has Wizard, Oracle, AV Club. There's a bunch of stuff here. Does anyone have a strong idea of what their first priorities are?

0:35:33 Murph: First things first, I have to speed run Academics. So I think I gotta get, like, perfect grades. So I think that's first.

0:35:42 Brennan: Riz, go ahead and gimme an Investigation roll.

0:35:45 Murph: Okay. [die rolling]

0:35:48 Lou: Look at the flourish on there.

0:35:50 Murph: Okay, Investigation is really good. Where'd that go? That's a 24.

0:35:57 Brennan: A+ Rogue class. Easy.

0:35:57 Ally: Woo-hoo.

0:35:59 Brennan: Literally cannot be stopped. Riz "The Ball" Gukgak. Every grade, perfectly flawless. Who else knows what their DC 5, their first focus and priority's gonna be?

0:36:09 Siobhan: I'm gonna go job because up until now my academics are pretty good. So I can focus...

0:36:15 Brennan: You are not in danger of expulsion.

0:36:16 Siobhan: Exactly. So, I can have one week where I dip a little bit.

0:36:20 Brennan: Hell yeah.

0:36:20 Siobhan: If I have to.

0:36:21 Brennan: Let's see what the roll is.

0:36:24 Siobhan: Oh my god, I thought that was a one. It's not. It's a seven. But plus four, which is an 11.

0:36:31 Brennan: And what skill are you rolling for that?

0:36:33 Siobhan: Investigation.

0:36:33 Brennan: Cool.

0:36:34 Murph: You do have a Bardic.

0:36:35 Ally: The DC's five though, right? Didn't you totally pass 'cause you picked it for your first one?

0:36:38 Brennan: Yes, you did. So this—

0:36:40 Siobhan: I did, but I still, I need to get to "well off" to not roll with disadvantage for my Academics. And "well off" is a 25.

0:36:50 Lou: What did you get?

0:36:50 Siobhan: 11.

0:36:52 Murph: Oh, okay. Yeah.

0:36:53 Siobhan: I mean, I basically can only get a 25 if I crit because all of these skills, I don't have anything good in.

0:37:00 Brennan: But you do have Bardic and if you want to re-roll. [tokens rattling]

0:37:04 Emily: Well, what about Divination rolls? I would think, especially with Investigation.

0:37:08 Siobhan: I rolled my Divination rolls.

0:37:10 Emily: Oh, okay.

0:37:10 Siobhan: I used one. And the other one is also not very good.

0:37:14 Emily: Okay.

0:37:15 Ally: Are you gonna re-roll or are you gonna add Bardic to that?

0:37:17 Siobhan: I mean, maybe I will use my Divination roll. So that brings me up to a 15. And then, I'll—

0:37:22 Emily: Can I also give you Bardic?

0:37:25 Brennan: I think we're gonna only allow one Bardic per.

0:37:27 Siobhan: I'll use my Fabian Bardic to see if I can—

0:37:29 Lou: It's a d8 now.

0:37:30 Siobhan: Ooh! Let's see if I can get it up to 20 at least.

0:37:34 Brennan: Cool.

0:37:36 Siobhan: Nah. But thank you anyway. I appreciate your friendship.

0:37:40 Fabian: Hey, you can always come by and get an espresso.

0:37:42 Adaine: Thank you.

0:37:42 Ally: You made a dollar.

0:37:44 Brennan: Adaine, go ahead and roll two d10 and you get that many silver pieces.

0:37:48 Siobhan: Okay.

0:37:48 Brennan: As you do so, let me ask you. There are a couple different job opportunities. Part-time counseling at the student center. There's some other part-time work around. But you do see there's a job listing for a server at Basrar's.

0:38:07 Siobhan: I mean, I'll do that. If I work at Basrar's can I get advantage on Popularity?

0:38:13 Ally: Oh.

0:38:14 Brennan: We're actually gonna cut over and see this little scene. So, it's the first week of school. Like, I guess you head out. Basrar's is not too far from Mordred Manor. How do you like— what's going through Adaine's mind as you walk off to apply for a job at Basrar's?

0:38:28 Siobhan: I mean, I feel pretty good about it because me and Basrar already have a great relationship. I also have that thing of like, I really enjoy going to Basrar's. And so I'm like,

0:38:38 Adaine: So working there will also be great.

0:38:43 Brennan: Yeah.

0:38:44 Siobhan: So I think I'm going in very optimistic.

0:38:48 Brennan: Basrar looks at you and says,

0:38:50 Basrar: Adaine, the Elven Oracle.

0:38:50 Adaine: Hi!

0:38:52 Basrar: It is wonderful to see you.

0:38:54 Adaine: Oh yeah, you don't have to— you can just call me Adaine. Actually I was wondering, I saw you had a part-time job available and I would really love to…

0:39:03 Siobhan: I just hand over my resume, which is Elven Oracle and then one week of working at Oodles of Strudel.

0:39:10 Basrar: And do you have any references from Oodles of Strudel?

0:39:13 Adaine: Unfortunately, the entire mall was destroyed in a cosmic incident.

0:39:21 Basrar: No email address or?

0:39:23 Adaine: No, unfortunately. No, and I actually- I was gonna say I could give you a reference for the Elven Oracle, but I actually don't know. I guess my sister. Yeah, I could- yeah, she's an elf.

0:39:37 Basrar: Great. I'll give her a call right now.

0:39:40 Adaine: Yeah. Great.

0:39:42 Basrar: I don't have her phone number.

0:39:44 Adaine: Oh. Yeah.

0:39:46 Brennan: He punches it in. You see him over in the corner.

0:39:50 Basrar: This is Basrar of Basrar's Soda Fountain calling for an application for a job for one Adaine Abernant. Just wanted to hear any reviews as her work of the Elven Oracle. Mm-hmm.

0:40:08 Siobhan: I start texting Aelwyn.

0:40:10 Adaine: What the fuck are you talking about? What are you doing? Don't ruin this for me. I'm so broke.

0:40:14 Brennan: You hit Send. A winky face comes back and he goes,

0:40:15 Basrar: Ha ha, a bit. Yes, very funny. Good. Yes, yes, yes.

0:40:23 Brennan: You see he hangs up and says,

0:40:24 Basrar: Great, you can start working right away.

0:40:26 Adaine: Oh, amazing. Thank you. Amazing.

0:40:29 Brennan: All he has to do is summon ice cream. So it's an easy gig for him. It's just you carry it. He's like,

0:40:33 Basrar: Some of the ice creams have gotten very complicated and are hard to carry.

0:40:36 Brennan: And there's like huge tureens and sundaes and boats of stuff.

0:40:40 Siobhan: I'm so good at carrying things because I have a Mage Hand. So I'm doing a regular carry, but then my Mage Hand is also carrying three ice creams also.

0:40:49 Brennan: Hell yeah. Who else knows what they're gonna be rocking up to first?

0:40:52 Lou: Popularity, baby. The Maximum Legend continues.

0:40:56 Brennan: Let's go. Go ahead and gimme your roll.

0:40:58 Lou: Can I make it Performance?

0:40:59 Brennan: You can make it Performance. [die rolling]

0:41:03 Lou: Okay. That's a 20.

0:41:08 Brennan: A 20. You have advantage on the first Charisma check whenever meeting a new character at Aguefort.

0:41:15 Ally: Ooh!

0:41:15 Brennan: So if you've never met before, you have advantage on the first Charisma check.

0:41:18 Lou: Great.

0:41:18 Brennan: And additionally, you may roll one of your other track checks with advantage because some kid just helps.

0:41:26 Ally: Hey, you know?

0:41:26 Siobhan: Damn.

0:41:27 Brennan: Someone, like, gives you their homework.

0:41:29 Lou: Hell yeah.

0:41:29 Brennan: As Fabian accumulates popularity at school, what happens over the course of the first couple weeks?

0:41:35 Lou: Ah, I mean I think it's just, it's that scene in the movie where they walk into the hall and it's just every person gets their own little aside. And it's just like,

0:41:44 Fabian: Oh, nice new shirt. You buy it underground?

0:41:49 Lou: And it's just like-

0:41:49 Ally: What?

0:41:50 Lou: But that's our inside joke.

0:41:52 Ally: A mole is like [giggling].

0:41:52 Lou: Exactly. I have an inside joke now with every single person and I think that Lo-Fi weeknights at the Seacaster Manor are just a huge pop, you know?

0:42:02 Brennan: Incredible. Does anyone not get an invite to Lo-Fi study nights at Seacaster Manor?

0:42:08 Lou: You know what? No. Everyone's invited to Lo-Fi study nights at Seacaster Manor. Even freshmen.

0:42:18 Brennan: Uh, your home is filled with freshmen. They rarely leave.

0:42:25 Kristen: They're a great voting block. Do you think I could maybe, I stop by?

0:42:29 Lou: Yeah, we do moth nights sometimes.

0:42:34 Ally: Are they allowed to vote?

0:42:35 Siobhan: It's just a moth telling stories.

0:42:36 Lou: Yeah.

0:42:36 Ally: All right, cool.

0:42:37 Lou: Yeah, they're allowed to vote.

0:42:38 Brennan: They're allowed to vote. And I think every once in a while Ivy stops by.

0:42:42 Lou: Oh, you know that roll's coming down the road.

0:42:46 Brennan: Incredible. Who else is rolling?

0:42:49 Zac: I think I know that I would be doing Academics.

0:42:52 Brennan: Cool. I think we're gonna burn through all four of your academic tracks all at once right now.

0:42:57 Zac: Now, help me out with the math of like, does it help me to do the easiest Artificer class at the five or should I?

0:43:05 Brennan: You're gonna do all three Artificers in a row.

0:43:08 Zac: Okay.

0:43:08 Brennan: It's basically do you wanna do all three Artificers first and Barbarian last or do you wanna do Barbarian first and then all three Artificers?

0:43:15 Zac: I think I'll do Artificers first.

0:43:18 Brennan: Yeah, you probably want lower DC for Artificer, right?

0:43:20 Zac: Yeah.

0:43:20 Brennan: Great. You can do Arcana, Tinker's Tools or Investigation.

0:43:24 Zac: I'll do Tinker's Tools. It's much better than the others.

0:43:27 Brennan: Hell yeah. Go for it.

0:43:29 Zac: Okay, so first Artificer class. [die rolling] Okay, that's a 21.

0:43:35 Brennan: 21. As the weeks go along, you dive in. Henry is here, all the other Artificer students. You're surrounded by robots and weird mists, in encounter suits and stuff like that.

0:43:45 Zac: I'm giddy.

0:43:46 Brennan: The freshman stuff, you get an A+. You put a fucking satellite in the sky. You are an accomplished Artificer. And if you think about, how many Artificer levels does Gorgug have? You have like five, right?

0:43:55 Zac: Now five. Yeah.

0:43:57 Brennan: Think about the fact that you ended freshman year at level eight. You get it. So, A+ in freshman Artificing.

0:44:04 Lou: All right. All right.

0:44:04 Zac: Okay.

0:44:06 Brennan: Let's go round two. DC jumps up by five. Same check.

0:44:09 Zac: Okay. Okay. That is a 13.

0:44:15 Brennan: Will allow you to pass sophomore Artificer with a C.

0:44:20 Zac: Okay.

0:44:23 Murph: You have a Bardic, right?

0:44:24 Zac: Oh. Oh!

0:44:25 Lou: You also have two more levels of class you need to just pass.

0:44:30 Zac: I might take a stress token.

0:44:33 Brennan: Take a little stress token.

0:44:34 Zac: Do another.

0:44:36 Ally: Is a C okay though?

0:44:37 Siobhan: C is okay. C's got degrees.

0:44:38 Zac: Is C okay?

0:44:40 Lou: It's not a D. It could have been a D.

0:44:43 Siobhan: You could re-roll and get worse.

0:44:45 Murph: Yeah, that's true.

0:44:45 Zac: Oh god. My roll is six. I'll take one stress token.

0:44:50 Lou: Ooh. [tense bass]

0:44:51 Brennan: Gorgug takes our first stress token. I'm so happy. [Zac groaning]

0:44:55 Ally: We gotta get you the MCAT, Gorgug.

0:44:56 Brennan: We'll resolve what the stress... Like we're gonna meet all of you when we come outta downtime to see how fucking fried you all are. So we'll resolve what happens with those at the end. Go ahead and re-roll. [die rolling] [Emily sighs]

0:45:11 Ally: Worse?

0:45:13 Zac: It's a nat 1.

0:45:13 Brennan: Nat 1. Okay.

0:45:16 Zac: Now, so what happens if I take a second stress token?

0:45:20 Brennan: That would be the final one you can take for this roll.

0:45:22 Zac: Okay, I'll do that.

0:45:24 Brennan: Cool, stress. Here you go.

0:45:25 Lou: So when you take a stress token, it obliterates?

0:45:28 Brennan: It obliterates the previous roll.

0:45:30 Ally: Oh it's not advantage.

0:45:30 Lou: Oh boy.

0:45:32 Zac: Okay. [die rolling]

0:45:36 Zac: Nat 20! [Siobhan gasps]

0:45:36 Brennan: Yes! Oh my God!

0:45:38 Zac: I'm getting it! Oh!

0:45:40 Brennan: You unlock a fucking... We'll have to deal with that. We'll talk at the break. But that is fucking huge.

0:45:47 Ally: Wow!

0:45:49 Brennan: A+, nat 20. Also, Gorgug, you unlock an academic resource which will come into play later this season. I'll also talk to you about that secretly.

0:46:03 Siobhan: Whoa!

0:46:04 Brennan: And it's up to you whether you would tell your classmates or not.

0:46:06 Zac: All right.

0:46:08 Brennan: Holy shit. Okay, two stress tokens. You got it. A+.

0:46:10 Ally: Wow. Yeah, worth it, honestly.

0:46:14 Brennan: Gorgug is gonna be fucking fried at the end of this. Now you're gonna do your junior year Artifice.

0:46:19 Zac: Okay.

0:46:19 Brennan: The DC has jumped up by 10. So just passing, a D is a 15. Right?

0:46:26 Zac: Okay.

0:46:27 Brennan: And then an A would be a 27.

0:46:30 Zac: And I don't get anything from the nat 20 in terms of my roll, right?

0:46:33 Brennan: I'll say with a nat 20, I'll give you advantage on this roll. You roll this with advantage.

0:46:38 Zac: It doesn't hurt to ask you, you know?

0:46:40 Brennan: It doesn't hurt to ask.

0:46:40 Emily: Just gotta ask.

0:46:41 Brennan: Go for it.

0:46:41 Zac: All right. Hello, fellow juniors. [dice rolling]

0:46:44 Emily: Another nat 20.

0:46:44 Brennan: Nat 20! What the fuck?

0:46:47 Lou: He's an Artificer.

0:46:50 Ally: Gorgug! Gorgug! You're listening to "The Beats to Study To."

0:46:54 Lou: Yes.

0:46:54 Ally: That girl with her cat. You're just like, "Yeah."

0:46:58 Zac: I'm so chilled.

0:46:59 Lou: I pay her to come by.

0:47:00 Brennan: Oh my fucking god.

0:47:00 Lou: She sits in the window.

0:47:03 Zac: School's easy.

0:47:05 Ally: Dude, you're killing it. You're killing it.

0:47:07 Brennan: Okay, now comes your Barbarian class. The DC has moved to 20 to pass. You're gonna roll Athletics for this.

0:47:14 Zac: Okay, can I rage?

0:47:15 Brennan: I don't think you can rage because that's very short term.

0:47:17 Emily: Since I'm at the Barbarian class, can I give him a Bardic?

0:47:21 Brennan: Yes, you can give him a Bardic.

0:47:22 Zac: I still have the one from Fabian.

0:47:23 Brennan: Oh, you have the one from Fabian. Okay, cool. Cool.

0:47:25 Emily: It might be more stable than mine. [brief haunting gurgling noise]

0:47:28 Brennan: Here we go. That's right, the stability of the Bardics.

0:47:30 Siobhan: The yogurt Bardics. [die rolling]

0:47:33 Zac: 21.

0:47:35 Brennan: For Barbarian, 21 is now a D. What would just squeak by.

0:47:38 Zac: And a d8?

0:47:40 Lou: d8.

0:47:43 Zac: What did I say?

0:47:43 Brennan: 21.

0:47:44 Zac: It's a 23.

0:47:46 Brennan: 23. That would be a C.

0:47:48 Zac: I think I'm okay with the C right now.

0:47:50 Lou: There it is.

0:47:50 Brennan: Okay, and we're taking a C in Barbarian.

0:47:53 Ally: Wow. Two nat 20s in the Artificer.

0:47:57 Siobhan: Yeah.

0:47:57 Murph: Gotta get you that MCAT.

0:47:59 Ally: Barbarian.

0:48:00 Brennan: Let's get Fig and Kristen, what you guys are doing for your first downtime.

0:48:05 Ally: Are we all studying at "The Beats to Study To?"

0:48:06 Murph: I was gonna say, I think Riz is like very concerned about you two getting expelled, so is sitting at the table with you.

0:48:12 Ally: And I just watched you like absolutely ice all your tests.

0:48:16 Emily: Yeah.

0:48:16 Ally: I think I'm inspired. I was really gonna probably do Campaign first, but I see Riz just kinda like staring at me. He keeps refilling my coffee cup. I'm like shaking at this point. Yeah, okay.

0:48:28 Murph: It's fun. Right?

0:48:29 Ally: I think especially since Copperlilly made it really public that I don't have a god, I might do... I don't know which this would count for, like, goddess work. So, not really like Cleric. : You're not focusing on your classes, but actually doing the proselytizing.

0:48:46 Ally: Like, can I try to check in with Cassandra? Can I say her name and see if she's responsive anywhere?

0:48:52 Brennan: Actually as this chapter is starting, 'cause you can't cast spells, it's unclear if you would even be able to complete your Cleric classes. I think you grab some office hours with Yolanda, the Cleric teacher.

0:49:03 Ally: Oh cool.

0:49:05 Brennan: Yolanda looks at you and says,

0:49:05 Yolanda: Ms. Applebees, it's come to my attention that you may have experienced the second deicide of your tenure. Third?

0:49:17 Kristen: There are a couple iterations on the Yes.

0:49:20 Yolanda: Oh, right. Yes, question mark. There was an addendum to-

0:49:24 Kristen: I saw it dead. It slid out of a hole. [Lou chuckling]

0:49:32 Yolanda: Kristen, um-

0:49:33 Kristen: Does that mean anything to you?

0:49:34 Yolanda: Well, it's not good. It slid out of a hole? How? Based on what? What was the context?

0:49:41 Ally: I tell her the whole story.

0:49:43 Brennan: She becomes very interested in the voice that spoke to you. She's like,

0:49:46 Yolanda: Did you recognize the voice that was speaking to you? Was it, like, mocking you or something like that?

0:49:51 Kristen: Like, "This is the god you deserve."

0:49:54 Yolanda: The god you deserve. That's very interesting.

0:49:59 Kristen: Why is that interesting?

0:50:00 Yolanda: Well there's something that had a personal, something that had a connection to you that was strong enough or powerful enough that it wanted to mock you.

0:50:12 Kristen: Do you think it was Cassandra? I think maybe she was really angry with the way that I treated her.

0:50:20 Yolanda: Could well be. Kristen, if I'm going to make allowances for you to continue on in your Cleric classes without the ability to actually, meaningfully cast spells, where do you feel, if anything, a connection to the divine right now? Do you feel any connection to Cassandra still?

0:50:42 Kristen: Yeah, I think that was the ideal... I think embracing mystery and unknown is still... I mean the moon stuff is also pretty interesting, but I do think Cassandra made more sense to me.

0:51:00 Ally: Okay, you mentioned something. So I think Lydia Barkrock mentioned this or something. There was some sort of like god of the... What was her Cleric studying? Yeah, sorry, I made a note.

0:51:12 Emily: I think they're asking what the Cleric in that party, what god the Cleric in that party.

0:51:16 Brennan: Oh!

0:51:17 Ally: It was something like mystery and darkness. It was something really interesting.

0:51:22 Brennan: Oh, Osmir. A god of magic. Osmir.

0:51:23 Ally: Yes, yes! Magic and secrets.

0:51:26 Brennan: Magic and secrets.

0:51:26 Ally: Yeah. Is there a way for me to do like a History check on that? Like in our library or with the teacher or...?

0:51:34 Brennan: Yeah. Yolanda looks at you and says,

0:51:37 Yolanda: I think the academic path that probably makes the most sense to save you from the academic probation you are in right now would be one of the two following. And honestly, perhaps a combination of both. Because you can't participate in practical classes, I'm gonna need a lot of extra theological work from you, the academic side of being a Cleric; religious treatises, research, all of that. If you wanna look up Osmir, if you wanna see anything about that, that you can, I think that's a very wise and prudent idea. And you should focus on that this semester. On a practical level, if you haven't regained your spells by the end of the fall semester, I'm gonna have to fail you no matter how many essays you turn in. So what I would say is if Cassandra is truly gone, something quite strange has happened. Because as long as you still believe in her, she should not be fully gone. Is there any part of her sort of remaining?

0:52:36 Ally: Is there a way that you can-

0:52:36 Brennan: You remember those shards of twilight energy.

0:52:38 Ally: Oh, yeah, yeah! I show her.

0:52:41 Brennan: She casts a Divination spell on them.

0:52:46 Yolanda: Theological essays. I'm gonna ask for them biweekly, every two weeks.

0:52:53 Kristen: Okay.

0:52:54 Yolanda: And I think you need to perform a miracle.

0:52:57 Kristen: Hm?

0:52:58 Yolanda: I think you need to perform a miracle. Clerics at their best represent an aspect of divine truth and their work is to manifest that truth in the day-to-day lives of people who can benefit from the magic imparted by the gods. What is a miracle that doubt can make? What is a phenomenon that mystery can work upon the world? Cassandra's not here to work through you. So in all likelihood she needs you to work on her behalf. That's my advice. It's the best I can do.

0:53:34 Ally: Okay. I start taking a bunch of notes. Maybe I can kinda combine this with my campaign. [Emily laughing] Just something really public. I mean, like, if I do a miracle that's gonna help the campaign.

0:53:47 Emily: I kinda think the shrimp jump was a miracle.

0:53:49 Ally: I think you're right. Can I ask her if the shrimp jump counts as my miracle?

0:53:53 Yolanda: It's been very good talking to you Miss Applebees. Thank you so much. Good day.

0:53:57 Kristen: The tarter sauce was on fire.

0:53:57 Brennan: Click!

0:54:00 Ally: Was there any way for her to help me find out if Cassandra's alive? After I talk to her, can I find some quiet space in one of the Cleric rooms and try to convene with...?

0:54:08 Brennan: Yeah. Yeah, let's make this first check here. So this is gonna be for sort of like your religion essentially.

0:54:13 Ally: Yes.

0:54:16 Brennan: Go ahead and gimme a Religion check. [dice rolling]

0:54:23 Ally: That is an 11.

0:54:23 Brennan: Okay. Sitting in the quiet meditation room, the one where you saw Cassandra and saw Kalina before.

0:54:30 Ally: I gotta do better than that.

0:54:33 Brennan: Kristen digs deep in a way that I think Kristen sometimes hasn't in the past. [ominous music] [ominous music] [dice rattling]

0:54:45 Ally: Cassandra. [dice rolling] Okay, a lot better. A lot better. That is a 22.

0:54:52 Brennan: [gasps] Incredible. With that, as you begin your fall semester in the same meditation chamber where you saw Cassandra when she brought Kalina back, you feel yourself drifting, becoming distracted. And suddenly, feel eyes on you. [growls] Shadow. Something ferocious moving nearby. Feel yourself becoming distracted, and suddenly you remember the symbol from the Forest of the Nightmare King. Whenever you're in the dark, I'm here holding your hand and you're not afraid of the dark. Cassandra is beyond your reach, but definitively is not dead. She cannot grant you spells, but is so removed from this place that you are not sure how to contact her. But these handful of shards of the divine essence you're holding onto, there's some tether or connection here. It's just- the line hasn't been cut but it doesn't have a current right now. Right? On that 22, can Kristen think of a time or moment that doubt or mystery has actually made her life better? A moment where there was some small miracle that was provided, some benefit to life made by mystery or doubt?

0:56:15 Ally: I think she spent so much time trapped and feeling, like, super wrong that doubt and mystery actually feel like a really beautiful escape, and more true.

0:56:32 Brennan: The concept of escape hits you. And for a moment you hear [clicking]. And all of the locks on the windows and all of the locks on the doors in this room just open slightly. A little bit of divine magic flows through you. You couldn't control it like your old spellcasting, but when you thought of escape, you thought of, yeah, embracing the unknown gives you the strength to leave a bad situation. Escape.

0:56:59 Ally: If there's some way for me to kind of divinely put something together, I don't know, like pine needles from outside, something forest-like and kind of- not really cast a spell, but just do something kind of in ceremony to send to Cassandra that says, "I'm sorry," I would love to do something like that.

0:57:18 Brennan: Beautiful. Anyone who wants to, after one of the Lo-Fi study nights out in the twilight, there's a beautiful ceremony. And on that 22, you do not lose Craig to Wolfsong. You see Craig shows up and goes,

0:57:32 Craig: Hey, sorry I've been a little outta touch. Work's been crazy."

0:57:36 Kristen: Where do you work, Craig?

0:57:38 Craig: Oh, I work at Armor, Zombie and Lich.

0:57:41 Kristen: Oh, that's why you're...

0:57:41 Fabian: Still?

0:57:43 Kristen: You smell so good. When you walked into the group, I could just smell the cologne.

0:57:48 Craig: No, it's great. I know they blast it on you. They blast it on you.

0:57:50 Kristen: Yeah. Okay.

0:57:51 Craig: All right. Let's go, Cassandra.

0:57:56 Kristen: Okay.

0:57:57 Brennan: And there's a small ritual here. And I think for you to know on that 22, what came about was, like, an actual belief that Cassandra's presence in the world does good for people. And to the degree that you remembered escape and were like, "Yeah, I have benefited from mystery and doubt. Like, really, concretely..." That made magic come back. And I think any instance that Kristen sees for doubt to do that will strengthen that connection. Awesome. 22. Huge success. And you took your first stress token. Fig.

0:58:28 Emily: Okay. I've got a lot of thoughts. [Ally laughing]

0:58:32 Fig: Riz.

0:58:32 Riz: Yeah?

0:58:35 Fig: Do you think that I should offer myself to be a Paladin of Cassandra?

0:58:40 Riz: A Paladin? Not a Warlock?

0:58:42 Fig: Because I'm an archdevil of rebellion and you need doubt to imagine. You need to basically fling yourself into the unknown. That's what rebellion is.

0:58:50 Riz: Okay. Yeah, that sounds- I mean, that sounds sick.

0:58:56 Fig: Because maybe that would help bring Cassandra back. If Cassandra had another believer.

0:59:00 Riz: You could definitely do that. You could also do Warlock with that too, right?

0:59:05 Fig: Yeah.

0:59:06 Riz: Do you prefer Paladin?

0:59:06 Fig: I...

0:59:08 Riz: Do you have an interest in those classes? 'Cause it's just-

0:59:09 Ally: [indistinct] Paladin teacher?

0:59:12 Siobhan: How hot is the Paladin teacher?

0:59:14 Fig: Stop making me make decisions.

0:59:15 Riz: No, no, no, it's not about... Look, I think we're just gonna have to put in paperwork and stuff then, though, just to make it official.

0:59:21 Emily: Can I bring it up with Kristen?

0:59:23 Fig: Kristen, do you think it would help bring Cassandra back if she had, like, a champion?

0:59:30 Kristen: Sure. Yeah.

0:59:31 Fig: Okay, this feels too rash.

0:59:33 Kristen: No, no.

0:59:33 Fig: It's coming to me in this moment and it feels-

0:59:34 Kristen: Wait, no. I think you have so much to offer. I mean, look, I love Craig and he smells so good all of a sudden.

0:59:42 Fig: He smells amazing.

0:59:44 Kristen: It's like animal piss, but in a good way.

0:59:46 Fig: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Like fermented animal piss.

0:59:49 Brennan: Over in the corner, you see Craig's just sort of talking to Gorgug and says,

0:59:51 Craig: I've never seen a spell.

0:59:54 Gorgug: Never ever? [Emily laughing] At all?

0:59:57 Craig: No, just hasn't come up.

1:00:00 Gorgug: I kinda position myself over here to do a study over here. I kinda can't help you I don't think.

1:00:07 Craig: Oh, okay.

1:00:08 Adaine: Kristen, your adult man is being weird.

1:00:10 Fig: I'm feeling like doubt in the unknown and rebellion, it's like, rebellion is only strengthened by having no fear and doubt.

1:00:18 Kristen: Well rebellion is the vehicle to get to doubt from certainty.

1:00:21 Fig: Yeah.

1:00:23 Kristen: Which is really claustrophobic. Yeah, I think you're totally right.

1:00:26 Fig: It feels kinda rash though 'cause I literally just thought of this.

1:00:30 Kristen: I think we should run with it full speed.

1:00:32 Fig: What?

1:00:32 Kristen: I think you should.

1:00:34 Ally: I put my hand out. I spit in my hand and put pine needles in it.

1:00:39 Fig: Wait, fuck. I had a whole other plan. I had a whole other plan and this just occurred to me.

1:00:45 Kristen: Wait, but what classes have you been liking?

1:00:48 Fig: So I really like Warlock, I do wanna continue. And then I was gonna go to my Bard teacher and try and get them to let me do an independent study.

1:00:56 Kristen: For Paladin?

1:00:59 Fig: No, this Paladin plan just came to me. That's why it's coming up so roughshod.

1:01:04 Kristen: No, like Helio and all that shit. Paladin feels very squeaky clean. You know what I mean? I think Cassandra would want a Warlock.

1:01:11 Fig: Not the way I would do it.

1:01:15 Kristen: You'd be a nasty ass Paladin? Dirty Paladin.

1:01:18 Fig: Dirty Paladin.

1:01:19 Kristen: I think Warlock could work-

1:01:20 Fig: I'd be a Paladin you can't take home.

1:01:22 Kristen: ...if you wanted to still do that. The Paladin you don't take home to mom.

1:01:26 Fig: Okay. Okay. I'm just gonna, like, put that on ice.

1:01:29 Kristen: Okay.

1:01:30 Fig: This feels really rash.

1:01:32 Riz: I mean, thinking about it, all this stuff with devils and doing deals and everything, it's not too-

1:01:37 Fig: I mean, it's another relationship thing, which is my- pledging myself to people is pretty much all I do.

1:01:43 Riz: Maybe you were meant to be a champion.

1:01:47 Fig: It's just too big of a decision to make right now. I don't wanna make any decisions.

1:01:51 Kristen: Don't run away! Hey, stop!

1:01:53 Emily: I skateboard away.

1:01:55 Brennan: Fig, you skateboard away. I think if you wanted to talk to any of the teachers, you feel cool to talk-

1:02:00 Emily: I definitely wanna go to the Warlock.

1:02:02 Brennan: Cool. I think, like, that night after the Twilight Ceremony is when Warlock class is anyway. So like 30 minutes later you're skateboarding into school and Zara says,

1:02:10 Zara: Ah, Miss Faeth, it is good to see you.

1:02:15 Fig: Hi.

1:02:17 Zara: Listen, I think I checked the roster. There's some paperwork that needs to go through. What- and I don't want to harsh your vibe.

1:02:28 Fig: Right, right.

1:02:29 Zara: What class on paper are you in?

1:02:36 Fig: I'm just sort of an off paper kinda person.

1:02:39 Zara: Right, so you're trespassing?

1:02:42 Fig: Yeah.

1:02:42 Zara: Okay.

1:02:45 Fig: Okay, here's the deal. I think I like your class, so I would like to keep coming.

1:02:51 Zara: All right.

1:02:51 Fig: So if there's a matter of paperwork, I'm willing to dot some i's and crossed some t's.

1:02:58 Zara: Perfect, I think this is a very wise decision. You are in Bard classes, I believe. But as long as you get permission from your Bard teacher.

1:03:12 Brennan: You see she produces a contract, and a little thing of flame and it's an MCAT. She signs her name allowing you to multiclass into her class. She hands it to you and says,

1:03:23 Zara: The power of the Warlock is the power of the agreement, which is the power of the relationship. Where do you wish to draw your power from? And where do you feel that you are drawing it from now?

1:03:35 Fig: I am an archdevil of rebellion 'cause my dad was an archdevil of rebellion. Now he actually coaches-

1:03:43 Zara: Your dad is Gorthalax?

1:03:44 Fig: Yeah, Gorthalax is my dad.

1:03:46 Brennan: All right. You see that she says,

1:03:49 Zara: Students, impromptu field trip. [screaming]

1:03:53 Brennan: And a burning sigil appears on the ground and you see a portal opens up, and you are looking at the Bottomless Pit. And you see Baby goes,

1:04:01 Baby: Oh, Mistress.

1:04:04 Fig: Hey, Wretchrot. Can we have a field trip?

1:04:07 Baby: Ah, yes. Everyone has to lick me. [all laughing]

1:04:12 Fig: Well, he is the boss.

1:04:14 Brennan: You see Zara says,

1:04:14 Zara: Is he the boss?

1:04:16 Fig: He is the boss I work for.

1:04:18 Brennan: And you see she says,

1:04:18 Zara: Demon, no-

1:04:20 Brennan: Er, says,

1:04:20 Zara: Devil. [magical surge]

1:04:22 Brennan: And abjures Wretchrot. Wretchrot goes,

1:04:24 Baby: Ah, she's killing me.

1:04:26 Brennan: As he flies away. And all these Warlock students sort of, like, gingerly step through this flaming portal and you see yourself back in the Bottomless Pit. You see there's a bunch of harried-looking little spine devils and barbed devils going like

1:04:43 Devils: [grunting] Mistress.

1:04:44 Fig: I had this actually other crazy idea. Sorry, I'm so all over the place. I was thinking we could set up a recording studio.

1:04:53 Devils: A recording studio.

1:04:56 Fig: Are you guys good sound technicians?

1:04:58 Devils: Hold on one second.

1:04:59 Brennan: They opened a pair of double doors. It is a sort of grand cathedral-esque waiting room with almost like city hall style pews. It is crammed with souls. It is just crammed with damned souls being like,

1:05:15 Souls: Oh thank God.

1:05:16 Brennan: And you see they come in and all the devils go,

1:05:18 Devils: We've been waiting to hear from you for some time. We're not sure how to process these. These are all edge cases and, sort of, we need a ruling on a lot of them.

1:05:27 Fig: Ruling. Okay, blanket ruling: I condemn you all to rock.

1:05:34 Brennan: You see that one guy way in the back goes,

1:05:34 Damned Soul: No!

1:05:41 Brennan: And a bunch of other people start looking around and talking. And you see this one guy who's got like-

1:05:44 Fig: If you're here it's 'cause something fucked up happened in your life. Work it out in a fucking guitar process through some nasty distorted amp. I want you to blow out the fucking electricity in here.

1:05:56 Brennan: You see Baby re-manifest and goes,

1:05:58 Baby: Ha ha, you heard mistress. You must turn this room into the bangingest sound studio that the Nine Hells have ever seen. And then lick me. [all laughing]

1:06:11 Fig: You guys actually don't have to do that last part. Yeah.

1:06:15 Brennan: You see the guy way in the back goes,

1:06:15 Damned Soul: No!

1:06:18 Fig: You can. You can.

1:06:19 Brennan: And you see that all of these damned souls begin to toil in the burning heat. Then sort of start constructing, like, booths. So you see that one of the barbed devils goes- with a nasty cat of nine tails is like,

1:06:30 Devil: Get foam! [whip cracking]

1:06:33 Fig: No, no, no. We can't do that.

1:06:38 Emily: Can I take his little nine of cat tails and give him a guitar? [imitating electric guitar music]

1:06:46 Ally: He's a noodler. Oh no, he's a noodler.

1:06:49 Brennan: This devil just starts weeping as he's like,

1:06:52 Devil: The music feels so good. [imitating electric guitar music]

1:06:56 Fig: Okay. Yeah. I guess this is... it's jam band music. That'll be some people's Hell.

1:07:02 Brennan: So, like, 90 minutes later you're walking through the weird hall of like different armors 'cause you need to make space. The Bottomless Pit is being turned into like multi recording studios. You see people are like teleporting around, different devils are getting huge mixing boards made out of cast iron with glowing ruby sliders on it. And all of the devils are running around cackling gleefully as they just rock at people. You see that they said,

1:07:28 Devils: An endless jam. A jam that lasts until the crumbling of the multiverse.

1:07:37 Brennan: And Zara looks over and says,

1:07:40 Zara: All right, so this is your domain?

1:07:43 Fig: Yeah, this is my domain. And I guess it's sort of like the inherited figurative throne is where I imagine it being from.

1:07:55 Zara: All right. There are many Warlocks like you. We see devils and dragons and creatures of this kind who can produce magic innately. They can both grant spells and are the source of their own spells. You are the archdevil of your own pact. And there is a great danger that comes with this.

1:08:16 Fig: Okay.

1:08:17 Zara: There is no agreement we are more likely to break than one we have made with ourselves.

1:08:24 Fig: Yeah, I think that's true. And yet I feel like in doing this right, so in setting up this, I'm actually making good on my commitment to rebel because otherwise I was just gonna make another album with a music label and that's not rebelling. So if anything, by doing this, I think I'm being more truthful to the spirit of rebellion. So maybe I am breaking that pact to make one with myself. That seems like a lot. But yeah, I get it.

1:08:59 Zara: I would say this. Bring to the surface a promise to yourself you will not break.

1:09:06 Fig: Okay.

1:09:06 Zara: You do not need to do this right now. In fact, it is probably the work of our time together at school to design and craft this promise. But without that promise, you will abuse your commitments to yourself.

1:09:18 Fig: Yeah. If I don't phrase it in a specific way, I'll always find loopholes.

1:09:25 Zara: I agree.

1:09:27 Brennan: As you finish the conversation, she puts a hand on your shoulder and says,

1:09:30 Zara: I'm very glad you came to my class. I think you are very good at this.

1:09:34 Fig: Thank you.

1:09:34 Brennan: As she says that, you hear behind you

1:09:39 Armor: [raspy breathing] Ruin you have brought here.

1:09:41 Brennan: And you see the Armor of Pride behind you.

1:09:44 Fig: Wretchrot.

1:09:44 Baby: Yes, Mistress?

1:09:47 Fig: I need you to find out who owns the Pride Armor or who is the ancestral owner of the Pride Armor 'cause they're really pissed at me.

1:09:56 Baby: I'm on the case. Detective Baby. [Emily laughs]

1:10:02 Lou: The Ball has a partner.

1:10:05 Brennan: Incredible.

1:10:06 Murph: Or an archrival.

1:10:09 Brennan: So, Fig, you have this MCAT signed by Zara. It sounds like Zara would be fine... Zara follows up with that saying whether you wanna continue Bard, whether you wanna go Barbarian, whether you wanna go Paladin, she is like, I will support-

1:10:20 Emily: It feels crazy to have that thought right here.

1:10:22 Brennan: No, I love it.

1:10:23 Emily: In this moment, and then do it.

1:10:24 Brennan: That's D&D, baby.

1:10:24 Ally: That's so tight.

1:10:26 Brennan: We're playing the game.

1:10:26 Ally: That's so tight.

1:10:28 Brennan: But go ahead and give me either Arcana or Persuasion or Performance for this first academic track.

1:10:38 Emily: Okay, we're gonna go Performance. [die rolling] A two becomes a 16.

1:10:44 Brennan: Two becomes a 16. You do have the Fabian Bardic. 'Cause a 17's an A+ I'll say.

1:10:51 Emily: Really? And so it's a d8? Okay. And this is for Warlock? Yeah, I wanna nail this. [die rolling] That's an eight.

1:10:59 Ally: Hell yeah.

1:11:00 Brennan: Hell yes.

1:11:00 Emily: So we got on 24.

1:11:03 Brennan: Fig, you get back to Mordred Manor one night and you see your mom is a little bit teary and you see Jawbone's got an arm around her shoulder and she says,

1:11:09 Sandra Lynn: Did you get an A+ in Warlock class?

1:11:13 Fig: Yeah. Maybe I just was really tired going to all these day classes and I'm just doing better [all laughing] with the night classes.

1:11:22 Brennan: You see, Jawbone says,

1:11:23 Jawbone: There's a lot of studies about teenagers and the amount of sleep they need.

1:11:25 Kristen: Why do they start school at 7:00 a.m.? That's crazy.

1:11:28 Jawbone: : I don't know. I don't know.

1:11:31 Brennan: That's amazing! You take your Warlock classes but you only have one half of your MCAT signed. But before we talk to Lucilla Lullaby, we're gonna go around and close out some of the other proposed things you guys were doing. Gorgug, you have gotten all the way up to a C in Barbarian classes. We'll cover more later, but you're also doing the Owlbears. If Owlbears would be your next roll, go ahead and gimme your Owlbears.

1:11:55 Zac: I guess it's the only roll on the list of things I have to do.

1:11:58 Brennan: Yes. There's other stuff like Relationships or Mystery or other things like that.

1:12:03 Zac: Gorgug's very tunnel vision on the things that he literally has to do right now.

1:12:06 Brennan: Yeah.

1:12:06 Zac: Okay. Okay.

1:12:08 Brennan: Athletics DC 25. Gonna need a 17 or higher.

1:12:11 Zac: That's a six. What happens if I fail Owlbears?

1:12:16 Fabian: Gorgug, pick it up. Pick it up out there, Gorgug.

1:12:19 Brennan: Do you want to burn stress on this or do you want to take the failure?

1:12:24 Zac: What happens if I fail?

1:12:25 Brennan: I will say, if you fail more than two sections of downtime at the Owlbears, you're probably gonna be asked to step off the team.

1:12:34 Lou: Don't look at me.

1:12:36 Gorgug: Fabian, I'm pretty stressed out right now. Do you need...

1:12:41 Zac: Okay, I'll take one more stress token.

1:12:45 Ally: No, Gorgug!

1:12:46 Brennan: Number three for Gorgug Thistlespring. Here we go. 17 or higher.

1:12:49 Zac: It's fine. It's fine.

1:12:52 Ally: What does that mean?

1:12:54 Zac: Nine plus eight, 17.

1:12:57 Brennan: Well you need a 17 or higher on the die 'cause the DC is 25. Remember you did four academic tracks.

1:13:01 Zac: Oh.

1:13:01 Brennan: I will say this, there's a certain point in the semester, but you are taking four years of Aguefort at the same time. And you have gotten A's in every- you've gotten A+'s in every single Artificer class. Henry Hopclap at a certain point in the year, your gnome professor, you get like a round of applause on one of your things. Cloaca literally goes,

1:13:25 Cloaca: You rule.

1:13:29 Gorgug: I didn't teach you to say that.

1:13:30 Cloaca: [squawks]

1:13:32 Brennan: People love it.

1:13:33 Cloaca: I suck, you rule!

1:13:35 Gorgug: You don't have to.

1:13:38 Brennan: I think you realize this is impossible to do without an MCAT and do the Owlbears. There's a moment where I think you give one of your worst performances in any Owlbears game versus the Hudol Hellions 'cause you're fucking exhausted.

1:13:55 Gorgug: Fabian, I'm-

1:13:56 Fabian: Gorgug, what the hell was that?

1:13:58 Gorgug: I'm a little tapped right now. And I, I, I think I'll just have to pick it up next game.

1:14:05 Fabian: Yeah, I mean, I get it man. You're doing a lot, but we need you out there. I mean, you're the rage.

1:14:10 Gorgug: Okay.

1:14:13 Fabian: We don't have Ragh anymore, so we need that.

1:14:15 Gorgug: Yeah. Okay, yeah. I'll just, I'm getting ahead right now so I can bring the rage.

1:14:22 Fabian: Yeah, bring the rage.

1:14:22 Gorgug: Bring the rage.

1:14:24 Fabian: The rage.

1:14:26 Brennan: Speaking of Owlbears, let's go ahead and close out Fabian's academic stuff. Remember you have advantage from being so fucking popular.

1:14:33 Lou: Yes, I would... I mean, I'm not sure Mazey could help me with my roll on Bard classes.

1:14:39 Emily: Oh.

1:14:42 Brennan: You wanna roll? You wanna roll? Well, let's see if Mazey offers to help you. Give me your Bard class roll. This will be up first.

1:14:49 Lou: Okay.

1:14:51 Brennan: DC's a 10. It's your second track. A+ is 22.

1:14:55 Lou: I add Performance?

1:14:55 Brennan: Performance. Performance or Acrobatics. Yeah.

1:15:00 Lou: If I can add Acrobatics, that's a 22.

1:15:03 Brennan: Holy shit. How do you approach Mazey for help with Bard classes?

1:15:09 Fabian: Mazey, I wanted to apologize for how I kind of came at you about Twister. It sounded super sick at the time, but I think I'd just been drinking so much bad baby milk that I just wasn't kind of, like, with it. And I don't know, I was wondering if, like, you and some of the other Bards would wanna come over and we could do like a big... You know, I could get a DJ and we could get, like, a sound system and we could do lights and stuff. Could kinda like build it out, you know? 'Cause you know, we were trying to make it work with a bunch of other stuff and what if it was like, the thing, you know? Yeah, if that's... I don't... I mean, it's also okay if you're just, like, not about it.

1:15:56 Brennan: Give me a Persuasion check here. And if Fabian is being sincere, roll with advantage. [dice rolling]

1:16:03 Lou: That's a 22.

1:16:04 Brennan: Mazey smiles and says,

1:16:07 Mazey: Yeah, Twister was probably not the move. It was not the vibe of the party.

1:16:13 Fabian: No, I mean, you and Fig made it work.

1:16:17 Emily: Yeah, remember we did make it canonically very cool.

1:16:20 Brennan: That's true.

1:16:21 Emily: It was like a pro wrestling match.

1:16:22 Brennan: It was like a pro wrestling match. It was very, very cool.

1:16:23 Ally: Yes.

1:16:25 Brennan: You see Mazey smiles and says,

1:16:27 Mazey: I don't know, I'll have just see what my schedule's like, just 'cause—

1:16:30 Fabian: Hundred percent. I get it, you know?

1:16:33 Mazey: Who all's invited?

1:16:36 Fabian: Everyone from class. Fig would have to be there.

1:16:40 Mazey: Is it everyone from Bard class or are any Fighters? You know, your multiclass?

1:16:43 Fabian: No, no. I mean, honestly, I was actually hoping we could maybe flow together sometime. I think sometimes I'm pretty rigid from all the stances for Fighter class and I think I'm really trying to just like, you know. Like my shoulders, everyone was making fun of me at the thing because my shoulders are so tight and I'm just trying to relax more. And so I wouldn't wanna mix, you know?

1:17:08 Mazey: Well, I say... Yeah, I mean, I hate to think about you, like, trying some of this more, like, athletic stuff if you're all tight. Like, we should try to loosen you up.

1:17:15 Fabian: Yeah, I'm trying to get loose. You know, trying to flow.

1:17:18 Mazey: Well, listen, get your best pair of Badidas and we'll see what that body does.

1:17:25 Emily: Oh my God.

1:17:25 Fabian: Okay, yeah. Yeah. I'm honestly gonna need to get a new pair. I think my old Badidas just don't do it. So, you better bring your best pair of Badidas so we can find out... your... dance style.

1:17:48 Ally: A net. [all laughing]

1:17:51 Lou: I had too much Ashwagandha!

1:17:52 Brennan: Principal Grix!

1:17:52 Lou: I had too much Ashwagandha!

1:17:56 Brennan: Incredible. Mazey starts coming over. You guys start having Bard training. A+ in Bard classes. Go ahead and give me your next roll. This is free advantage 'cause you have your MCAT signed.

1:18:08 Lou: Okay, great.

1:18:08 Brennan: So gimme your roll for Fighter classes. DC's 15 and an A will be a 27 or higher. [die rolling]

1:18:14 Siobhan: With advantage.

1:18:14 Lou: With advantage? Oh thank God.

1:18:16 Brennan: Right. That's what the MCAT does. [die rolling]

1:18:19 Lou: Okay.

1:18:19 Siobhan: Nice.

1:18:21 Lou: That's a 32.

1:18:22 Brennan: A 30-fucking-2?

1:18:24 Lou: Well, you know, I'm just getting so loose now, you know?

1:18:27 Brennan: Guys, I absolutely hate to say it for what it does to the Bad Kids and to our worldbuilding, Fabian is undeniably the most popular kid in school who is also getting straight A grades.

1:18:41 Fabian: You know, it's just... I've got a lot to live up to. My papa was just this... you know, I'm just kind of carrying on the legacy or the maximum legacy. Maximum Legend. You get it.

1:18:53 Brennan: Give me Owlbears too.

1:18:53 Lou: Okay.

1:18:55 Brennan: DC for this is now-

1:18:55 Lou: DC 20.

1:18:58 Brennan: DC 20. [die rolling]

1:19:02 Lou: That's a 15. Stress. That's a 23.

1:19:10 Brennan: Okay. Holding it down as captain.

1:19:14 Lou: Of course.

1:19:18 Brennan: But Fabian does take his first point of stress.

1:19:21 Lou: Worth it.

1:19:23 Brennan: Okay, moving on from there. Adaine.

1:19:25 Siobhan: Yeah, my Academics.

1:19:27 Brennan: Let's do your Academics, rolling with disadvantage.

1:19:29 Siobhan: Can Boggy give me the Help action to help me study?

1:19:32 Brennan: This will be your only familiar Help action of the tracks you are rolling. Cool?

1:19:36 Siobhan: Yes.

1:19:37 Brennan: So he will give it to you here. Yes.

1:19:39 Siobhan: Great. The other question that I have is, I have the Jacket of Useful Things. Jacket of Useful Things, I can pull up to 100 gold pieces worth of shit out of it every day.

1:19:48 Brennan: Okay.

1:19:48 Siobhan: I'm wondering, after I roll this, if I can almost set myself up as like a school black marketeer.

1:19:56 Brennan: That would be another job track check.

1:20:00 Siobhan: Yes.

1:20:01 Brennan: Which I would allow you to do. You would roll that with advantage because of the jacket, but it would be a new job check.

1:20:07 Siobhan: Great, so I'm gonna do my Academics first.

1:20:11 Brennan: Straight roll.

1:20:11 Siobhan: Straight roll.

1:20:13 Ally: You should start an estate sale.

1:20:14 Siobhan: And then essentially I just like- basically I'm the kid that like, you need an eraser. You left it at home. I've got one for you.

1:20:21 Lou: Classic.

1:20:23 Siobhan: I'm giving you a really fair price.

1:20:26 Brennan: DC for an A-

1:20:27 Lou: Shit, I need a Pink Pearl, quick.

1:20:30 Brennan: DC is 10. For an A+, it's 22.

1:20:32 Siobhan: I get it. I got a 26.

1:20:34 Brennan: Woo hoo!

1:20:34 Zac: Ya hoo.

1:20:37 Siobhan: Ya hoo.

1:20:37 Brennan: Incredible. Do you wanna make a second job check?

1:20:41 Siobhan: Yes, I would like to make a second job check.

1:20:43 Brennan: Roll with advantage. DC is at 15. DC has gone up by 10 from the last time. And you can add Arcana to this.

1:20:50 Siobhan: Oh God, it was so close to criting.

1:20:52 Lou: Very rude.

1:20:53 Siobhan: But I do get a 14 plus 8 which is 21.

1:21:00 Ally: 22.

1:21:00 Siobhan: 22.

1:21:02 Brennan: I'll say go ahead and give me two d10 and that's how many gold pieces you get. You can produce way more goods than that, but selling stuff requires a whole process to it.

1:21:11 Siobhan: Ooh, look at this gorgeous roll. And then I would like to also, if we're doing everything at once.

1:21:17 Brennan: Yeah.

1:21:18 Siobhan: Can I get the AV Club to investigate the broken Cloud Rider?

1:21:24 Brennan: Yes, you can. : The party feels like an AV Club.

1:21:29 Brennan: Yes, absolutely. You want them to look at the security footage?

1:21:34 Siobhan: Yeah, I think that that's- they're really good at that kinda stuff.

1:21:36 Brennan: Cool.

1:21:38 Siobhan: And I'll help them do that because I can see invisibility. So if there's anybody running around.

1:21:44 Brennan: This'll be your extracurricular. Go ahead and give me Investigation. It's DC 20.

1:21:47 Siobhan: Great. [die rolling] Mm... An eight plus four is 12.

1:21:59 Brennan: Here we go. Here's our stress.

1:22:02 Siobhan: Somebody's gotta look into the mystery around here. [die rolling] No, that's worse. [Zac groans]

1:22:07 Brennan: Okay. Adaine takes a stress. The AV Club peels through it, finds nothing. There's a million arcane explanations for why something wouldn't have been picked up on a camera.

1:22:17 Siobhan: Sure.

1:22:19 Brennan: Just some Ice Mephits rolled up. I think even on that low number you can rule out that... You can't rule out that they might've been yours, but if they were yours, magic would've taken them over. You did not command them to do that.

1:22:30 Siobhan: Great.

1:22:30 Brennan: Okay. Are you rolling anything for your Elven Oracle duties? Or are you totally waving them to the side?

1:22:37 Siobhan: Why would I actively do a job that I don't get paid for right now?

1:22:41 Brennan: Anytime you go try to find Adaine at work, there is always an ancient furious elf in a corner booth being like,

1:22:47 Elf: I ordered a smoothie. I think I deserve to know whether my line will crumble.

1:22:56 Adaine: Yes.

1:22:56 Elf: Wait, really?

1:22:59 Adaine: Tip well and leave.

1:23:01 Elf: Here's two silver pieces.

1:23:03 Adaine: Tip well and leave.

1:23:06 Elf: Fine, I'll let the future just happen, I guess, like some asshole.

1:23:10 Brennan: And he walks out of Basrar's.

1:23:16 Adaine: I am so sorry. I'm really trying to get them to not come here.

1:23:19 Basrar: No, it's all right. You know, they know you work here and so it's going to be what it's going to be.

1:23:23 Adaine: No, I know, but I just wanna just do my job and do a really good job.

1:23:26 Basrar: You're doing great.

1:23:27 Adaine: I really care about you Basrar and I care about this place.

1:23:29 Basrar: No, it's wonderful.

1:23:29 Adaine: It's like family.

1:23:32 Siobhan: I'm fully buying into it. I'm my own toxic boss at this job.

1:23:35 Brennan: I think also as you take a stress token, go ahead and give me a Wisdom saving throw. [die rolling]

1:23:44 Siobhan: Dirty 20.

1:23:44 Brennan: Dirty 20. You're okay. Like, you're doing good with your panic. You're keeping it. But it does, it sucks for you as people come and bother you at your job.

1:23:55 Siobhan: Yes.

1:23:55 Brennan: Amazing. Let's jump over, Kristen, Riz or Fig.

1:23:59 Murph: I've got a million extracurriculars to roll for. So how hard do I have to succeed? 'Cause Riz is just trying to get 'em on the... He's just showing up.

1:24:10 Brennan: So I think we can roll... If you roll with disadvantage, I will let you phone it in for all your extracurriculars. Does that make sense?

1:24:18 Murph: Great.

1:24:19 Brennan: So you can lump all of them into one track.

1:24:21 Murph: Perfect.

1:24:22 Brennan: You're rolling with disadvantage. You're just trying to get over the finish line. How many extracurricular clubs is Riz involved with at this point?

1:24:29 Murph: Okay, so Soil Club, Aviation Club, I think maybe Equipment Manager for the Owlbears.

1:24:35 Brennan: Equipment Manager for the Owlbears.

1:24:36 Murph: Trying to convince Gorthalax to let me do that. I'll do AV Club, various... I guess just whatever there is. Any kind of, like, Chess Club, any kind of athletic team that will take me.

1:24:54 Brennan: Perfect.

1:24:54 Murph: If they won't take me, I'll be the Equipment Manager.

1:24:58 Brennan: So you've already nailed your academics. A+. Go ahead and give me a roll for-

1:25:03 Murph: Can I maybe do Persuasion? Essentially just be like a pleasant presence at all of these meetings. So everyone's like, "Riz, he's all right."

1:25:11 Brennan: Great, you're trying to clear a DC 10. Roll Persuasion with disadvantage.

1:25:13 Murph: Okay.

1:25:15 Siobhan: You got it.

1:25:15 Emily: Come on. Come on.

1:25:16 Lou: Come on.

1:25:16 Siobhan: Come on.

1:25:18 Lou: Big roll. Big flourish.

1:25:19 Murph: Oh, it's an nat one, which becomes a 10.

1:25:22 Emily: Oh, yeah!

1:25:24 Murph: So I get a 19. [all laughing]

1:25:30 Murph: Soil!

1:25:31 Brennan: As all of you guys are feeling the pressure of cortisol for the first time, you see Riz is immune to this downtime system. He is just literally—

1:25:44 Murph: Just- I'm sprinting at all times. I never stop.

1:25:48 Ally: You're, like, running with your backpack like this. As soon as the bell rings.

1:25:51 Murph: Huge backpack running from class to class.

1:25:54 Brennan: You're getting like 12 extracurriculars over the line. You can't get less than a 19 on joining every club in the school.

1:26:04 Murph: I think I also would like to roll... I wanna roll Mystery, as well.

1:26:09 Brennan: Yeah.

1:26:11 Murph: Just 'cause I can't help myself.

1:26:12 Brennan: Yeah.

1:26:12 Ally: Yeah.

1:26:13 Murph: So in between, as I'm running from club to club with a huge backpack-

1:26:19 Brennan: That Mystery roll. Let me know, that might be your last roll and that's totally okay.

1:26:23 Murph: Yeah.

1:26:24 Brennan: So let's hold on Mystery for now.

1:26:25 Murph: Great, I'll hold that.

1:26:25 Brennan: We'll do all the Mystery rolls at the end.

1:26:26 Murph: You got it.

1:26:27 Brennan: As time passes, like going throughout the year, we actually get to the first week of October, which happens to be Riz and Gorgug's birthdays. You guys have a little celebrashe.

1:26:39 Gorgug: Can we have like a joint birthday party?

1:26:39 Riz: Yes, of course.

1:26:42 Gorgug: Oh, okay.

1:26:42 Riz: Of course, were we not? Unless you wanted to have your own birthday.

1:26:47 Gorgug: No, no.

1:26:47 Riz: Okay, good.

1:26:48 Gorgug: No.

1:26:48 Riz: Well, we could do-

1:26:51 Adaine: You guys wanna do it at Basrar's? I get a bonus if I bring people from school.

1:26:57 Gorgug: Yeah, can we get like-

1:26:59 Ally: You're that friend who invites us to your bar and then charges us full price for all the shitty drinks you give us that we didn't order.

1:27:05 Murph: We're 17 having an ice cream party.

1:27:08 Riz: Okay.

1:27:08 Gorgug: Yeah. Yeah. That could be fun.

1:27:11 Fabian: Could be fun.

1:27:11 Adaine: It's like retro.

1:27:12 Zac: This is all exactly what I wanted to do for my... [all laughing]

1:27:17 Siobhan: A joint ice cream party for your 17th birthday.

1:27:19 Brennan: The day you guys are gonna have your little get together at Basrar's, I will say, too, that Popularity checks have not been rolled. So really the only one holding the Applebees campaign down right now seems to be Fabian.

1:27:30 Lou: Amazing.

1:27:30 Emily: I personally, socially, I would like to disappear.

1:27:34 Brennan: Awesome. Fig vanishes.

1:27:35 Ally: That's perfect for security.

1:27:38 Brennan: Somewhere in downtown near the federal building, Agent Clark is just going,

1:27:44 Agent Clark: It's gotten quiet here in town. It's gotten really quiet here in town.

1:27:50 Brennan: This is my self insert PC. I've made my own PC in the Fantasy High universe. Just to catch Fig.

1:27:56 Murph: Can I help Kristen with Popularity? Essentially, I'm cool with my popularity just being completely tied to Kristen and just being-

1:28:05 Brennan: We'll figure out where that goes in between Mystery and Popularity, which you wanna roll first. But on the day that you guys are gonna have your little Basrar's birthday, you get a call. Gorbag and Roz, your biological parents send you a little certificate that is for a bunch of mechanical gear. It's like a gift card for Artificer stuff.

1:28:23 Zac: Wow.

1:28:24 Brennan: They say that they've been talking to Digby and Wilma and you're doing so great. They say that they're gonna come into town to help celebrate your birthday. And it's very, very sweet. And as you're having this nice morning, Henry takes you aside and says,

1:28:36 Henry: I just wanna say, Gorgug, I am blown away by how much you are applying yourself and you should be so proud. You have not been set up for success, frankly, in the bureaucracy of this school. And it's really incredible. You have a gift for this. And I know that you're trying to figure out- There are parts of what you're pursuing that kind of don't click, but I just want you to know that I've never seen someone work as hard as you are working and not figure it out.

1:29:13 Gorgug: Wow. Thank you. Yeah, I feel like, I don't know, I feel like I'm just learning a lot and you know, good class, right?

1:29:22 Brennan: You see that Unit, one of your classmates goes

1:29:24 Unit: [beeping]

1:29:26 Brennan: And claps. Henry's like,

1:29:27 Henry: Right on, Unit. All right.

1:29:29 Brennan: You go from there kind of like- it's your birthday, feeling on top of the world. You get to Barbarian class and there's basically this like, Porter's got this giant stone plinth in the middle of the room. Fig you're here for this class as well. This is the same day that you need to figure out what... You've been doing Warlock stuff. You've gotta figure out something with how you're actually gonna structure your classes for the semester.

1:29:53 Emily: Yeah.

1:29:55 Brennan: I think actually, yeah, as you're heading there, you finally have the conversation. You see Lucilla Lullaby walking past and says,

1:29:58 Lucilla: Figueroth.

1:30:03 Emily: Okay. Okay. So, Fig has definitely been looking at her bass, dreaming of it glowing with the twilight of doubt, being deputized by her president. But she also knows that she's on security detail right now. And so she probably needs to be a Bard for a little bit longer. So I think I wanna go to Lucilla.

1:30:28 Brennan: Okay.

1:30:29 Fig: Hey, I was wondering if you would be amenable to, you know us Bards, jack of all trades, master of none. I was wondering if you would be amenable to an independent study.

1:30:44 Lucilla: Okay, tell me more.

1:30:46 Fig: Okay, I used to be, like, a Whispers Bard and I'm willing to do that again if you let me kinda do an independent study that's sort of just like basically infiltrating, information gathering, using deception, and hugging the shadows to find out what I need.

1:31:07 Lucilla: Okay. So you- all right. You wanna hug the shadows?

1:31:12 Fig: Yeah. I can even be giving you updates about what I'm doing. I basically have a mark, and I wanna find out everything I can about him.

1:31:21 Lucilla: Okay.

1:31:21 Fig: And I want to get in here.

1:31:25 Lucilla: Great. Well, that sounds amazing. And it's like there's an ask in here.

1:31:32 Fig: Oh, yeah, can I do that as an independent study instead of coming to class? [Emily laughs]

1:31:46 Lucilla: Um...

1:31:47 Fig: Oh God. Oh fuck. Here's the thing, Lucilla. I don't think I'm an artist, okay? When I hear other people talk about being artists, I don't think I'm an artist. I think I'm just a really good friend. I think that's my whole fucking thing.

1:32:01 Lucilla: Okay. Can I take a second to process what I'm feeling?

1:32:05 Fig: Yeah, absolutely.

1:32:06 Lucilla: [starts singing]

1:32:08 Brennan: And she starts singing in this insane chant and just begins to sort of float away out through a window into the sky.

1:32:17 Fig: Fuck it, I'll come to class. I'll come to class

1:32:21 Brennan: As she sort of floats away weeping, you meet Gorgug up at Barbarian class with this still unsigned MCAT with you. And as you're sort of sitting down getting ready for class, you see Porter setting up this giant stone plinth and you see Porter sort of gazes over at you. He goes, [grunting, clearing throat].

1:32:40 Zac: Can I ask,

1:32:40 Gorgug: Fig, what do you think the move is here with the MCAT situation?

1:32:48 Fig: Oh, with Porter?

1:32:49 Gorgug: Yeah, I feel like I step in it every time I talk to him.

1:32:54 Fig: Porter.

1:32:55 Porter: Yeah, what's up?

1:32:56 Fig: Will you sign my MCAT?

1:32:57 Emily: And I hold up the one from the Warlock class, and then I wanna try at the last second do it so that it's actually, I wanna fold it so my MCAT is on top of Gorgug's.

1:33:16 Brennan: You see Porter-

1:33:20 Fig: You want me in this class, right?

1:33:22 Brennan: He looks over at Gorgug and says... I'll say, let's do it by the dice. Give me a Sleight of Hand check.

1:33:34 Emily: Okay. Come on.

1:33:35 Brennan: His Perception.

1:33:35 Emily: Ooh. Okay.

1:33:39 Brennan: You're gonna have to beat a 23.

1:33:41 Emily: I got an eight.

1:33:41 Brennan: You got an eight. Porter looks at you holding that there and goes,

1:33:46 Emily: Sorry.

1:33:46 Porter: Trying to get me to sign Thistlespring's little waiver here, huh?

1:33:53 Fig: Yeah, I think you're being weird about it. [all laugh]

1:33:59 Zac: Wow.

1:33:59 Porter: You do?

1:34:00 Fig: Yeah, I do.

1:34:00 Gorgug: Uh, Fig...

1:34:04 Fig: I don't get you.

1:34:06 Ally: You get one of the two. You get the sneaky sign or you get the "you're being weird about it." I don't think you get them after each other.

1:34:17 Brennan: You see...

1:34:20 Ally: Caught red handed. I think you're being kinda weird.

1:34:22 Emily: You're being weird.

1:34:24 Brennan: Give me a Intimidation or Persuasion check here.

1:34:29 Emily: I think I strum my guitar. Shatter the windows. [breaking glass] [die rolling] I get a… 28

1:34:38 Murph: Whoa!

1:34:39 Brennan: Porter looks up. He's covered in glass that's sticking out of his skin. He hasn't flinched.

1:34:45 Ally: Oh my God.

1:34:46 Brennan: He looks in and goes,

1:34:46 Porter: Think I'm being weird, huh?

1:34:50 Fig: Yeah, I've always thought you were weird. Ever since day one, I've had eyes on you.

1:34:55 Porter: I can tell. I've never understood. You've had it out for me since the first...

1:34:59 Fig: Yeah and I still do and I always will.

1:35:05 Emily: I shatter any remaining windows.

1:35:07 Brennan: All the glass is already shattered, but you just reshatter it smaller, like making sand in the room. Porter holds a hand out for your MCAT, for the Warlock one.

1:35:19 Porter: Can I see that?

1:35:21 Ally: Oh my God.

1:35:24 Emily: Don't want this, Gorgug. I'm so fucked up.

1:35:29 Brennan: Porter takes it, takes out a pen, signs it in the other teacher's mark next to Zara's. And you see that the form only has two teacher signature spots on it. Signs it, writes an addendum, leaves a note, does some little bureaucratic thing. Goes,

1:35:45 Porter: I've heard a rumor. Did you tell someone on your spring break adventure to “choke on grapes, bitch?"

1:35:54 Fig: Did I?

1:35:54 Gorgug: I think so.

1:35:56 Ally: Absolutely. Absolutely.

1:35:56 Fig: I did.

1:35:57 Brennan: Porter looks and says,

1:35:57 Porter: I've marked you as present for every class that you've been auditing for Barbarian classes. You've attended so many and your in-class contributions to discussion have been such a boon to the other students that on extra credit alone, I'm going to sign this and I'm gonna go to Principal Grix and say there was a miscommunication, Figueroth Faeth has been a Barbarian this entire time.

1:36:34 Fig: [whispering desperately] I don't want to. Zac holds a piece of paper up to Brennan

1:36:35 Brennan: He smacks the MCAT outta your hand.

1:36:38 Porter: You've never told anybody to choke on anything!

1:36:41 Gorgug: You're weird.

1:36:45 Porter: Do you believe that?

1:36:45 Gorgug: Mm-mmm.

1:36:47 Porter: No, you don't.

1:36:48 Gorgug: Yeah, I think you're weird.

1:36:51 Porter: Yeah?

1:36:51 Fig: I can't even rage.

1:36:55 Porter: Yes you can. Yes you can.

1:36:57 Fig: You're fucking right I can. [Ally laughs]

1:37:03 Fig: Gorgug.

1:37:03 Gorgug: What?

1:37:04 Fig: I'm so fucked.

1:37:07 Gorgug: Fig, I don't know what's fucking happening at all.

1:37:09 Ally: Barbarian, Bard, Warlock.

1:37:10 Gorgug: Are you doing this class too? Wait, what happened? I thought we were just gonna get my form signed.

1:37:16 Fig: I just made the Bard cry, the Bard teacher cry. And I tried to get your form signed. Now I got my form signed.

1:37:25 Gorgug: What the fuck is happening?

1:37:27 Brennan: You see Porter looks and says,

1:37:30 Porter: This is a C- student. [Lou sighs]

1:37:34 Porter: You bring your Barbarian class up to an A+ and I'll consider signing that form.

1:37:43 Gorgug: Okay. Yeah.

1:37:45 Brennan: He looks back at you and says,

1:37:48 Porter: As long as you keep auditing, you can have this.

1:37:51 Fig: Okay.

1:37:53 Gorgug: Must be nice...

1:37:56 Fig: I want it for you.

1:37:58 Gorgug: I know, I just... he is really weird.

1:38:00 Fig: He's so weird.

1:38:01 Gorgug: Why can't I tell him he's weird? Why can't I tell him that?

1:38:06 Fig: Just flex at him.

1:38:08 Brennan: Incredible.

1:38:08 Gorgug: [whispering] You're weird.

1:38:09 Brennan: Okay. [all laughing]

1:38:11 Siobhan: So quiet at the back of the class.

1:38:13 Ally: You're weird.

1:38:14 Siobhan: Whispering in his pencil case.

1:38:18 Brennan: Fig, you get your MCAT signed, which basically allows you-

1:38:22 Ally: Fig's having a yogurt year.

1:38:24 Brennan: You feel your stomach gurgle a little bit as you-

1:38:28 Siobhan: She's in her yogurt era.

1:38:29 Ally: Yeah.

1:38:30 Brennan: Academically, you have permission, basically you can roll any other Academic rolls with advantage because you have this piece of paper signed.

1:38:38 Emily: Oh, okay.

1:38:38 Brennan: Right? So it doesn't have to be Barbarian. You can just keep showing up here.

1:38:44 Emily: Okay, I'll take that. I will take that.

1:38:47 Brennan: Basically looking at it, actually what Porter did was make your life easier.

1:38:53 Emily: Really?

1:38:53 Brennan: Like make your life way easier because you can do all these other multiclass things with advantage. Any other classes you wanna go to, you roll with advantage. He basically has like lessened your workload, that you can jump right into junior year for any other class you're interested in.

1:39:06 Emily: Okay, great. I thought I absolutely fucked myself in trying to help Gorgug.

1:39:14 Brennan: No, no, no, no. So you've already rolled for Warlock, gotten the A+. Is there any other class that Fig actually wants to apply herself to while she's here?

1:39:24 Emily: So I kind of wanted to go in on the Mystery, is the thing.

1:39:29 Brennan: Cool.

1:39:30 Emily: But I am like really thinking about, I do kinda wanna just see what the Paladin class is like. Fuck me.

1:39:38 Brennan: Hell yeah. Go ahead and give me a Religion check with advantage, because you're trying out Paladin classes. [first die rolls] [second die rolls]

1:39:53 Emily: That is a 19 on the die becomes a 22.

1:39:57 Brennan: You head over to Paladin class where you see that there is a figure in a sort of like deep v-neck white shirt, like little silken scarf, this huge double-handed sword on their back. They have a little bit of like a five o'clock shadow. They look sort of- very like debonair and urbane. You're like a couple weeks into the school year and you see that written up on the chalkboard it says, "Halo St. Croix." And you see it says-

1:40:24 Ally: C-R-O-I-X?

1:40:26 Brennan: C-R-O-I-X. St. Croix if you prefer and says,

1:40:28 Halo: Well, well, well. Well into the month of October and already a new face emerges. A challenger appears on yon hill astride her destrier. Announce thyself, brave knight.

1:40:48 Emily: Fig is really... Fig is really feeling the power of doubt right now.

1:40:55 Fig: Cassandra, you are strongly with me right now. Hi, I am Figueroth Faeth. I am the archdevil of rebellion and potential devotee of doubt.

1:41:08 Halo: Well, speakest thou now thy sacred vows that we might learn before e'er long. What drives within the heart of this fiend?

1:41:17 Fig: Okay, my first thought for my sacred vows would be I wield the power of doubt to shatter all structures.

1:41:25 Emily: And then I cast Shatter again on the windows.

1:41:28 Halo: Ha ha! Counterspell.

1:41:34 Brennan: You begin taking these classes. On an A+, Halo is a bit of a doofus.

1:41:40 Emily: Yeah.

1:41:40 Brennan: But you begin-

1:41:41 Emily: It only strengthens my doubt.

1:41:43 Brennan: It only strengthens your doubt.

1:41:44 Emily: Great.

1:41:45 Brennan: On that very high roll for that first Paladin class, you also see in terms of independent studies, you get a letter from Lucilla apologizing for her displays.

1:41:54 Emily: Feel so bad. She has nothing to apologize for. I'm a mess.

1:41:59 Brennan: Saying if you ever wanna come back to Bard class, that the door is open. You get a letter from Principal Grix affirming that you are a multiclass Barbarian/Warlock, and you are attending Paladin classes. As you move into Paladin classes, there are some conflicts. If you don't jive with Halo, there are actually some teachers at the school that are multiclass like you. So you have multiclass advisors. And you actually see that Porter is one of the multiclass advisors for Paladin.

1:42:33 Zac: You've gotta be fucking kidding me.

1:42:35 Emily: I kick in the door. [Ally laughing]

1:42:38 Brennan: Porter goes,

1:42:38 Porter: Huh? What's up?

1:42:41 Fig: Nothing, I just wanted to say, hey.

1:42:44 Porter: I'm weird? [Emily laughs]

1:42:47 Porter: So you trying Paladin classes out?

1:42:49 Fig: Yeah, I'm trying it out because I've been an artist for a while, but what I really wanna be is a tough German Shepherd just monitoring the perimeter. And that just doesn't feel like an artist does it?

1:43:02 Porter: No, I don't think so. Expression is something primal.

1:43:06 Fig: Yeah.

1:43:07 Porter: You wanna defend your friends.

1:43:08 Fig: Yeah.

1:43:09 Porter: You wanna be that German Shepherd, yeah?

1:43:09 Fig: Yeah.

1:43:11 Porter: The difference between an oath and rage is about that thin. I think what motivates us to make a promise, and this is what Zara is talking about. I spoke with her a little bit, right? Agreements, promises, oaths.

1:43:25 Fig: Yeah, that's what I like.

1:43:28 Porter: Look, if you wanna take classes with Halo, you can. But Halo, it's gonna be all about questing and gallivanting. Do you wanna be a German Shepherd?

1:43:38 Fig: Yeah. I wanna be the best security detail my president has ever seen.

1:43:45 Porter: Well, the best defense is a good offense.

1:43:48 Brennan: And you see here, Porter takes a sword off the armory and Divine Smite slashes through the stone pillar and obliterates it. And the top of the pillar crashes into the bleachers and sticks out.

1:44:03 Fig: That's really fucking cool.

1:44:07 Porter: It's time to stop fucking around and get in shape, Miss Faeth.

1:44:11 Fig: Okay, sir.

1:44:13 Brennan: And he starts to tutor you in the multiclass Paladin angle. And he really focuses on rage. Rage as like a principle of devotion to doubt, of teenage rebellion. It's all of a piece. The swearing yourself to the toppling of falsehoods and bad structures.

1:44:35 Fig: Kristen, I think down the line, I'm gonna need you to knight me.

1:44:40 Kristen: I would love to. Can I wear the salsa hat?

1:44:44 Fig: What do you think you're gonna knight me with?

1:44:46 Kristen: Exactly. Chips.

1:44:48 Siobhan: On each shoulder.

1:44:50 Brennan: Absolutely fucking incredible. Kristen. We gotta figure... So, you rolled for your church. We gotta roll for Cleric stuff, as well.

1:44:59 Ally: Oh, the biweekly essays. Do I have to start that now or do I start that next...?

1:45:04 Brennan: You have to start that now. So it's happening in the same chunk of time.

1:45:08 Zac: Can I do that later?

1:45:10 Brennan: Can I do that later? This just gonna be a Religion check, which you roll with advantage. But I'm gonna say that there's disadvantage 'cause you're not connected to a divinity right now. So you're just gonna roll straight.

1:45:20 Ally: Okay. And what's the DC on this? Is this my second slot?

1:45:24 Brennan: This is now DC 10. So to get an A it's not a 17, it's a 22.

1:45:29 Ally: Okay and what if I did Popularity first for the campaign?

1:45:32 Brennan: Go for it.

1:45:33 Siobhan: Oh my God.

1:45:33 Brennan: Go for it. You wanna do Popularity for the campaign? Persuasion DC 10. [die rolling]

1:45:40 Ally: 12.

1:45:41 Brennan: 12? Cool. You're hitting the bricks, you're shaking hands. It's not an outrageous success, but-

1:45:48 Ally: Oh, I still have Bardic. I haven't used yours.

1:45:49 Lou: Don't throw it on there.

1:45:52 Siobhan: Don't throw it on-

1:45:52 Murph: Don't throw it on.

1:45:53 Ally: No?

1:45:53 Murph: Can I take a stress for Kristen? Just like going around trying to make Kristen cool?

1:46:00 Brennan: Yeah, you can allow for a re-roll here. So your campaign manager's just gonna take a stress token to give you. Riz is the only character allowed to take stress for other people. Okay? There we go.

1:46:13 Ally: Thank you, Riz. [die rolling] God dammit, it's worse.

1:46:18 Brennan: Okay.

1:46:19 Murph: I'll take another one please.

1:46:20 Ally: No, no!

1:46:20 Murph: We got this.

1:46:22 Brennan: We got this. Okay, there you go, Riz.

1:46:25 Murph: We got it. [die rolling]

1:46:28 Ally: Come on, come on, come on. Okay. Okay. And that's for Persuasion?

1:46:31 Brennan: Persuasion.

1:46:31 Ally: 21.

1:46:33 Brennan: 21, you beat it by 10. You have advantage on Charisma checks for any kid that you're meeting at the school for the first time. And you have advantage on any other track check you roll in this period because your popularity helps you. People start supporting you. They know that Fabian's on the team. Honestly, all of this is Riz. It's all the weird clubs.

1:46:54 Ally: Yeah, it's absolutely Riz.

1:46:56 Brennan: The clubs are coming through to help you. It's all Riz.

1:46:58 Riz: The freshmen can vote. We don't need cool kids. We need a lot of dorks.

1:47:02 Kristen: Are you okay?

1:47:02 Riz: No, of course! I'm great!

1:47:06 Brennan: You're fucking beltway guru.

1:47:07 Ally: Yeah. You're listening to all these podcasts.

1:47:09 Riz: Soil! It's all about the Soil Club.

1:47:12 Brennan: I'm on Crooked Media every day. Great, so that's Popularity for you. Now go ahead. So, Kristen, against all odds, the godless Kristen Applebees... Kristen and Fabian vault to the top of popularity in the school, right?

1:47:30 Ally: That's right.

1:47:31 Brennan: Let's go baby. Let's go.

1:47:31 Lou: Yes.

1:47:33 Brennan: Kristen, go ahead and give me... You may roll... This, I will allow it to cancel the disadvantage 'cause of that Popularity check. Go ahead and roll Religion with advantage. The DC for this is 15 gets you a D.

1:47:41 Ally: I get a plus six.

1:47:46 Brennan: Rolling with advantage.

1:47:48 Ally: Okay, 12. So that's an 18.

1:47:51 Brennan: 18, so that means you get a C.

1:47:56 Ally: Oh and I can Bardic for this.

1:47:57 Brennan: You can Bardic for that.

1:47:57 Ally: Okay, okay, okay. It's a two. Okay, so 20.

1:48:02 Brennan: So that's to 20 from 15. Okay, Kristen, you get a C in Religion. Give me one more Religion check, actually, just normal.

1:48:11 Ally: Okay.

1:48:11 Lou: Without a god, you know?

1:48:15 Ally: It's a nat one.

1:48:17 Brennan: Oh, you roll with advantage 'cause of your book.

1:48:18 Ally: Thank fucking God. [Emily laughs]

1:48:22 Ally: Okay, that's a 16.

1:48:25 Brennan: What is your first paper about?

1:48:28 Ally: I start trying to look up... Osmir.

1:48:35 Brennan: Cool.

1:48:36 Ally: The god of magic and secrets.

1:48:38 Brennan: Yeah.

1:48:40 Ally: But I… first I turn in a completely empty document and I go, "What? The attachment didn't show up as anything? Are you serious? Oh, I’m… I will definitely check on that." And then, quickly, I start typing stuff up and I try to research Osmir like the most I can.

1:49:01 Brennan: Hell yeah.

1:49:03 Ally: It's a C.

1:49:04 Brennan: Osmir is a god that is not broadly worshiped, but whose worship exists everywhere. And it's an interesting thing for you to look at religions that survive not on this like- they're not evangelistic. It's a religion that has a deep and proud tradition that's not looking to bring a lot of other converts. And you are interested to see, very different from Helio. Helio's like, "Get the tent bigger. Get more bodies in here." But you realize- your first paper is about how the fact that worship is not just measured in numbers of adherence, but also in the strength and devotion of followers. Osmir has, like, abbeys and monasteries throughout Spyre where people live their entire life in devotion to, like, peering through the mysteries. It's sort of that thing of like, "Well I don't have 100 people praying once a week, but I do have one person praying every day." And this idea of people that are very devoted and it just, I think, lets you breathe a little bit more easily in the idea that there's more stuff open here.

1:50:12 Ally: Doesn't all have to be Moonsong.

1:50:12 Brennan: It doesn't all have to- yes, it doesn't have to always be the way Tracker's doing it. It doesn't all have to be the way that Buddy Dawn is doing it. There's lots of different traditions and practices that seem to thrive. Like, your vision of thriving is such like a garden that grows explosively in all directions and is flowering and dah, dah, dah, dah. But there's thriving like a tall and ancient tree. There's thriving like grass that's, like, omni- that is small and humble, but very... Like, there's a lot of different ways for this to look. Right? Let's do any Mystery rolls that we have here at the very end.

1:50:46 Emily: I have a Mystery thing I wanna do.

1:50:47 Brennan: Cool.

1:50:48 Emily: I basically want to- if we can't do it on campus, I don't have to do it on campus. I can do it around the town. I basically want to disguise myself as various eligible high schoolers and probe about Ruben's dating past.

1:51:06 Brennan: Oh-ho! Go ahead and gimme a Mystery roll. This is your third roll, so the DC's 15, but successes passed a certain point will get you even more. You can give me Perception, Investigation, or Insight.

1:51:20 Emily: All right, I think the goal is that I was gonna try and use my Actor feat, but okay, I'll do that.

1:51:26 Brennan: I'll let you use the Actor feat to get advantage, but not to use your Performance skill.

1:51:30 Emily: Okay.

1:51:30 Brennan: Cool? [die rolling] [Emily scoffs] You could take a stress.

1:51:37 Emily: I'll take a stress. I'm gonna take a stress.

1:51:39 Lou: [mocking Brennan] You can take a stress.

1:51:39 Emily: I want this.

1:51:40 Ally: Ah, a stress pusher.

1:51:41 Lou: [mocking Brennan] You could take a stress.

1:51:43 Emily: That's 19.

1:51:45 Brennan: That definitely passes. You ask about Ruben's-

1:51:49 Emily: And like, I wanna go through all of his lyrics and basically get a profile of what he might be attracted to.

1:51:57 Brennan: You talk to a student. There's a Triton student at Aguefort whose name is Lashra. And you see she says like,

1:52:05 Lashra: Oh, Ruben's dated a lot of people. Like, he's in everyone's DMs. He's, like, constantly talking. I haven't heard anything that's, like, that gross beyond, like, what you would expect for someone who, like, got famous quickly.

1:52:19 Fig: Yeah, no, I meant more like, does he have a type?

1:52:22 Lashra: I would say anyone who thinks he's cool, straight up. I haven't seen like a strong type. Oh, he talked a lot about this girl at the beginning of the year, Wanda.

1:52:29 Ally: [laughing] Wanda Childa?

1:52:35 Fig: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, I heard she's super hot and mysterious.

1:52:39 Lashra: Yeah. Oh, he asked me if I knew if Wanda was gonna be at Frosty Fair.

1:52:46 Fig: Okay. That's crazy. I'm so jealous of Wanda.

1:52:52 Lashra: Yeah, he was like, "I hope she's there." 'Cause he's- I dunno if you heard, he's headlining.

1:52:56 Fig: Is he?

1:52:57 Lashra: Yeah, he's headlining at Frosty Fair.

1:52:59 Fig: Interesting.

1:52:59 Lashra: Mm-hmm.

1:53:01 Emily: Cool, so I wanna use that information to... I took the Dream spell and I wanna, just every night, give him dreams of Wanda. [Ally and Siobhan laughing]

1:53:11 Emily: Just dreams of Wanda saying how good he is.

1:53:15 Ally: You're invading a teenage boy's dreams. Inserting your alter-ego.

1:53:21 Emily: My alter-ego.

1:53:21 Brennan: My alter-ego.

1:53:23 Murph: Alter-emo.

1:53:23 Ally: Alter-emo!

1:53:26 Emily: I think it's like- who did "Tree of Life?" Like, Terrence Malick, kind of flashbacky. Her in fields.

1:53:33 Brennan: Yeah.

1:53:35 Emily: Her showing him her poetry tattoos, her, like, putting hair behind her ear. It's just, like, everything is montages of that.

1:53:47 Brennan: So you're incepting Ruben with Wanda Childa.

1:53:50 Emily: Like a buildup of this crush on Wanda Childa.

1:53:53 Brennan: Incredible. You successfully do that.

1:53:55 Siobhan: Why is she always under a white sheet?

1:53:58 Emily: It's always like, yeah.

1:53:59 Ally: [whispering] I don’t understand it.

1:54:01 Emily: It's always over her shoulder, like that Instagram travel. [all laughing]

1:54:06 Lou: Your mouth is talking, but it's just the sound of waves crashing.

1:54:10 Zac: She's on the end of a pier?

1:54:12 Emily: Yeah. It moves in and out.

1:54:14 Siobhan: Are there piers? Aren't we in landlocked city?

1:54:17 Emily: Just like, her in the passenger seat doing this in the window.

1:54:22 Ally: Oh my God.

1:54:22 Brennan: Incredible. Like a week after that, a single hits the thing of "Not All Who Wanda Are Lost."

1:54:27 Ally: Oh my God.

1:54:31 Brennan: Incredible. Anyone else rolling for Mystery?

1:54:35 Lou: Oh, I would like to do a half Mystery, half Relationship roll.

1:54:39 Brennan: Okay.

1:54:40 Lou: I would like to reach out to Ivy.

1:54:42 Brennan: Okay.

1:54:42 Siobhan: Cool.

1:54:45 Lou: To hang out at school.

1:54:48 Brennan: Okay. This is a DC 20,

1:54:53 Lou: Or, I think I'm at 25.

1:54:54 Brennan: Oh, you're at 25? Yeah, yeah, yeah. This is a DC 25 Persuasion check.

1:54:59 Lou: Okay. [die rolling] Oh, I missed, but that's not gonna do it.

1:55:04 Brennan: Okay.

1:55:04 Lou: I'll take stress.

1:55:06 Brennan: [gasps] Oh baby.

1:55:09 Lou: This is the only way I can help solve a mystery. All right? [die rolling] That's not gonna do it.

1:55:15 Ally: Wait, no!

1:55:16 Siobhan: Don't you get advantage?

1:55:17 Ally: You get advantage on all your rolls because of that really good Charisma.

1:55:20 Brennan: No, I think you used your advantage on-

1:55:23 Lou: Yes, on Bard. Bard to hang out with Mazey.

1:55:25 Brennan: To hang out with Mazey Yeah, yeah, yeah.

1:55:27 Lou: I'll take one more stress.

1:55:28 Brennan: It's your last one you can take for this check. [die rolling]

1:55:32 Lou: Nah.

1:55:33 Brennan: You go up to Ivy at school. How does Fabian approach Ivy?

1:55:36 Fabian: Hey. What's going on?

1:55:41 Ivy: What's that?

1:55:42 Fabian: What's going on?

1:55:44 Ivy: I don't know, you tell me.

1:55:46 Fabian: You know, I just... I thought we started something the other night and it would be cool to get to know you better. You know, me and my friends have kinda been hitting the bricks metaphorically. You know, we're kind of on the outs, especially me and Fig, you know? We're having a lot of rubbers meeting the road, if you know what I'm saying. So, you know, I don't know, I'm just trying to broaden my horizons, socially, if you…

1:56:18 Ivy: I would say, it seems like you are trying to broaden your horizons. Yeah?

1:56:21 Fabian: It seems that way. Yeah. Is it the vibes I'm putting off?

1:56:27 Ivy: Well, I hear that you get a lot of those little dancer friends of yours to hang out and stretch and feel your feelings together all in the room.

1:56:36 Fabian: Yeah. You know. It's, uh, it's like, uh... It's like, uh... It's like another way of like... I mean, it's a form of battle within oneself. It's honestly incredibly beautiful and important. But, you know, I'm always, you know. I stay, you know? So I was just-

1:56:59 Ivy: You stay what? Stabbing?

1:57:03 Fabian: Stab. Yes. You and me finish each other's sentences. Crazy.

1:57:06 Ivy: Nice. Well, best of luck with how important that work is. Yeah. It's nice you got a little partner, right? Student president. If it gets cold, you can wear her like a sweater, I guess.

1:57:22 Fabian: Uh...

1:57:22 Emily: Oh my god.

1:57:25 Fabian: Uh, cold. And I might need it now 'cause I'm feeling the chill.

1:57:32 Ivy: Yeah.

1:57:32 Fabian: So you don't wanna? You wouldn't wanna?

1:57:33 Ivy: Do what?

1:57:36 Fabian: I don't know.

1:57:36 Ivy: Come roll around on the ground?

1:57:39 Fabian: I was thinking of something more structured like sparring, but you know, actually-

1:57:45 Ivy: You seem a little flustered for the Maximum Legend.

1:57:47 Fabian: Yeah, I think I'm supposed to be somewhere right now. I got a phone call.

1:57:48 Emily: [laughing] Oh, yeah?

1:57:51 Ally: [laughing and yelling] A phone call as a teenager?

1:57:51 Murph: [laughing] A teenager?

1:57:54 Siobhan: I gotta be somewhere. I got a phone call.

1:57:57 Fabian: I have a scheduled phone call with my bank.

1:57:58 Brennan: She says,

1:57:58 Ivy: Well, you better get to that.

1:57:59 Brennan: She leans in and pulls down on your earlobe a little bit and says,

1:58:04 Ivy: You missed your shot, Playboy.

1:58:04 Brennan: And leans back.

1:58:11 Ally: He has a scheduled call with his bank, though. I don't understand how that's a missed shot.

1:58:15 Brennan: You see... Yeah, Alston Hughes is just like,

1:58:19 Hughes: Fabian, we need to talk, your money.

1:58:21 Brennan: Oh, you also do get 10,000 gold pieces.

1:58:23 Lou: Oh yeah. Great.

1:58:24 Siobhan: Jesus Christ.

1:58:24 Ally: So sick.

1:58:26 Brennan: Incredible. Any other Mystery roll here? Yes.

1:58:30 Murph: Yeah, Riz is going to the old conspiracy board. One thing I want to look into is, I feel like this isn't totally tied up. The fact that-what was the name of the demon again that?

1:58:41 Brennan: Bakur.

1:58:41 Murph: Bakur. That Bakur's- the demon they worked for or whatever, that Lydia was able to stop the ritual. I wanna look into when... Was this before Ragh was born, that this happened? Like, I kinda wanna see timelines. Because I'm doing a little bit of math in that Kalina said Ragh. And if Lydia gave birth to Ragh after she sealed away this demon, is Ragh maybe not the savior, but the vessel for whatever this is? Was Kalina trying to warn us about Ragh?

1:59:22 Brennan: Gotcha.

1:59:22 Siobhan: Damn.

1:59:23 Brennan: Go ahead. And this, to me, is almost Insight or something like that, but gimme a Mystery roll here. We can do Investigation and the DC's 15 for a small clue, and then 30 is a breakthrough in the case. [die rolling]

1:59:42 Murph: 23.

1:59:43 Brennan: Okay. Ragh was born before the gem went in. Ragh was born before, was already alive before the gem went in for Lydia.

1:59:51 Murph: Got it.

1:59:53 Brennan: He was young, like middle school age, around that time.

1:59:55 Murph: Oh, okay.

1:59:57 Brennan: So you don't see him as being, like, an avatar for whatever this is.

2:00:00 Murph: Got it. Just looking out for Ragh.

2:00:03 Brennan: Looking out for Ragh. But I think you do stay on that tip about Kalina and her saying Ragh Barkrock and what that's all about.

2:00:12 Emily: Lucy Frostblade? I want someone to look into a Lucy Frostblade.

2:00:15 Murph: I'm gonna look into her as well.

2:00:16 Brennan: Cool. Go ahead and gimme another one. The DC's 20 if you wanna look into that. [die rolling]

2:00:21 Murph: Nat one becomes a 21. Turns into a 10.

2:00:23 Brennan: Cool. Copy that. You look into Lucy Frostblade.

2:00:26 Ally: So sick.

2:00:28 Brennan: So that's a small clue.

2:00:28 Murph: Okay.

2:00:30 Brennan: You chase her down, narrow down where... The period she went missing was in that period between finals and the end of the school year last year. So it's, like, a two week max period. The last known location for her before she went missing, she was confirmed dead with magic. Scrying magic confirmed that she had died, but they never found the body.

2:00:52 Murph: Got it.

2:00:53 Brennan: She went missing near Lake Shimmerstone. Ally and Lou fumble fervently with the map.

2:00:58 Murph: Do we know anything about Lake Shimmerstone? Is it near the forest?

2:01:02 Brennan: The last thing you'll find on a 23, Riz.

2:01:06 Ally: [pointing to a place on the map] Oh!

2:01:08 Zac: It's near the Rat Grinder-

2:01:09 Ally: Near the woods.

2:01:09 Lou: Right near. It's right near the damn woods.

2:01:13 Murph: Ah. Lou puts the map down on the floor behind him without folding it, brushing Ally’s shoulder.

2:01:14 Brennan: The last thing you'll find on that, Riz, is in that two week period after finals, that two week period after finals-

2:01:24 Lou: I wasn't gonna fold it. It's too loud.

2:01:27 Zac: But seemingly purposely brushed Beardsley.

2:01:31 Brennan: In the two week period after finals last year, Lucy submitted paperwork to change her deity starting in junior year. And withdrew it. There's a letter from her saying like, "Hey, I know I submitted something to change my deity, but I'd like to withdraw that."

2:01:49 Emily: What was it submitted to change to?

2:01:49 Murph: Yeah.

2:01:53 Brennan: That information you cannot find in the school records.

2:01:57 Siobhan: Hm, interesting.

2:01:57 Ally: Okay. Okay.

2:01:59 Emily: And what does it mean that Scrying magic confirmed dead? Does that mean like, is that something that like Nondetection could do or like Arcana-wise?

2:02:06 Brennan: Well, that's the thing, not where the body went or what happened. It was basically a low Augury spell. It was like, is she alive? It was like, let's do a thing to see if she's somewhere in this plane. That was inconclusive 'cause it's like she's in the- So they're ruling it dead 'cause they're basically like, we asked if she's anywhere living on the material plane. We did these different auguries and different types of divinations.

2:02:17 Emily: Okay.

2:02:28 Siobhan: So she's not necessarily dead. She's just not alive and on the material plane.

2:02:34 Brennan: Correct. Yes.

2:02:34 Siobhan: Great.

2:02:35 Brennan: That is correct. Any other Mystery rolls?

2:02:39 Siobhan: I would love to do an Arcana check on the principal.

2:02:42 Brennan: Go for it.

2:02:43 Siobhan: 'Cause just something seems super off about him to me.

2:02:46 Brennan: Yeah, go for it.

2:02:53 Siobhan: It's a 16, which means I don't pass. Gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme.

2:02:59 Brennan: Some stress.

2:03:00 Lou: Gimme, gimme.

2:03:00 Brennan: Hell yeah.

2:03:01 Lou: Gimme, gimme some stress.

2:03:06 Siobhan: That's a 20, dirty 20.

2:03:08 Brennan: Adaine, you've done a couple different checks right now, right? So, you're actually up to a 25 right now. So on that 20, Grix remains a little bit of a mystery to you, but you do see some weird stuff about the amount of bureaucracy that has appeared at the school is very alarming. As we come out of this downtime, you found some stuff about Lucy Frostblade. But before we close downtime- Yes, Kristen.

2:03:33 Ally: Yes. I would love to go back to Yolanda.

2:03:37 Brennan: Yeah, absolutely.

2:03:38 Ally: And kind of tell her about the little rumblings that I've had and just the windows clicking open and being kind of like, this feels... something's still there. I might get back to it. And I was just wondering,.. 'Cause I remember talking to Lucy, and I was wondering whatever happened to her.

2:04:03 Brennan: She gets very sorrowful here. Go ahead and give me a-

2:04:09 Ally: I get an advantage on History checks. Can I do you that?

2:04:11 Brennan: Yeah, gimme History. Yeah, yeah, yeah. [dice rolling]

2:04:14 Ally: God dammit.

2:04:14 Murph: So close.

2:04:14 Ally: So close. That's just a 10.

2:04:19 Brennan: You can take a stress.

2:04:19 Ally: I'll take a stress. I'll take a stress. [dramatic music] [die rolling] God dammit. All right, that didn't work. I'll take a stress please.

2:04:33 Zac: The little s- you can tell you get happy when...

2:04:36 Brennan: I get happy when you guys take stress tokens. I do. [dice rolling]

2:04:40 Ally: Much better. Okay. That is a- ugh, that's only a 19.

2:04:45 Emily: Oh! As their Paladin, or potentially Paladin, can I give them a Bardic? I know that that sentence makes no sense.

2:04:54 Brennan: You can give a Bardic if you want.

2:04:55 Ally: Yeah?

2:04:56 Emily: I think it's like corrupted, but like maybe it won't be bad.

2:05:00 Ally: I don't fucking care.

2:05:00 Brennan: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Go roll me a corrupted Bardic.

2:05:03 Ally: It's an eight?

2:05:03 Emily: It's a d8.

2:05:06 Ally: 8, an 8 on the die.

2:05:07 Brennan: Okay.

2:05:07 Ally: Okay, so that's a 27.

2:05:09 Brennan: Yolanda says,

2:05:12 Yolanda: Lucy was a wonderful, wonderful student. It's been very hard these last few months.

2:05:18 Kristen: What was her domain again or who was she following?

2:05:21 Yolanda: She worshiped a goddess of giants and giantkin named Ruvina, who was a goddess of winter and sorrow.

2:05:30 Kristen: Whoa.

2:05:31 Yolanda: Lucy was not a very happy soul, but was a very kind soul. And her interpretation of that goddess was, the winds are cold and we are made to warm each other. And the night is long and that is why we keep the fire lit.

2:05:51 Kristen: Wow, that's beautiful. Hard.

2:05:53 Brennan: Yolanda sheds a tear.

2:05:56 Yolanda: She was very special. Very, very special.

2:06:01 Ally: Would Riz have told me already that she tried to put in the-

2:06:05 Brennan: We can allow that. Yeah.

2:06:05 Ally: Okay.

2:06:07 Kristen: Wasn't she hoping to switch from that though? Was it to something more positive?

2:06:12 Yolanda: Lucy would never have switched. No, I don't think so.

2:06:16 Kristen: Oh, she was really committed to that?

2:06:18 Yolanda: Oh, undoubtedly. Her conviction was profound. I mean, it's an ancestral goddess of her people going back a long, long time.

2:06:27 Kristen: Yeah, I thought so, too.

2:06:29 Brennan: I'm sorry, she actually says, "From the Mountains of Chaos." She's like,

2:06:31 Yolanda: Yeah, from the Mountains of Chaos for a long, long time.

2:06:34 Kristen: Oh, my- I have a friend who's in the office with paperwork and they just said they were sure that they saw a request form going in her record. I don't know.

2:06:46 Yolanda: Does your friend have something I could see that would confirm that? Nothing ever made its way to me that-

2:06:50 Kristen: Oh, it's not in her file or in any of your info on her?

2:06:54 Yolanda: Well, it would've needed my approval. When was it submitted?

2:06:58 Ally: I give the time.

2:07:00 Brennan: She looks and says,

2:07:00 Yolanda: Well, after that time period, I mean, most of us, we've already submitted our final grades. I just wasn't at school during those two weeks. This is... I need to talk to Principal Grix. This is-

2:07:15 Kristen: So she tried to switch her god, but you don't think she would ever do that, and then she died?

2:07:22 Yolanda: Kristen, I wanna thank you very much for bringing this to me.

2:07:24 Kristen: Yeah.

2:07:26 Yolanda: I wanna thank you very much for bringing this to me.

2:07:28 Ally: Oh, can I do an Insight check and see if she's real?

2:07:31 Brennan: Yeah. Yeah.

2:07:31 Ally: Or if she's feels like found out or something? I don't know.

2:07:33 Brennan: Yeah. [die rolling]

2:07:36 Ally: Okay. Insight is, oh, that's a 27.

2:07:41 Brennan: She looks upset and frightened.

2:07:44 Kristen: I don't know much about Principal Grix, but is that someone...? Up to you, yeah. I just have gotten a weird, he shot a net at multiple students, and then rode out of the room leaving them in the nets. I don't know. I'm just kind of wondering if he has, like, the care capacity for something this big.

2:08:08 Yolanda: You're right. I won't go to Grix, but I need to find out what is known about this. Was there any- There should have been a document attached to this that would've said the deity she was changing to. Was that... is that...?

2:08:21 Kristen: They said it was blank or that they couldn't find that information anywhere.

2:08:27 Yolanda: Okay. I won't talk to Grix. I'm gonna go talk to Vice Principal Stardiamond, see what we can find out. Thank you for bringing this to me.

2:08:37 Kristen: Of course. Anything you need help with, I would love if you need more eyes on the ground or something like that.

2:08:43 Yolanda: Please keep your eyes open, Kristen.

2:08:45 Brennan: She leans over and hands you a little token. And you see that there's a small little emblem that just says, "When the only thing you can believe in is believing" and hands it to you.

2:09:01 Kristen: What's this?

2:09:02 Yolanda: Hold onto it. Hold onto it.

2:09:06 Ally: Is there a little picture of Bruce Springsteen?

2:09:09 Brennan: Yes, you see there is a- tight jeans, bandana. It's the Boss, baby. You head out from there.

2:09:16 Murph: Question of clarification from that.

2:09:18 Brennan: Yes.

2:09:19 Murph: Was the god's name look like it was redacted by the school? Or did it look like a forbidden thing that couldn't be spoken because maybe the god is dead now? [dramatic music]

2:09:34 Brennan: Riz. You take some of your dad's celestial spy gear and you put the sheet under it. The sheet is not blank, but the thing written on it cannot be seen by mortal eyes.

2:09:52 Siobhan: [gasps] Show it to me. Wait, hang on. First of all-

2:09:55 Murph: I just jump through the window without opening it up with the backpack on.

2:09:57 Brennan: Riz, you fucking, you cracked it. The thing on it.

2:10:00 Kristen: You're covered in blood.

2:10:03 Riz: What?

2:10:04 Fig: Let me get that window for you.

2:10:08 Brennan: Yes, there's something here to this. It's redacted. And Kristen, as you guys get together with Riz, altogether as we come outta this downtime. With that said, any other downtime activity or anything else like that?

2:10:20 Ally: I mean, I'd love to try to get one of these stress tokens off, even though the DC's, like, insane.

2:10:25 Brennan: You cannot do it in the same track. You have to do it on the next downtime.

2:10:28 Ally: Oh, oh, gotcha.

2:10:28 Emily: Is there spa day where we...?

2:10:30 Brennan: Yeah. So, by the way, how many stress tokens does everybody have?

2:10:33 Emily: Just one.

2:10:33 Murph: I have two.

2:10:35 Ally: Three.

2:10:35 Siobhan: Two.

2:10:37 Zac: Three.

2:10:37 Lou: Tres.

2:10:38 Brennan: Who here only has one?

2:10:39 Emily: I only have one.

2:10:40 Brennan: As it gets towards November, how fried is Fig with one stress token?

2:10:45 Emily: She's definitely the most fried she's ever been.

2:10:48 Brennan: Oh, really applying yourself. You have an A+ in Barbarian/Paladin, with an A+ in Warlock. How does that friedness manifesting?

2:10:57 Emily: I think it's manifesting in the sort of zombie-like going through the motions, and you're going through the motions that you're supposed to feel, and hoping that it will kick in.

2:11:08 Brennan: A hundred percent. Just going through. Who has two stress tokens? How are Adaine and Riz looking right now?

2:11:14 Siobhan: I think that Adaine thinks that she's keeping it together, but she's just doing that thing where she gets home from school and just immediately goes to her room.

2:11:24 Brennan: Yeah.

2:11:25 Siobhan: Just not socializing with anybody. Maybe even not even eating with anybody or just like, eating one handed.

2:11:34 Brennan: A hundred percent. Riz.

2:11:35 Murph: I think Riz is just not slowing down at all. And if he does, that is when he will break.

2:11:41 Brennan: Yes, a million percent. For everyone to know at home, by the way, stress tokens, all of these people before our next episode together, will have to pick multiple things to now have disadvantage on as they become riddled with stress. At the top of next episode, we'll go into what you all pick.

2:11:58 Siobhan: Disadvantage on Animal Handling and Nature. [all laughing]

2:12:02 Brennan: “I don't wanna touch your dog.” For our three stress, Gorgug, Fabian, and Kristen, how we looking?

2:12:09 Ally: I think- well, the thing that really fucked me up with stress is the Frostblade mystery.

2:12:13 Brennan: Yeah.

2:12:16 Ally: So I think it's that kind of thing where if you do hear about, even if you didn't know the person and you find out that they died and you had been so close to them for so long, it's extremely unnerving.

2:12:25 Brennan: Yeah.

2:12:27 Ally: And so I think she's pretty thrown off of her game of popularity and all of that.

2:12:32 Brennan: And all of a sudden you're doing all this religious research and Riz can prove to you conclusively that there was an unnameable god on this sheet.

2:12:40 Ally: Yeah.

2:12:41 Brennan: And I think there's a certain degree of, well, fuck. Now that's the thing. Fabian.

2:12:47 Lou: I mean, I think it's- Fabian I think is mostly keeping it together on the outside, but I think it's just, like, all of his systems are falling apart. Like, I think there are days where he forgets to shower. There are days where he only eats one meal, and doesn't have time to finish it. I think he's working so hard on the exterior and the social aspect that his actual personal routine, his house is a fucking mess. He's missing all of these phone calls that he has scheduled with his banker. I think it's just- his ability... He's putting all of his energy outward into the world and keeping none for himself.

2:13:24 Brennan: [sighs] Gorgug.

2:13:27 Zac: I think Gorgug is just so locked into school and getting these grades up, and taking this absurd course load that it's manifesting similar to Adaine and it's just, like, pretty antisocial, knowing that there's a larger mystery that we need to be trying to figure out. But just having no energy for it and feeling like he's letting down the group in that way.

2:13:54 Brennan: Gorthalax has a conversation with you where he's like,

2:13:57 Gorthalax: Hey, the team needs you to step up in a big way. And I'm sorry, it's not fair, but, you know, we gotta make those passes. We just gotta make 'em.

2:14:08 Gorgug: Yeah. Okay.

2:14:11 Brennan: And there's just a weight that descends over you guys as you get into early November and stress begins to manifest and pool. It is the day of Frosty Fair where there's gonna be the Frosty Fair Folk Festival at the Thistlespring Tree.

2:14:24 Zac: At my house.

2:14:26 Brennan: At Gorgug's house.

2:14:28 Murph: I forgot to look into the fraud.

2:14:31 Lou: Yeah, that's right.

2:14:31 Emily: Ugh, I forgot to sign up.

2:14:33 Siobhan: A Frosty Fair fraud.

2:14:35 Emily: But actually this is perfect.

2:14:36 Brennan: At Mordred, for you guys that are getting together 'cause it's gonna be a huge party over at Gorgug's place.

2:14:43 Lou: It's massive pre-game over at Seacaster Manor.

2:14:45 Brennan: Massive pre-game at Seacaster. It's a huge place to go. Riz, I'll say this too. The Sylvan crowd, all the, like, leaves and silks and kind of Green Man fae-oriented students, it's a huge voting bloc.

2:15:00 Murph: Hm.

2:15:02 Brennan: It's a absolutely huge voting bloc. And they're all gonna be at the Folk Festival. Some of you guys are coming downstairs, you see Lydia at the kitchen table. Huge breakfast, fresh biscuits, flaky biscuits, and there's sausage gravy and all kinds of great stuff. She takes a huge thing of arcane tomes and scrolls and slams them on the kitchen table.

2:15:28 Lydia: Got in touch with the families. So we got all the stuff from Rana and Cormyr from the Bakur stuff here.

2:15:34 Ally: Oh my God.

2:15:36 Brennan: Riz, Kristen, you had your conversation about the stuff you've found that you've kind of just now put together. The language on all of this Bakur stuff that you are expecting to be Infernal is written in the language of Giants.

2:15:52 Emily: Ooh.

2:15:53 Brennan: And that's all for this episode of "Dimension 20." Tune in next week as we continue at the Frosty Fair Folk Festival.

2:16:02 Siobhan: See you at Basrar's.

2:16:03 All: See you at Basrar's. [Lou hushes] NEXT EPISODE - Episode 8: Fracas at the Frostyfaire Folk Festival [Next Time On Dimension 20]

2:16:10 Brennan: We see the Thistlespring Tree and the Frosty Fair Folk Festival. Wilma/Digby: Have you ever heard of emotional music?

2:16:17 Gorgug: Emo music? Wilma/Digby: Yeah.

2:16:18 Gorgug: Yeah, it's, like, pretty cool.

2:16:22 Fig: You're out of the band. [all laughing] [Brennan squawking]

2:16:26 Ruben: Frosty Fair is about love and having a good time and appreciating bodies, and that's why we're gonna give this asshole a piece of our mind, two, three, four! [rock music]

2:16:41 Grix: An end to festivities here amongst flagrant rule breaking.

2:16:47 Adaine: We're not at school right now, man. [electricity zapping]

2:16:50 Grix: I was made to optimize the school experience. The school experience is best optimized by being omnipresent.

2:16:58 Zac: Four parents on a battlefield is too many.

2:17:00 Fairgoer: Look, the festival celebrates bodies. You know, there's a nudity tent, but that's not sexual. That's just about admiring each other.

2:17:09 Zac: Gorgug's eyes are darting between his biological parents and his adopted parents.