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The Big Guy
What happens
- 00:00:47 Brennan welcomes the audience to Dimension 20: Mentopolis and introduces the Prefrontal PIs; Trapp jokes "A brainstorm." about rain in a brain — 00:01:21.
- 00:02:00 Brennan explains the game: a sanctioned hack of Kids on Bikes made noir; six stats, Moxie tokens that drop down tracks to each player, exploding highest dice — 00:02:58.
- 00:02:58 Premise: the mind of Elias Hodge, junior researcher at Gobstopper Industries, is a city, Mentopolis; district tour with a map of the brain — 00:03:42.
- 00:05:56 Cold open at the Synaptic Switchboard of Cerebell Pacific: footsteps, a knife, shots, a body falls.
- 00:06:45 Hunch Curio's office; Trapp introduces Hunch; secretary Anna (Ms. Anna Lysis) brings in a client — 00:07:02, 00:10:03.
- 00:10:26 Siobhan introduces Imelda Pulse, who gives the false name "Stacy Fakename"; Snoop vs Slick contest; Hunch concludes the name is false; Imelda gives her real name — 00:11:19, 00:12:40.
- 00:13:21 Imelda's newspaper from The Daily Observer: a buried article about a packet on a desk "ready to go to the big wigs upstairs".
- 00:15:25 Imelda says a street urchin handed her the paper outside Sugah two days ago, and that her family has "ways" of making the big guy move; more rolls; Hunch recalls a scrappy kid near Sugah's — 00:17:47.
- 00:18:31 Imelda says she is being followed and hires Hunch; Anna interrupts, Mr. Mischief is mentioned — 00:19:15.
- 00:19:47 Hunch leaves with a coffee; cut to the lit-up Synaptic Switchboard, now an active crime scene.
- 00:20:54 Danielle introduces Anastasia Tension; she talks to Officer Connell, then to the weeping sister of the dead man, Norrell Ojiccle, who points to a place called Sugah's — 00:21:42, 00:28:44.
- 00:24:33 Two natural 1s on Snoop (the first halved by a Planned Action); evidence is carted away before Anastasia can see it — 00:30:43.
- 00:32:57 The Daily Observer: editor Freddy Focus discourages the lead, then permits it on conditions after Anastasia's failed Slick (a third low roll: Brennan asks "Is that your third 1 in a row?") — 00:34:30, 00:35:39, 00:36:11, 00:37:57.
- 00:38:23 Sugah's Speakeasy: Freddie introduces Dan Fucks; employees Joey Sneezes, Libby Longshower and bouncer Hans Schadenfreude; newcomer Donny Urges — 00:39:55, 00:40:25, 00:41:24, 00:44:16.
- 00:46:35 Illegal pleasures are shown; oxytocin is outlawed because the big guy has had no affection in a long time.
- 00:47:53 Donny pitches his plan at a table: a birthday cake in the staff break room; Hank introduces The Fix at the next table — 00:48:42.
- 00:50:17 Police raid Sugah's led by Chief Alexander Tightass; Dan talks him down with a Slick check; the cops take the contraband — 00:52:44, 00:53:53.
- 00:57:12 The Fix intercepts Donny and his gang in an alley, scares them off with a speech; Donny turns to mist — 01:02:00.
- 01:03:16 District Attorney Mark Bition and the mayor's deputy chief of staff Mr. Lance meet The Fix; Lance produces a file and Bition hands it over — the file is on Conrad Schintz — 01:06:31, 01:06:42, 01:07:19.
- 01:07:31 Alex introduces Conrad, a newsie with a basset hound, Justin Fication; Conrad sells papers — 01:10:27.
- 01:13:51 Mayor Leon Logic announces the telecommunications outage from City Hall — 01:14:00.
- 01:16:47 Conrad tries talking to one person (an organ grinder), then scrounges for trinkets and goes home through streets with changed chalkboard menus — 01:18:38.
- 01:20:18 Imelda, Anastasia and Hunch gather at Sugah's with Dan, the place now emptied by the raid; Imelda arrives first, then Anastasia, then Hunch, having tailed Imelda and spotted two men in a parked car — 01:21:35.
- 01:23:37 Hans's comedy set; Dan unmasks "Stacy Fakename"; Hunch and Anastasia bicker; the rock gag — 01:24:13, 01:25:53, 01:28:15.
- 01:29:27 Conrad arrives with a note for the door; Dan drags him inside — 01:30:01.
- 01:30:57 The Fix visits Madam Loathing's Home for Wayward Interests and learns about Conrad — 01:37:41.
- 01:40:17 Back at Sugah's: Imelda sits Conrad down, learns who made the newspaper; The Fix enters and is spotted — 01:44:16.
- 01:44:54 Imelda shows a gold key on a chain; Anastasia ties it to a shattered keyhole at the switchboard; Conrad realises what his newspaper did; Imelda says Anastasia is her cousin — 01:45:23, 01:47:13, 01:48:25.
- 01:48:49 Conrad slips out in the argument; he tries to hot-wire a car and is grabbed by gangsters who say Mr. Avaricci wants him — 01:49:55, 01:50:50.
- 01:52:58 Everyone rushes out; a gun fires, a synaptic highway collapses onto the car, killing the two goons; Conrad is inches away; the roll resolves next episode.
Frames
Key quotes
- “Welcome back to another thrilling season of Dimension 20: Mentopolis.” — Brennan 0:00:47
- “There's gonna be a lot of these puns.” — Brennan 0:05:53
- “We do brag a lot.” — Imelda 0:12:53
- “I don't think he had it comin'.” — Anastasia 0:32:03
- “Nothing comes free. Everything's comes with a little bit of a cost.” — Mr. Fucks 0:43:01
- “that job is to eliminate distraction, and you seem like distractions.” — The Fix 0:58:55
- “Fear not, this routine upgrade has been planned for a long time” — Mayor Logic 1:14:00
- “Hello, and welcome to Sugah's.” — Hans 1:22:33
- “Your presence here… can be disconcerting for the children.” — Loathing 1:34:36
- “I may have a little in with a big man.” — Imelda 1:44:54
Who and what appears
Player characters
NPCs
- Angry Citizens
- Anna Lysis
- Betty
- Chief Alexander Tightass
- Customers of Conrad
- Don Avaricci
- Donny Urges
- Elias Hodge
- Freddy Focus
- H. V. Lance
- Hans Schadenfreude
- Joanna / Joanne Fakename
- Joey Sneezes
- Justin Fication
- Libby Longshower
- Madam Loathing
- Mark Bition
- Mayor Leon Logic
- Mr. Mischief
- Musician
- Norrell Ojiccle
- Norrell's sister
- Officer Connell
- Other wayward interests
- Patrons of Sugah's
- Ronnie Reptile
- Roscoe Hungry
- Two men in the dollar-sign car
Locations
- Cerebell Pacific
- City Hall plaza
- Conrad's "safe houses" / "little home pad
- Cortex City
- Gobstopper Industries
- Hunch's Office
- Madam Loathing's Home for Wayward Interests
- Mentopolis
- Motor City
- Oblongata Station
- Occipital Park
- Sugah's
- Synaptic Switchboard
- Temporal Square
- The Daily Observer
- The Hippo Campus
Items and artifacts
- Cortisol
- Destroyed keyhole
- Evidence cart
- Ice skates
- Imelda's key
- Mayor's campaign button
- Oxytocin
- Serotonin packets
- Shiny rock
- Strange new pleasure
- The Fix's custom gun
- The dollar-sign car
- The file on Conrad Schintz
- The keys
- The newspaper (Mentopolis)
- The packet
Factions and organizations
Creatures
Roll log
| Time | Character (player) | Roll (stat) | Result as said | Difficulty | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 00:11:34 | Hunch (Trapp) | Snoop, to see if she is lying | "I rolled a three, but that's plus four. It's a 7." | contested with Imelda's Slick | Hunch concludes "Stacy Fakename" is not her real name — 00:11:42 |
| 00:11:32 | Imelda (Siobhan) | Slick | "I rolled a 2 but I got a 4." | contested | One Moxie token to Siobhan — 00:11:42 |
| 00:13:19 | Hunch (Trapp) | Snoop (the newspaper) | "That is a 9." | — | Notices the page order and the buried article — 00:13:21 |
| 00:16:31 | Imelda (Siobhan) | Slick | "That's a 16." | — | Poised poker face — 00:16:51 |
| 00:16:34 | Hunch (Trapp) | Snoop | "That is a 3." | — | Failed; two Moxie ("I take two when I fail") — 00:16:46 |
| 00:17:35 | Hunch (Trapp) | Savvy (knows Sugah's area) | "That's a 2." plus two Moxie | 4 | Recalls a scrappy kid near Sugah's — 00:17:47 |
| 00:24:33 | Anastasia (Danielle) | Snoop (scientists at the scene) | "A 1." — natural 1 on the d20 | 8 | Planned Action halving: "that is a 10 automatically"; spots the weeping operator — 00:24:59 |
| 00:30:26 | Anastasia (Danielle) | Snoop (evidence cart) | natural 1 ("another natural 1") | 11 | Failed; evidence taken away — 00:30:43 |
| 00:35:30 | Anastasia (Danielle) | Slick (Focus) | "that gives me a 3" (Brennan asks if it is a third 1 in a row; not confirmed) | 8 | Failed; no Moxie loan possible; Focus still permits the lead conditionally — 00:36:11 |
| 00:43:31 | Dan (Freddie) | Snoop (Donny) | "a natural exploding 10", then "17" | 5 | Sees a sheen: an intrusive thought — 00:43:59 |
| 00:52:49 | Dan (Freddie) | Slick (Tightass) | "That's an 11 on the nose." | 11 | Freed for now (Brennan: exactly an 11) |
| 00:57:31 | The Fix (Hank) | Savvy (anticipate the alley) | "That's a 9." (could have halved) | 4 | The Fix is in the alley when the gang arrives — 00:58:25 |
| 01:00:23 | Donny (rolled by Brennan) | Sturdy (d12) | "he rolls a 6" | — | Sets the difficulty (6) for The Fix's roll |
| 01:00:57 | The Fix (Hank) | Sharp instead of Slick (Menacing) | "That's gonna be a 11." | 6 (Donny's Sturdy) | Extraordinary success (beat by 5) — 01:00:59; gang flees, Donny turns to mist — 01:02:02 |
| 01:05:24 | The Fix (Hank) | Slick (compliment to Bition) | "Ah, it's a 2." | — | Bition: "There's the part you can see from under the hat?" — 01:05:33 |
| 01:08:35 | The Fix (Hank) | Savvy (who is the child?) | "9." | 8 | Knows the kid and where to look — 01:08:36 |
| 01:18:25 | Conrad (Alex) | Snoop (trinkets) | "That's a 3." | 9 | Failed; Moxie token; no treasure — 01:18:38 |
| 01:20:56 | Hunch (Trapp) | Sneak (arrival at Sugah's) | "That is a 5." | — | Lowest of the three; Hunch arrives later, tailing Imelda — 01:21:12 |
| 01:21:02 | Imelda (Siobhan) | Sneak | "I got a 9." | — | Highest of the three; Imelda walks in first |
| 01:21:04 | Anastasia (Danielle) | Sneak | "7." | — | A. Tension walks in after Imelda — 01:25:23 |
| 01:21:30 | Hunch (Trapp) | Snoop, Planned Action (tailing) | number not said | 6 | Spots two men in a gilded car — 01:21:35 |
| 01:28:51 | Conrad (Alex) | Sneak | "19 plus two, 21." | — | Arrives at the door with the note — 01:28:57 |
| 01:28:55 | The Fix (Hank) | Snoop | "a 2 plus zero" | — | Token owed from earlier (Brennan: "I actually owe you a Moxie token from before"), not from this roll — 01:28:57 |
| 01:43:55 | The Fix (Hank) | Snoop (listening in) | "Ooh, 4." | — | Spotted in the doorway — 01:44:16 |
| 01:44:05 | Imelda (Siobhan) | Snoop | "an 8 which means I roll again", then "a 1 on that one" | 4 (The Fix's roll) | Notices the figure |
| 01:44:12 | Anastasia (Danielle) | Snoop | "a 15" | 4 | Notices |
| 01:44:13 | Hunch (Trapp) | Snoop | "a 6 for me" | 4 | Notices |
| 01:45:23 | Anastasia (Danielle) | Snoop, Planned Action (halved) | number not said | 8 | Links the key to the shattered keyhole — 01:45:23 |
| 01:46:19 | Conrad (Alex) | Savvy | "5." | 5 | Brennan then explains what Conrad realises — 01:47:13 |
| 01:49:15 | Conrad (Alex) | Sneak, Snap Decision (slip away) | "6 plus 2 and then Escape Artist plus 3" = 11 | opposed: Sturdy or Snoop | Beats The Fix 2, Hunch (Sturdy) 6; escapes — 01:49:46 |
| 01:49:29 | Hunch (Trapp) | Sturdy (opposed) | "That is just a 6." | beat 11 | Fails to notice |
| 01:49:46 | The Fix (Hank) | Snoop (opposed) | "2." | beat 11 | Fails to notice |
| 01:50:26 | Conrad (Alex) | Snoop (the car) | "That's a 6." | 9 | Failed; Moxie token; grabbed — 01:50:29 |
| 01:51:14 | Conrad (Alex) | Sturdy (resist grapple) | "only rolled a 3, but plus two is a 5" (Brennan); Alex: "3" | 5 | Spends two Moxie; pulls back — 01:51:20 |
| 01:52:56 | Conrad (Alex) | Sturdy (second) | "It's a 5." | not said | To be resolved "at the top of next episode" — 01:52:58 |
Stat named by Brennan or the player; dice are not stated unless shown. "DC" is Brennan's "difficulty". Natural 1s: Danielle (Anastasia) 2 on Snoop (00:24:33, 00:30:26) and a third 1 on Slick suggested by Brennan's question "Is that your third 1 in a row?" (00:35:39; not confirmed in so many words) · Natural 20s: none stated · Exploding dice: Freddie (Dan) natural exploding 10 → 17; Siobhan (Imelda) 8 → rolled again, 1.