#but some respect on aabria's name

[flurry-of-beaus-pop-pop]

The conversation is always Matthew Mercer versus Brennan Lee Mulligan but honestly, after Burrow's End, Aabria 100% deserves to have her name thrown into the ring

[thisisnotthenerd]

oh boy it's stats time again. i'm sure someone has done this before, but this is for my personal record and if anybody else wants to think about it.

this time we're looking at pc class breakdowns for d20. some commentary/caveats at the end* with regard to how i sorted these, what is and isn't included, fun facts and/or patterns that i noticed, etc. under the cut because they got very out of hand.

i wrote this physically on paper with a casio ms-80b calculator and not in a spreadsheet. why did i do that. all of these are sort from highest to lowest commonality/occurrence rate. anyway:

total class numbers:

rogue: 21

fighter: 15

bard: 12

barbarian: 11

tie between sorcerer and warlock: 8

cleric: 7

ranger: 6

druid: 5**

tie between artificer and paladin: 4

tie between monk and wizard: 3

the numbers look pretty weighted towards rogues at the moment--keep in mind that we've had several seasons that were mystery and intrigue heavy, and thus many rogues to go along with that, e.g. tiny heist (2), a crown of candy (3), mice & murder (4), a court of fey and flowers (2), and the ravening war (4). otherwise the distribution of rogues is fairly normal. as for fighters, barbarians and bards, i'll get to that in a minute.

most common multiclassed classes:

fighter: 10 (66.6%, 10/15)

barbarian (63.6%, 7/11), bard (58.3%, 7/12) rogue (33.3%, 7/21): 7

sorcerer (50%, 4/8) and warlock (50%, 4/8): 4

ranger (50%, 3/6): 3

druid (40%, 2/5***) and cleric (28.5%, 2/7): 2

artificer (25%, 1/4) and monk (33.3%, 1/3): 1

wizard and paladin: 0

total number of multiclassed PCs:

22/78 PCs that were evaluated.

5 of those were just emily axford. 22.7% of all d20 multiclassed PCs are just emily. it's 71.4% of all of her d20 PCs. the only two that are not are sundry sidney and lady chirp featherfowl, both of whom have classes that are mixed martial/magic anyway.

3 of those were triple multiclasses: brennan as k.p. hob, fighter rogue barbarian, siobhan as princess rosamund, ranger druid fighter, and aabria as karna solara: warlock bard rogue.****

number of multiclassed PCs by campaign:

a crown of candy: 5 (62.5%, 5/8 PCs).

tie between the ravening war (80%, 4/5 PCs) and the seven (57.1%, 4/7 PCs): 4

fantasy high: 3 (50%, 3/6 PCs)

tie between the unsleeping city (25%, 2/8 PCs) and neverafter (33.3%, 2/6): 2

tie between pirates of leviathan (16.6%, 1/6 PCs) and a court of fey and flowers (16.6%, 1/6): 1

no multiclass seasons:

escape from the bloodkeep

tiny heist

mice & murder

a starstruck odyssey

coffin run

dungeons and drag queens.

most common multiclass combinations (each with portmanteau name because it's funny):

fighter barbarian (barbed fighter/barbighter): 5***** (this does include hob, who is also included in the ranks of rogue fighters)

rogue fighter (fighterogue******): 3

tie between bard warlock (bardlock), rogue bard (barogue), ranger fighter (fighteranger): 2

the rest haven't been repeated on d20 yet. full list includes the triples, but most have already been mentioned in some respect above. as follows in chronological(ish) order:

artificer barbarian (barbtificer/barbificer?*******)

fighter bard (barfighter/bardighter)

monk warlock (monklock/warmonk)

sorcerer warlock (sorlock)

ranger rogue (rangerogue)

sorcerer cleric (sorcleric)

rogue sorcerer (sorcerogue)

bard cleric (barderic/bardic/cleribard/clard/clebird)

sorcerer bard (bardcerer/sorcerbard)

fighter rogue bard (barbed fighterogue/barbighterogue)

ranger druid fighter (fightedranger/drighteranger)

barbarian druid (barbaruid/drarb)

bard warlock rogue (baroguelock)

there's more that i could get into later but here it is: thisisnotthenerd's d20 class breakdown.

*some caveats and commentary:

this breakdown only includes dnd or dnd adjacent systems like sw 5e, so unfortunately this does not include mismag, shriek week, or mentopolis.

when i tallied these up, i sorted by season. sequel seasons were sorted in with their initial season; this is relevant for counting multiclasses, since most of the intrepid heroes from fantasy high did not multiclass until sophomore year and there are characters in tucii that are multiclassed (it's iga). this also prevents any accidental doubling that could affect the total count.

i chose not to include the specialty classes that have no dnd equivalent from starstruck e.g. scholar for margaret and sentinel for sidney. however, the classes that are similar mechanically e.g. operative/rogue or berserker/barbarian, are included in the full class listing. starstruck has no multiclassed PCs.

the numbers for each class include all multiclasses including 1 level dips.

jet rocks changed her rogue level out and was a full fighter when she died, but she is counted as a multiclass and her rogue level is counted. otherwise these are all final counts from the end of each pc's season.

the seven includes zelda even though she's a dmpc, because i couldn't remove her from the party.

disclaimer: i'm a human and make mistakes. there may be inaccuracies.

**two of these are just erika ishii. they are 2/5 of the total d20 druid count, and 2/3 of the pure druids.

***both of these are from neverafter.

****the order of these is what i can recall as their base class, then chronological order of what they picked up since then. rosamund and karna both picked up multiclasses during their seasons while hob is just a guess based on how it's listed on his character sheet.

*****two of these are lou wilson's calorum PCs. two of them are brennan lee mulligan (zelda & hob). the last is rekha shankar as katja cleaver.

******this looks like a bad misspelling of figueroth. i promise it isn't.

*******(not to be confused with a bardificer, which has not been done on d20 to my knowledge. gunnie from starstruck could be considered an example because of the function of the engineer class in sw 5e, but he's already counted as an artificer in my full list, and i'm not adding him to the bards.)

[dontgofarfromme]

Rewatching EXU bc the Dorian message got me thinking abt them and I missed them, things I have noticed as of ep 1:

Dorian has always been the wildest combination of lying liar who lies and guy who can't lie to save his life. He won't tell you shit about himself however he constantly flags that he's rich by accident and doesn't realize it.

The number of characters all from small towns/areas (or not from this plane of existance) all with minimal experience in big cities!! The exploration of newness is an overarching theme. I also forgot how closely paralleled Opal and Dorian especially are on some fronts in this respect, there's a naivete to both of them, which Opal just spills all over the place and which Dorian tries his best to cover up. Theres this sense esp this early into the show that they've just been let out of a restricting cage for the first time and are riding high on it, but also have some gaps in their understanding of how everything...works. Orym is an interesting contrast bc you get the feeling that while he may not have experienced the city himself and has lived his whole life in a place with leaders that could be trusted, he seems aware of the potential dangers and corruption in the world but actively chooses to give people the benefit of the doubt despite this.

Fearne was always chaotic but I think she's actually become more chaotic as time goes on. Ashley plays her as slightly more reserved here.

Forgot how much Dorian and Orym sort of teamed up as the slightly more restrained ones early on. This obviously goes out the window a bit later on Dorian's part, but the contrasting reasons for not wanting to steal shit for Poska are interesting--Orym has a clear moral objection and suspicion of Posla's intentions, Dorian seems to both have some 'grew up rich' sympathy for her targets but I think also has some worry around doing an illegal thing in general (another compare/contrast between him and opal, she's raring to use her newfound independence to do whatever the hell she wants; and also maybe a consequence of his history in a pretty restrictive environment).

Ruidis + Catha on flag of the ship they rob 2:07:15. The ship is called "the Blightstar" and Aabria says "this looks like...the ship is named after Ruidis, yeah." *Travis voice* WEEEOOOOWEEEOOOWEEEOO. It's also from Issylra, not a place known for trade, so it's weird that it's there.

In the same convo Aabria says Orym is "extremely well-traveled," but earlier in the ep Orym says he's only been to 2 "city taverns." Was the traveling for work with Keyleth or in the 6 years after he left Zephra, or both? I am shaking this little guy upside down so all his secrets fall out of his pockets tell me everything!!!!

Truly the entire "He's a real sailor! He's kept us aloive! Many toimes I would've doied if it weren't for him!" is hilarious

Do we know what Dariax's compass is for? Does he actually follow a deity?

I fully don't remember who did all the murders on this boat or why they didn't take the crown with them while they escaped, I can't remember if we ever figured it out?

It's really interesting how often Dorian tosses the ball to Orym for input/final decisions from like day one. It feels almost like he's looking for either someone who knows what they're doing or a moral compass outside himself and he's pretty convinced Orym's got both those things covered.

Orym, questioning all his life choices: we stole an oily dark crown from a ship full of corpses with evaporating assassins and a monster in the hull.

Opal, having the time of her life: Yeah!!!! We did that!!!

Speaking of evaporating assassins, hey Orym...I do wonder if any of this poked at those memories for him

The fact that Orym's first battle maneuver was bait and switch, I continue to sob over this halfling oh my god he's just doing his best to keep everyone else safe.

I've been doing an awful job of keeping track of plot points in cr3 and I'm p sure they mentioned it but the nameless ones have 40 pounds of smuggled refined residuum from Zephra, def ties into the box they got recently in cr3.

How do the baby ankheg and the big ankheg line up is it that the ship the CK rolled was one Poska's group was targeting anyway but the CK interrupted and took the crown before anyone else could?

It's really interesting that while Orym has been the one trying desperately to steer them right and keep them away from unnecessary dangerous theft etc through this whole episode, in the end his decision to take the residuum (honestly a fair and understandable one!!) is a solid 50% of what puts them on Poska's bad side. It's about what's right for him, not what's safe--he's consistent!

[jq37]

The Report Card – Fantasy High: The Seven Ep 2

The Girls Are Fighting!!!

We return to Aguefort Adventuring Academy where the man himself has just told the Seven Maidens that their party is being split up which they are NOT having even though it doesn’t seem to be a malicious plot so much as the fact that Danielle, Ostentatia, and Zelda are Juniors while the other four are graduating Seniors. Antiope casts Hunter’s Mark on Aguefort, Penny pleads, Katja threatens (well, “threatens”; she walks up menacingly and then says that he can’t do this because it’s the only group of friends she’s ever had and it’s heartbreaking like all of her non-hilarious dialogue is).

Aguefort understands that it sucks and has no respect for rules but says it’s out of his hands. Sam clocks that he’s hiding something (along with the fact that he seems to know about something going on with Antiope and Penny which we know is their respective internship/apprenticeship offers) and calls him out, hitting him with a Lightning Lure to drag his ass back when he tries to turn into a bat and escape out the window. She’s unhinged and I love it. 

So does Aguefort who decides to let them in on some school secrets, leaving a decoy while he leads them all to the super secret part of the forbidden library which is bondage themed because sure. Also, Ostentatia is topless for this also because sure. He does a lot of pomp and circumstance to summon a book which Yelle flatly says better not just be the syllabus and it isn’t but she’s close. It’s the bylaws of the school district which he has summoned for the guidelines on the special, magical thing the girls can get so they can graduate together…

Their GEDS!!!!! Trés mystical. 

Basically what they need to do is complete a level A, B, or C quest together (which Antiope knows are like the top 3 highest difficulty quests--they go from A-F) and get signoff from the superintendent. But the superintendent has been missing for 12 years and there can’t be a new one until she’s dead (which she isn’t or else they’d be able to appoint a new one). Her name is Tectonya Karkovnya (who I will be calling TK) and Aguefort calls her, “chaotic and impossible to predict,” which coming from him is como se dice, troubling. 

Sam pulls out her mirror to do a little snooping on TK’s past and sees that she’s a coppery, earth genasi woman. She also sees her talking to Aguefort and saying that the magic of consciousness is far superior to his beloved chronomancy. Then the scene shifts to show her getting more and more worried as she got deeper into her studies and then going to a dwarven holy site in the Mountains of Chaos with some kind of shadow figure following her. 

Penny gets photos of the super cursed bylaws and Arthur leaves since he very much is the principal of the school and has to do his job (ostensibly). With Aguefort gone, the girls discuss the proposition after conscripting a very reluctant Antiope to be their leader (Aabria hilariously improvises that a shaft of sunlight somehow comes down to illuminate her and she has to step out of the spotlight). 

They discuss whether they want to do this GED quest or not and Zelda says she wants to but she wants to give anyone who has other stuff going on an out so they don’t feel beholden. Ostentatia immediately shoots back that Zelda is just saying that because she has plans with Gorgug. That brings down the mood and Sam, despite being a water genasi, fans the flames by saying that Gorgug has lots going on that doesn’t involve her so she shouldn’t be running back to him all the time. 

Yelle tries to calm things down and says they should sleep on it but Sam and Ostentatia are taking this super personally and are offended that they’re even having this conversation. Penny accidentally lets slip that she has some kind of apprenticeship (she’s trying to keep it on the DL because it’s supposed to be a secret) and oh man it becomes a Whole Thing. They fight in the way that you do when everyone in the fight actually wants the same thing and cares deeply about each other but are in completely different headspaces which are making them lash out.

Penny, not wanting to be around the conflict, goes invisible. Zelda is suppressing going into a rage and says that maybe she should go be with Gorgug. At least he won’t yell at her. Yelle once again tries to cool things down and suggests they have a text thread where they can say if they’re in or out by the end of the night instead of hashing it out in the open. She’s accused of not being in and, in response, texts that she’s in. Ostentatia and Sam also immediately text that they’re in, which basically makes her “solution” entirely moot. 

Zelda is finally fully fed up and leaves (Penny following invisibly). Katja also follows. 

Antiope can tell that Sam is upset about something that’s not this but Sam brushes her off rudely and storms off (quite literally, causing storm clouds outside in her wake). Yelle goes after her. Ostentatia is left with Antiope.

Time for a string of very emotional mini scenes which I highly encourage you to watch because they are peak improv.  

Zelda, Katja, (Invisible) Penny

Katja runs to find Zelda who is under a tree crying and asks if she’s OK. Zelda says that Sam and Ostentatia are so beautiful and confident and eloquent and she gets so tongue tied and useless when they disagree with her because she’s so timid. Zelda wants this so bad but she doesn’t want to feel like she’s forcing her friends to stay with her. 

Katja, as we know, has major abandonment issues because of her constantly away dad (and prob her mom too) and she doesn’t want to be left behind again but she also doesn’t want her friends to factor her in so she tries to be stoic and says that the people you love have to want to stay. But with a 3, Zelda immediately clocks the emotion behind the words. Instead of calling her out, Zelda offers to listen to music with her. 

Penny takes this opportunity to make herself known (which has got to be terrifying--unless you’re used to it and then it’s like same shit as usual from Ms. Luckstone) and Zelda goat jumps to grab her out of the tree she was crying in above them and tells her that she doesn’t have to go invisible every time there’s conflict. They all agree that they hate confrontation and Rehka gets the funniest lowkey line of the episodes: that she wouldn’t know what to do if they didn’t agree on that. We then cut to…

Ostentatia and Antiope

Where Izzy gets the high key funniest moment of the episode by transitioning in with a big, “You know I LOVE confrontation,” which breaks everyone at the table. But she says it as a preface to admitting that she may have been a bit of a bitch to Zelda. She plays coy for like a half second before she breaks down sobbing with Antiope catching her before she sinks fully to the floor. Antiope comforts her and admits that while she wants to stay with the party, she hates having options taken away from her as they have been her whole life effectively. She was honestly kind of relieved when she was trapped in the crystal because it meant all that pressure was gone for a bit. They affirm that they love each other then Ostentatia goes to apologize to Zelda. 

Danielle and Sam

Yelle goes to talk to Sam (who she adorably calls “merbae”) and while Sam doesn’t wanna talk about it, Yelle says they don’t have to. She just wants to be there for her in whatever capacity she needs. She knows Sam loves her friends and would never hurt them on purpose so something must be wrong with her-- “History of abandonment?” Sam finishes, almost glibly. She’s tired of losing people. She doesn’t want to lose more. She doesn’t want things to change. Nature is change, Yelle says. Nature sucks, Sam says. Yelle is gonna pretend like she didn't hear that. 

Sam feels bad that she snapped at Zelda and Yelle says that they’re all a family. Things will be alright. The storm clouds that Sam reflexively summoned peter out into a cool, refreshing mist. 

Ostentatia and Zelda

Ostentatia goes to where Zelda and the girls are and full ass runs at her like they weren’t just fighting. After assuring her that she’s not there to fight she apologizes, saying she was a cow. Zelda says she honestly agrees with Ostentatia that she wants the group to stay together and wishes she could be bolder in non-rage settings. Ostentatia says that maybe if the Seniors leave they can still have a party and Penny vetos that even though, as Ostentatia says, it’s a pretty reasonable compromise. Anyway, they basically all go in a circle saying they love each other and it’s very sweet. 

I’m serious, I can’t do these heart to hearts justice in this format, just go watch them for that emotional girl group goodness.

Anyway, outside of the main group, Antiope goes to talk to her sister Corsica who is currently teaching a class. Antiope does not give AF. She orders the students out and they scatter. Wouldn’t you?

Antiope wants advice. Should she stay with her party after flaming out of her last one? Should she take the internship and stay on the path her parents want her on? Corsica really feels for her. Antiope has had to struggle in a way that she and their brothers never did. She finally answers that she and her brothers are awesome and successful fighters but none of them have been able to do the scariest thing possible: disappoint their parents. They’re soldiers. They like it that way. They fall in line. But maybe Antiope isn’t a soldier. Maybe she’s a leader. She ordered those kids out of the room without thinking after all and they obeyed. It’s an extremely good speech and Antiope basically has chills, as do I.  

I assume while this is happening or perhaps right before everyone goes home, Penny goes to see Jawbone (who has some spiffy new art--as did Gilear who cameoed early in the episode when Aguefort atomic wedgied him invisibly because sure) and talk about this uber difficult decision she had to make. Jawbone gets to the heart of the matter pretty quick. Penny is a high achiever who’s lived a life without choice. But now that she’s about to be off the rails for the time she’s freaking out. Penny sees the truth in the statement (after hilariously trying to solve his metaphor about an amusement park) and thanks him for the perspective. She then, in a very Fig move, tries to kiss him and Jawbone basically stiff arms her and breezes right past like it didn’t happen, showing her out. What a trooper that Jawbone.   

Moving on to Katja. When she gets home she tries to call her dad who is unreachable on his hell mission. She leaves him a message saying that he should call her back when he can and she knows what she wants for her graduation present now. She wants her party to not break up. This breaks Brennan and me. 

She then snoops arounds for info on TK. She sees letters of her dad trying to get her into Hudol. And she sees some stuff from the Ministry of Adventure, asking if he knew where TK was. But she doesn’t get anything else. At least, she doesn’t get anything else that’s helpful. She does however find a picture of her mom which makes her bolt to go talk to Cinnamon who prances for her to make her feel better. She joins in dancing, badly.

EDIT: I initially wrote that Katja’s mom was dead because that’s what I thought she said but @ennn said that in the Adventuring Party, Rekha said that her mom didn’t die, she left. Which is less dramatic in some ways but SO MUCH WORSE for abandonment issues so, yikes girl!

Yelle meanwhile goes home to talk to her unofficial third mom, Holly, who is the awakened tree under which her house is. Picture a Grandmother Willow situation from Pocahantas basically. Yelle talks about the conflict a bit and, as usual, ends up on a tangent about how the world is unfair and she has to speak for the voiceless. Holly is concerned for her (as are her other moms which I may have neglected to mention in the last recap). She asks Yelle if she can tell her something that might be painful. Yelle agrees. Holly says that Yelle is great and wonderful and kind but she spends so much time speaking for other people that she never speaks for herself. Her moms worry that there will come a day when she needs help and will have to ask for it without couching it in terms of the greater good and she won’t be able to. 

Yelle really hopes she’s high when the time comes. 

At her home, Ostentatia casts Commune With The City to see if TK has been around and she’s not there now but she can tell she has been (though there’s no indication on if that’s recently or not). On a 17 religion check she knows that there is a dwarven holy site in the mountains that matches Sam’s description from the mirror. She’s still avoiding her dad but when she prays for her spells, she asks for her dad to feel like himself again too. 

Hey, what time is it? Let me check my watch. 

Ah yes, it’s time for Sam to make some rash decisions. 

She feels like she should text Zelda but doesn’t. Instead, she goes into Penelope’s room. And she takes out her mirror. And even though she’s expended the charge for today, she tries to make it show her Penelope. 

OK, says Brennan. Sure. Hey, can you roll me a quick little Wisdom Save?

5. 

Haha, Sam’s in danger. 

The mirror heats up as it’s pushed beyond its limits and Sam sees an image of a young Penelope with braces grabbing her hands and grinning and saying that they’ll be best friends. Then, the image shifts and she sees the Penelope of the present in her tattered prom queen dress and glass shard crown. Her eyeless, haunting, demon prom queen form, teeth razor sharp as her words. 

“A call without a text,” she says. “Are you out of your mind?”

“You look better than you ever did alive,” Sam spits back. 

It is a battle of the bitches right out of the gate. The girls are fighting part two if you will. They snipe at each other for a bit and Brennan has Sam roll insight into herself. On a 19, Sephie says that’s not enough for Sam to get a read on herself (yikes girl) so she doesn’t understand that this fight can only ruin her because while Penelope enjoys causing people pain, Sam doesn’t. 

They both get in some very choice barbs but when Penelope tries to entice her into making a devilish pact and disparages her new party, Sam does the mic drop of the century by telling her that her parents are divorcing and hanging up. The entire table LOSES THEIR MIND. It is like a real life representation of one of those Draw The Squad memes. Everyone brandishes their fans in a salute to that truly epic conversation ender. 

As the night draws to a close, Brennan asks the girls who haven’t responded to the text chain yet if they respond. Katja texts that she’s in. Zelda texts Antiope and Penny that she’s not going to text whether she’s in or out until they respond because she doesn’t want it to feel like a 5 on 2 dogpile.

Antiope and Penny call then text, then call, then text, then call each other to discuss what they should do and also hype each other up because with all the drama, they didn’t really get to celebrate their opportunities. Penny tries to downplay her thing and insinuates that it wouldn’t be a big loss if she wasn’t in the group anymore and Antiope shuts that down immediately. You’re the last thing so many people see before they die Penny! That’s so cool! 

They both decide to text that they’re abstaining from voting for now and go to bed.

The next day, Antiope gets up and sees that her party’s schedule has been cleared for the next two weeks by the school for quest reasons. She tells her dad she wants to talk to Charity Blythe (the woman at the Ministry of Adventure she needs to talk do) and he sets up a no pressure (but actually tons of pressure) meeting with her before turning her 5 mile run into a 12 mile run because she is a Jones and 5 mile runs are for Amateurs. 

Ant texts the rest of the Maidens that this meeting is happening so they can maybe get some quest info from Charity and Ostentatia has in the meantime texted (after the 2 abstains) that she will be going for the GED regardless and anyone who wants to join can. Of course, there was never any reason to NOT go for it (besides the danger which they obv don’t care about) and getting it doesn’t mean any doors are closed to them. It’s just that emotions are running so high they can’t fully seem to see that (or at least some members can’t). 

Ant doesn’t have the clearance to meet at Charity’s office so they meet at the Museum of Adventuring instead. In it happens to be the skeleton of Kalvaxus who they killed (if you don’t remember, the Bad Kids killed him first and then he was resurrected so the Maidens could also kill him for catharsis reasons). Tensions are still super high as evidenced by Sam’s snide abstention comment to Penny and Ant and then by her TRYING TO LIGHTNING BOLT THE DRAGON SKELETON TO DESTROY IT.

GIRL.

That doesn't happen though because she’s Counterspelled by Charity Blythe who walks in, surprised to see that Antiope brought her whole party. Antiope says they were just leaving but Charity can sense shenanigans when she sees them and says if they’re gonna spy on the conversation they might as well stay for it which they of course do.

She gives Antiope a rundown of the internship: 1 year commitment with a possibility to expand to 2-3 years. Stipend. She’d have to live in Bastion City.

Katja remembers that her dad was talking to the Ministry of Adventure in the letters she found and asks Charity about it. Charity says they were asking him about TK’s whereabouts because he was friends with her. On that, Yelle casts Detect Thoughts with a Stealth roll of 17 (we see on a secret Box of Doom roll that Charity got a 26 to see her cast it). Anyway, she sees that TK took some object with her when she disappeared (which she later sees is a crystal screen with a map seemingly marking quest locations from A-F) and of course the fact that Charity knows this. Yelle shares this info with everyone as Antiope walks off with Charity to talk further. Katja suggests to the group that maybe Ant should take the internship to get more info for their quest. While she’s talking to Charity, Ant feels the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.

See looks up and sees a figure with blood red lips look at her and disappear.

Yikes! Combat time baybee!

Superlatives 

Danielle: Most Likely to Talk Her Way Out of a Hostage Situation 

While, like her mothers, I am slightly concerned that Danielle is the type to set fire to herself to make sure others are warm, I also very much love her chill, warm, encouraging vibes. For those of you coming off of MisMag, she is like vibing at the same wavelength as Whitney Jammer but with the intensity turned all the way down. Danielle encouraging Sam honestly gave me like second hand calm. Excellent vibes. 

Random Thoughts

If you’re wondering how long it took for it to come up that Aguefort banged a phoenix, the answer is 12 minutes.

The concept of phoenix chlamydia is the definition of thanks, I hate it. 

Aguefort saying that TK is a crazy person could literally mean anything tbh. It could mean she is the most batshit person on the planet or it could mean she’s totally normal and just kinda bugs him. Literally no way to tell. 

Someone (I think Rekha?) mentioned that the cursed bylaws book is copper and so is TK. Idk if that’s relevant but thought I’d flag it anyway. 

We learn in this episode that the friendship bracelets Penny made them last week let them track each other and see each other even if one of the in knocked out (which is what gives it utility outside of what their crystals can already do).

We learn in this episode that Skullcleaver Elementary School is actually named after Katja’s family. 

Nothing like the fear you feel when a DM gives you what you wanted even on a failure. And on that note...

Sam, I wish you a very happy Please Go To Therapy. Please girl. 

This episode was such an emotional roller coaster. I deeply empathize with the horrible feeling that your friends have stuff going on and you don’t and you’re going to be left behind. It’s so rough to see everyone hurting and lashing out (or in the case of Yelle for instance, trying and failing to diffuse the situation). But it’s so nice to see everyone trying to be there for each other and apologizing and affirming that they love each other (from Antiope saying that she would kill and die for any of them to Danielle defusing the ticking timebomb that is Sam). The players really get the cadence of how teenage girl friendship works and it’s such a treat to watch. 

“Did we ruin your life?”

Do you think ep 7 of The Seven is gonna be when everything pops off? As a DM I wouldn’t be able to resist that.

Penny’s response to being told that she can’t take every path is, “You can with chronomancy” which isn’t a bad point. 

Rekha is the Zac of The Seven which is to say low key the funniest person on the planet. Her saying she was so scared that she wasn’t gonna be told “I love you” during that scene was so funny. Her comic timing is impeccable. 

Katja fainting at the end of the “I love you” session after Penny says she loves her and Cinnamon. 

I love the table ambient whisper of, “LCAB” under Antiope’s scene with Corsica. 

I really felt for Zelda in this episode. Like, I felt for everyone but especially her, being the quiet one with all this yelling happening. When she was talking about how much she hates to have to fight with Sam/O my heart really broke for her. I’m so glad she got all her hugs in after that. 

In this episode Katja, Ostentatia, and Sam roll nat 1s. No nat 20s.

[the-punslinger]

Exandria Unlimited Quotes and Memorable Moments - Series 1 (3/?)

[On the name The Third Wing] Robbie: "I've got questions. Is it like an unwanted third wing?" Aabria: "Yeah, yeah. It's a goose trying to hide it." Robbie: "Start building the lore." Aimee: "Opal's like, where's the second one?" Aabria: "There's two out and the third's being tucked away. He's got a bow tie." Aimee: "It's a franchise." Aabria: "Yeah. There's a couple of these across..." Matt: "Kind of more of a fan of The Vestigial Tail myself, but you know. "

Goliath owner of The Third Wing: "You guys are up very early. Any cool parties? What's going on? Are you all here from the Everdawn?" Fearne and Opal: "Yes." Opal: "He got shit on his beard." Goliath woman: "No, I smelled it when he came in. I wasn't going to say anything." Opal: "Its pretty great." Goliath woman: "Did you do it?" Opal: "I didn't do it. Someone else did it. But what happens in the townhouse stays in the townhouse. Except for the poop on the beard. Because that came here." Goliath woman: "Yeah, next time, please don't have shit on you when you come to my restaurant. It's just a thought." Opal: "Oh, for sure." Goliath woman: "Thank you." Dorian: "To answer your question, we started at the party, and since then we've been sort of milling about as freelance adventurers." Goliath woman: "Yeah, okay. [...] Do something adventure-y." Opal: "You're catching us at a bad time. I mean, we're usually very professional." Dorian: "Yeah." Goliath woman: "You just talked about putting shit on the dwarf." Opal: "I know but that's... That's a bad time I'm talking about you caught us in." Fearne: "Yeah, that was-- that was..." Opal: "Not our highest. Orym: "Hey, man, work hard, play hard." Fearne: "Yeah. Goliath woman: "That, I kind of believe." Dorian: "If you're not interested, I guess I don't have to regale you with stories of our adventures so, I'll just have some bacon. And my feelings are hurt, and I'm going to walk over to the bacon and I'm going to eat a piece. I was feeling proud, and now my feelings are hurt, goliath lady." Dorian: "Yes. I'm a bard." Fearne: "Play us a song! Goliath woman: "Yeah, play us a song." Dorian: "Well, I have bacon lips, it's hard to play the flute with bacon lips. All right. Just one. And I, on my hip, I have what appears to be a handaxe but with a gentle click I unclip it from the axe part and it's actually a flute, which is the handle of my axe." Aabria: "She goes, "Ooh." Dorian: "Eighteen, oh, and a nine, so 18, with performance, that is a 22!" Aabria: "Nice! By the end of your song, she's just sitting at the end of the table and her arms are leaning on it,and the entire, this 50-pound, solid--is tilted in her direction and she's just staring at you."That was lovely." Dorian: "I finish my last note and I clip my flute back on, and I am-- Aabria: "You see her turn her ring around." Dorian: "...But I'm kind of into it and I like the attention. So I give her a wink and then I go back, and I turn my shoulder coyly and I go back to my bacon." Orym: "Old Honey Flute, they call him." Dariax: "Right in the moment of this heated attraction I lean into her eyeshot and be like: 'All right, piss on my spear, shit in my beard, that's two pranks, well done. Whoever else did this for me, let me know because I'm going to get you back. It's going to happen. I'm just waiting for the day. I'm proud of you, I'm proud of you all.' Aabria: "She startles back." Fearne: "I think that was my fault." Dariax: "Respect." Fearne: "I love pranks." Dariax: "Oh, we're going to have some times." Fearne: "Okay!" Dariax: "You see his demeanor change from a jovial to plotting." Aabria: "Yeah, you guys are able to spend a lovely morning eating. You don't have to pay for any of it. That goliath woman is just creeping, like she's in a very high window sill eight feet up and you can see her little eyes look over at you. Give a big obvious wink, and then you hear her elbow someone and they say, 'Ugh, ow. Let me have this!'"

[the-punslinger]

Exandria Unlimited Quotes and Memorable Moments - Series 1 (26/?)

Liam: "Hi, I'm Liam O'Brien. I am Orym of the Air Ashari, the canonically shortest member of the to-be-named party of ExU." Aabria: "Mister has some objections to that, but we'll allow it." Orym: "He's more of a sidekick or a pet or-- All: "Ooh!" Aabria: "New target! Hey Dariax, how's it feel to have that target completely off your back now?" Dariax: "I'll win it back." Orym: "You got to always have one cast member who hates the animal." Fearne: "Yeah." Dariax: "I never stopped, but yeah." Orym: "I don't know, you softened last time. " Dariax: "Yeah. It's called a character arc, Liam, come on."

Aimee: "Hi, I'm Aimee Carrero, I play Opal, a hexblade warlock, who's... went through it last time. She's back from the dead and ready to flirt."

Aabria: "Opal was able to shine once more for not only her hometown, but for everyone." Opal: "She get a crown? Aabria: "Yeah, you got a crown. Fearne: "Put that in my inventory. Opal: "Yes! I've got a cheap gold tiara. Aabria: "Do me a favor. Roll a d20 for me." Dariax: "[silly voice] "Does it require attunement?" Opal: "15." Aabria: "15 of the little gems have fallen out just in the... You can stick them back in, but those prongs are just like-- Getting them back in there is not great." Opal: "Anybody have glue?" Dorian: "Dariax, you're pretty handy. Do you think you could fix it" Dariax: "I mean, my experience with jewelry usually involved just taking it. So I don't know if I'd be helpful for this circumstance."

Dariax: "As he finishes the last piece of pie." Opal: "You ate three days worth of pie?" Dariax: "Well, I'm rationing it. No, there's plenty here." Opal: "Oh, okay." Dariax: "A month is going to be a little longer than I anticipated, so we've just got to ration it a little bit, be respectful. I ate a lot of them already, I'm sorry."

Aabria: "I need you to make a wisdom saving throw while you're asleep." Dariax: "Nice, okay. That's going to be, minus one... two." Aabria: "It's a gift every time. Dorian: "Thank you. Are you still wearing the circlet? Dariax: "I'm not wearing it, but I keep it close. It's supposed to be..." Dorian: "In the satchel on your back? Dariax: "Yeah. Dorian: "That's back to back with my back"

Dariax: "Oh. I'm sorry. Oh, totally right, it makes you feel gross. I'm so sorry. " Dorian: "It's all right." Dariax: "I'm going to go ahead and move it and I put it in my front like a little papoose." Dorian: "Thank you, I'd prefer not to be numb from the waist down." Dariax: "No, good looking out, good looking out."

Dorian: "This dream of yours, are you sure it was just scary sounds and clawing hands?" Dariax: "Well, I heard the voice of the Spider Queen and stuff giving me power, but you know, I don't think it's anything to worry about." Dorian: "Wait, wait, wait." Dariax: "Thanks so much, man."

Fy'ra Rai: This Spider Queen, is this someone you have met before?" Opal: "No, but I had a vision once." Dariax: "Yeah." Orym: "Orym drops out of the tree. What did she say, exactly?" Aabria: "That was wild and very cool."

[the-punslinger]

Exandria Unlimited Quotes and Memorable Moments - Series (16/?)

Robbie: "Got to admit, though, 'man bun and flute player' is pretty good." Liam: "Another spinoff." Fearne: "Great disguises. Dorian: "That's what I was thinking."

[As Dariax disguises himself and the party hides just behind him] Aabria: "Make a deception check with advantage." Liam: "Come on, you slippery bastard." Dariax: "Thank god for the advantage because I rolled a natural one that first time." Aabria and Opal: "Oh my god!" Dariax: "But with that..." Fearne: "I love that you have that cloak." Dariax: "Dirty 20." Opal: "Love it." Aabria: "With a dirty 20... The figure nods, and they look down the alley, and if they had walked in a little further, they would pass the boxes and  see you all there hiding, but they look and then lean and start conferring with them between themselves like, 'Okay, we can catch them on the other side of the building' and they all three turn, and back out of the alley."

Dariax: "Hey, I'm Dariax. Just kind of lay about of Emon. Not much to talk about, but happy to be in here, this place is beautiful. I'm happy we stepped in. It honestly looked a little out of my price range. So it's nice to actually see it from the inside. And you are, well, the words, words don't do you justice." Gilmore: "Oh, flattery will get you literally everywhere. Thank you."

Dariax: "There's been a rowdy party recently. People going crazy in the streets, but we're probably been following." Opal: "I tied someone up." Dorian: "We should also mention, we've murdered many people and might have made mortal enemies with the thieves' guild." Opal: "Anyway, I have a picture of the ash hole." Orym: "Murder is a strong word." Fearne: "We've done so much when you break it down like that, holy moly." Dariax: "Can't say we don't get stuff done, I guess, as a group."

Dariax: "Oh! There was a lady named Poska, who's from the Nameless One folk. Seemed dangerous, we made a deal. That's how the people got killed, murdered, not really..." Dorian: "It was less of an agreement and more of an opportunity that was presented to us that we took upon a different route." Dariax: "A moral high ground." Dorian: "With murder." Orym: "We just kept tripping into trouble for a couple of days. We've lost, collectively, some memories..." Dariax: "... and we've made some."

Dariax: "Hmm. I look long and hard over at Dorian. Glance at the rest of the crew. You want to keep it?" Dorian: "I want to keep it, but I can't carry it. Only you can." Dariax: "But you can carry me." Liam and Ashley: "Mr. Frodo!"

Gilmore: "So you can either return the circlet or, you know, times when you're available to grab a drink." Dorian: "May I ask you a question?" Gilmore: "Mm, you just let that roll right off of you, and I'm kind of proud of it." Dorian: "Oh shit, I did!" Gilmore: "No, it's totally fine." Dorian: "Am I that oblivious? Is Dorian that oblivious?" Aabria: "You see him look in the mirror like, 'Am I old? No, it's not me. It's him.'" Opal: "Oh, damn it, Opal, always falling for unavailable guys." Dorian: "Oh man, business before sex, Dorian." Aabria: "Yo, respect." Ashley: "Not for Gilmore." Aabria: "Little bit of both." Fearne: "As we know." Gilmore: "Keeps me young." Orym: "Best ones are always taken."