Title: Burrow’s End
GM: Aabria Iyengar  
Players: Brennan Lee Mulligan (he/him) as Tula (she/her), Isabella ‘Izzy’ Roland (she/her) as Lila (she/her), Erika Ishii (she/him/all) as Ava (she/her), Siobhan Thompson (she/her) as Jaysohn (he/him), Rashawn Nadine Scott (she/her) as Viola (she/her), and Jasper William Cartwright (he/him) as Thorn Vale (he/him)
Streaming Service: Dropout

If you missed it, catch our reviews of the first, second, and third episodes!

We return once more to our favorite family of stoats for the fourth episode of Burrow’s End, and my obsession with the opening sequence continues to grow! The rod puppetry is just magical. Is it physical? Was it done digitally? Either way, we can only hope that Dimension 20‘s Art Department will share some of the creative process.

As our Stupendous Stoats arrive at the above ground warren, which the light drew them toward, Tula notes clear signs of life. Viola recognizes there’s a deeper part of the seemingly above ground warren that continues underground.

Jaysohn follows his nose, causing the group to divert from the front door and instead head toward food. His nose leads them to a giant fence, beyond which are rabbits. Though the fence can be crossed, getting back through from the other side is clearly more difficult if not impossible.

Tula wants to leave. As her fear mounts, Thorn Vale tries to convince Jaysohn to leave while Lila finds more writing, “Only catch the rabbits that see you coming.” Brennan concludes that this means they are selectively breeding for more docile rabbits. Aabria agrees, but she hints it might mean something more as well.

Tula invites Teedles and Olliver to vote on their decision, working to close ranks and handling things diplomatically. While approaching, they see fifty-some stoats hunting a moose. Jaysohn bolts to join them. Thorn Vale follows, and after getting permission from her mother, Lila runs after her brother.

The moose is highly mutated, almost spiny. One in every five of the stoats racing have a canister on their backs which they use to spark the stoats. Their manifestation of the blue is significantly more science fiction than what we’ve seen so far, and it causes them to come up cold, giving Ava time to analyze their military maneuvers. Herding the moose, the other stoats work to weaken the larger animal, and Ava pinpoints the leader of the group. She immediately joins, following the commands.

Lila and Jaysohn return to their mother, and Jaysohn tells her and his aunt about the stoats that were knocked down, suggesting the two paladins heal Sybil and care for other fallen stoats while Thorn Vale shifts to protecting Ava.

If we ever wondered how Thorn Vale started his cult, albeit accidentally, his performance with lightning and teleporting alongside a critical roll to persuade the stoats to lead the moose and the hunting party away from danger. They needed a good introduction, and they got it.

Bennett confirms that humans built the Last Bast before the stoats took over. He shares a creation story, putting his group at the center.

Last Bast exists to prepare to fight and defeat the humans. For twenty years, they have worked after claiming the dwelling for their own.

Highlights

The members of Last Bast don’t share the name of their fallen friend. There are thousands of stoats in this warren, and they are clearly more technologically advanced. We also learn that Brennan’s instinct for selective breeding was off as Sybil explains that they are avoiding infected species, hinting that more than the chipmunks have suffered some strange malignancies, which poses the question: magic or mutant-style radioactivity?

Erika’s side-eyes are legendary, and her determination to get Tula a new husband is hilarious. She quickly brings it up to Bennett, the leader of the moose hunt. When Brennan asks to know if Bennett is up to smash with Tula, the table roared with excitement.

While Bennett’s interest is confirmed, whether Tula will return or even simply encourage it for her own reasons is a question for next week’s episode.

Final Score (4 out of 5 Stars)

There is a clear militaristic leaning to the Last Bast, and the yellow sashes to clearly mark their own members suggests a highly systematic society. Earlier references to stone age-like tools in the first episode fit to an earlier stage of social evolution while this is a clear jump. How much remains to be seen.

Will Last Bast have a dark secret? Or has our group discovered the perfect allies against the human invaders? Let us know what you think in the comments below or go over to our Discord channel to join the conversation.

Featured Image: Dimension 20

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The Boss Rush Podcast: The Flagship Podcast of Boss Rush Media and the Boss Rush Network

The Boss Rush Podcast – The Boss Rush Podcast is the flagship podcast of Boss Rush Media and the Boss Rush Network. Each week, Corey, Stephanie, LeRon, and their friends from around the internet come together with other creators, developers, and industry veterans to talk about games they’ve been playing, discuss video game and entertainment based topics, and answer questions solicited on social media and the community Discord. 

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