Title: Fantasy High: Junior Year
GM: Brennan Lee Mulligan
Players: Emily Axford (she/her) as Fig Faeth (she/her). Zac Oyama (he/him) as Gorgug Thistlespring (he/him). Siobhan Thompson (she/her) as Adaine Abernant (she/her). Lou Wilson (he/him) as Fabian Seacaster (he/him). Ally Beardsley (they/them) as Kristen Applebees (she/her). Brian Murphy (he/him) as Riz Gukgak (he/him).
Streaming Service: Dropout

If you missed it, catch our review of the first episode here!

The battle with the Night Yorb continues as Adaine and Gorgug work to reel in the monstrosity. With their enemy in place, Kristen attacks, hoping to bloody the beast enough to use the sigil. Though the Night Yorb has resistance to necrotic damage, the cleric’s attack works. Unfortunately, in response, the manta ray of darkness strikes Adaine, knocking her out once more.

As Adaine’s spellwork drops, the Night Yorb drags the van, and as a result our Intrepid Heroes, forward. With a single turn standing between them and the portal which would guarantee the dark apocalypse, Fig and Gorgug weather the beast’s attacks.

Fabian takes another trip under the van. Able to swing up again on the Hangman, he manages to shoot twice, but the Night Yorb kicks up a sandstorm. A round of horrible rolls breaks Kristen’s concentration, removing Circle of Power and Bless as well as giving Adaine a failed death saving throw. Ecaf shatters. Boggy explodes into spell energy as Baby vanishes back to the pits of Hell. The Yorbies chant, bringing the Night Yorb above bloody, sealing the devastation of a critical round.

Riz takes a risk and flips the van. Doing so puts the sigil right next to Fig, allowing her to finish off the Night Yorb. The Eldritch Horror is now sealed on the roof of Gorgug’s van. Daylight returns to Spyre.

Dealing with the Yorbies, Kristen rises, healing her friends and the Hangman. Our Intrepid Heroes have won, yet as they work their way through the Yorbies, a general malaise comes over them.

The players return to Elmville late at night. While Fabian gains access to a trust fund, Riz learns his mother has lost part of her pension and may not be able to help him as much as she had hoped with his future. Adaine also struggles with funding, being cut off from her only living parent. Kristen and Fig are both close to failing out. While they struggle with the future, Cassandra suffers due to her lack of followers.

Highlights

The Night Yorb’s portal was as incredible as it was distracting, though I was surprised that it didn’t shut down when they defeated the Night Yorb. Dimension 20‘s art department went full tilt on the projections, creating some fantastic backgrounds.

Brennan has a talent for wrangling chaos, and with so much going on with each of our Intrepid Heroes, he manages to gracefully keep the story progressing while honoring the creative leaps his players make.

The conversation Riz has with his mother about affording college definitely hits home. Fantasy High consistently manages to bring a sense of grounded realism to its fantastical world. Our Intrepid Heroes struggle with with highs and lows of growing up, which is made all the more interesting in episodes of Adventuring Party where the cast has a chance to discuss some of these issues from a more mature perspective having either gone through something similar or otherwise relating to the situation.

Final Score (3.5 out of 5 Stars)

In the second episode of the series, Brennan has set up a number of potential pitfalls, hinting at possible points of conflict while drilling into the Bad Kids the wear and tear of the last two years, but after the defeat of the Night Yorb, the episode definitely slowed and veered almost too heavily into being a builder episode. 

Some issues, like Kristen’s, could be mostly solved with a bit of paperwork and focus while the complete implosion of Fig’s academic career is a highlight of the pitfalls of her domain as the Archdevil of Rebellion. While Kristen could solve her academic and godly problems with the same actions, Fig’s musical career requires attention at the cost of her academic, and with the unknown deal hanging over her head, her current position is definitely the most worrisome.

With all this mounting pressure, which Bad Kid will break first? Is it time for Riz to face the reality that he and his friends may not be going to college together? 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

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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