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, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, and eleventh episodes!

Dimension 20 goes full paranormal horror in this week’s episode. Ending with Baron’s reintroduction, Fantasy High: Junior Year‘s last episode left no doubt that Brennan would fear into the disturbing discomfort and terror which colored much of the Nightmare King’s introduction in last season, but our favorite living nightmare was a tour de force in this incredible return.

Inside of Riz’s suitcase, the Bad Kids reunite with Baron. Quick to reference his stark father, Baron suggests the unknown figure who may be the Nightmare King awaits in the dark. Baron threatens them to not speak Cassandra’s name, expressing a desire for Kristen to die here, which would ensure the Nightmare King’s rise.

Adaine quickly suspects they’re not truly in Mordred Manor, but an absolute failure of a roll on her part versus a Nat20 by Fig allows our resident rock star to confirm they are in an extra-dimensional space. Though dreamlike and malleable, this place is part of the waking world. As Mordred Manor is a haunted house, its existence on multiple planes isn’t surprising; however, Kristen’s crystals glow, suggesting that Cassandra created the realm or is sustaining it to hold them. Unfortunately, the curse which used to be on Fig has spread around the realm upon breaking.

The group splits up, hoping to sneak through the manor and find a way to escape; unfortunately, Fabian falls under Baron’s control. Though Adaine recognizes this, she’s quickly overwhelmed. Concentration failing, Adaine alerts her friends, barely managing to escape and reunite with the others.

The group splits with Ragh, Riz, and Kristen going to deal with Fabian. A creaky stair gives away the rest, drawing dark mirror versions of Zayn Darkshadow and Zara Sool down upon them. Immediately attacking, Zayn slams the trio with a ghastly scream, hitting them for a high level of necrotic damage and making the reveal of Baron controlling Adaine all the more worrisome. The quick turns ramped up the sense of unease at the core of this week’s episode.

Gorgug goes after Zara. Rolling two crits, he slams her, flooding with a true barbarian rage. Meanwhile, the Baron-controlled Adaine takes cover behind Zayn, taunting and attacking her friends. Fig fumbles, but luckily, she’s invisible. Unluckily, Zara manages to enthrall Gorgug, forcing him to dance and search for Fig.

Elsewhere, Fabian awakes as Ragh tackles him, but the fighter manages to dodge, revealing he’s himself again. A corrupted version of their realtor crashes in, attacking the group. Quickly getting his feet beneath him, Fabian attacks alongside Riz, who notices the physical representations of fractured curse energy in a pile of half-eaten yogurt containers on the floor.

As the majority of the Bad Kids reunite, the enthralled Gorgug asks Zara if he should go into a rage, and without thinking of the consequences, Brennan says yes, resulting in the rage freeing Gorgug from Zara’s control.

Kristen blasts Baron from Adaine. With her turn next, Adaine strikes back at Baron, stopping him from attacking Riz. A howl rings out through the manor, and as Riz hides, a corrupted version of Jawbone stalks into the room. Misty stepping into the kitchen, Riz snatches the last of the curse fragments as Adaine spots Zayn, attacking the ghost teen.

Kristen reaches out to Cassandra. In doing so, the goddess gives Kalina a moment of clarity. Kalina kills herself to protect Kristen, warning the cleric about the name she cannot say. The Bad Kids make their escape from Mordred Manor, finding a perfect version of Gilear, and they rush to return the fractured curse and undo it permanently. A wonderfully timed Nat 1 from Murph gets the group there just in time.

As the real Gilear reaches out to bring them back, worrying for his daughter and her friends, Adaine gains full control of the curse, allowing her to direct it wherever she chooses.

Highlights

Lou Wilson absolutely gets into character, perfectly embodying Baron as he scolds Adaine for allowing their friends to tease Riz as he attacks. His natural charisma adds an extra layer of horror. While the voice Brennan gave to Baron adds to his puppet-like aesthetic, Lou’s version dances with the uncanny valley.

True to character, while Lou as Fabian created a smooth-talking Baron, Siobhan melded Adaine’s social awkwardness with Baron’s puppet-aesthetic, making Gorgug dance for her amusement.

Final Score (5 out of 5 Stars)

Baron is always a win. From Riz’s lie to his creepy introduction, the puppet person has a haunting instability, especially when warning of his stark father. Combined with Mordred Manor’s ghostly aesthetic, this episode allowed the players to stretch their acting chops, especially Siobhan and Lou.

We also had a rare moment where Brennan Lee Mulligan completely forgot an ultimately game-changing aspect of Gorgug’s rage ability.

Across the board, this episode was Dimension 20 at its best, and the potential brewing in the cliffhanger promises excitement for next week.

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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