Title: Never Stop Blowing Up
GM: Brennan Lee Mulligan
Players: Ally Beardsley (they/them) as Russell Feeld (he/him) / Jennifer Drips (she/her). Ify Nwadiwe (he/him) as Wendell Morris (he/him) / Vic Ethanol (he/him). Isabella ‘Izzy’ Roland (she/her) as Paula Donvalson (nee Buocadifuoco) (she/her) / Jack Manhattan (he/him). Rekha Shankar (she/her) as Usha Rao (she/her) / G13 (he/him). Alex Song-Xiao (they/them) as Liv Skyler (she/her) / Kingston (he/him). Jacob Wysocki (he/him) as Andy ‘Dang’ Litefoot (he/him) / Greg Stocks (he/him).
Streaming Service: Dropout
If you missed it, catch our review for the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth episodes.
Jumping right back into the thick of it, Liv attempts to figure out the bomb. With Usha and Paula’s help, they discover that Dave’s hacked his MacGuffin, allowing him to rewind and do the extreme actions they’ve seen so far. They need to make the bomb explode.
While Liv stuffs a juiced up atomic bomb in her briefcase, Paula and Usha work to get to her. A Nat20 roll by Izzy Roland clears the way. Of course, in the land of action heroes, getting just the original task done from the DM seat would be too easy. Instead, Izzy has Paula scoop up Usha and the Washington Monument, jousting her way up the chain to the White House.
Her incredible sprint would’ve been enough, but despite encouragement to maximize her kill count, Izzy calls out that everyone on the side of our awesome action heroes succeeds in what they’re currently doing, allowing every player at the table one free auto-success. On one end of the spectrum, Alex uses it to have Liv get Kingskin a legitimate senator position. On the other, Jacob pulls away from his perfect everyman spy, making Dang as Greg Stocks go Super Saiyan. Inspired by Jacob, Ify makes a car mecha.
As we veer deeper into the animated side of action, Rekha hits a Nat20, and while Izzy and Ify creatively freestyled, she tries to write something of a plan. Somehow, she clears the board quickly, which Brennan explains as Barsimmeon Higgs attempting to save Usha from the outside, and as the other players call out ideas, she flips the script completely, providing our heroes with the key to the bomb and a restrained Dave.
Another round of auto-successes has Cosmo Chase resurrected as a vampire, Doug Meat becoming president, Dang resolving the Archimedes Contingency, and Wendell faxing a bomb to space. Unfortunately, Rekha didn’t phrase her command carefully enough. As everyone gets what they want, and she didn’t limit it to just their team, Dave goes full on robot vampire. A master of Yes-And comedy, Brennan veers fully into the fantasy as the Secret Service and other enemies transform into a variety of creatures.
The world frays around them. Everything spins out, and with a risk of the movie unspooling, Wendell brawls, clearing the way for Dang. Jacob summons a UFO, but blinded by his kill count goal, he announces that everyone is in a movie, forgetting it will affect their allies too. However, as everyone gets what they want, everyone who would’ve died doesn’t want to die, so they don’t.
Desperate to explode the bomb, Rekha wild cards. From oily shirts to beans, Rekha has stretched the limits of the genre’s chaotic physics, so comparing a bomb to a neck isn’t that shocking. With this, Brennan reveals one of the final mechanics of the game. The wild card ability when purchased can only be used once. When used, all previously spent Turbo Tokens return to the player, allowing Rekha to easily hit the roll. Alex follows suit, using her wild card to have Liv as Kingskin restrain Dave.
Wild-carding, Dang channels Rashab. He slams Dave, but despite being severely injured, the vampire president still stands. Seeing this, Wendel calls down the coordinates, having Sean Nitro target Dave, putting a hole in the White House and exposing the vampires inside to the sunlight in addition to the explosive attack.
Unfortunately, his plan doesn’t end well. The adjustments to Dave’s MacGuffin won’t allow him to die, so the vampire president reformed into a monstrous amalgamation of action tropes.
With a final wild card activated, Paula shoots the bomb, ricocheting the bullet and uploading the floppy disk. As this happens, Rashab encourages Dang. As the bomb explodes, Dang tosses Wolfman Ann her cigarettes, giving her the choice to stay in the movie or leave. They manage to escape, but the VHS has unspooled.
Crossing the room, Wendell kisses Liv. His brothers show up, and their father reveals they have never been kissed. Wendell connects with his family and decides to go to UC Irving.
Liv’s parents show up, and she confesses she missed the deadline for Stanford. They comfort and encourage her. Deciding to take a gap year, Liv decides to apprentice at a local suit shop.
To Paula’s shock, her ex-husband walks in. Don confesses that he broke up with Miranda. When he expresses support, she ravages him, revealing she wants to give them a second shot.
Usha rejects Barsimmeon. She decides to go to community college, exploring her options and the adventures ahead. Calling her granddaughter Lisa, Usha decides to move in with her. However, she also discovers Dave’s been embezzling. In reality, the video store’s porn section has completely funded them, revealing they’re profitable.
Russell catches Barsimmeon, inviting him to go to the Netherlands with him. When he comes back, Don and Russell buy Dave’s Video World together.
Dang decides to save up to head to Los Angeles. Liv and Wendell confess they now believe in Rashab. He also learns that Wolfman Ann made it out, and she has a radio station, which she invites Dang to come out to.
Highlights
Jacob Wysocki had his eye on the kill count all season, and after Ify dungeon-mastered his way into an unbeatable count, it’s no surprise he took the first chance he had to zero it out; however, his obsession nearly cost him as he used an auto-success to summon aliens and inform the world they were in a movie, almost killing billions who, due to Rekha’s wording, managed to save themselves with their own auto-successes.
However, despite the kill count distraction, Jacob Wysocki has been the highlight of Never Stop Blowing Up to me. From his clever manipulation of the spy genre, which showed a clear understanding of the mechanics and tropes involved, to his confidence in even the most absurd situation, Jacob was a guiding force in somehow keeping the action grounded while also introducing some of the most insane aspects. Although the auto-successes dove a bit off the deep end, he clearly understood the assignment, and I sincerely hope we see him back at the table in another season of Dimension 20.
Final Score (4 out of 5 Stars)
A massive explosion ends the series, giving our awesome action heroes a renewed take on their lives and the courage to chase what they want. It has been an absolutely wild ride, and the mechanics of this unpublished action system only grew crazier the more they were unlocked. While there isn’t a formal guidebook, numerous fan accounts have cobbled together what they could, so anyone interested in homebrewing something similar should be able to find the rules easily enough.
Let us know in the comments below your favorite scenes for this season or go over to our Discord channel to join the conversation. If you follow us on other social media platforms, keep your eyes peeled for polls, and if not, let us know in the comments below which character or player was your favorite this season. We’d love to do a highlight listicle for them all, so let us know what you think.
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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