Title: Misfits and Magic
GM: Aabria Iyengar
Players: Erika Ishii (she/they/any) as K (she/they/any). Lou Wilson (he/him) as Whitney Jammer (he/him). Danielle Radford (she/her) as Sam Black (she/her). Brennan Lee Mulligan (he/him) as Evan Kelmp (he/him).
Streaming Service: Dropout

Three years have passed since we last saw our magical misfits, and the magical world has fallen into chaos.

Enrolled in Roosevelt University, Jammer left Gowpenny prior to graduation. The magical community attempted to keep everyone contained following the events of The Lulling, which only spurred our team captain to leave, distrusting the circling of the wagons. Though Jammer’s mentioned his magical experiences, he also avoids in some cases like when it comes to Spalding. His friend, Aaron, eggs him on, pushing him to do magic, and the enthusiasm mixed with disbelief shows that he hasn’t done much magic before them previously.

Jammer’s magic fails, but Aaron notices an origami bird, racing after hearing it is likely magic. Unable to stop his friend from catching it first, Jammer convinces Aaron to go outside, and unfurling the paper, he receives an invite to meet back up with the group from Dr. Boodle.

Unlike their friend, K stayed to graduate at Gowpenny. K continued her stewardship of hedgemagic online. Constantly in motion, hiding from those who would attempt to stop her spreading what remains of magic, K answers questions as Itsy Bitsy Spider, hiding behind the illusion of a collective of magical hackers.

Theodore checks in, offering a cup of tea and expressing concern. Her familiar is in a bit of disarray. He desperately tries to convince her to take a break, managing to pull her away for eight minutes. Removed from the physical world, they’re anxious while outside, knitting to self-soothe. However, fighting the urge to plug back in, she notices a strange object moving across the sky. Confused, she realizes it is magic, and they call to it, reading Dr. Boodle’s note inviting K to the Faroe Islands.

Though nervous to see Evan again, K and Theodore are both excited to reunite with their friends.

Curiously, Sam changed her surname to Britian as she lives in Britain. I’m uncertain if the type was intentional of not. Still huge on the internet, Sam also hosts Britain’s Got Magic.

Charming her anxious producer, Sam calms him, convincing him to permit her to do a musical episode with extremely little warning. As he deals with the madness behind the scenes, Sam mentors her assistant, Dawn. Her niceness has her folding, giving Dawn permission before leaning into overly enthusiastic support that has Dawn collapsing under the pressure and retracting the idea.

Sam finds her origami bird from Dr. Boodle among the mail Dawn delivers, electing to head out after the opening number.

Hidden away in a small apartment in Glasgow, Evan Kelmp hides away from the world. Evan lives alone. Separated from the first friends he ever made and his first love, Evan made a life for himself. He keeps everything monotone, soft black for ease except for his petrol attendant uniform. Shapes made of tape cover his apartment. In the middle of the room, cameras look out around the apartment, and after checking his security measures, he places down a Bluetooth speaker, and the second it leaves his hand, the shadow covers the rest of the space in the tape spot allotted to it.

He carries everything from his apartment in his backpack of holding, setting it down in the tape outlines laid out when returning to his apartment. There’s a tragic nature to this mixed return to survivalism. While Evan has possessions now, the terror of losing them or possibly having the horrors return sparks an obsessive caution.

Evan stayed on at Gowpenny, helping to develop the new paper-based communication system. When receiving Dr. Boodle’s invitation, he packs up his apartment and immediately heads out on his broom. The former professor is now in a relationship with Nurse David Stitchnit, and their daughter, Maddy, is considering university in the United States. Dr. B admits Boudicca Philtrum isn’t cooperating.

The two drive out to pick up the rest, and Evan happily reunites with Jammer, providing his friend some champagne to bring back for his teammates. Reuniting, the Pilot Program catches up; however, Sam and Jammer quickly recognize K’s forced casualness and Evan’s careful disassociation at seeing each other again.

Dr. Boodle reveals that they’ve found Gowpenny hidden in a storm with people, informing the group that Boudicca and others have found their way through the vortex. He requested their presence, hoping they would venture into the storm. Though uncertain, the group agrees.

Highlights

Though still pulling from Kids on Broomsticks, Aabria has revamped with new names for some skills and including some mechanics from Never Stop. Now, our players’ magic dice will blow up rather than simply being rerolled. As players attempt spells, they gain tokens, building momentum. Additionally, Aabria added a Mangle track, adding an injury track.

Dimension 20‘s Art Department made the incredible boards above. Fingers crossed they end up in the store. They’re beautifully made with magnetic lines and chalk slots for names and motives.

Final Score (4 out of 5 Stars)

Like Evan, I always thought Dr. B ruled. The care he showed for Evan and the dedication to confronting his new reality head-on underlined how incredible he was. However, he fumbles while apologizing, undermining his long-haired adventurer glow-up, but he manages to pull it back together in the end.

With Boudicca involved, there’s no telling how dangerous the magic around Gowpenny will be. We also can’t be sure who else managed to get through the storm. If you have a guess for which of characters will appear next, let us know in the comments below or go over to our Discord channel to join the conversation!

Featured Image: Dimension 20

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