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

If you missed them, check out our reviews for episodes one, two, three, four, five, six, and seven!

Caught by Jammer, Tadershecourt returns. A natural 20 gives him keen insight into the monster’s intentions. This is not the same creature that they put to sleep before at Gowpenny. That was merely an aspect. As they try to plan, Tad sniffs K, spitting green glow on the ground. He proclaims Wuegan’s magic to be messy. Tadershecourt loathes the wolf. Luckily, Sam smooths things over.

Evan reveals that they know the names of the islands. When called out by his own name, the skull-headed bear gathers himself, considering them all the further. Tad reveals an aspect of himself fell under the service of a wizard, forced to serve and cull the magical population which enforced their isolation and the hoarding of magic. The wizard responsible, Bombini, was a founder of Gowpenny and original head of Hercinil.

Though Tad complains about the reduction and incorrect name, the beast had no complaint about being used to cull a population and defend the well of magic by killing. After some discussion, Tad offers to show his orrery to them if they show him theirs, so they bring him to the hoopty.

All of the islands lead to the well. Tadershecourt emphasizes that the islands weren’t always places, but that they used to be parts of another orrery, one which the skulled bear sets apart from the one on the hoopty.

Pleased with Evan’s rage against the old wizarding ways, Tadershecourt offers a boon. He gives K, Jammer, and Sam a shadow capable of doing one great work for them. In return, Evan offers to include Tad in the description of this new working on magic. Aabria sets the bar at 40, and while we’ve seen higher rolls this season, it’s definitely a hefty request. Magic and magnetism ultimately demand he breaks his flashlight and lays both out Boudicca’s body and the shattered remains from his prior body, offering them up to Tadershecourt.

The beast proclaims, “Vessel,” as he crushes the pottery while snarling with pleasure as he draws in Boudicca’s corpse and crushes it before swallowing it into shadows.

This is the magic Evan has always known. Mystery, sacrifice, terrifying and larger than what Gowpenny attempted to teach them. As Brennan describes, this is Evan’s ‘Odin on the Tree’ moment. He has thrown his eye into the well for knowledge, and Tadershecourt appreciates the dedication.

Having talked Tadershecourt down, our magical misfits return to Jammer’s hideout. K takes watch, giving Sam and Evan another chance for another moment. While the two fall asleep, Jammer reads Evan’s tome, given to him willingly, and Tabby’s mental connection permits him to read it. Considering Jammer left magic first, his renewed interest and the sacrifice of rest in the pursuit of knowledge is both out of character and in as he puts the needs of the many over his own.

The book confirms Tadershecourt has chosen Evan as Weugan picked K. Galamanis would’ve selected Jammer if given a chance. For some reason, the magic isn’t funneling correctly. Instead, the magic pools. None of these islands existed before. These monsters view the Pilot Program as peers. A principal of the material exists which coincides with what Tabby tells K.

Returning to Galamanis, Jammer calls upon the shadowy gift given by Tadershecourt, growing taller as he becomes chosen.

Highlights

I don’t talk about Aabria enough. She’s an incredible game master, creating emotionally enthralling worlds and NPCs that range from the heartbreakingly endearing and those who are absolutely terrifying. Every single time she is on Dimension 20, Aabria challenges the Art Department, giving them opportunities to grow across all mediums, and all new seasons owe her a debt for that.

She lets players walk into their own traps, creating Greek tragedies for laughs and calmly revealing the most perfect Eldritch, existential horror that I’ve seen in a long time. The bear map from Burrow’s End will forever impress and haunt me. I’m excited to see what comes next.

Final Score (5 out of 5 Stars)

Tadershecourt settles on Evan as K had taken Weugan’s power. Their opposing forces leans into the romanticism of opposites attracting, but frankly, I couldn’t help but see it as a sign of exactly what drove them apart. As the crew heads back to see if Galamanis will still pick Jammer, I can’t help but wonder if Tabby’s presence in his mind will prevent that.

There are two episodes to go, and though the image seems to be clearing, how everything will pan out remains a mystery despite the wealth of knowledge we’ve gained through Jammer’s reading. If you have a theory of how things will go and where our Pilot Programs will end up, 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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