TV REVIEW: Dungeons and Drag Queens – Season 2, Episode 3: Ice, Ice, Fae-by

Title: Dungeons and Drag Queens
DM: Brennan Lee Mulligan (Dimension 20) 
Players: Monét X Change (she/her) as Troyánn (she/her), Alaska Thunderfuck (she/her) as Princess, Bob the Drag Queen (he/him/she/her) as Gertrude (she/her), and Jujubee (she/her) as Twyla (she/her)
Streaming Service: Dropout ($5.99 / month)
System: Dungeons and Dragons 5e

Returning to the icy cold of the Far North and the Temple of Frozen Doom, our questing queens confront the guardians and the four magical engines which seal the immortal dragon Mophandrix in his glacier prison. As they enter combat, miniatures enter the dome, and the Dimension 20 Art Team has once again worked their incredible magic.

Four cyclopes stand between our questing queens and the dragon. Four bodies, five heads, and an ice sword bigger than most of our heroes, making it all the harder to shift the engines which the wizards made to keep Mophandrix weak.

Immediately, Princess flies into a rage, launching herself at the double-headed cyclops. Both of her attacks hit. 32 points of damage start the round out strong. Troyánn follows, splitting her attack between two cyclopes. Unfortunately, while her first lands, her second is a critical failure, inspiring the monsters to call out and activate the cold engines.

Our heroes managed to knock three of the cyclopes back, but the fourth retaliates, striking a devastating blow against Princess. The weight of the attack inspires some over the table plotting, inspiring a bit more forethought to the queens’ attacks.

Jujubee has definitely been studying her character. She’s been calling out and reminding others of their abilities this season, so it came as no surprise that she not only called out Dread Ambusher but puts her Hunter’s Mark on the cyclops that attacked Princess. All three of her blows hit. She deals 46 points of damage in retaliation.

Though impressive, that amount comes out to about a third of their hit points. The vast difference in hit points between these cyclopes and our questing queens doesn’t give them the greatest odds as a subsequent attack has Princess knocked to half her hit points.

Brennan plays the DM loaded neutrality, rolling in the box of doom after the queens debate what Roy should do. They quickly discover flipping the lever doesn’t stop the engines, but it does prevent the energy from reaching Mophandrix. Unfortunately, it releases an icy imp.

Distracted by how cute she finds the imp, Twyla fails to dodge a boulder, getting critically injured.

Gertrude manages to command one of the cyclopes, compelling him to climb the engine. As a result of his ascent, the cyclops gets hit by the ice magic, stopping it in its tracks and injuring the monster.

The ice imp launches at Gertrude.

Twyla enlarges Princess to give her a better chance against the two-headed cyclops before switching one of the engines to fire. Seeing how well that worked and the panic which ensured among the cyclopes, the queens send Roy after the arcane wheel of another of the four engines.

The queens manage to get another engine turned; however, the icy gremlins seem to focus their wrath on Gertrude who has the least hit points of all our heroes.

A shrouded veiled woman enters, freezing Roy with a single gesture. With two cyclopes down, it was only a matter of time before the wizards who designed the engines came into play, but with the Queen of Ever Deep also a looming threat, there’s more than one person who this mysterious woman could be.

Even as they manage to flip the rest of the engines, the veiled woman proves a daunting opponent. Princess and Troyánn end up on death’s doorstep. The final cyclops turns reverts an engine, but to the queens’ relief, he fails to clear the track, taking the cold damage and preventing it from harming Mophandrix. Frozen in place, Princess makes a desperate plea, and the veiled woman reveals that she is Mysaara, the fae face who spoke to Twyla through the fountain.

Highlights

Jujubee came in clutch this episode. She has studied her character, learning the game and thinking outside the box like a veteran player. from her Dread Ambusher call out to her encouragement of Princess as she transformed her and enlarged her to face the cyclopes. While the other queens teased her for not paying close enough attention to interactions last season, she’s shown herself to be capable of fully entrenching herself in the world and game.

Also, Bob’s interactions with the ice imps as Gertrude were hilarious. Bob and Brennan bounced off each other perfectly. The double panel of them both screaming might just be my favorite of the season, and I will be adding the GIF version to my go-to reaction library.

Final Score (5 out of 5 Stars)

Brennan might not be tongue-waggling, but his cackling gave away his delight as favorable rolls made the queens fight for their lives. With the way Bob and Monét called him out, I’m not sure they’re ready for Brennan final diabolical DM form.

This season has me curious what it would be like to include one or two of our queens in a separate campaign with a group of more experienced players, especially if we had Aabria at the wheel to see what they thought on the contrast in DMing style.

With our questing queens face-to-face with Mysaara and having freed Mophandrix, this episode closes with a number of questionable allies. Are they trustworthy? Will Mophandrix want revenge on the Foehammer family?

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

Boss Rush Podcast – A Podcast about Video Games

The Boss Rush Podcast – A Podcast about Video Games – is the flagship show of the Boss Rush Network and Boss Rush Media. Each week, hosts⁠ Corey Dirrig and LeRon Dawkins⁠ are joined by friends, fellow creators, indie developers, and industry veterans to discuss the latest in the world of video games, including news, rumors, new releases, and what they’ve been playing. They also answer listener questions, debate important industry topics and Boss Rush Banter discussion points, and feature a rotating weekly segment. New episodes post every Monday.

Follow and Connect with Boss Rush Podcast on Social Media
X/Twitter + Bluesky + Instagram + Threads + YouTube

Listen to Boss Rush Podcast on Podcast Services
Apple Podcasts + Spotify + Goodpods + Amazon + More Links

Thank you for supporting Boss Rush Podcast and the Boss Rush Network

Thank you for watching or listening to The Boss Rush Podcast. If you’re watching this ⁠⁠episode on YouTube⁠⁠, hit the Subscribe button, Like the video, and hit the notification bell so you don’t miss an episode! If you’re listening on ⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠, consider leaving us a rating and a review as it helps with discoverability and growth. ⁠⁠Support Boss Rush on Patreon⁠⁠ for exclusive content, early access and audio versions of shows, become a Patreon Producer, and more. Visit our website for all of our content including ⁠⁠reviews⁠⁠, ⁠⁠news⁠⁠, ⁠⁠daily Boss Rush Banter⁠⁠ discussion topics, ⁠⁠listicles⁠⁠, ⁠⁠features⁠⁠, and more. However you support us, it means so much to us. Thank you for your continued support of the Boss Rush Podcast and the ⁠⁠Boss Rush Network⁠⁠.