Title: Titan Takedown
DM: Brennan Lee Mulligan (Dimension 20) 
Players: Xavier Woods (a.k.a. Austin Creed) (he/him) as Julius Mortem (he/him); Bayley (she/her) as Thea Kitterloo (she/her); Kofi Kingston (he/him) as Adonis Thanaformus (he/him); and Chelsea Green (she/her) as Tabatha (she/her).
Streaming Service: Dropout ($5.99 / month)
System: Dungeons and Dragons 5e

With a chaotic energy not unlike his DM persona in Never Stop Blowing Up, Brennan Lee Mulligan welcomed our four Righteous Wrestlers into the Dimension 20 dome. The excitement thrummed, and with the very first character introduction, the animosity between the new players and the gods who spurned them became incredibly clear. If Julius Mortem is a child of Kronos, King of the Titans and father of the Olympian gods, then his existence makes him rival for the throne to Olympus, a throne which Zeus only won by lots.

Of course, the story which Kronos tells of his imprisonment does not claim Zeus as his son or even suggest the more gruesome methods mythology tell of how he attempted to stop his son from overthrowing him as he had overthrown his father. It’s an interesting peek behind the curtain, but this early in the season, there’s no telling if Kronos’s cannibalism of his children lays ahead as a twist or was a bit of showmanship by Zeus to make him the heel.

Coming a strong second, Tabatha and her unexpected sisterhood brings the mythology further into question. While Julius Mortem has a seemingly heroic animosity with the gods, believing (though perhaps incorrectly) that his father was unjustly imprisoned, the immediacy with which Tabatha lies in her childish quarrel with her sister, Aphrodite, leans her motives into more spiteful territory. Chelsea’s character has a clearly more morally gray background from the start, which fits with her own often more villainous role in the ring.

Bayley’s Thea is cousin to Asterion, the Minotaur of Crete. While her cousin’s split animal nature came from the circumstances of his birth, a poor harvest and a displeased Poseidon led to Thea’s terrible mismatched curse of kangaroo and cow. Asterion comforts her, promising it isn’t so horrible to be a monster. Honestly, Brennan moved on far too fast from this one in my opinion. There are so many interesting portrayals of Asterion’s story, and after Kaos was taken away from us far too soon, I’m invested in whatever I can get there.

Hollowed out and marked by death, Adonis Thanaformis knows all too well what it feels like to be made into a monster. His entire kingdom suffered a cruel curse barely half a year ago. Adonis’s kingdom prospered, earning the ire of Hades as this prolonged people’s lives, so in revenge, the god of the Underworld cursed all the kingdom’s inhabitants to have an undead countenance.

All four of our Righteous Wrestlers seek out Asterion, and however close they might’ve been in their childhood, something has come between them. Asterion invites the group to take part. He already has a team, and the whole set up offers Hestia’s seat on Olympus for a year. Julius immediately sees the opportunity to get close to the gods and take his revenge, but Thea doesn’t want to fight. Julius convinces her to fight, winning her over by arguing about how it could be publicity for her bar.

As the group discusses, Tabatha steals a key off of Asterion. Adonis notices, but the rest of the group realize what happened when Tabatha flips the plates on Asterion’s carriage and steals it for a grand entrance.

Before the crowd, Tabatha performs gracefully in her entrance, but Adonis rails against the gods. Unfortunately, while his words reach some, Zeus quickly smacks him down with a jeer. Julius takes another route, ingratiating himself to the gods. With their first opponents being Herc’s Heroes, the group is immediately in it deep.

Herc rushes to his teammate’s aid. Thea manages to dodge the worst. However, as the rest of the Righteous Wrestlers concentrate on those still standing, Odysseus manages to get back up and launch a trap, getting her prone on the ground. Tabatha sends him out of the arena with a tiny kitten.

Rallying, Tabatha takes out Herc, and Adonis’s cursed attack sends Achilles out of the arena in terror. When Helen of Troy sends Julius flying, Thea KOs her, leaving only Odysseus standing, but he doesn’t remain standing long. Adonis knocks him down, and Julius finishes him off.

Highlights

I loved the confirmation that Xavier Woods had Chris Tucker’s character design in The Fifth Element in mind when creating Julius Mortem. That stylish flare from the hair to hourglass cane screamed Ruby Rhod.

Xavier was the only one who had played before, so the rest of the players looked to him a bit for inspiration, and he threw himself into his character from the beginning.

Chelsea clearly came into the Dimension 20 dome determined to learn. She asked questions and made connections, taking notes as she went as did Kofi.

Bayley took less notes, but she didn’t shy away from asking questions, bouncing some ideas off Brennan before making her moves in more precarious situations. Brennan definitely did his best to reward their interest (and encourage Bayley when she hit a streak of bad rolls).

Final Score (4 out of 5 Stars)

There was some starting and stopping, but that’s to be expected with new players. As the episode progressed, their enthusiasm grew. We saw the same upswing with our Questing Queens in the first season of Dungeons and Drag Queens. Any time a new group gets an introduction to the game, Brennan’s background as a camp counselor seems to come out in full force, and a great teacher is always incredible to watch. It’s a bit too early for me to judge the plotline of the season, but Greek mythology is a favorite, and they’ve set themselves up to pull from the best parts.

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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