TV REVIEW: Titan Takedown – Episode 4 “Hope and Heroism”

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

We return to Ancient Greece in this final episode of Titan Takedown. As the crowd boos the Olympians, Zeus rages, electing to regain control through fear. The people panic.

Xavier eagerly asks to roll for initiative. He’s got his claws out, zinging Aphrodite when she taunts Julius. Thrown, the goddess of love lashes out at her sister, leading to some insights on the white cat Waffles who had handily helped the group with Cerebrus just moments ago. Never thought I’d hear a cigarette smoking cat announce he had a gun while threatening a Greek god, but in the Dimension 20 dome, anything goes.

Hades appears as Poseidon calms Zeus. Adonis has insulted the god of the underworld by healing once more, but though Hades attempts to underline his curse, the Party Animals refuse his interpretation, chasing the frustrated god away. Zeus follows Poseidon’s suggestion, despite trying to claim the plan as his own, and the Olympians retreated.

The group returns to Thea’s bar. Hippo is there, and after Tabatha confirms his identity, they set up a codeword. However, Xavier ended up kicking himself for a second time when the old half-hippo half-man revealed that the board which has sat at the center of the table is actually a gift crafted by the Fates which channels the energy of those who oppose the gods. The only ones who may have insight into its working are the Fates themselves. To seek the three, Adonis aids Hippo, calling upon his subjects and unplugging a sink to retrieve data from a lost phone. Unfortunately, the Fates reside on Mt. Olympus, sending our Righteous Wrestlers straight into the lion’s den.

As everyone passes their stealth check, the group finds their way to the Fates, but immediately creeped out, Tabatha attempts to sneak around, forgetting that they know everything that ever will happen.

Julius seeks a way with the Fates to allow all four to win. The Fates reveal a conversation between the gods, revealing the intention to reduce Athens to rubble and punish whichever three don’t win. Their only way to avoid that fate is to use the board to force the Olympians to face our Righteous Wrestler.

Despite being uncomfortable, Tabatha persuades the Fates to help even further with the aid of her friends. In exchange for a spinal realignment, our Righteous Wrestlers learn exactly where the board is. To their lament, the gods have moved, and as they seek the board, the voices of their loved ones, caught in the wrath of the gods, echo out.

Aphrodite mocks her sister’s cats, tormenting Hippo as Hades cruelly taunts Adonis’s wife and children. Poseidon mocks Thea’s parents, calling her the curse upon them as they plead for mercy. Finally, Zeus tortures Julius’s mother. She shows no fear, but the thunder bringer strikes her, assured he will remain undefeated. Though tempted, our players manage to soldier on and find the throne.

And alongside the board, the four heroes meet Hestia. She advises a resounding victory. Julius groan, realizing that they can each move a piece, making it a fight of four-versus-four. Each reaches out, and with dread building, they pull Zeus, Hades, Poseidon, and Aphrodite forward.

Rushing back to the ring, Thea takes the mic, calling out the gods. Despite some big talk, the gods fall flat on their faces thanks to Xavier’s impulse to set all the pieces on the board face down as well as moving them to challenge, forcing the gods to start their turns prone.

Thea goes first, missing her first attack on Big Z. Her second lands for 12 points of damage. Poseidon leaps to his brother’s defense. In a single attack, he blasts Julius and Adonis out of the arena. Tabatha uncanny dodges to lower the damage, but she still gets swept from the arena. Zeus follows, rising and sending a lightning strike down on the three outside the ring.

For the second time in the game, Julius starts rolling death throws. Kronos uses the veil of life-and-death to act upon his son, casting Haste upon him.

As Julius struggles, Tabatha leaps into action, using her ability to assassinate someone who hasn’t moved to strike Aphrodite. Adonis follows, healing Julius and then attacking the goddess of love too. Aphrodite attempts to sway him, but Adonis resists.

In all the chaos, the ref misses that Julius is outside the ring, failing to call him out among the chaos. Thea quickly calls out the Cursed. Arachne reads Thea’s pointed look, distracting everyone from the side of the ring and giving Thea a chance to pull Julius back into the ring.

An entire colony of cats launch from Tabatha’s bag as Adonis goes down. Sacrificing shine, he pops up, unrestrained and between two stunned gods. He regains further hit points using second wind. Adonis takes Zeus down, and tag-teaming Big Z with Julius, he finishes the king of the gods.

One by one, the gods fall, leaving only Poseidon caught and stunned as the four Righteous Wrestlers move in. Surrounded, he feigns surrender only to attempt to drag Thea into the sea. Thea rages. Bayley rolls a Nat 20. Absolute chaos broke out as she windmilled him through Julius’s sand to a desert realm.

Our Righteous Wrestlers stand victorious. They could easily ascend. The people of Athens cheer, calling their names. When Julius refuses the throne, Kronos manages to break free from Tartarus, reuniting the father and son.

Adonis’s wife rushes to his side, embracing him as the whole of his kingdom embraces their curse. They are able to reach to the other side, allowing the living to keep in contact with the dead. The throne of the Underworld stands empty, and capable of crossing the divide, that king may be Adonis himself.

The wine flows. All is well.

Highlights

I loved seeing Xavier and Bayley just enjoying Brennan’s acting, playing out two NPCs fighting. Brennan Lee Mulligan, Matt Mercer, Aabria Iyengar, Mark Hulmes – if I were lucky enough to be at a table with any one of them, odds are I’d spend way too much of my time enjoying the repartee in front of me and not nearly enough time planning my next move.

Trying to sneak around the ultimate psychic, hating on the posture of one of the Fates, panicking over her cats, Chelsea embraced the game, fulling investing this episode.

All four players came into the game with different perspectives and different experience levels, so it was no surprise that Xavier, who had the most experience, was the most invested from the start. Slowly, over the last few episodes, Thea and Kofi joined him, fully embracing their characters and the NPCs around them, but Chelsea has seemed to maintain her distance. It played well into her aloof cat goddess persona, but with this final episode, there was no denying she was swept into the magic of the D20 Dome.

Final Score (4.5 out of 5 Stars)

Dimension 20 has done it again! One of the greatest joys of loving a game is getting to share that love with others. Though few tabletop RPGs will have even a fraction of the enthralling artwork of Dimension 20‘s art team, the spirit holds true.

Does a part of me long for another twist? Of course. I love when Brennan gets to be devious.

That being said, with all four of our Righteous Wrestlers invested in the story, their excitement and enthusiasm is infectious. This season was a story of endurance, both physically and emotionally, and I’d love to be able to see Xavier, Bayley, Kofi, and Chelsea back in the dome, though I’m uncertain how we could manage a season two story-wise.

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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