#a starstruck odyssey was hilarious

[justletmeon12]

A Starstruck Odyssey Was All It Promised - and More: Round 8's Up

Obligatory context: I watch them out of order based on what interests me. So far, I've completed (in order): Mentopolis, A Court of Fey and Flowers, A Crown of Candy, the Ravening War, Burrow's End, Misfits and Magic (including both specials), Neverafter, The Unsleeping City Chapter I, Mice & Murder, Escape from the Bloodkeep, Dungeons and Drag Queens, and A Starstruck Odyssey. I'm not equally interested in all that remain, but these are my top choices. Comments/advice are welcome.

[volstruckerz]

it is so funny to me that margaret is only 24 years old but since most of the party has either been alive for way less than that (barry was "born" as a 25 year old super soldier, sid is a super new protoype droid) and everyone else is so new to living the Spacer lifestyle or just living on their own at all (riva and gunnie and skip and also kind of everyone) that she is by process of elimination the Most Experienced member of the gunner channel and somehow both the Fun Aunt and the "we have mcdonalds at home" mom. and she is also truly having a quarter-life crisis the entire time.

[lost-for-writing]

i was told "A Starstruck Odyssey" was a comedy and it is, it is, but tell me why i'm tearing up at the character's backstories. they just all feel like analogies for very real shit and i am sad about them but simultaneously laughing because the intrepid heroes are intrepid heroing

[fandomscraziness22]

i don't think i've ever laughed harder than watching A Starstruck Odyssey and i'm literally only on episode 7

[zincbot]

thinking about gunnie.

leaving his successful academic life to chase a dream, and failing. for perhaps the first time in his life. and suddenly he's under more debt than can be paid off in 5 lifetimes. his body is completely changed, and he's abandoned.

instead of going home, gunnie keeps going. he spends years learning how to work through failure, how to run, how to cobble together tacyon drive equations on a crumbling ship. nights spent doing kids homework for pennies, laying on his cot, metal heated by the too-close reactor.

and he never calls home. he was a golden child. a savant, wunderkind. and his body, his debts, all of it stacks in irrefutable evidence for his failures.

gunnie is a gambler. and he would rather keep digging then let anyone see him in the hole.

[why-be-normal]

The realest TTRPG experience

[workingwhileidream]

Okay Burrow's End had me thinking some thoughts... So here are my favorite Dimension 20 moments that rotate like a rotisserie chicken in my brain (in no particular order other than the order I thought if them).

- Riz goes into the butthole of the Corn Ooze Monster (Fantasy High). The first absolutely insane shenanigans move anyone makes on D20, setting the tone the show will have forever.

- Raphaniel kills Queen Pamelia (Ravening War). I think I saw Brennan's soul leave his body briefly when he got that How Do You Want To Do This from Matt. Time was an absolute flat circle that day.

- Hank convinces Brennan to let him role savvy instead of sneak (Mentopolis). Hank is one of the most famous content creators, having him on the show was phenomenal to begin with. Then right out of the gate, he pulls this move in his first episode. And it just works. Hilarious, instantly iconic.

- Jet Dies (A Crown of Candy). When Lapin dies, it is shocking but I wasn't attached to him as a character. Lapin was a bit antagonistic and his death happens early in the season. On the other hand, Jet is instantly likeable. Emily and Siobhan are amazing as siblings, their performances this campaign are some of my favorites. I have siblings and I am very close to them, so this hit me like a ton of bricks.

- The entire epilogue of Burrow's End. "Are you pitching and Air Bud ending?" is one of the instant hall of fame quotes from this show. I started crying I was laughing so hard.

- Ylfa's bottleneck and the TPK (Neverafter). There are so many close calls for total party kills in Dimension 20 history, but this is where it finally happens and it's only 3 episodes in. I was on edge, expecting another TPK at any turn, for the rest of the campaign.

- 3 nat one initiative rolls for the battle that literally opens the season (A Starstruck Odyssey). The beginning of a new season is always full of excitement. This season was extra special, having everyone back in the dome after the pandemic and the season being based off Brennan's Mom's comics. The zoom energy is still in the air and I still think about this season opener a lot.

- Mother Timothy Goose breaks Snow White's concentration with a cantrip (Neverafter). Only Ally Beardsley could and we all damn well know it. Still didn't stop me from being so far in disbelief that all I could do is laugh.

- Hob's "You will never know another lonely day" speech to Rue (A Court of Fey and Flowers). I will still cry about this if I think about it for too long. Rue and Hob's romance is the heart of this season to me. I won't be over it ever.

- Gertrude convinces Nyruth to give the Questing Queens very powerful boons after the Queens tried to rob them only a few hours earlier (Dungeons and Drag Queens). The fact that this season exists drives a level of serotonin into my brain that is unimaginable. This is the definition of a big swing and when Bob rolls well, Brennan has no other choice than to honor it. This is one of the moments I have made a meme of. I cannot wait for season 2.

- Wuuvy shows up to the duel and she did not come to play (A Court of Fey and Flowers). Aabria has talked about how Wuuvy is one of her favorite NPCs and I feel the same. Wuuvy and Rue's relationship has such a great arc and this moment is so pivotal.

- Fabian's no good very bad day (Fantasy High Sophomore Year). An iconic moment in D20 history that was truly wild to watch live. For everything to go so fantastically bad for Fabian and Lou was unprecedented. There is a reason why people still talk about this moment to this day.

- Amathar survives being pushed off the castle (A Crown of Candy). Brennan tried to kill Lou so many times in this campaign. I really thought Brennan had gotten him with this one, my stomach sunk. But Lou pulls it out and Amathar lives once again.

- Pib plays "Smoke on the Water" (Neverafter). "I stepped out to play 'Smoke on the Water' " is also a hall of fame quote to me. This list could be all Pib moments if I'm being honest, he's my favorite Zac character. And the fact that Zac doesn't roll well makes this moment funnier to me.

- Buddy Bear gets planted with the All Blossom (Dungeons and Drag Queens). Jujubee and Brennan owe me a therapy session for this one. I sobbed. My cat is my baby and I will be ruined the day she leaves me, so I get it. I really do.

- "Eat your dice, Brennan" (Fantasy High Sophomore Year). A great bit made physically possible by Siobhan. I hope Siobhan gives him gummy dice or something like that so that Brennan can continue to eat his dice for Junior Year.

- Orange Top Hat Fairy (Neverafter). It's a horror season and the cast is doing bits about how hot a mini is the entire finale and the Adventuring Party that followed. I felt the stress and off the walls energy through the screen. The Smooth Criminal pin was the first piece of Dimension 20 merch I bought.

- Viola's epic takedown of Phoebe (Burrow's End). Watching Rashawn absolutely crush it her first time in the dome was amazing. I loved Viola from the jump, her arc was so satisfying and fun to watch. Also the idea of a tiny stoat kicking a gun just the right way to get it to fire is hilarious. No notes other than please have Rashawn come back on every season she possibly can.

- Evan Kelmp warns the Rosemont student not to duel him (Misfits and Magic). Brennan's deadpan warning matched with the reactions of the other players and Aabria really make this scene. An underrated Brennan moment for sure.

- Stacey Fakename turns out to be real (Mentopolis). This was such a good reoccurring bit, so to have Stacey be real at the end of the story was too funny. In a season of bits, tropes, and puns - this one has the most payoff to me and is definitely my favorite.

[deconstructthesoup]

Seeing all these new and wonderful comparison posts of Cinderella's Castle and Neverafter has made me realize that a lot of Starkid shows are very compatible with Dimension 20 seasons.

A Very Potter Musical and Misfits & Magic? The parallel is right there. Both of them are incredibly hilarious and incredibly moving stories that celebrate the parts of the Potterboy series that we loved and tear the parts that are eye-raisers at best into shreds. We got Red Vines, we got MicRibs, and we got Hufflepuff/Chimeron pride coming out the wazoo. (I need an animatic of Not Alone with the Pilot Program. Stat.)

Starship and A Starstruck Odyssey? While one is very loosely based on an obscure sci-fi novel combined with The Little Mermaid and the other is a direct spin-off and/or unofficial sequel to a cult classic graphic novel series, both of them are aligned in their madcap, colorful, and zany sci-fi universes. Also, both of them have prominent "alien trying to pass himself off as a convincing human" and "robot slowly becoming more human and breaking free of her creators" characters, so, props!

And the Hatchetfield saga and Fantasy High... well, the parallels of "something strange happens in a weird-ass small town" are too great to ignore, and you can't deny that the Nerdy Prudes have a lot in common with the Bad Kids. Plus, they're both very beloved by the respective fan bases, and if you ask someone what their favorite Starkid show or D20 season is, a Hatchetfield musical or a Fantasy High season is probably gonna be in their top three.

(And now we got two unique and incredibly cool dark fairytale stories!)

[justletmeon12]

Emily: "I actually have a really good magnet to decorate one of your drones with."

Thermal detonator cost flashes onscreen

[velvetvexations]

The fact that Junior Year didn't at all challenge the way ANY system is set up is insane to me.

In the first half of the season I kept telling people the solution to Adaine's money problems wouldn't be Fabian buying her shit for her, because Brennan - DECOLONIAL PHILOSOPHER THAT HE IS - would never construct a scenario in which the solution to a ruinous lack of funds would be to get your rich friend to pay it off for you. This was just the foundation of my argument that Fabian literally, in-universe, did not have access to enough money to do that, because BLeeM usually plugs those holes and that seemed to be essentially the point of kicking Hilarial and Gilear off-screen for most of the season, but put that aside. The point is, it was clearly a critique of the system.

Right?

Because I assumed the solution would in some way be either changing the system or breaking free of it. Part of Adaine's problem is capitalism in general, but most immediately it's the financial demands the school system makes of her.

And then...the solution is not that. The solution is that she yells at her bosses to start paying her for being the Oracle, and Fabian beats someone in a dance contest so they do it. Problem solved. It's fine that Aguefort, which prides itself to an insane degree about what an anarchic madhouse it is for all the real freaks who want to just reach out and take life by the horns, requires you buy literal barrels of diamonds to be a wizard. That's fine.

The problem was that Adaine didn't have a fortune, not that she needed a fortune in the first place.

And it's wild because exactly that's something I liked about A Starstruck Odyssey. Obviously, Starstruck is an existing IP, and there wasn't a lot of room to just revolutionize galactic society overnight, but thematically it only enhanced the season's thrust to have everyone's problems be tied to money and for them to get past them by inventively striking a fortune. It was essentially taking this mildly grimdark capitalist hellhole and being like "okay, we'll play by your rules, assholes" and by the end it felt like there was a heavy tone of irony to the celebration of The Ball Rolling Up. Like you were meant to notice and be aware that the crew of the Wurst basking in their newfound riches was good for them personally but also a fucked-up reflection on how the setting operates.

And there was little tiny baby steps towards acknowledgement of systemic issues in JY that seemed promising, but all ultimately fizzled out.

Fig being overwhelmed by her responsibilities as a working musician and owner of a part of Hell? She orders her demonic underlings and indentured souls to help her put on a hella sweet concert and she goes quintuple platinum and her old agent is totally seething.

Gorgug is being failed by an educational structure that won't allow and doesn't even want him to succeed in the way he aspires to? Zac rolls insanely well so no he isn't, he's doing great, everyone should take four times the coursework.

Riz has to do a ton of shit to get into college because as a poor person he has to run to where others walk? Jokes are occasionally made about him being in a lot of clubs but that's never once examined or otherwise touched on between the the third and final episode, with the resolution in the epilogue being his mom going "hey kiddo wherever you end up you'll do great, just as long as you get enough sleep and take regular breaks to eat ice cream!".

Fabian trying to live up to the pressure of his legacy and maintaining his social status at school? Bill has a genuinely moving conversation with Fabian in the finale, indisputably one of the highlights of the season and a moment that in spite of everything I found incredibly powerful, where he tells him that he would love him even if he weren't a Maximum Legend, but it ends on "maybe we can have both" because as Brennan himself noted Lou was rolling so well that it was actively strangling the theme of his arc so that it ended up just being Fabian occasionally feeling a bit frustrated about the pressure while effortlessly succeeding to the point that not even Fig's catastrophic bardic put a dent in his popularity could have been an interesting exploration of tragic imposter syndrome, but it felt more like they were trying to stick to an expected "Fabian has to struggle with fluctuating popularity" plotline without really examining the contradiction.

Kristen failing cleric class? Kristen deserved to fail cleric class.

The issues with Fabian and Gorgug's arc was just luck and a flaw in the downtime mechanic. The others went deeper and man I really wish more had been done there.

[fillingthescrapbook]

Let's Talk About: Fantasy High Junior Year and Ragenarok (Part 1)

I shouldn't have watched the teaser for next week's episode prior to writing this because-- Well, now I'm even more pumped for the finale and my thoughts for this episode were already very jumbled to begin with--

But begin we shall!

"Fabian, is there anywhere you want to live?" is a hell of a line at the start of the episode--especially with the context of a Bad Kid needing to steer the fall of Fabian's house to anywhere in Elmville.

Lou and Emily going all in on a bit in the background while Ally, Murph, and Brennan were figuring out the logistics of something was funny as heck. Ally really has gone far from the Freshman Year where the allure of a bit would have certainly derailed them from the more serious figuring-out-the-stuff talk with button-up boys.

But the most important revelation this episode? SQUEEM HAS FINALLY REACHED ELMVILLE! They still have some distance to cover but they're here!

And, can I just say, Siobhan rolling quick for the group roll just before Murph could was clutch as fuck. I must admit though that I also felt sad that we missed out on a possible addition to the collection of "I have just as good a chance as any of you to roll good" bits. It did allow the Bad Kids enough time to squeeze in a short rest though, so, hats off to you, Siobhan!

Now, onto the battle itself:

A Rat Grinder going down QUICK got me in my suspicious era. Like, what is going on with these rat grinders? Why do they have such high level attacks and yet--

Oh, never mind. The others' HP are more robust.

Brennan clustering his bad guys is always funny to me. Especially when you see an Intrepid Hero fight the urge to moustache-twirl as they see Brennan unconsciously giving them an area of opportunity. And it happens twice this episode!

Zac--not Gorgug--being so angry at Mary Ann passing her saving throw was hilarious to me. Especially because another Intrepid Hero tried to stop her from saving--only for Mary Ann to be naturally resistant anyway.

Riz going full maniac, saying "make sure to cut his head off so he can't be revivified--" and then Murph pulling back… Murph, the actor that you are! Chef's kiss.

My absolute favorite part of the episode though was when Zac had to reroll a bunch of dice. Ally asked why, and Zac cited one of Gorgug's feats. Having Ally say "I thought we were honoring something" absolutely broke me.

It's funny to me how Kipperlily was created to be the foil of Riz--but she's not really Riz's nemesis. She's Murph's.

And I rejoiced when Brennan, pulling the Box of Doom out again, got a stern "put my partner down" from Ally. It's been a while since they returned to this bit. I thought they had forgotten their relationship.

With this season coming to a close… I have to say that it's really one of the most enjoyable seasons of Dimension 20 for me. Is it my favorite Intrepid Heroes season? I think A Starstruck Odyssey and the first season of The Unsleeping City are still fighting for the top spot… But Junior Year is definitely following those two.

Especially with Brennan finally gifting Ally with Ice Feast--not realizing the implications of said spell to his finale battlemap.

And lastly… the way Brennan said "reincarnate" at the top of the episode? Saying "re-ANKARNA-te Porter?" The yelp I yelped.

I can't believe the season ends next week.

[iamnotawomanimagod]

I just started watching Dimension 20. What are your favourite seasons? Are there any you really recommend?

There's actually two answers to this question, because my favorite seasons are not actually the ones I would suggest starting with.

If you're completely new to Dungeons and Dragons, I'd start with Dungeons and Drag Queens. That season is the best at generally explaining what DnD is, and you get to see beginner players learning the game. Otherwise, you could just start at the beginning, with the first season of Fantasy High!

I haven't seen every single season. There are some that I've been warned away from, or that have casts that do not interest me. It seems the most unpopular seasons are Tiny Heist, Shriek Week, Pirates of Leviathan, and Escape from the Blood Keep. I highly recommend Blood Keep, it's hilarious and very underrated, but I can't say I've heard good things about the others. (PoL is mostly passed by because it took place during the height of quarantine and the quality is not great.)

That being said, I've really enjoyed every season of Dimension 20 that I have seen, and there's a lot to dive into there. If you really like it, and you have the time, don't be afraid to watch it all! It's a show that covers many genres, settings, and themes, managing to be heartfelt, hilarious, and occasionally heartbreaking.

My personal favorite seasons are: all three seasons of Fantasy High, Mentopolis, A Court of Fey and Flowers, A Starstruck Odyssey, A Crown of Candy, and The Ravening War.

I hope you enjoy your journey!! Truly, my life changed the day I discovered Dimension 20. I've rewatched the seasons I've seen so many times. It's been a huge comfort.

[iwasbroughtherebyforce]

I just started this season and it’s truly insane

forgot how absolutely wild this season immediately got

[dimension20npcofalltime]

Preliminaries Round B

Propaganda Under the Cut (May contain major spoilers for one or more of the campaigns listed above)

Marina Astrovsky - I've heard of a cat scan

Ronald Manticaster - Peppermint with a face that was apparently so substantial they made art for him

John Feathers - Hot bird who wants to wear people clothes

Captain Galatia 9 - A protagonist of the starstruck comics who shows up to help the wurst during the final battle. She's got a Krystal the size of the Ritz and family drama out the wazoo. Too bad in d20 she only has a few lines.

Mrs. Maugly Dimweather - librarian at fantasy high that i forgot about until 10 seconds ago

Baba Yaga - She is cunning, clever, hilarious and the most powerful magic user in this story. She also loves a little kitty.

Lord Calroy Cruller - No npc leaves a lasting impression more than Calroy. From his physical design to his charming personality, wonderful inside jokes and intense plot twist he is an incredible, one of a kind character. No npc has such an epic backstabbing speech, nor such impressive pants. He charmed us all and his betrayal impacted not just King Amethar but the audience as well. His secret genius plan, his murder attempt against the king, his killer one liners. Nobody beats it. In the background from the very beginning, he is an essential part to a crown of candy and helped give us the most badass survival of any player. Amethar for sure should have died there, and yet he survived. Calroy MAKES a crown of candy. He elevates it to a truly glorious game-of-thrones-but-better story full of the perfect traitorous secrets and blindsides the show needed. Nobody can beat that.

The Unicorn of New York City - funny voice

Willy - the reason I say Kingston Brown form uptown. Who wouldnt love him!

The Cubbys - Anarcho socialists, say ACAB, broke the bad kids out of jail, physically cannot stop slaying

[zincbot]

big barry syx is everything to me

[takaraphoenix]

Favorite Intrepid Heroes Characters:

Now that I have finished watching all of the Dimension 20 campaigns (currently running one notwithstanding, obviously), I want to talk about my favorite characters played by the Intrepid Heroes!

Emily Axford:

Okay, listen, Emily is a very talented player who knows how to make a character work, but this was the easiest call for me. I am in love with Unsleeping City's Sofia Bicicleta Lee, she is one of my favorite PCs overall.

The badass martial arts wife of the ultimate wife guy, whose best friend is a talking rat. Plus, she looks like Fran Drescher and I mean, c'mon, I'm just a lesbian born in the early 90s. How could I not.

I'm afraid I don't have a 'close' second for Emily, because all her characters are great and close together, but Sofia shoots out for me.

Lou Wilson:

It's kind of funny how Lou and Emily are inherently linked for me in this, because until I watched ACoFaF, I thought I'd be putting Unsleeping City's Kingston Brown down here.

However, absolutely everything A Court of Fey and Flowers' Squak Airavis has going on is so utterly impeccable. He is such a queer mess, it's amazing. (And it's linked to Emily, because something very important about him is his dynamic with his dear cousin Chirp.)

Zac Oyama:

I'm glad that ACoFaF made me pick Squak for Lou, because otherwise, this would feel like just a list of Unsleeping City characters, because for Zac, it's so very clearly and definitely Ricky Matsui.

The ultimate himbo. The courageous firefighter with his good boy puppy. Absolute wife guy even though he takes too damn long to figure that getting-married-part out. I love Ricky so, so, so much.

Though, second place shout-out to Colin Provolone from Ravening War, that lil cheese knight was so much fun to enjoy and he had so much tension, it was incredible.

Brian Murphy:

My favorite Fantasy High PC - Riz 'The Ball' Gukgak, hands down. That wanna be detective boy is too precious, plus, as an ace I was so, so, so hyped and excited about the rep in him.

Second place shout-out, once more, to Unsleeping City and... surprisingly, to Cody Walsh. I love Kugrash a whole lot, but there was something utterly hilarious to Cody.

Siobhan Thompson:

Hers was my favorite character on A Starstruck Odyssey - I love Riva. They were also such a refreshing flavor for Siobhan, honestly? They were utterly precious and adorable and sweet.

Second place... okay, look, it's Unsleeping City again, yeah. But out of the two characters she played, I actually loved Iga Lisowski more. The Polish mom who guards the dragon. Amazing character pitch, honestly.

Ally Beardsley:

Actually genuinely the hardest choice because Ally is amazing at creating characters. But as a lesbian with a certain type, I am obliged to say A Starstruck Odyssey's Margaret Encino. A hot lady with a purpose and a load of money. When they started calling her Mommy? Oh boy fans self. It was also so much fun to see a character who didn't really do combat but actually got so much done with business calls. Competence is sexy, y'all.

Second place goes to Lars Vandenchomp from Mice and Murder though. Love me a loyal himbo and they were such a good puppy? Amazing.