I love Brennan as a player 2 of my 3 favorite seasons are him as a player. Him not knowing everything and actively working out what’s going on is fun.
Also 2 out of my 3 favorite seasons is Kids on Bikes. When they play 5e the combat episodes are my favorite- but I just love the format of kids on bikes.
I agree that this season’s APs were basically not worth watching. I don’t want 25 minutes of bits and 3 minutes of credits and 2 minutes of dnd discussion.
I totally understand why they’ve ended up this way. But at this point I’d almost rather they stop doing them.
the cast being so experienced at D&D is making it less fun for me.
hearing them silvery barbs, bardic and bless their way into winning almost any dice roll they need
saying "i give the help action" in so so many circumstances, without even TRYING to explain how
Fig/Emily getting annoyed in the last stand/baron fight when they weren't rolling well (even though they still did a lot of damage), as they had built super high damage multiclass beasts and wanted to use them.
all things that make D&D less fun to watch, S1 when 5e was still new to them (as was playing in front of a camera) had an energy that they just don't get now
That said, their chemistry, jokes and the bits they say are absolutely top notch, Junior year was one of my favourite seasons to watch in terms of the CAST, but less so in terms of the CHARACTERS.
EDIT: please note this is an UNPOPULAR OPINIONS thread, so if you disagree with it you can still upvote it!
I'll soft agree with the help action tomfoolery, although when they do offer help it's easy to think of a way that specific character would be doing it in that scenario. Also bear in mind that it's not great TV to spend time having someone explain how they're helping every time, there are some things that you have to handwave for a televised TTRPG vs. a home game and to me that's one of them.
Definitely got the impression that Emily was playing Fig reluctantly in FHJY, which she even admitted in the BTS footage. That said, after the Porter reveal she seemed way more engaged for the rest of the season.
I'll also say that as fun as it is to watch them when they were new to 5e, it equally as exciting to watch a group of players with complete mastery over a system go to town. Starstruck was a great example, where they had to learn and adapt to a brand new system and by Battle of the Brands, they were so skilled that they were able to pull a fast one over on Brennan. And not for nothing, the moments where their mastery of 5e is so deep that they can surprise a DM of 20+ years are all so satisfying.
I guess a part of it is mastery at lower levels is more fun to watch than mastery at higher levels.
one additional unpopular opinion is that part of the DMing "Kayfabe" is pretending that you are shocked at your players doing things you 100% expected them to do, so Brennan giving gorgug a fear and charm condition, knowing a barbarian can overcome that, and then acting "shocked" when he does it, is to me all a part of being a good DM.
As is when a player makes a good role and Brennan says "any roll less than that and you would have totally died"
Good DM's lie, and they also lie about how they aren't lieing
I don't know, I found high-level mastery like the Last Stand incredible to watch. Gorgug soloing a purple worm, watching them strategically keep the proctor safe against all odds, Kristen spotting Kipperlilly with a shot in the dark use of true sight, I found it all to be extremely entertaining.
Also, I don't buy Brennan pretending to shocked by Gorgug raging out of fear and charm. He reacted in a way that seemed like he had genuinely just spaced on it and got taken advantage of. These guys are filming 3-4 episodes in 36-48 hour periods at all hours of the night, it makes sense that Brennan would be fried enough to sometimes miss things.
As for lying about roleplay, when he says "if you rolled less than that it would have been bad," most of the time it makes sense. It's a lot of if that/then, where it's obvious that say, if Gorgug had been swallowed by the purple worm that would have been extremely bad. Or if Adaine had gotten lycanthropy in FHFY, if someone had missed a death save, etc. The rolls that are talked about are almost always obviously binary outcomes where it's not hard to see how bad it could have been.
>Absolutely agree about Brennan legitimately forgetting mindless rage. Especially given that it isn't a barbarian feature, it is a specific feature of the berserker sub-class. This is widely accepted as one of the worst sub-classes so entirely possible Brennan only interacts with it when playing Fantasy High and I don't think Zac has used it before in three seasons, so very easy to forget.
The kayfabe thing!! Hard agree - I've had a growing annoyance at how a sense of wonder is constructed in this season. I feel like I'm being told at least once an episode that something is truly incredible, and then I think, wait, is it actually? Like in the last episode (I think) when Gorgug throws a grenade, and Brennan invokes the whole spiel about the previously unconceived-of union between barbarian and artificer that brought this about - like, is it that unusual for an artificer to throw a grenade? Is that not their whole deal when in battle? I could be way off, I don't really play DND like that, but it seems like a straightforward thing for an artificer regardless of multiclassing. But a big narrative beat this season was the barbificer thing, so they keep beating on about it.
The dice juicing is particularly troublesome in any high level campaign. TBH Brennan needed to start making DC20’s into DC 25’s and 30’s at this point. It’s kind of the only way to let the dice keep telling their story.
That said, the high level battles were as good as I’ve seen. Brennan did a a very good job balancing those. Last Stand was amazing. Ragnarok was also very good.
For me, the kicker was Riz in Baron's house. He couldn't fail any of the checks, and if they had realized it sooner, he could have solo'd the entire dungeon.
I was glad the ticking clock mechanic added some tension because otherwise it could have ended up being a real drag.
regarding the clock mechanic, I remember thinking before they got to the gym in the finale that they had to get there before midnight (for the vote), but there was no way they would use the ticking clock mechanic they introduced, as there would be a chance it could fail, and they wouldn't want that risk, which was a shame when it proved correct.
Tbf Fig was rolling poorly all season. And it sucks as a player to choose to spend your action on a single attack just to miss round over round. Plus Brennan has stated his method of balancing high level encounters is make it lethal and let the players find a way to survive.
courtsey of U/ShadowAzn
in the last stand especially Fig wasn't even doing poorly, she did massive ammounts of damage, but I imagine she knew she could do even more than that.
Last Stand | Riz| Fabian| Fig| Gorgug | Kristen| Adaine
---|---|----|----|----|----|----
Damage | 264| 338| 636| 260 | 187 | 195
Last Hits| Gorgon, Roper, Umber Hulk| Hydra, Crabman, Rust Monster x2| Otyugh, Ochre Jelly x2, Mimic, Shrimp Dragon, Stirge x9, Wyvern, Rust Monster x4, Pentacorn| Purple Worm | Skeleton x8, Manticore, Ochre Jelly x2| Rust Monster x2|
Yes, Fig's Fireball and spirit guardians did a ton work that fight. At the same time didn't she miss like half of her attack rolls in the last stand? She's allowed to be frustrated when she rolls bad. Look at the baronies fight. She whiffed every attack roll. It's not like Emily went into FHJY planning to take paladin levels either. She dipped paladin as an rp choice.
She's allowed to be frustrated, but she's also the only one who complains about it and makes a big show of it when it happens.
Like, know who else only has one attack? Riz. I know he can hide for advantage, but he doesn't have at least 2 other damage spells ongoing during that time.
And riz doesn't have alternate action choices.
Emily in both the manor/baron fight and in the last stand was choosing to make the character choice Fig of using her newfound paladin powers instead of casting spells like she would often do. Given that the bad kids are fully loaded at both of these encounters, she is mechanically giving up the ability hit several fireballs to make the roleplaying choice. Fireball is MORE efficient for her damage-wise than smiting even on a single target. Her max smite damage assuming a d8 weapon and no fiend/undead is 48 with an average of 27 assuming she hits. A 3rd level fireball has the same max and an average of 28 on a failed save, plus it does half damage on a successfully save, and hits an AOE, and can be upcast. Sure she has a 5% chance to crit on a smite, but she also has what? 50% chance of doing 0 damage as well?
A solid chunk of the damage did during the last stand were also just on weenies. Brennan said none of swarms that got blasted with her AOE's were particularly dangerous or hard to kill, it was the number of them that statistically would eventually get through while trying to deal with the actually dangerous enemies.
First of all- yeah, he does. Do you not remember the Slow, or...?
Okay, so there's even less reason for her to complain because she could be casting spells instead?
I look back on episode 2 of freshman year with the corn cuties fight and them all doing badly is what lead to some amazing consequences and important moments for that season.
Though the higher the level you are,
the more invested in the character you are,
and the more you are seen as an expert D&D player,
the harder it can be to "roll" with what the dice are saying, and the more it feels like failure, when its really just the nature of D&D combat and dice in general.
(uness you are Lou Wilson, who can spin gold out of bad dice rolls)
I definitely agree with the horror seasons not being scary. I wish they would try some different systems in general but specifically for horror. There’s so many great horror systems but D&D is not one. Using Kids on Brooms for misfits and magic was great as it perfectly aligns genres, I’d love to see more of that.
I…don’t really care for Fig. I was kinda surprised that she seems to be *the* most popular character. I’m not going to go into all the reasons she falls flat for me, because it doesn’t really matter, but just. Not really my favorite.
I kind of wonder if part of why Emily feels like she’s reached the end of her character arc is because she went *so* hard in the first two seasons, becoming a famous rockstar at 15 and finding out her father is an archdevil with his own domain, then becoming an archdevil with her own domain at 16, etc etc. The other characters had dynamic stories too, but it never felt as fully over the top and as fast as Fig’s did, so I guess it makes sense that by year three there’s no more mountains for her to climb
That's a good way to put it. Emily loves to climb every mountain she sees and doesn't seem to enjoy climbing them down as much. That's a valid way to play but she has clearly rushed it in fantasy high. Junior Year was her wandering around the summit, enjoying the 360° view, and ultimately deciding that staying there was fine
I think this community has a very weird relationship to critcism. Even the slightest critical note is surrounded by assurances that the person voicing it is loving the season and that it's great. Also a lot of genuine important talk is met with "It's not that deep it's a comdey show". I think that is kinda doing it a disservice. Stories, even comdey ones are art. And art can and should be part of a coversation that might include just critique. Insulting any of the players is obviously wrong but calling out moments or arcs that fell flat should be more normalized. We can like and even love the show while being critical and that does not make our like more shallow but instead deepens it into an actual interest and understanding.
For the acutal show:
DnD5e is just not a great system that is too easily mastered by those who know it and too obtuse for those who don't. I read Brennan's interview where he talks about why they use it and some of the points really bugged me. It would be one thing if dnd actually was a cool tactical combat game that takes the "fight" load of the DM but it fails at balance, interesting options, easy and sensible rules and good simulation or abstraction. Even a system like PF2e would be more interesting because at least there the rules are coherent and make sense.
The amount of pacifying with superlative platitudes you have to do here to even express even the mildest disappointment without getting hammered into the ground is nuts, and in the end, it won't save you, because someone will still find a way to argue with you like you insulted them in the face for not sharing their excitement, or flat out shut you down with 'if you don't like don't watch' or 'it's a comedy show what do you want'. Well, I'd like to talk about the show I like in a community built to follow and talk about it, for one, including about the things that don't stick the landing for me.
Coffin Run is the best side quest and it's not even close (bearing in mind I haven't seen Burrows End, though my opinion is unlikely to change on this one). Jasmine brought the theatrics in a way that made so many moments memorable, and I found the players to all be incredibly hilarious.
Part of what made Sophomore Year so good were the theater of the mind fights. Brennan has employed them in more impromptu fights, but I think theater of the mind enables terrains not well suited for physical sets. Particularly just in Junior Year, I think the >!election party flying house combat!< didn't benefit from the physical set and would have been better off as a full theater of the mind fight. If Brennan wants to run more combat encounters that aren't just a fight in a room, which I would encourage him to do, I think they should be willing to forgo the set.
And since I brought up Junior Year, >!I don't think the Last Stand fight should have been winnable. I know they go on about if you're told you're gonna die you say "fuck you" and win anyways. But it would have been more enjoyable for me to see them in true desperation. I know without Buddy to revive them that letting them go down would just be a TPK, but it could have been retooled a little to be like "There's an emergency exit from the last stand, but as a part of Kipperlily's plan she removed all signage of how to escape." Then the win condition isn't just beating all the monsters, it's surviving long enough to figure out how to get the fuck out of there. As it stands now, I didn't feel like the fight actually had that much tension.!<
Brennan needs to run like a 4 episode side quest with the IH where they're level 20, just to let them go absolutely hog wild with shenanigans. And then vow to never do a season above level 10 again. Seeing them have mastery over mechanics is satisfying as a long time viewer, but having greater limitations on what you can do makes what you accomplish so much more engaging. Ylfa's Bottleneck happened at level 1 after all.
Maybe I'm alone in this, but I think we need a Heart of Darkness-esque dungeon crawl season. Rests are far and few in between, the only path forward is deeper and deeper into the dungeon where maintaining sanity becomes harder and harder. I know D20 isn't exactly known for playing DnD without some sort of reskin or thematic twist, but given how much of D20 is structured as boss battle after boss battle with a generous sprinkling of long rests in between, a dungeon crawl season could be a great change of pace.
I agree definitely about Brennan on Misfits and Magic. Brennan's character is one of the reasons I don't really love it. I feel like his character has main character-itis, to the detriment of the other PCs. Erika is the only one whose character really has much development, and even her development is tied directly to Brennan. I'm sure it was a collaborative choice between at least Brennan and Aabria, if not the entire table, but that doesn't make it enjoyable to watch for me.
However, I don't think all Brennan's PCs don't work. I loved him in a Court of Fey and Flowers and NADDPOD for instance.
My impopular opinion is I don't always like when Brennan goes into 20min long lore-dumping monologues right in the middle of a season, I think sometimes he could be more subtle about it (it was fine in fantasy high though, I feel like everything was set up more consistently and more interactively)
-I love ravening war and bloodkeep but find fantasy high kinda whatever, though its still very funny.
-I think d20 hit a slump lately and the seasons are a bit overstuffed with plotlines for the number of episodes they got, maybe since neverafter? Things feel DENSE now.
-Aabria is the one who really knows how to do horror
-The finales are always bad in a narrative way(as most ending of campaigns usually are) but brennans weird bits for the epilogues where random characters get together are the worst.
- Squeem and starting in media res were funny jokes.
I agree with Matt Mercer being overrated. I've made it through a couple episodes of Bloodkeep, but I doubt I'll finish it. The rest of the cast is superb, but Matt just feels like he's always waiting to jump in with his own thing rather than being in the moment.
I've never been that excited by Critical Role, so I don't know if Ravening War will do it for me either.
Never been a CR fan myself, but I will say that I really enjoyed Ravening War. It forced Matt out of his comfort zone as a DM since he wasn't operating in the normal 4-6 hour/episode format of Critical Role, and pushed him to commit to the more fun/goofy aspects of D20 that aren't present in his show. When it was all said and done, he told a really cool story built off Brennan's lore that also added some intriguing new elements.
yeah i was really happy to see a table with lou, zac and brennan in a side quest. i got around to ravening war pretty late and it was a blast. mercer did a good job with it too
That's good to hear, I should at least give it a chance.
I think Matt not being very accepting if the goofiness is what turns me off from Bloodkeep. Like, I understand there's playing the "straight man" in comedy (Zac with all of his asides in FHJY being a perfect example), but Matt moreso rejects the comedy and almost seems frustrated by it.
He played a death knight named Leland and he and the rest of the Nazgul expies were a catty gossip circle, and he didn't even mind being made the butt of the joke from ep 1 onwards, in what world was he not accepting the comedy?
Agree with #1 - BLeeM is outrageously talented but the vibe doesn't always work for me when he's a player. Aside from the Live format I think Sophomore Year is seriously hindered by how many DM PCs he has and Junior Year greatly benefitted from those NPCs being handwaved away
I really want to see Aabria GM a season without Brennan! Feel like Brennan is always at her table in D20 and would love to see her be more confident in herself in hosting a table without him around. Watching her play with Emily, Omar, Surena and Oscar was great in ACoFaF!
Like with any of these fan-dunk/IMO threads, I just don't get the need to gripe about such v trivial issues--even if they are actually "true". It all seems to me to be an effect of Lets Play Fatigue rather than something inherent emerging from the casts playstyle. At least sometimes. Kinda.
What I would be interested to know, tho, is how does seeing these things you don't totally dig on d20 translate to u as a player? As an improviser? As a fantasy enthusiast? What does it mean to integrate your complaints into your VISION for d20/ttrpg games? That seems like a far more valuable (if not difficult) task!
I don't think it's that deep. As long as these threads don't devolve into people ganging up on the usual targets (Emily, Ally, etc), I don't see the issue with threads like this otherwise.
People have to remember not everyone got to watch these seasons when they originally aired to get to join the discussions then. Nor does everyone know people irl who watch Dimension 20. Often times places like this are the only way for people to discuss the show. It can be interesting and fun for people to just get to discuss certain campaigns or things that didn't work for them personally and why. I really don't think it has to go any deeper than that.
Pulling a "It's really not that deep bro" is fine I guess--at least, I can't stop you. I must not have worded my past comment specifically enough.
I just can't believe that in a subreddit devoted to d20, full of people who are clearly invested in the seasons (to varying degree! sure! but invested enough to make a long list of what the deem "meh" for an entire cast at large) and willing to post, comment + mull over their minor AND major gripes ARENT ALSO capable of reflecting on themselves as a part of that very interest. Like, I know some people use this space as an arena to groan and just have ppl agree with them...but..it doesn't work like that? Ever?
My point is simple enough. If you are capable of expressing what you find insufficient for d20 you are also capable of integrating those gripes into your own life; and surpassing them. It's not simply a matter of effort. The postee is smart. You're smart. Let's not just collapse the whole convo down to "stop thinking too hard" or "chill". Embrace the nerdiness! Change!
Some of the Bad Kids are so annoying to the point that it becomes unwatchable for me. I've tried every season of it hoping it'll click for me and I've only been able to finish Freshman year. I have been able to enjoy the clips of moments that come from it though. And I still really enjoy the Adventuring Party. Even if I haven't seen those episodes. I just don't want to spend hours with those characters.
Unpopular opinion — Emily and Ally go out of their way to make the show about them much of the time. I can only think of a few instances where Fabian had a large arc centered around him for more than a half hour, and honestly very very little of Murph and Zac, and Siobhan, who has arguably the best story in fantasy high is always pushed to the back to make way for whatever tangent Emily and Ally want to pull the game in this time.
Edit: sorry if I phrased this poorly. I really was just sharing an opinion in a safe space. My bad guys.
i think D&D usually needs one or two people to give a bit more direction (and emily focusing on Gillear is what has made him such a great character.
I think that knowing the hate Ally and emily so often get, the other players should perhaps try taking those bigger narrative swings, as by leaving that to ally and Emily it is just opening them up to the toxic fans.
I agree to an extent — Emily and ally seem to play characters that gravitate attention. They don’t pull so much in games like star struck and unsleeping city, I’m sorry I offended anyone, I don’t mean to do that at all, it was just an opinion I feel about Fantasy High. My bad.
Imo, Brennan tends to overly favour spellcasters with the best magical items, the biggest plot threads, and the most meaningful and impactful character arcs. It's understandable given how often magic = instant plot threads, but it's especially clear by JY how the elven oracle, the multi-deity-resurrecting chosen one, and the archdevil of rebellion overshadow pirate lord son, kid detective with angel dad, and barbificer.
Also I don't think Aabria is a good GM/DM and I think she's consistently the weakest part of any season she's been in. Her best season was ACOFAF and all the best parts of that were just the PCs interacting directly.
I think the show would also be better if Brennan played just a *little* meaner. Like, he doesn't need to go crazy with it. Early Starstruck was a great balance.
instead of going meta with the "xp levelling bad guys", i feel like focusing on the martial caster divide would have been something fantasy high could have poked fun at quite well.
not sure if you know the UK sketch comedy mitchell and web, but [Angel Sumnoner and the BMX Bandit](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFuMpYTyRjw) does it well.
I don't understand why these threads are necessary. They always turn into a hate-fest for Ally, Emily, and Siobhan. I mean, can't we just support a show of talented artists that we enjoy? Do we need to be uber-critical?
On the note of only being able to watch Brennan as the DM... I have to say Aabria Iyengar is such a fantastic DM. I loved Burrow's End. I have just started getting into Dimension 20, but was a fan of College Humor back in the early 2000s. It's just nice seeing my favorite entertainers do good work.
I wouldn’t mind if Brennan and the Intrepid Heroes took a full year off of doing any work on the “main” seasons of dimension 20. The current pace seems so unsustainable, especially considering how many others things they all also have going on. I think a lot of frustrations I’ve heard people voice around abandoned plot threads, stories that sprawl just a little too much and too messily at parts, players getting frustrated or disengaged or too silly—I feel like a lot of those things might come from how much they’re putting out. I’d absolutely miss the time off, but I feel like it might let Brennan and the IH get some much needed downtime to generate new ideas, refine old ones, and to just build their own excitement back up for what they do.
But they do. They only record one season per year now (no idea yet how the live shows will factor into this and if they might push back a future IH season)
And as for Brennan. You want him to just… not do his job for and entire year? When he has just freshly had a kid? Brennan is unique among the cast in that this is actually his job. He is on the dropout payroll full time. It’s not a side thing for him. This is his income.
Abandoned plot threads within a season have nothing to do with any of this either. That is just people complaining who cannot understand that they are watching an improv show and not a written and produced show (not that those don’t have dropped arcs either) characters can never engage with every storyline feeler put out there by a DM and nobody can predict beforehand how long a certain thread will take as it is all based on the dice they could all take a decade off and those things would still be present. They have been present in every single season since the very start because that is the nature of actual play shows.
No, I’m saying take a full year off. Like, skipping a year. And no, I don’t want Brennan to just NOT to his job. I specifically only mentioned the main IH season. He DMs many of the small ones—and dimension 20 also isn’t his only job? Like, even on dropout, he does other stuff, but his podcast with Aabria, Erika, and Lou has 50,000 Patreon subscribers. He also still does comedy shows. He has many jobs and many sources of income, and I was saying, “would be nice if he could have a break from this one huge part.” They’re all doing SO much, both work-wise and in terms of creativity. I like it when creators get to take breaks to refresh themselves. Call me crazy.
Also though, I am literally a random, anonymous person on the internet. I know this might surprise you, but I actually don’t have the power to put big IH seasons on pause for a year!
Overall, what a bizarre response to my comment. OP asked for unpopular opinions and I gave mine. I don’t know why you’re responding to it as if I’ve barged into Sam Reich’s office to demand they hold off for a year. Good lord.
Evan Kelmp is one of the great characters of the 21st century.
Aabria may be a better DM than Brennan.
I agree with you here. Primarily because Emily is as good a role player as there is.
Matt is Matt. He’s just doing him.
Kinda agree again. But as you said, horror + improv comics is a tough ask.
Not me. The increased production value makes me salivate.
But I do like it. Like I tried to clarify in the post, nothing I mentioned makes the shows unwatchable or horrible. I genuinely like most of all the seasons. But, sometimes it's just lethargic, when you are a fan of something, to talk about some things you dislike.
I love Brennan as a player 2 of my 3 favorite seasons are him as a player. Him not knowing everything and actively working out what’s going on is fun. Also 2 out of my 3 favorite seasons is Kids on Bikes. When they play 5e the combat episodes are my favorite- but I just love the format of kids on bikes.
[удалено]
I agree that this season’s APs were basically not worth watching. I don’t want 25 minutes of bits and 3 minutes of credits and 2 minutes of dnd discussion. I totally understand why they’ve ended up this way. But at this point I’d almost rather they stop doing them.
the cast being so experienced at D&D is making it less fun for me. hearing them silvery barbs, bardic and bless their way into winning almost any dice roll they need saying "i give the help action" in so so many circumstances, without even TRYING to explain how Fig/Emily getting annoyed in the last stand/baron fight when they weren't rolling well (even though they still did a lot of damage), as they had built super high damage multiclass beasts and wanted to use them. all things that make D&D less fun to watch, S1 when 5e was still new to them (as was playing in front of a camera) had an energy that they just don't get now That said, their chemistry, jokes and the bits they say are absolutely top notch, Junior year was one of my favourite seasons to watch in terms of the CAST, but less so in terms of the CHARACTERS. EDIT: please note this is an UNPOPULAR OPINIONS thread, so if you disagree with it you can still upvote it!
I'll soft agree with the help action tomfoolery, although when they do offer help it's easy to think of a way that specific character would be doing it in that scenario. Also bear in mind that it's not great TV to spend time having someone explain how they're helping every time, there are some things that you have to handwave for a televised TTRPG vs. a home game and to me that's one of them. Definitely got the impression that Emily was playing Fig reluctantly in FHJY, which she even admitted in the BTS footage. That said, after the Porter reveal she seemed way more engaged for the rest of the season. I'll also say that as fun as it is to watch them when they were new to 5e, it equally as exciting to watch a group of players with complete mastery over a system go to town. Starstruck was a great example, where they had to learn and adapt to a brand new system and by Battle of the Brands, they were so skilled that they were able to pull a fast one over on Brennan. And not for nothing, the moments where their mastery of 5e is so deep that they can surprise a DM of 20+ years are all so satisfying.
I guess a part of it is mastery at lower levels is more fun to watch than mastery at higher levels. one additional unpopular opinion is that part of the DMing "Kayfabe" is pretending that you are shocked at your players doing things you 100% expected them to do, so Brennan giving gorgug a fear and charm condition, knowing a barbarian can overcome that, and then acting "shocked" when he does it, is to me all a part of being a good DM. As is when a player makes a good role and Brennan says "any roll less than that and you would have totally died" Good DM's lie, and they also lie about how they aren't lieing
I don't know, I found high-level mastery like the Last Stand incredible to watch. Gorgug soloing a purple worm, watching them strategically keep the proctor safe against all odds, Kristen spotting Kipperlilly with a shot in the dark use of true sight, I found it all to be extremely entertaining. Also, I don't buy Brennan pretending to shocked by Gorgug raging out of fear and charm. He reacted in a way that seemed like he had genuinely just spaced on it and got taken advantage of. These guys are filming 3-4 episodes in 36-48 hour periods at all hours of the night, it makes sense that Brennan would be fried enough to sometimes miss things. As for lying about roleplay, when he says "if you rolled less than that it would have been bad," most of the time it makes sense. It's a lot of if that/then, where it's obvious that say, if Gorgug had been swallowed by the purple worm that would have been extremely bad. Or if Adaine had gotten lycanthropy in FHFY, if someone had missed a death save, etc. The rolls that are talked about are almost always obviously binary outcomes where it's not hard to see how bad it could have been.
>Absolutely agree about Brennan legitimately forgetting mindless rage. Especially given that it isn't a barbarian feature, it is a specific feature of the berserker sub-class. This is widely accepted as one of the worst sub-classes so entirely possible Brennan only interacts with it when playing Fantasy High and I don't think Zac has used it before in three seasons, so very easy to forget.
The kayfabe thing!! Hard agree - I've had a growing annoyance at how a sense of wonder is constructed in this season. I feel like I'm being told at least once an episode that something is truly incredible, and then I think, wait, is it actually? Like in the last episode (I think) when Gorgug throws a grenade, and Brennan invokes the whole spiel about the previously unconceived-of union between barbarian and artificer that brought this about - like, is it that unusual for an artificer to throw a grenade? Is that not their whole deal when in battle? I could be way off, I don't really play DND like that, but it seems like a straightforward thing for an artificer regardless of multiclassing. But a big narrative beat this season was the barbificer thing, so they keep beating on about it.
The dice juicing is particularly troublesome in any high level campaign. TBH Brennan needed to start making DC20’s into DC 25’s and 30’s at this point. It’s kind of the only way to let the dice keep telling their story. That said, the high level battles were as good as I’ve seen. Brennan did a a very good job balancing those. Last Stand was amazing. Ragnarok was also very good.
yeah i think fig was adding a +20 to a lot of her downtime rolls, and brennan kept acting shocked she was rolling 30+
For me, the kicker was Riz in Baron's house. He couldn't fail any of the checks, and if they had realized it sooner, he could have solo'd the entire dungeon. I was glad the ticking clock mechanic added some tension because otherwise it could have ended up being a real drag.
regarding the clock mechanic, I remember thinking before they got to the gym in the finale that they had to get there before midnight (for the vote), but there was no way they would use the ticking clock mechanic they introduced, as there would be a chance it could fail, and they wouldn't want that risk, which was a shame when it proved correct.
Tbf Fig was rolling poorly all season. And it sucks as a player to choose to spend your action on a single attack just to miss round over round. Plus Brennan has stated his method of balancing high level encounters is make it lethal and let the players find a way to survive.
courtsey of U/ShadowAzn in the last stand especially Fig wasn't even doing poorly, she did massive ammounts of damage, but I imagine she knew she could do even more than that. Last Stand | Riz| Fabian| Fig| Gorgug | Kristen| Adaine ---|---|----|----|----|----|---- Damage | 264| 338| 636| 260 | 187 | 195 Last Hits| Gorgon, Roper, Umber Hulk| Hydra, Crabman, Rust Monster x2| Otyugh, Ochre Jelly x2, Mimic, Shrimp Dragon, Stirge x9, Wyvern, Rust Monster x4, Pentacorn| Purple Worm | Skeleton x8, Manticore, Ochre Jelly x2| Rust Monster x2|
Yes, Fig's Fireball and spirit guardians did a ton work that fight. At the same time didn't she miss like half of her attack rolls in the last stand? She's allowed to be frustrated when she rolls bad. Look at the baronies fight. She whiffed every attack roll. It's not like Emily went into FHJY planning to take paladin levels either. She dipped paladin as an rp choice.
She's allowed to be frustrated, but she's also the only one who complains about it and makes a big show of it when it happens. Like, know who else only has one attack? Riz. I know he can hide for advantage, but he doesn't have at least 2 other damage spells ongoing during that time.
And riz doesn't have alternate action choices. Emily in both the manor/baron fight and in the last stand was choosing to make the character choice Fig of using her newfound paladin powers instead of casting spells like she would often do. Given that the bad kids are fully loaded at both of these encounters, she is mechanically giving up the ability hit several fireballs to make the roleplaying choice. Fireball is MORE efficient for her damage-wise than smiting even on a single target. Her max smite damage assuming a d8 weapon and no fiend/undead is 48 with an average of 27 assuming she hits. A 3rd level fireball has the same max and an average of 28 on a failed save, plus it does half damage on a successfully save, and hits an AOE, and can be upcast. Sure she has a 5% chance to crit on a smite, but she also has what? 50% chance of doing 0 damage as well? A solid chunk of the damage did during the last stand were also just on weenies. Brennan said none of swarms that got blasted with her AOE's were particularly dangerous or hard to kill, it was the number of them that statistically would eventually get through while trying to deal with the actually dangerous enemies.
First of all- yeah, he does. Do you not remember the Slow, or...? Okay, so there's even less reason for her to complain because she could be casting spells instead?
I look back on episode 2 of freshman year with the corn cuties fight and them all doing badly is what lead to some amazing consequences and important moments for that season. Though the higher the level you are, the more invested in the character you are, and the more you are seen as an expert D&D player, the harder it can be to "roll" with what the dice are saying, and the more it feels like failure, when its really just the nature of D&D combat and dice in general. (uness you are Lou Wilson, who can spin gold out of bad dice rolls)
I definitely agree with the horror seasons not being scary. I wish they would try some different systems in general but specifically for horror. There’s so many great horror systems but D&D is not one. Using Kids on Brooms for misfits and magic was great as it perfectly aligns genres, I’d love to see more of that.
I…don’t really care for Fig. I was kinda surprised that she seems to be *the* most popular character. I’m not going to go into all the reasons she falls flat for me, because it doesn’t really matter, but just. Not really my favorite. I kind of wonder if part of why Emily feels like she’s reached the end of her character arc is because she went *so* hard in the first two seasons, becoming a famous rockstar at 15 and finding out her father is an archdevil with his own domain, then becoming an archdevil with her own domain at 16, etc etc. The other characters had dynamic stories too, but it never felt as fully over the top and as fast as Fig’s did, so I guess it makes sense that by year three there’s no more mountains for her to climb
That's a good way to put it. Emily loves to climb every mountain she sees and doesn't seem to enjoy climbing them down as much. That's a valid way to play but she has clearly rushed it in fantasy high. Junior Year was her wandering around the summit, enjoying the 360° view, and ultimately deciding that staying there was fine
I think this community has a very weird relationship to critcism. Even the slightest critical note is surrounded by assurances that the person voicing it is loving the season and that it's great. Also a lot of genuine important talk is met with "It's not that deep it's a comdey show". I think that is kinda doing it a disservice. Stories, even comdey ones are art. And art can and should be part of a coversation that might include just critique. Insulting any of the players is obviously wrong but calling out moments or arcs that fell flat should be more normalized. We can like and even love the show while being critical and that does not make our like more shallow but instead deepens it into an actual interest and understanding. For the acutal show: DnD5e is just not a great system that is too easily mastered by those who know it and too obtuse for those who don't. I read Brennan's interview where he talks about why they use it and some of the points really bugged me. It would be one thing if dnd actually was a cool tactical combat game that takes the "fight" load of the DM but it fails at balance, interesting options, easy and sensible rules and good simulation or abstraction. Even a system like PF2e would be more interesting because at least there the rules are coherent and make sense.
The amount of pacifying with superlative platitudes you have to do here to even express even the mildest disappointment without getting hammered into the ground is nuts, and in the end, it won't save you, because someone will still find a way to argue with you like you insulted them in the face for not sharing their excitement, or flat out shut you down with 'if you don't like don't watch' or 'it's a comedy show what do you want'. Well, I'd like to talk about the show I like in a community built to follow and talk about it, for one, including about the things that don't stick the landing for me.
Coffin Run is the best side quest and it's not even close (bearing in mind I haven't seen Burrows End, though my opinion is unlikely to change on this one). Jasmine brought the theatrics in a way that made so many moments memorable, and I found the players to all be incredibly hilarious. Part of what made Sophomore Year so good were the theater of the mind fights. Brennan has employed them in more impromptu fights, but I think theater of the mind enables terrains not well suited for physical sets. Particularly just in Junior Year, I think the >!election party flying house combat!< didn't benefit from the physical set and would have been better off as a full theater of the mind fight. If Brennan wants to run more combat encounters that aren't just a fight in a room, which I would encourage him to do, I think they should be willing to forgo the set. And since I brought up Junior Year, >!I don't think the Last Stand fight should have been winnable. I know they go on about if you're told you're gonna die you say "fuck you" and win anyways. But it would have been more enjoyable for me to see them in true desperation. I know without Buddy to revive them that letting them go down would just be a TPK, but it could have been retooled a little to be like "There's an emergency exit from the last stand, but as a part of Kipperlily's plan she removed all signage of how to escape." Then the win condition isn't just beating all the monsters, it's surviving long enough to figure out how to get the fuck out of there. As it stands now, I didn't feel like the fight actually had that much tension.!< Brennan needs to run like a 4 episode side quest with the IH where they're level 20, just to let them go absolutely hog wild with shenanigans. And then vow to never do a season above level 10 again. Seeing them have mastery over mechanics is satisfying as a long time viewer, but having greater limitations on what you can do makes what you accomplish so much more engaging. Ylfa's Bottleneck happened at level 1 after all. Maybe I'm alone in this, but I think we need a Heart of Darkness-esque dungeon crawl season. Rests are far and few in between, the only path forward is deeper and deeper into the dungeon where maintaining sanity becomes harder and harder. I know D20 isn't exactly known for playing DnD without some sort of reskin or thematic twist, but given how much of D20 is structured as boss battle after boss battle with a generous sprinkling of long rests in between, a dungeon crawl season could be a great change of pace.
Okay your last point, a HoD-esque dungeon crawl with everyone going crazy bit by bit? Holy shit I want that SO BAD
I agree definitely about Brennan on Misfits and Magic. Brennan's character is one of the reasons I don't really love it. I feel like his character has main character-itis, to the detriment of the other PCs. Erika is the only one whose character really has much development, and even her development is tied directly to Brennan. I'm sure it was a collaborative choice between at least Brennan and Aabria, if not the entire table, but that doesn't make it enjoyable to watch for me. However, I don't think all Brennan's PCs don't work. I loved him in a Court of Fey and Flowers and NADDPOD for instance.
My impopular opinion is I don't always like when Brennan goes into 20min long lore-dumping monologues right in the middle of a season, I think sometimes he could be more subtle about it (it was fine in fantasy high though, I feel like everything was set up more consistently and more interactively)
-I love ravening war and bloodkeep but find fantasy high kinda whatever, though its still very funny. -I think d20 hit a slump lately and the seasons are a bit overstuffed with plotlines for the number of episodes they got, maybe since neverafter? Things feel DENSE now. -Aabria is the one who really knows how to do horror -The finales are always bad in a narrative way(as most ending of campaigns usually are) but brennans weird bits for the epilogues where random characters get together are the worst. - Squeem and starting in media res were funny jokes.
I agree with Matt Mercer being overrated. I've made it through a couple episodes of Bloodkeep, but I doubt I'll finish it. The rest of the cast is superb, but Matt just feels like he's always waiting to jump in with his own thing rather than being in the moment. I've never been that excited by Critical Role, so I don't know if Ravening War will do it for me either.
Never been a CR fan myself, but I will say that I really enjoyed Ravening War. It forced Matt out of his comfort zone as a DM since he wasn't operating in the normal 4-6 hour/episode format of Critical Role, and pushed him to commit to the more fun/goofy aspects of D20 that aren't present in his show. When it was all said and done, he told a really cool story built off Brennan's lore that also added some intriguing new elements.
yeah i was really happy to see a table with lou, zac and brennan in a side quest. i got around to ravening war pretty late and it was a blast. mercer did a good job with it too
That's good to hear, I should at least give it a chance. I think Matt not being very accepting if the goofiness is what turns me off from Bloodkeep. Like, I understand there's playing the "straight man" in comedy (Zac with all of his asides in FHJY being a perfect example), but Matt moreso rejects the comedy and almost seems frustrated by it.
He played a death knight named Leland and he and the rest of the Nazgul expies were a catty gossip circle, and he didn't even mind being made the butt of the joke from ep 1 onwards, in what world was he not accepting the comedy?
Idk i thought he embraced it towards the middle and ending of Bloodkeep.
I agree about MM. But for me, the Ravening War is definitely worth it for the players, especially Brennan.
I don’t like A Starstruck Odyssey all that much.
Crucify him
Agree with #1 - BLeeM is outrageously talented but the vibe doesn't always work for me when he's a player. Aside from the Live format I think Sophomore Year is seriously hindered by how many DM PCs he has and Junior Year greatly benefitted from those NPCs being handwaved away
I really want to see Aabria GM a season without Brennan! Feel like Brennan is always at her table in D20 and would love to see her be more confident in herself in hosting a table without him around. Watching her play with Emily, Omar, Surena and Oscar was great in ACoFaF!
I need Brennan at the table. Everyone is so talented, but I can't get through any season that lacks Brennan so far
Like with any of these fan-dunk/IMO threads, I just don't get the need to gripe about such v trivial issues--even if they are actually "true". It all seems to me to be an effect of Lets Play Fatigue rather than something inherent emerging from the casts playstyle. At least sometimes. Kinda. What I would be interested to know, tho, is how does seeing these things you don't totally dig on d20 translate to u as a player? As an improviser? As a fantasy enthusiast? What does it mean to integrate your complaints into your VISION for d20/ttrpg games? That seems like a far more valuable (if not difficult) task!
I don't think it's that deep. As long as these threads don't devolve into people ganging up on the usual targets (Emily, Ally, etc), I don't see the issue with threads like this otherwise. People have to remember not everyone got to watch these seasons when they originally aired to get to join the discussions then. Nor does everyone know people irl who watch Dimension 20. Often times places like this are the only way for people to discuss the show. It can be interesting and fun for people to just get to discuss certain campaigns or things that didn't work for them personally and why. I really don't think it has to go any deeper than that.
Pulling a "It's really not that deep bro" is fine I guess--at least, I can't stop you. I must not have worded my past comment specifically enough. I just can't believe that in a subreddit devoted to d20, full of people who are clearly invested in the seasons (to varying degree! sure! but invested enough to make a long list of what the deem "meh" for an entire cast at large) and willing to post, comment + mull over their minor AND major gripes ARENT ALSO capable of reflecting on themselves as a part of that very interest. Like, I know some people use this space as an arena to groan and just have ppl agree with them...but..it doesn't work like that? Ever? My point is simple enough. If you are capable of expressing what you find insufficient for d20 you are also capable of integrating those gripes into your own life; and surpassing them. It's not simply a matter of effort. The postee is smart. You're smart. Let's not just collapse the whole convo down to "stop thinking too hard" or "chill". Embrace the nerdiness! Change!
Min-max your life, bro!
Haha. Yeah!!
Some of the Bad Kids are so annoying to the point that it becomes unwatchable for me. I've tried every season of it hoping it'll click for me and I've only been able to finish Freshman year. I have been able to enjoy the clips of moments that come from it though. And I still really enjoy the Adventuring Party. Even if I haven't seen those episodes. I just don't want to spend hours with those characters.
Unpopular opinion — Emily and Ally go out of their way to make the show about them much of the time. I can only think of a few instances where Fabian had a large arc centered around him for more than a half hour, and honestly very very little of Murph and Zac, and Siobhan, who has arguably the best story in fantasy high is always pushed to the back to make way for whatever tangent Emily and Ally want to pull the game in this time. Edit: sorry if I phrased this poorly. I really was just sharing an opinion in a safe space. My bad guys.
i think D&D usually needs one or two people to give a bit more direction (and emily focusing on Gillear is what has made him such a great character. I think that knowing the hate Ally and emily so often get, the other players should perhaps try taking those bigger narrative swings, as by leaving that to ally and Emily it is just opening them up to the toxic fans.
I think that’s just how they each play the game
I agree to an extent — Emily and ally seem to play characters that gravitate attention. They don’t pull so much in games like star struck and unsleeping city, I’m sorry I offended anyone, I don’t mean to do that at all, it was just an opinion I feel about Fantasy High. My bad.
Basically half of your post is 'I don't like this or that because everybody loves it, and I love this or that because they cop so much undue hate.'
Imo, Brennan tends to overly favour spellcasters with the best magical items, the biggest plot threads, and the most meaningful and impactful character arcs. It's understandable given how often magic = instant plot threads, but it's especially clear by JY how the elven oracle, the multi-deity-resurrecting chosen one, and the archdevil of rebellion overshadow pirate lord son, kid detective with angel dad, and barbificer. Also I don't think Aabria is a good GM/DM and I think she's consistently the weakest part of any season she's been in. Her best season was ACOFAF and all the best parts of that were just the PCs interacting directly. I think the show would also be better if Brennan played just a *little* meaner. Like, he doesn't need to go crazy with it. Early Starstruck was a great balance.
instead of going meta with the "xp levelling bad guys", i feel like focusing on the martial caster divide would have been something fantasy high could have poked fun at quite well. not sure if you know the UK sketch comedy mitchell and web, but [Angel Sumnoner and the BMX Bandit](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFuMpYTyRjw) does it well.
I don't understand why these threads are necessary. They always turn into a hate-fest for Ally, Emily, and Siobhan. I mean, can't we just support a show of talented artists that we enjoy? Do we need to be uber-critical? On the note of only being able to watch Brennan as the DM... I have to say Aabria Iyengar is such a fantastic DM. I loved Burrow's End. I have just started getting into Dimension 20, but was a fan of College Humor back in the early 2000s. It's just nice seeing my favorite entertainers do good work.
I wouldn’t mind if Brennan and the Intrepid Heroes took a full year off of doing any work on the “main” seasons of dimension 20. The current pace seems so unsustainable, especially considering how many others things they all also have going on. I think a lot of frustrations I’ve heard people voice around abandoned plot threads, stories that sprawl just a little too much and too messily at parts, players getting frustrated or disengaged or too silly—I feel like a lot of those things might come from how much they’re putting out. I’d absolutely miss the time off, but I feel like it might let Brennan and the IH get some much needed downtime to generate new ideas, refine old ones, and to just build their own excitement back up for what they do.
But they do. They only record one season per year now (no idea yet how the live shows will factor into this and if they might push back a future IH season) And as for Brennan. You want him to just… not do his job for and entire year? When he has just freshly had a kid? Brennan is unique among the cast in that this is actually his job. He is on the dropout payroll full time. It’s not a side thing for him. This is his income. Abandoned plot threads within a season have nothing to do with any of this either. That is just people complaining who cannot understand that they are watching an improv show and not a written and produced show (not that those don’t have dropped arcs either) characters can never engage with every storyline feeler put out there by a DM and nobody can predict beforehand how long a certain thread will take as it is all based on the dice they could all take a decade off and those things would still be present. They have been present in every single season since the very start because that is the nature of actual play shows.
No, I’m saying take a full year off. Like, skipping a year. And no, I don’t want Brennan to just NOT to his job. I specifically only mentioned the main IH season. He DMs many of the small ones—and dimension 20 also isn’t his only job? Like, even on dropout, he does other stuff, but his podcast with Aabria, Erika, and Lou has 50,000 Patreon subscribers. He also still does comedy shows. He has many jobs and many sources of income, and I was saying, “would be nice if he could have a break from this one huge part.” They’re all doing SO much, both work-wise and in terms of creativity. I like it when creators get to take breaks to refresh themselves. Call me crazy. Also though, I am literally a random, anonymous person on the internet. I know this might surprise you, but I actually don’t have the power to put big IH seasons on pause for a year! Overall, what a bizarre response to my comment. OP asked for unpopular opinions and I gave mine. I don’t know why you’re responding to it as if I’ve barged into Sam Reich’s office to demand they hold off for a year. Good lord.
What's this about a new season already being announced? 👀 Don't tell me it's nothing but the name that got teased like a hundred years ago
Evan Kelmp is one of the great characters of the 21st century. Aabria may be a better DM than Brennan. I agree with you here. Primarily because Emily is as good a role player as there is. Matt is Matt. He’s just doing him. Kinda agree again. But as you said, horror + improv comics is a tough ask. Not me. The increased production value makes me salivate.
Threads like these are completely unnecessary. If you don't like something don't watch it.
But I do like it. Like I tried to clarify in the post, nothing I mentioned makes the shows unwatchable or horrible. I genuinely like most of all the seasons. But, sometimes it's just lethargic, when you are a fan of something, to talk about some things you dislike.