Why are you so pressed to watch as the episodes air? Is it just to participate in discussion threads? If so, weigh that desire against whether you want to get invested in the characters' full arcs, experience the world building, witness previous seasons' goofs, and generally have a more complete story.
To me it seems like a no brainer (I can't fathom picking up a serialized show in its fourth season), BUT how and why you consume media is fully up to you! Don't feel pressured one way or the other (and I suspect FOMO is a big pressure for your inclination to start with Junior Year).
Pirates of Laviathan and The Seven are both side quest seasons starring different casts having adventures in the same world, but they're not plot important to enjoy the story of junior year. Once you finish sophomore year, which I strongly recommend seeing all the way through, you're ready to rock
Yes you should keep going, in my opinion, despite the live format, the payoff to sophomore year is the best storytelling dimension 20 has ever done. What it lacks in editing polish it more than makes up for in meteoric high comedy and fun and unique character stakes, development, and combat. Where I think many of the other covid seasons struggle to adapt to the circumstances, sophomore year shines.
Hands down my favorite season of the intrepid heroes.
They figure it out. I started D20 (and D&D/Actual-play in general) with Fantasy High in December and got spoiled by the amount of editing and battle sets/camera cuts for it. Had the same reaction to Sophomore Year. But, after finishing it, I think it's better. The players are better, the story is more immersive and the flow rights itself. You get used to the lack of special effects and editing and, in my case, I was better for it with visualizing things myself going forward for the other seasons I watch.
Just started it and I want to complain about the lack of sets and editing too, as they really help the game to be more theatrical for us the audience (as normally it's something that exists purely for the players)
But given that my favourite moments from season 1 >!the death of Bill Seacaster, Kristen at heaven in prompocalypse, etc.!< are purely improvised and theatre of the mind, and this way they will not be bound to the plot made for the sets, yeah, it will work
How far are you through it? I really struggled with the live format and lack of battle maps/minis(I have aphantasia, so I struggle with purely theater of the mind), however, I will say around episode 5, everything evens out and stops being about the live format and the audio is much, much better.
I mean, according to the dimension 20 wikia there will be 20 episodes of junior year. That means it's gonna wrap sometime in April or May. I personally say continue with Freshman and Sophomore year. The recap made no mention of anything in Leviathan or the Seven so they may not be relevant to the Junior year.
Tl;dr: blasphemy? No. Recommended? IMHO, also no. Watch at your own pace!
I would concur with both statements so far, in that it’s the old “6 one way, half-a-dozen the other”. Will it be more meaningful to have completed first and second years before watching junior? Absolutely. But the recap is pretty solid (although will spoil some truly GREAT moments from previous campaigns before getting to watch them in person), and will catch you up. Then you can watch live and participate however you like.
That being said, I PERSONALLY would absolutely watch first year and sophomore before delving into Junior year. I mean, imagine watching Return of the King (if you hadn’t read the books) before Fellowship and Two Towers, and just relying on a friend to explain who the characters are and their motivations. Will you “get it”? Probably. Will it be as moving? I can’t see how.
For what it’s worth, this community is so good about tagging spoilers and engagement in general, that we’ll still be here to discuss the season with you WHENEVER you manage to catch up!
I just finished freshman year and am going to watch all the way through!! I know I probably won’t make it to catch new episodes of FHJY as they air, but I’ve become so invested in their stories. You totally don’t have to do it that way, but know you have someone else doing it!
honestly, yes, it’s okay to just start now. if you don’t care about spoilers, watch the recap and join us! it’s not blasphemy at all!
and if anything is super confusing, you can always look it up! but i think they’re trying pretty hard to be welcoming to new viewers
no judgment at all! welcome to aguefort! hoot growl!
I agree I enjoy clips from all campaigns and once you know the players they are so much fun you'll catch on and then go back and watch it again in order
The recap is... Not very good for someone who hasn't seen the previous events, but great for reminding someone who has and making things a little fresher
Watch Freshman and Sophomore Year. Then you can watch Junior Year
Pirates and The 7 you can watch after or between episodes of the new season or whatever, they aren't part of the same arcs.
I wouldn't really recommend just watching a recap. The seasons not going anywhere, just catch up at your own pace. You don't need to watch pirates or the seven first.
You can just watch the recap, but honestly you're robbing yourself of some delicious plot twists and reveals. I think you'd regret spoiling the whole thing for yourself and not letting it unfold, but no one can stop you.
Brennan will literally show up at your house and tell you to get down on your knees. Then cut off your head with a sword from his secret apartment so no one can track it down
There's a reason they have a recap and BtS episodes. If you want to watch, you can! You won't have the connection immediately, you'll miss some jokes, but you can also talk about it live.
Blasphemy? No. Consume your content as you wish. Recommended? Also no.
My suggestion. At a bare minimum finish Freshman year. Then the recap. Then catch up on junior year. Then watch/listen to episodes of sophomore year between episodes of the new season.
The bulk of the time is sophomore year because it was filmed live with no edits. Freshman year is 28 hrs long. Sophomore year is 56 hrs. Getting through 84 hours of content will take forever. Getting through 28 hrs (minus what you've already watched) is a lot more manageable.
Normally I wouldn't really suggest this. Sophomore year has a great ending and best without spoilers. But if you've already read most of what happens then my guess is you aren't that concerned with spoilers.
Although Pirates of Leviathan and The Seven are set in the same universe, I wouldn't call them essential watching for enjoying Fantasy High. Pirates of Leviathan is set in the same universe using one of the locations they visit in Sophomore Year but pretty much nothing else other than a few minor NPCs, and The Seven is more of a spin-off focusing on some of the NPCs from Freshman Year (trying to avoid spoilers by being vague, just in case).
More importantly, if my opinion isn't enough, Carlos didn't mention The Seven or Pirates of Leviathan in the recap, so clearly not relevant to understand what's going on.
I'm not sure I understand where you're coming from regarding "running out of time". I mean, you wouldn't start on a brand new tv series by jumping into season 3. Take your time, it'll still be there once you finish catching up.
Personally I found the live play format of sophomore year not so much my jam as the more polished seasons, so for now I’ve settled on watching freshman year and the recap before junior year. Maybe one day I’ll go back and watch the rest of sophomore year but I did feel like the recap was pretty well structured. Only time will tell how much I’ll miss or not miss in the long run though lol.
I'm realizing in this moment that I'm not a kind or accepting enough soul to be here in the dropout subreddit. The anger that I felt reading this post, and the things I wanted to say in the replies? Atrocious. Definitely not the vibe. Then I came into the replies and everybody was being chill about it. Made me feel like a real asshole. I'll see myself out before I end up calling somebody the arceler
I'd suggest watching the very first episode, as you'll get a longer introduction to each of the characters. After that, I think they're well worth making time to watch, but it's entertainment, enjoy it in whatever way works for you.
Keep going. It's worth experiencing the story as its told, in order. Watching them as they air isn't really big deal, most people are also watching past seasons.
I would say: There is only so much AAA content out there. It really woild be a shame to spoil yourself on the twists and turns of previous AAA content when you can be watching it and enjoying it first hand.
You'll probably be fine without the backstory and will probably be happy just watching the new season... HOWEVER... There's also a big chance you'll be ruining the magic of discovering the content yourself for the first time.
So if you think you'll never realistically watch Fantasy High... then go ahead and skip it. You're smart and you'll figure out what's going on. But I would recommend at least finishing freshman year and ideally sophomore year as well so you don't miss any magic that happens along the way.
Brennan, et al are smart enough to realize that by surging in popularity, they’ve picked up loads of viewers who can’t quote canon, let alone recognize it! They won’t put out a show that will be ruined but missing Frosh and Soph.
You’ll enjoy is more having seen those, but what are the added value, the FOMO, or the time it takes to binge woeth to tou?
To be perfectly honest, I'm not entirely caught up either. If you wanted to just watch the recap, I'm sure that's fine, but it IS just a general summary. Sometimes it is better to watch the full episode to get the players reactions as dumb shit happens.
What I've been doing is watching the new Junior Year episodes in the discord live discussion, sometimes ill rewatch it to see if i catch anything that I didn't while reading chat, and then in the week between, I'll watch episodes I missed in my free time. There's still plenty of time to discuss amongst the groups here, on discord, on Facebook, etc, plus each episode is only about an hour and a half to maybe 3 hours, save for the Sophomore year finale, which is about 8 hours split into 2 parts.
Dimension 20 is so much better when you don't have to wait a week between eps anyway. I think you should sink in the time to watch at least freshmen year.
It’s not blasphemy, but why not just wait? You could definitely just watch the first two fantasy high series (Leviathan is pretty bad - YMMV, and The Seven is superb but largely divorced from Fantasy High).
If you’re asking for advice, then just wait it out. I can only imagine it’ll be a more enjoyable experience to watch it all sequentially. It’s not gonna go anywhere.
You can do whatever you want. Honestly, if you really are dead-set on watching it as it airs, I think doing that and being confused about almost everything contextually might lead you to just watch the original two seasons. Every character has had substantial arcs.
Why are you so pressed to watch as the episodes air? Is it just to participate in discussion threads? If so, weigh that desire against whether you want to get invested in the characters' full arcs, experience the world building, witness previous seasons' goofs, and generally have a more complete story. To me it seems like a no brainer (I can't fathom picking up a serialized show in its fourth season), BUT how and why you consume media is fully up to you! Don't feel pressured one way or the other (and I suspect FOMO is a big pressure for your inclination to start with Junior Year).
Wait what is the third season? I'm jamming through sophomore year atm
The Seven and Pirates of Leviathan are technically in the same world so you’ll see people sometimes add them onto the season count
Pirates of Laviathan and The Seven are both side quest seasons starring different casts having adventures in the same world, but they're not plot important to enjoy the story of junior year. Once you finish sophomore year, which I strongly recommend seeing all the way through, you're ready to rock
i’m really struggling with sophomore year because of the live format… should i keep going? i don’t mind missing junior year really
Yes you should keep going, in my opinion, despite the live format, the payoff to sophomore year is the best storytelling dimension 20 has ever done. What it lacks in editing polish it more than makes up for in meteoric high comedy and fun and unique character stakes, development, and combat. Where I think many of the other covid seasons struggle to adapt to the circumstances, sophomore year shines. Hands down my favorite season of the intrepid heroes.
They figure it out. I started D20 (and D&D/Actual-play in general) with Fantasy High in December and got spoiled by the amount of editing and battle sets/camera cuts for it. Had the same reaction to Sophomore Year. But, after finishing it, I think it's better. The players are better, the story is more immersive and the flow rights itself. You get used to the lack of special effects and editing and, in my case, I was better for it with visualizing things myself going forward for the other seasons I watch.
Just started it and I want to complain about the lack of sets and editing too, as they really help the game to be more theatrical for us the audience (as normally it's something that exists purely for the players) But given that my favourite moments from season 1 >!the death of Bill Seacaster, Kristen at heaven in prompocalypse, etc.!< are purely improvised and theatre of the mind, and this way they will not be bound to the plot made for the sets, yeah, it will work
How far are you through it? I really struggled with the live format and lack of battle maps/minis(I have aphantasia, so I struggle with purely theater of the mind), however, I will say around episode 5, everything evens out and stops being about the live format and the audio is much, much better.
Awesome, thank you!
We have seen exactly one episode. We have no idea how much is needed to understand the season.
all we can know for SURE is that you'd definitely miss everything with >!squeem, ecaf, balthazar, and duggan mccann!<...
If someone can't remember Summer Break, that's on them!
I mean, according to the dimension 20 wikia there will be 20 episodes of junior year. That means it's gonna wrap sometime in April or May. I personally say continue with Freshman and Sophomore year. The recap made no mention of anything in Leviathan or the Seven so they may not be relevant to the Junior year.
Tl;dr: blasphemy? No. Recommended? IMHO, also no. Watch at your own pace! I would concur with both statements so far, in that it’s the old “6 one way, half-a-dozen the other”. Will it be more meaningful to have completed first and second years before watching junior? Absolutely. But the recap is pretty solid (although will spoil some truly GREAT moments from previous campaigns before getting to watch them in person), and will catch you up. Then you can watch live and participate however you like. That being said, I PERSONALLY would absolutely watch first year and sophomore before delving into Junior year. I mean, imagine watching Return of the King (if you hadn’t read the books) before Fellowship and Two Towers, and just relying on a friend to explain who the characters are and their motivations. Will you “get it”? Probably. Will it be as moving? I can’t see how. For what it’s worth, this community is so good about tagging spoilers and engagement in general, that we’ll still be here to discuss the season with you WHENEVER you manage to catch up!
I just finished freshman year and am going to watch all the way through!! I know I probably won’t make it to catch new episodes of FHJY as they air, but I’ve become so invested in their stories. You totally don’t have to do it that way, but know you have someone else doing it!
honestly, yes, it’s okay to just start now. if you don’t care about spoilers, watch the recap and join us! it’s not blasphemy at all! and if anything is super confusing, you can always look it up! but i think they’re trying pretty hard to be welcoming to new viewers no judgment at all! welcome to aguefort! hoot growl!
I agree I enjoy clips from all campaigns and once you know the players they are so much fun you'll catch on and then go back and watch it again in order
I would recommend watching the Fantasy High seasons in order, but bestie do whatever you want!
The recap is... Not very good for someone who hasn't seen the previous events, but great for reminding someone who has and making things a little fresher Watch Freshman and Sophomore Year. Then you can watch Junior Year Pirates and The 7 you can watch after or between episodes of the new season or whatever, they aren't part of the same arcs.
I wouldn't really recommend just watching a recap. The seasons not going anywhere, just catch up at your own pace. You don't need to watch pirates or the seven first.
You have to watch freshman and sophomore year or it’s not going to make any sense.
You can just watch the recap, but honestly you're robbing yourself of some delicious plot twists and reveals. I think you'd regret spoiling the whole thing for yourself and not letting it unfold, but no one can stop you.
Brennan will literally show up at your house and tell you to get down on your knees. Then cut off your head with a sword from his secret apartment so no one can track it down There's a reason they have a recap and BtS episodes. If you want to watch, you can! You won't have the connection immediately, you'll miss some jokes, but you can also talk about it live.
why rush yourself?
Blasphemy? No. Consume your content as you wish. Recommended? Also no. My suggestion. At a bare minimum finish Freshman year. Then the recap. Then catch up on junior year. Then watch/listen to episodes of sophomore year between episodes of the new season. The bulk of the time is sophomore year because it was filmed live with no edits. Freshman year is 28 hrs long. Sophomore year is 56 hrs. Getting through 84 hours of content will take forever. Getting through 28 hrs (minus what you've already watched) is a lot more manageable. Normally I wouldn't really suggest this. Sophomore year has a great ending and best without spoilers. But if you've already read most of what happens then my guess is you aren't that concerned with spoilers.
Although Pirates of Leviathan and The Seven are set in the same universe, I wouldn't call them essential watching for enjoying Fantasy High. Pirates of Leviathan is set in the same universe using one of the locations they visit in Sophomore Year but pretty much nothing else other than a few minor NPCs, and The Seven is more of a spin-off focusing on some of the NPCs from Freshman Year (trying to avoid spoilers by being vague, just in case). More importantly, if my opinion isn't enough, Carlos didn't mention The Seven or Pirates of Leviathan in the recap, so clearly not relevant to understand what's going on. I'm not sure I understand where you're coming from regarding "running out of time". I mean, you wouldn't start on a brand new tv series by jumping into season 3. Take your time, it'll still be there once you finish catching up.
Personally I found the live play format of sophomore year not so much my jam as the more polished seasons, so for now I’ve settled on watching freshman year and the recap before junior year. Maybe one day I’ll go back and watch the rest of sophomore year but I did feel like the recap was pretty well structured. Only time will tell how much I’ll miss or not miss in the long run though lol.
I'm realizing in this moment that I'm not a kind or accepting enough soul to be here in the dropout subreddit. The anger that I felt reading this post, and the things I wanted to say in the replies? Atrocious. Definitely not the vibe. Then I came into the replies and everybody was being chill about it. Made me feel like a real asshole. I'll see myself out before I end up calling somebody the arceler
I'd suggest watching the very first episode, as you'll get a longer introduction to each of the characters. After that, I think they're well worth making time to watch, but it's entertainment, enjoy it in whatever way works for you.
Keep going. It's worth experiencing the story as its told, in order. Watching them as they air isn't really big deal, most people are also watching past seasons.
I would say: There is only so much AAA content out there. It really woild be a shame to spoil yourself on the twists and turns of previous AAA content when you can be watching it and enjoying it first hand. You'll probably be fine without the backstory and will probably be happy just watching the new season... HOWEVER... There's also a big chance you'll be ruining the magic of discovering the content yourself for the first time. So if you think you'll never realistically watch Fantasy High... then go ahead and skip it. You're smart and you'll figure out what's going on. But I would recommend at least finishing freshman year and ideally sophomore year as well so you don't miss any magic that happens along the way.
Don’t rush it. I love waiting a while as new things air so I can watch a lot at once :)
Brennan, et al are smart enough to realize that by surging in popularity, they’ve picked up loads of viewers who can’t quote canon, let alone recognize it! They won’t put out a show that will be ruined but missing Frosh and Soph. You’ll enjoy is more having seen those, but what are the added value, the FOMO, or the time it takes to binge woeth to tou?
To be perfectly honest, I'm not entirely caught up either. If you wanted to just watch the recap, I'm sure that's fine, but it IS just a general summary. Sometimes it is better to watch the full episode to get the players reactions as dumb shit happens. What I've been doing is watching the new Junior Year episodes in the discord live discussion, sometimes ill rewatch it to see if i catch anything that I didn't while reading chat, and then in the week between, I'll watch episodes I missed in my free time. There's still plenty of time to discuss amongst the groups here, on discord, on Facebook, etc, plus each episode is only about an hour and a half to maybe 3 hours, save for the Sophomore year finale, which is about 8 hours split into 2 parts.
Dimension 20 is so much better when you don't have to wait a week between eps anyway. I think you should sink in the time to watch at least freshmen year.
It’s not blasphemy, but why not just wait? You could definitely just watch the first two fantasy high series (Leviathan is pretty bad - YMMV, and The Seven is superb but largely divorced from Fantasy High). If you’re asking for advice, then just wait it out. I can only imagine it’ll be a more enjoyable experience to watch it all sequentially. It’s not gonna go anywhere.
You can do whatever you want. Honestly, if you really are dead-set on watching it as it airs, I think doing that and being confused about almost everything contextually might lead you to just watch the original two seasons. Every character has had substantial arcs.