The HoVG Battle Arena welcomed eight Adventuring Parties and two solo heroes from across the Multiverse™ to the second Battle Royale of the Spring season. Notwithstanding a few unexpected twists and turns, the struggle of wits and will was fiercely contested as four teams battled neck and neck (and neck and neck) through three-and-a-half quarters of action before losing their focus…

The Battle got off to a fast and furious start as SASEZ – the defending champs from BR-1 – along with That time I got reincarnated as Peruna, The Ballers, Team Noble, and the newcomers Palmer’s Protectors of Key Terms each earned perfect scores (and “High Five” Achievements) in the opening round! Round 2 saw the defending champs edge their way into the front of the pack with a second perfect score (and High Five) thanks to being the only combatants who remembered Mattel’s Electronic Football… Despite the Party’s impressive display, SASEZ couldn’t quite break free. As the First Quarter of action came to close the champs held on to a narrow lead with Peruna, The Ballers, and Palmer’s Protectors keeping pace – followed by Noble Team and the rest of the field further behind.

The start of the Second Quarter saw Palmer’s Protectors make their move with a second perfect score in Round Four! However, just as the newcomers appeared to be hitting their stride – confusion and bedlam befell the gathering as Marley, the Multiverse’s wayward Ganja Lizard, made a surprise entrance into the Arena! After the Wacky Weed Worm disgorged a dank cloud of Purple Haze, Palmer’s Protectors – along with SASEZ, Team Vanilla Oreo, Noble Team and wayward hero Oscar Birmingham – failed their saving throws and lost their composure. Seduced by the Sticky Sweet Serpent’s Smoky Goodness, the thoroughly buzzed battlers all chilled for Round Five. Then, just as the fog began to rise, Remember, no Russian! launched a surprise attack for the second Battle in a row – targeting Palmer’s Protector’s with their Magic Eraser. The Protectors, however, proved true to their moniker; they deployed a recently crafted Piper’s Pan Flute to deflect the assault toward SASEZ immobilizing the champs for most of the next round. Peruna made the most of their opponents’ momentary lapses of reason and infighting to vault into a narrow lead over Palmer’s Protectors, followed closely by SASEZ and The Ballers, with Remember, no Russian! and Team Noble a bit further back.

The next three rounds proved to be a replay of the first three as combatants regained their senses and racked up solid point totals. While almost every Adventuring Party performed well during this phase, SASEZ led the way with perfect scores in Rounds 7 and 9 while Palmer’s Protectors, Peruna, and The Ballers each secured an additional one of their own. As the Third Quarter came to an end, SASEZ held a narrow lead over Peruna and Palmer’ Protectors -followed by Team Noble and Remember, no Russian!

Just as the closely fought Battle appeared to be reaching a thrilling conclusion everything went off the rails!

At the end of Round 10 a group of Smelly Hippies set-up camp in a corner of the Arena and began playing cool jams to the delight of absolutely no one. For reasons that should forever remain unspoken, Remember, no Russian! was the first Party to succumb to the siren song of endless rhythm guitar loops backed by an electric organ and muted percussion instruments. The Party accepted an invitation from the Day Trippers to join their musical stinkfest. Soon thereafter, one Adventuring Party after another followed in the footsteps of Remember, no Russian! As the bands of once stalwart warriors drifted away from the fight to jam the time away in the name of solidarity and the current thing, only TTP and Birmingham remained in the fight. Despite their presence of mind, however, neither was able to make the much of the opportunity presented to them in the final two rounds.

The defending champs, SASEZ, led the way with top raw score with That time I got reincarnated as Peruna coming in second by only ten points (i.e. one less correct answer). In the end, however, the First-Place crown in Battle Royale-2 went to Palmer’s Protectors of Key Terms who laid claim to the win thanks to the bonus points they earned from securing multiple Achievements (including the lone “This Bud’s for you”). Ironically, victory was sealed by Remember, no Russian!’s ill-fated decision to attack Palmer’s Protectors with a Magic Eraser at the start of Round Six. By successfully deflecting the assault with their Piper’s Pan Flute, the crafty Protectors unlocked the D-Fence Achievement – worth whopping 100 CAPS – while also erasing an almost certain thirty (30) points from SASEZ’s final score.

 

1st Place: Palmer’s Protectors of Key Terms 540 [“Eye of the Tiger” Achievement]

2nd Place: SASEZ 470 [“Last Loser” Achievement]

3rd Place: That time I got reincarnated as Peruna 435 [“Third Wheel” Achievement]

 

FINAL RESULTS:

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