[theme song plays]
♪ One, two, One-two-three-four ♪
[vocalizing]
[chicken clucks]
So, Kiki, Remy didn't tell you what this is about either?
Nah. He just sent this raven with an invitation that says,
"Arrive at nightfall with naught
but your adventuring spirit."
- [both] Same. - [all gasp]
- [crows caw] - Master Remy is expecting you.
Follow me.
[all] Ooh!
[Remy] Welcome, travelers...
To the world of...
- [clears throat] Vasquez? - [chair squeaks]
Mages and Mazes!
- [all] Wow! - I don't know what that is.
- I'm confused. - You guys!
It's Mages and Mazes!
It's a fantasy game where you create the adventure together!
Very astute, Kiki!
Mages and Mazes isn't your typical board game.
I dunno... Paper, tiny numbers...
This game seems complicated, Remy.
Yeah, are there a bunch of rules?
Leave the rules to me. I, your Mage Master,
will lead you through a magical fantasy world
of my own creation.
We'll have fun, trust me! Sound good?
- [all] Yeah! - Where do we start?
First, you gotta create your heroes.
I wanna be Bufflegs McSwole!
He's a fearsome fighter that can take out hordes of enemies
by kicking them in the shins!
- Huh? - [jabbering]
Eeh, kyah! Kyah! Kyah!
Ah!
Heh.
This is my hero, Diamondbow The Dazzler.
She's a beautiful elf ranger with plus-ten dexterity,
who can take out an army of skyborne apes
with a single arrow!
[screeching] Ah!
Ooh! What do you think of my character?
Schmalfo! He's a wizard that knows every single spell
but chooses only to use the one that turns him into a cat.
Schmalfo!
- I love him. - Oh, thank goodness!
Excellent! Now, we can jump right into the adventure!
[clears throat] Our story begins
in the bustling hamlet of Big Village.
[all] Ooh!
[Remy] So, heroes, what do you do first?
- What can we do? - [Remy] Anything you want!
Are there any rocks around?
- Let me check. - [rolls dice]
There are seven rocks.
Nice! I'm gonna kick this rock!
Wait! First, you'll have to roll this dice.
It'll help me decide how well you do.
Oh, okay. Here we go!
All right, a two!
So, what does that mean? Like, two miles?
Well, not exactly.
Unh! What?!
Them's the rules, Cricket. [gulps]
The dice decide if we succeed or fail miserably.
[groans] Well, I kick it again!
How about I move us along so we don't get sidetracked.
Off in the distance, your party spots a grizzled old warrior
whose heart is laden with secrets.
But he doesn't seem to be in a talking mood.
[zips]
Ooh, mysterious!
I roll a persuasion check
to see if I can get him to talk.
[rattles]
[gasps] A perfect twenty!
The highest roll an adventurer can achieve!
The old warrior spills his guts!
I wet my pantaloons 'til I was nine.
I just wear this eyepatch to look cool.
And directly to the North of here lies a cave,
inhabited by a fearsome, treasure hoarding dragon.
Oh! We go to the cave to see the dragon!
Wait, what?
[all] Ooh!
[Remy] Whoa, slow down, guys!
I love the enthusiasm, but the old warrior
wasn't finished talking.
[all] Huh?
[all] Aww.
[clears throat] As I was saying,
You'd be a fool to venture into that cave
without first exploring the Mystical Forest.
So, where shall you venture?
We go back to the cave!
[all] Yeah!
[sighs]
[Remy] After a short journey, you arrive, once more,
at the mouth of the dragon's cavern.
- How do you proceed? - I charge in!
Would you like to check for traps before entering?
What? Traps?! Who'd put traps in a cave?
- I charge in! - Okay...
Bufflegs charges into the cavern,
oblivious to the bucket of bees falling from the ceiling.
- [buzzing] - [Bufflegs] Aah!
Why would this be here?!
- I tried to warn you. - [Cricket groans]
I'll roll to look for traps.
I'm there for moral support.
Eighteen!
Ooh, nice roll!
You don't see any traps.
[both] Ah!
A pit?! I should've seen that!
Sorry, according to the rules,
you needed a nineteen to see that trap.
- What?! - Argh!
These rules are way too strict!
Trust your Maze Master.
I know things seem challenging now,
but you'll be having a blast by the end, you'll see!
Okay, I fish my friends out of the pit and we keep moving.
Let the dungeon crawl continue!
A muck monster approaches your party. What do you do?
I kick it in the shins!
[Remy] Muck Monster is immune to physical attacks.
- How is that fair? Ow! - [roars]
[Remy] You approach a large chasm.
with no way to go around.
I turn into a kitty cat and I leap across!
All right, roll and see if you make it.
- [rattles] - Uh, fifteen?
[sucks in breath] Ooh!
You'd need a sixteen to make it across.
- [Schmalfo] Meow, no! - Really?!
[Remy] A mysterious demon-o-lock covers the door.
How do you proceed?
I use the demon-o-key we found earlier!
[Remy] Excellent work, but unfortunately,
you don't have a key for the secondary lock.
Ugh, Remy!
This is pointless, I kick the door!
- [snarls, chomps] - Aah!
- Something wrong, Cricket? - Yeah, bruh!
This maze is busted!
It's our first game and you're not cutting us any slack.
Can I come out of the chasm, yet?
The rules say you cannot.
I can't take it much longer!
If I don't get to kick someone in the shins,
I'm gonna lose my mind!
Okay, okay, let me skip ahead to something more exciting.
And so, after countless hours of exploration,
you find your way to a cavern filled with treasures.
At the center of the cave,
nestled atop a massive pile of riches,
you see a giant gem of glittering green.
Oh, it's just sittin' right there, huh?
What's the catch?
[Remy] Not so fast, tiny intruders!
For you have entered the realm
of Remulox the Mighty!
All right! This is startin' to get good!
[Remy] If you want this emerald,
then you have no choice but to...
Finally, a fight!
- Roll to solve my riddle! - Huh?
What do you call cheese that isn't yours?
Oof! Hey! What are you doing down there?
I'm sick of all these rules! I'm goin' rogue!
I kick the dragon in the shins!
Hey, you have to roll for that!
I'm tired of the confines of this world!
Ow! What the heck, Kiki?
I am also mad because there
hasn't been enough cat stuff to do!
Gah! Yah! Ha!
Hey! Stop that! Ow!
You said we'd have fun in this game!
You lied, Remy! You lied!
You guys are the ones not playing it right!
If you don't wanna play by the rules,
then just play without me!
[panting]
Where to Master Remy?
The Fortress of Despair!
- Your bedroom, it is. - [slams]
So, is the game over?
Nope! With Remy gone,
we can finally do whatever we want.
No dice, no rules.
With the dragon gone, our heroes easily
claim the emerald as their own!
- All right! - Whoo-hoo!
[Cricket] Just then, a whole army of lizard men show up!
[hisses]
I take 'em all out with one hit!
Aah!
[Cricket] And get buffer, as a result!
[Kiki] Diamondbow gains magical powers!
[lizard screams]
[Kiki] And usurps the Lizard King's throne!
And I transform into a kitty cat!
Nice work, everyone! We did it!
- Meow what? - I don't know.
We did everything we wanted to do.
Oh! Remy's got a bunch of notes back here.
Maybe he's got another adventure.
Wow, he's got tons of ideas!
He did this all himself?
[gasps] Bufflegs has a long lost brother?!
Buffarms?! We weren't supposed to find that out
for another twelve sessions!
Gee, he really worked hard on all this.
Yeah. This got boring real fast without Remy.
- [groans] - What's wrong?
Too many snacks?
[Cricket] No, it's just the guilt.
- Hmm. - Wait!
I know what we have to do.
We're goin' on one more adventure...
To get our Maze Master back!
The Remy way!
A staircase leading to the unknown.
I roll to see how many steps I can take.
All right, fifteen!
Schmalfo's turn.
Seventeen! Meow! Meow!
Come on, Bufflegs!
One?! Urgh!
One. Urgh!
One. Hmph!
One. One. One!
- Gah! What is it? - Eighteen.
Oh, now I get the eighteen! Urgh, let's go.
A dark hallway of doors and treasures.
It's hard to see down there. Diamondbow!
Right! [makes zooming noise]
The Maze Master's lair is right up ahead!
Now, let's roll!
[effort grunts]
[all gasp]
Master Remy said no visitors.
Oh, yeah? Then, I guess we'll just have to roll for...
- Persuasion! - Hah!
Three perfect twenties?! I. Am. Defeated!
[moaning] [slurps, smacks lips]
- [Cricket] Maze Master! - Cricket?
We are here to return you to your throne!
Aah! Wh-wh-wha?!
The maze is no fun without your expert guidance.
Also, we miss you.
I thought you didn't wanna play my way.
We played your way all the way here and it was awesome!
Except for when I kept rolling ones.
But the challenge is what made the victory so much more sweet!
Look, Remy, while the game does need
your well thought-out world and weirdly specific rules,
it also needs to be flexible for the players to have fun.
The game needs everybody to work.
We all control the story, together.
Huh. I guess I never considered
how strict of a Maze Master I was being.
Whaddaya say we finish up that maze?
I'm in!
Now, let's show that dragon who's boss, together!
So, puny mortals! You cannot fight me
until you answer my riddle.
What do you call cheese that isn't yours?
[all] Nacho cheese!
Urgh! You figured it out!
Now, let's finish this, once and for all!
- Huh? - Here comes Schmalfo!
- Hachahachahacha! - Aah!
- Hyah! - [clangs]
- [crashing] - Whoa-whoa-whoa!
Your attacks have weakened me,
leaving my shins completely exposed.
[gasps] Remy!
Shin kick!
Aah!
[Remy] You obtain the emerald!
What will you do with such a magnificent treasure?
I'ma smash it.
Smash it? But the rules say...
Well, actually,
Bufflegs, Diamondbow and Schmalfo
decide to break the emerald,
but know not the risk of doing so...
[Cricket, Tilly, Kiki] Ooh!
Schmalfo, Schmalfo! That's the end!