Welcome to the Battle for Beyond: The contest that resides at the end of time, where whole civilizations come crumbling into the infinite sea of time, and the glint of gold holds no value. Warriors, witches, and wisemen come here, traversing dizzying distances and ignoring the limitations of their own planes to come here and prove their worth in the most clandestine of contests.

The rules are as murky as the dark sky surrounding Polakott, the realm that hosts the contest. But the prize is worth risking everything for: The chance to change one thing from your past, to turn back one page in the book of your life — in the book of time — and rewrite it anew. The strongest men carrying burdens so large still balk at the thought of regret, the heaviest burden of them all. For truly, nothing can haunt a person’s footsteps worse than the ghosts of the past. It seduces us with what could have been, of who we could have been …

—Jasmine Bhullar, Dungeon Master
 

Battle for Beyond episode 1 recap

The first episode of Battle for Beyond introduces Lenore Ysmenia Alyon, a human cleric of the Life domain, played by Emma Fyffe; Leila, a variant aasimar warlock of the Great Old One (level 2) and cleric of the Order domain (level 4), played by Erika Ishii; and Ekon Okobi, a human wizard of the School of Evocation, played by Ify Nwadiwe.

Coming together

Ekon, an older, battle-scarred but fit gentleman, and Lenore, a young, ornately dressed woman with a sweet but vacant expression, find themselves transported to Polakott by artifacts they possess. For Ekon, that is the Void Staff, a weapon capable of directly capturing evil. For Lenore, it's a white scaled glove with claw-like fingertips. Sarenda, an armored tiefling and self-proclaimed master archer, proposes that she, Ekon, and Lenore team up.

Leila stands nearby folding towels and claims to not be part of the contest, but that it is a privilege to serve the competition every year under the Master of Ceremonies. When Ekon counters that Leila might be conditioned into believing that she doesn’t deserve to endure the contest, Leila is flattered that someone cares.

Sarenda gets ushered into a solo trial. As the trio notices the distant sounds of battle, a mutton-chopped goblin approaches. He introduces himself to the newcomers as Olin Munn, armorer and equipment inspector, and begins to appraise and outfit Lenore. Ekon continues to press Leila into controlling her destiny: “You are mere inches from deciding your fate!” Lenore tells Leila that everyone has done or experienced something they wish they could change, but becomes uncomfortable when Leila questions what Lenore has done. Olin impresses another opinion on the group: That the only way to be truly immortal is to be remembered.

Olin points out one of their competitors: A mean-looking warrior wearing a baby face mask. The eyeholes of the mask appear as empty black voids. Through a window in the armory, they see Sarenda facing off against a loxodon warrior, Sarahbell. Sarenda is soundly defeated, and Ekon expresses his gratitude that Sarenda wasn’t on their team. Olin tells Leila it’s her turn to join the team and compete.

An interview with the press

A dwarf by the name of Harpy Goldendale interviews the next contestants, pressing Ekon for comment about his fans calling him Wizard Daddy. He feels that the nickname is out of place, as he has never had children. But he is glad that his name is on people’s tongues. Harpy mentions that Leila is also a fan favorite, and subtly digs at Lenore’s level of fame. She queries the group on their feelings about facing The Line. Leila is confident that as a team, they will emerge victorious.

Olin returns to the group as they watch Sarenda carried past on a stretcher, remarking on how their trio seems to have embraced the power of friendship. He fusses over Leila before the group is heralded onto the battlefield.

Crossing The Line

As the team approaches the battlefield through a dim tunnel, they notice a dense, lush forest ahead of them. Harpy announces the group to an applauding crowd and heralds their opponent, The Line. He wears a baby-faced mask and laughs at them. “You’re in my house now, kids,” he says before taking off into the foliage.

Ekon casts mage armor on himself, bringing his AC up to 12. Lenore and Leila take Ekon’s lead, casting bless and aid on the group, respectively.

The Line reappears, perching on a branch above their heads and sweeping a flamethrower (burning hands) over the trio. Ekon counters with fire bolt, hitting only thanks to Lenore’s bless. The Line laughs in response, lobbing a small hissing canister at Ekon’s feet. Lenore casts spirit guardians, which delights Leila.

Leila hits The Line with guiding bolt; pure white light streaks down on him, and he is encased in a halo of glittering white light. He retaliates with an explosive capsule full of dust, but Leila retains her vision through the effect. The Line hits Lenore with a thrown knife, and she begins to feel as though she’s been drugged.

The hissing canister erupts smoke, obscuring everyone’s vision. As Ekon darts out of the affected area, casting Adaine’s furious fist (a spell created by Brennan Lee Mulligan for Dimension 20 LIVE), he falls into a spiked pit. Lenore tries to rescue Ekon but falls on top of him instead. As Leila emerges from the smoke, Ekon advises that she not attempt the same.

Leila invokes the name of the Master of Ceremonies, casting arms of Hadar, which enwraps The Line in darkly colored tendrils of light. Infuriated, he shoots a bola at Leila, who retaliates with hellish rebuke. Ekon helps Lenore out of the pit, and she casts motivational speech. Leila wriggles out of the bola, watching as The Line comes to wait over the pit. Ekon emerges before being pinned to the ground by knives.

Lenore approaches The Line, engulfing him in her spirit guardians while also casting spiritual weapon. Her conjured bird-shaped weapon knocks off his facemask, revealing a dark void, and causing Lenore to relive a moment from her past: A young blonde girl, about 8 years old, stands within a nursery, inside a nice house. She looks at a baby in a cradle, before slowly picking up a pillow from within the crib. Lenore snaps back to the present, seeing the baby’s face in what was once a void, and runs away frightened.

Leila successfully aims an eldritch blast at the metallic pack shouldered by The Line, which explodes and engulfs him in flames. With his last remaining fuel, The Line sprays Lenore and Leila with another cone of flame. Ekon taps The Line on the shoulder and says, “I’m tired of waiting." Ekon hits The Line with his still-shimmering fist and knocks him unconscious.

As the crowd erupts, the group sees within the announcer’s box a mysterious robed figure with piercing purple eyes. Harpy goes wild, transporting instantly to the battlefield and raising the heroes’ arms in victory.

Battle for Beyond episode 2 recap

The second episode introduces Sestia, a half-elf druid of the Circle of Stars, played by Aabria Iyengar; Nikhil, a variant tiefling Oathbreaker paladin (level 5) and Hexblade warlock (level 1), played by Brennan Lee Mulligan; and Murdina Macanroy, a triton Battle Master fighter, played by Josephine McAdam.

New best spuds

Two new heroes disembark a railcar after a long journey. A shapely half-orc porter by the name of Kyshaar takes immediate notice of Murdina, a tall, blue-skinned figure with an unkempt mane of red hair and golden scales on her arms. She is adorned with shells, pearls, a fishnet skirt, and her clan sash. Kyshaar also bumps into Sestia, who is tall, wears an oversized blue sweater, has constellations painted on her face, and conspicuously mutters to herself in Druidic. Murdina and Sestia introduce themselves.

Kyshaar informs the two passengers that she’ll take care of their luggage and that they will be on a team for the first round of the upcoming competition. As they’re led to their quarters from the station, the cosmos is laid bare above them, engrossing Sestia. Kyshaar further explains in broken Common that Sestia and Murdina were supposed to be part of “Team Girl Squad,” but that the third member — a loxodon by the name of Sarahbell — was thoroughly intoxicated. They’d have a replacement member but should be warned that he is horrible, and a “lecherous buffoon man.”

In the kitchens below, a beautiful male tiefling sits peeling potatoes (or rather, absolutely butchering them with mage hand). Nikhil, who “clearly got an extra scoop” of the tieflings’ demonic heritage, has black feathery wings, hooves, horns, a tail, tusks, and glowing red eyes. His sister, Malini, approaches, laughing both at his poor performance in peeling the vegetables and at his poor diet overall.

He disagrees. “I’m an incredible warrior! And they got me in the basement, peeling potatoes. Why? Because people say I’m not good to be around?”

Malini bears good news: There is finally space for Nikhil to fight in the competition, but he must enter as part of a group. Without hesitation, he summons to his hand a golden lance, clearly the one thing he cares about. He’s ready. Nikhil and Malini commiserate over all of the “outsiders” of the multiverse who screw up their lives and come to compete in the contest held in their home realm; a local like Nikhil should be the one to win it. Malini tells her brother that she’s already put some of their machinations in motion. For one, she spiked Sarahbell’s drink. With a heartfelt hug, Malini reminds Nikhil to wait until after the competition to slit his teammates’ throats.

Meeting Murdina and Sestia in their quarters above, Nikhil extends a pleasant greeting, while it appears that Nikhil and Kyshaar have an unpleasant history together. Nikhil welcomes the newcomers to Polakott, before Kyshaar confronts Nikhil over their history: “You just had to care for my fish for one week!” He didn’t know that she meant every day that week. Nikhil also replaced the water in the fish tank with beer.

Meeting Olin, the outfitter

The trio is led to the armory and introduced to Olin. Nikhil reveals that he is a local and hasn’t competed in the competition before because services for locals are lacking. Olin agrees.

Olin asks Sestia and Murdina if they have an item that brought them here. Sestia realizes that her star shard amulet — a piece of quartz that appears to contain liquid cosmos — must have been the key. Murdina mentions her breastplate, the fabled armor of the Deep One, given to her by a passing sailor. Olin questions the capability of Sestia’s armor. But then Sestia concentrates and jagged crystalline armor emerges from her sweater.

After Nikhil fakes an apology to Olin for his rudeness, Olin tells him he’s perfect the way he is and offers to supply him with plate armor. Nikhil displays genuine emotion and gives Olin a heartfelt apology. Olin hopes a local wins the competition and brings Nikhil +1 plate armor, clearly forged with great love and care. Murdina asks whether Olin can improve her sword in any way. He declines, saying, “It’s very special already.”

(At the break, Nikhil’s +1 plate armor is swapped for +1 half plate, as he didn’t meet the Strength requirement to don plate armor without penalty.)

Hello, bees!

As the team approaches the sunny battlefield at the end of the tunnel, Sestia activates her Starry Form, muttering the word “weal.” They emerge onto a grassy battlefield, which is almost entirely shaded in the looming foliage of an immense, waxy, purple-leafed tree.

Harpy asks Nikhil for a word from “one of our own.” Nikhil enthusiastically introduces Sestia to the ecstatic crowd, while Harpy encourages the onlookers to buy Sestia-themed merch; Nikhil tells Sestia she’ll never see any of that profit. After Murdina panders to the crowd, Harpy introduces their challenger, The Swarm, a hivemind of devil hornets that form a giant face. Though beloved amongst the locals, Nikhil is not a fan.

Brennan to Jasmine: “For me to clear, does my whole team have to clear?”

Jasmine: “No.”

Nikhil tells Sestia and Murdina that as a winning strategy, the two should bunch together. Sestia recognizes this deceit and threatens Nikhil: “We win together.” Nikhil, mad that the crowd likes The Swarm, places Hexblade’s Curse on it while attacking with his lance in flight. Sestia uses her Cosmic Omen to turn his near-miss into a hit. Nikhil adds a Divine Smite, and The Swarm splits into two. Murdina rushes forward with her claymore, cutting through one swarm, which retaliates in the form of a buzzing acoustic cone.

The Swarm beats its wings in unison, creating a wall of wind that pushes Sestia and Nikhil back against the wall of the arena. Sestia fails to determine whether there is a “decision-maker” in the swarm and instead casts call lightning. (Aabria asks whether the nebulae overhead counts as a storm. It does, so she gets extra damage.) The swarm she hits splits.

Murdina is assaulted and poisoned by the stings of The Swarm. She gets the sense that if she were stung again, it might cause her to be paralyzed. Nikhil bursts forward, critically hitting the swarm harassing Murdina, utterly obliterating it. The crowd begins chanting, “Nikhil, kill it! Nikhil, kill it!”

The Swarm retreats into the mouth of a face that appears on the enormous tree, which pleads with the team to not harm any more of its hornets, yielding the match. Harpy appears, shaming the tree. She then informs the masses that they will have Nikhil-branded foam lances in the gift shop.

Sestia thanks Nikhil by casting cure wounds. “My wounds, you stole them! … Did you just heal me?” Sestia thought they were friends, which moves Nikhil to tears. No one’s ever done for him what she did.

Malini is waiting impatiently for Nikhil. “I’m sure your friends are lovely, but… your loyalty should be to your family.” She presses a vial of hornet venom into his hand. “Just in case.”

Tune into Battle for Beyond

Battle for Beyond airs every Friday at 4 p.m. PST on our YouTube channel. The mini-series will air for six consecutive weeks from its premiere on Friday, November 12.

Check out the Battle for Beyond Digital Dice Sets

Flex your fandom with Battle for Beyond Digital Dice Sets! Each set is inspired by a different character from Battle for Beyond. Show off your favorite hero or roll like one. The set is available for purchase in the marketplace now!

Cameron (@CameronRPowell) is a Discord moderator for D&D Beyond. He is a real-life bard who accidentally dumped Charisma, and has played Purloque the loxodon cleric on Dice, Camera, Action!. When he’s not behind the DM’s screen, he enjoys hiking Icelandic volcanoes, knitting, and creating his hundredth unused character on D&D Beyond.

Art by Noe Leyva.