Dimension 20 is a tabletop role-playing game show produced by Dropout, and generally hosted by Brennan Lee Mulligan as the show's regular Dungeon Master. Most of the games use Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition. Long seasons, featuring a core cast of players in seventeen or more episodes, are interspersed with shorter side quests, featuring a rotating cast in ten or fewer episodes.
History
Dimension 20 originated as a production for Dropout, a streaming service aimed at delivering content with R-rated material or unusual formatting which launched in 2018. Dimension 20 was among the shows listed for the service when it was first unveiled. Mulligan cited a number of existing tabletop shows as inspiration for Dimension 20, including NADDPod (Not Another D&D Podcast), The Adventure Zone and Critical Role. The format for the show, with distinct arcs based on different settings, was determined early on in the show's development.
The show debuted in 2018 with Fantasy High as the first campaign presented. A sequel to this campaign, titled Fantasy High: Sophomore Year, premiered in 2019. Episodes of Fantasy High: Sophomore Year were streamed live on Twitch, as opposed to the pre-recorded and edited style of other campaigns on Dropout. The season concluded with a two-part finale titled “Spring Break! I Believe in You!”, which was streamed remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On the fifth anniversary of Dimension 20, a third season of this campaign – Fantasy High: Junior Year – was announced which is scheduled to premiere in January 2024.
In January 2020, major layoffs took place at CollegeHumor, including much of the cast. The show nevertheless continued production remotely as California's Stay at Home orders were put into effect. On May 24, 2021, Brennan Lee Mulligan announced in a video on Dropout that Dimension 20 and other CollegeHumor projects would resume production in-person and in-studio, adhering to COVID safety guidelines set by SAG-AFTRA and other film guilds and production unions.
During the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, production on Dimension 20 initially shut down. In July 2023, Sam Reich stated that as Dropout is not a member of the AMPTP, they "may be able to reach an interim agreement with SAG" which would allow them to resume production. Reich commented, "but we'll only do that, obviously, if we get the blessing of the union and the buy-in of our performers. If not, we have enough content in the can to last us a little past the end of the year". In August 2023, Reich announced that all Dropout shows have resumed production as it was determined that their "New Media Agreement for Non-Dramatic Programming" was actually a non-struck SAG-AFTRA contract.
Format
Many seasons feature a core cast known by fans as the "Intrepid Heroes" (Emily Axford, Ally Beardsley, Brian Murphy, Zac Oyama, Siobhan Thompson, and Lou Wilson). For other seasons nicknamed "side quests," the show invites guest players, generally other members of CollegeHumor or figures from the TTRPG community. As of October 2023, Dimension 20 has had thirteen such side quests: Escape From The Bloodkeep (featuring Erika Ishii of L.A. by Night and Matthew Mercer of Critical Role), Tiny Heist (featuring the cast of The Adventure Zone), Pirates of Leviathan (featuring Krystina Arielle of Star Wars: The High Republic Show and Marisha Ray of Critical Role, with Mercer returning), Mice & Murder (featuring many CollegeHumor alum), Misfits and Magic (the first campaign to feature a guest GM, Aabria Iyengar, with Brennan Lee Mulligan as a player), The Seven, Shriek Week, Coffin Run, A Court of Fey and Flowers, The Ravening War, Dungeons and Drag Queens, Mentopolis, and Burrow's End. Mulligan is usually the Dungeon Master, but beginning with the tenth season, Misfits and Magic, the show adopted rotating Game Masters. The change was announced via a trailer with an attached FAQ document.
Campaigns
The campaigns use the Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition system with Brennan Lee Mulligan as the Dungeon Master/Game Master (DM/GM) unless otherwise stated. The GM also creates house rules that make the game run differently from the normal system.
One-shots
Dropout has released multiple one-shot adventures in addition to their full-length campaigns, such as Dimension 20: Fantasy High! Live! at The Bell House (with Brian David Gilbert), Fantasy High LIVE at RTX Austin (with Griffin McElroy), College Visit (RTX @ Home Live), Boys' Night! (Roll20Con), Misfits & Magic Holiday Special and Misfits & Magic Live at GenCon 2022 (Iyengar as GM, with players Noxweiler Berf, Michelle Nguyen Bradley, Markeia McCarty, Becca Scott).