Way back in 2018 when CollegeHumor was still a thing it launched subscription service Dropout with a bunch of shows, the highlight being Dimension 20. A live-play tabletop RPG series, Dimension 20 presented an extremely watchable version of Dungeons & Dragons with gorgeous miniature scenery, a cast of comedians who had varying degrees of roleplay experience, and episodes that weren’t three-plus hours long (they average about 90 minutes, but that changes from season to season). It also launched with a killer concept for its first arc: teenage students in a high school for adventurers.
Dimension 20 has bounced between settings and casts over the years, even trying out other RPGs like Kids on Broomsticks for a season called Misfits and Magic, the Mythic system for Shriek Week, and Kids on Bikes for the noir-themed Mentopolis. It’s returning to D&D and the world of Spire—a classic fantasy setting, aside from the one nation where everything inexplicably works like a 1980s teen movie—for the next arc of Fantasy High.
Following on from where 2019’s sophomore season left off, the Bad Kids are now in their second-last year of high school at the Aguefort Adventuring Academy. I don’t understand the American school system—what the fuck even is middle school—but I think that means they’re about 17 years old and level nine. Even if they save the world, they might fail out of academia completely. I’m pretty sure the party’s bard still hasn’t attended a single bard class.
The trailer shows off the returning cast (Emily Axford, Ally Beardsley, Brian Murphy, Zac Oyama, Siobhan Thompson, Lou Wilson, and Dungeon Master Brennan Lee Mulligan), and the upgraded dome they film in. Illustrated backdrops have added a lot to recent seasons of the show like Burrow’s End—a Watership Down kind of deal where the PCs were all stoats—and that looks to continue here, with the dome displaying the chant of the school’s owlbear football mascot: “Hoot, Growl!”
Whether you play D&D or not, Dimension 20 is a super fun show and Fantasy High is the best way to get into it. While Junior Year will be exclusive to Dropout when it debuts on January 10, the earlier seasons are available on YouTube. You should definitely watch the first two episodes before you make up your mind about it, and strap in for a wild ride.
