Dungeons & Dragons once thought to be a nerdy hobby that folks played in their basement is now packing stadiums with shows equivalent to that of rock stars. In January “Dimension 20” sold out Madison Square Garden for the largest live Dungeons & Dragons show in history. However, this wasn’t your average game with animation, pyrotechnics, and audience participation. The excitement was palpable with the crowd. Deafeningly chanting “Hoot Growl” and exploding with applause based on the simple roll of a dice.

Now “Dimension 20” is bringing the live experience to LA with “Dimension 20 Live: Battle At The Bowl.” This one-shot at the Hollywood Bowl will bring the Intrepid Heroes back to the world of Spyre. Brennan Lee Mulligan will lead as Dungeon Master while Ally Beardsley, Zac Oyama, Siobhan Thompson, Emily Axford, Brian “Murph” Murphy, and Lou Wilson bring their characters to life on stage.

Dimension 20 Live: Battle At The Bowl Will Have New Surprises

Madison Square Garden had some truly astounding elements to the show. “Dimension 20 Live: Battle At The Bowl” promises even more surprises. Mulligan broke down what fans can expect from this experience in an exclusive interview with Temple of Geek. Mulligan teased, “We’re really excited for a lot of the showmanship going into this. There will be some stuff that did not get featured at Madison Square Garden that will be featured here at the Hollywood Bowl, which is really, really cool. I have to keep mum about our fun stuff that we got planned, but there should be some great bells and whistles for all those people that are going to be looking at to join us on Sunday.”

This one-shot takes place after the events of “Fantasy High Junior Year.” This means a lot of Mulligan’s preparation included reviewing the events from that season. However, the main antagonist, Chungeldown Bim, comes from “Fantasy High Sophmore Year.” The pirate proved to be a dangerous foe for Wilson’s character Fabian Seacaster. Nearly killing him and then haunting his nightmares, this will be a battle to the death between the two nemeses.

Rumble In The Chungle Honors Choices Made By Lou Wilson

While this battle will surely be a nail biter there is potential for disaster. The consequences of this one-shot could ripple through the “Fantasy High” canon. If Fabian Seacaster dies that could be the end of this fan favorite character. “It’s not a foregone conclusion. Are we prepared for whatever comes? Yeah. And am I going to bring my A game? Yes, I absolutely am…My goal is not to kill Fabian Seacaster. My goal is to set the circumstances where either Fabian Aramais Seacaster or Chungledown Bimothy will perish.” Mulligan explained.

However, there is a deeper reason for staging this battle to the death that goes beyond comedy. Mulligan sees this as “a way of honoring Lou’s choices in Fabian’s very bad day.” He further explained, “Lou got in front of a live stream and said, watch what happens to your beloved Fabian Seacaster. Never forget for a moment, this is my goddamn character and I respect Lou’s integrity for that so much. It just felt like really, I knew this would delight Lou. This kind of playful antagonism. This sort of committing to the bit, no matter the cost, Devil may care, is like who Lou is deep down in his heart.”

What Dimension 20 Live: Battle At The Bowl Could Mean For Fantasy High Senior Year

“Fantasy High” was the season that kicked off “Dimension 20.” The world of Spyre has been fleshed out more than any other “Dimension 20” world. Through sequel seasons “Sophomore Year” and “Junior Year” as well as spin-offs “The Seven” and “Pirates of Leviathan.” Many fans have shared their desire for “Fantasy High Senior Year” in the future. If Fabian Seacaster dies “Dimension 20 Live: Battle At The Bowl” could be very different tonally. Mulligan pondered this possibility, “It would be really tough. It would be really tough and it would be really sad, but ultimately there have to be consequences and one of those consequences is maybe you die in front of thousands of screaming fans at the Hollywood Bowl. This is really a way, honestly, to be genuine for a moment.”

However, Mulligan also revealed that he already has possibilities for “Fantasy High Senior Year” brewing. “I have a lot of ideas for Senior Year already kind of cooking and baking back there. Not to say that we will definitely go back and do a Senior Year, but just that creatively, I have gas in the tank for it. I know what I would want to do.” Although there is no guarantee it seems likely that the Intrepid Heroes will return to Aguefort Academy for at least one more adventure as the Bad Kids.    

Cloudward, Ho! Is The First New World Brennan Lee Mulligan Has Built For The Intrepid Heroes In Years

The Intrepid Heroes have visited many worlds crafted by Mulligan. Spyre, New York, Callorum, and countless others have captured the imaginations of the players and fans. The new season, “Cloudward, Ho!” will bring them into an untapped genre of steam punk and exploration. While Mulligan is acclaimed for his ability to craft worlds and stories he realized that “Cloudward, Ho!” will be the first original world he has brought the Intrepid Heroes into since Calorum.

“If I look back to the last couple Intrepid Heroes seasons, right? We have Junior Year, Neverafter, Starstruck. Neverafter was based on folklore. Starstruck is based on my mom’s comic books. In a weird way this is the first from scratch world I’ve built since a Crown of Candy.” His ability to adapt stories and flesh out already existing settings is impressive. But with “Cloudward, Ho!” Mulligan relished in the challenge and joy of crafting a world from the ground up.

Brennan Lee Mulligan:

“I’m just so excited for people to see the high-flying world of the Wind Riders and all of the amazing stuff we’re going to get to do. The process was very different because this was a large lift creatively for building out a much grander world…Every new season is a new challenge, and the challenge of this one was a lot of raw generation creating stuff from scratch.”

Brennan Lee Mulligan Hopes To Expand Dimension 20 Stories Beyond The Dome

While crafting a new world is exciting, adaptations have proven to be fruitful in the world of media. This can be seen at the box office it has also been the key to success for stories closer to home. Critical Role has grown exponentially through expanding the world of Exandria with novels, comics, and animated series adapting their first and second campaign.  

“Dimension 20” has dipped their toes into these waters with the “Fantasy High” comics on webtoons. This adaptation allows artists to bring the adventures of the Bad Kids to life through a new medium. Dungeons & Dragons actual plays are endlessly creative they aren’t steeped in visuals the way comics are. This also opens the door to new fans discovering the world and characters of “Fantasy High.”

Adaptations hold a special place in Mulligan’s heart. After “Dimension 20: Starstruck” and his work with Critical Role on the “EXU” series. “Obviously there’s so many original stories that we’ve gotten to tell with Dimension 20, but I’ve grown to love working on adaptations, adapting Starstruck into a new thing. Working in Exandria with Matt Mercer doing this idea of working in other people’s creative spaces has been really gratifying for me. So, the idea of getting to open up Dimension 20, I would love for Dimension 20 to grow and have people take it into new vectors of play and find new horizons for it.”

Adaptation Opens The Door To More Creatives Playing In The Dimension 20 World

From a creative “Dimension 20” is built for adaptation. Hopefully “Fantasy High” is only the beginning with three seasons and two spin-offs the world of Spyre is vast. It could be the perfect jumping off point for an expansive comic. However, countless other seasons are built for a visual medium. “Crown of Candy” is perfect for a visual forward story both for the colorful world of Calorum and the intensity and high stakes of the “Game of Thrones” inspired tone.

While the “Fantasy High” webtoon comic is the only adaptation of “Dimension 20” as of now, Mulligan hopes to open the door to more. Beyond his own enjoyment of adaptations and the potential to see these worlds he’s crafted come to life, it opens the door for more creatives to show their talents. “I think that the way I feel is we’re so proud of these stories and there’s so many amazing artists and brilliant professionals that can work on adaptations and translating stuff across media, and I would love to bring more people, as corny as it is, I would love to bring more people into the Dimension 20 family. I feel like adaptations are a great way to do that and to bring people and say it’s a really funny thing.”

“A Piece Of Art Exists Because The Artist Was Passionate About It”

The media landscape today is often dictated not by the creative visions of writers or directors, but instead data. With analytics as king questions of potential box office success, audience response, SEO, and potential for social media content are a part of the conversation at every step of the creative process. Decisions are often made not based on what the best story will be or what creatives hope to convey to the audience, but instead how the data indicates a project will impact investors’ pocket books.

In our conversation Mulligan admitted that as a fan the best experience he has had at the movies in years was “Sinners.” The acclaimed film has made its mark on cinema capturing the attention of fans and critics alike proving to be a massive box office success. Mulligan proposes a huge part of this is the authenticity of the art that is palpable while watching. He explained “Sinners” has,  “An aura around the movie that’s very hard to articulate or pin down, but that I would describe as the feeling you get when you know that a piece of art exists because the artist was passionate about it. In other words, it’s baffling how few pieces of media clear this bar, but it actually is a remarkable bar to clear, which is, oh, you wanted to make this, make this.”

Dropout & Dimension 20 Is Made With Passion At The Forefront

This seems like a simple bar to clear. It has become more and more difficult as large corporations have a chokehold on the media we consume. Dropout has managed to clear this bar with each of their projects. “Dimension 20” is the perfect example. Each season is crafted with the desire to tell new and interesting stories in mind. This is why Mulligan, and Dungeon Master Aabria Iyengar, balance returning to beloved worlds with establishing new ones.

Brennan Lee Mulligan:

“Far be it from me to compare ourselves to [Sinners] that’s like this incredible box office thing, but just to say what we aspire at Dropout is to make stuff from the heart. I think that, to your point, people can feel the non-analytic, the non-corporate kind of element of we do this, we like it and we hope you like it too.”

As “Dimension 20” has grown the fans base has as well. With this comes an awareness of fans and expectations lingering in Mulligan’s mind. Because of this he strives to engage with fans positively if not cautiously. Mulligan explained, “You have to a certain degree, in order to honor the fans of the show, you have to kind of keep yourself hermetically sealed and go, I’m really just here to honor this fictional world as I see it.

And the thing that’s going to make fans happiest is if I proceed like they’re not in the room with me. As a fan, I never want the idea that an author is doing something with me in their peripheral vision. Please, please don’t acknowledge my interaction with this work. I want to see what felt true to you. I might like it, I might not like it, but at the end of the day, I want to feel like it was from the heart rather than manicured for my benefit.”

Dropout Gives Dimension 20 The Freedom To Tell Their Stories

“Representation matters” is a phrase that is often used when discussing media today. It can be thrown around flippantly and be used to shoehorn a “token” character into a narrative. However, Dropout and “Dimension 20” understand the truth of this statement. Part of what makes Dungeons & Dragons actual plays so special is the freedom to tell stories that often aren’t told.

This can be seen with projects like “DesiQuest” and “Tales Unrolled” that lean into Indian and Latin American cultures. “Transplanar” are trans stories performed by a trans and non-binary cast. These are not only stories that should be front and center, but told by people who experience these cultures. “Dimension 20” opens the door to stories often ignored by media as well. Since “Fantasy High” Beardsley has been able to explore countless queer stories as they themselves were on their own gender identity journey.

Brennan Lee Mulligan:

“When you have people like Lou or Ally or Emily or people that all of our Murph, Siobhan, Zac, every one of these people has a unique perspective in the world. When that perspective gets fed into a machine that is trying to make something palatable across millions or billions of people, specificity becomes the enemy of your marketing department. Specificity becomes the enemy of, lowest common denominator. It’s an artifact of a time where network television was like, everything needs to be able to sell toys and somehow beer, everything needs to be able to sell what our advertisers are talking about.”

The broadest possible audience is not the goal of the stories told on “Dimension 20.” The audience is ever expanding with seasons like “Dungeons & Drag Queens” and “Titan Takedown” bringing in new viewers. However, the heart of “Dimension 20” always stays true. The stories are dictated by an authenticity and passion to tell these stories. They are collaboratively built by the players and Dungeon Master as they craft the worlds and characters they want to embody and the stories they desire to tell.

Brennan Lee Mulligan:

“You don’t have to be acceptable to 500 million people. You get to attempt to be amazing to a couple hundred thousand people. And as a result of that, people get to engage with media that has characters that they wouldn’t get to necessarily see if it was a giant fear-based corporation making those creative choices. They get to see storylines reflected that they might not otherwise get to see reflected.

Our stories get to reflect the rich humanity of the players coming to the table, and it gets to be engaged with according to the rich humanity of the people that are finding this story. The best part of doing this is we get to be uncompromising. We get to be uncompromising artistically because we have found a way to sustain our crew and our cast and our professionals. People can pay their bills making art for exactly the people who need it rather than getting this pressure to make something that offends nobody and therefore kind of doesn’t matter to anybody.”

Why Dungeons & Dragons Has Stepped Out Of The Shadows Of The Basement

For decades Dungeons & Dragons was looked down upon. Whether it be due to the satanic panic surrounding it, the dismissal and derision of “nerdy” hobbies, or a lack of understanding. It was relegated to people playing in the basement and classified as “weird.” This has changed astronomically over time.

Hit shows like “Stranger Things” cracked open the door for many fans to grow curious about the game. “Critical Role” kicked it wide open when their Kickstarter grossed over $11 million securing a deal with Prime Video for “The Legend of Vox Machina” and “Mighty Nein.” “Dimension 20” made history selling out Madison Square Garden for a live show that captured the energy of a massive concert or sporting event.

Dungeons & Dragons has become a huge part of pop culture with shows like “Critical Role” and “Dimension 20” shifting the paradigm. The game itself hasn’t changed. It is still a collaborative storytelling TTRPG with math at the heart of every big moment. The nerdiness surrounding it is eternal, but that no longer seems to be something to look down upon instead it is celebrated. Has Dungeons & Dragons made the shift into being seen as “cool” or is it simply that people care more about expressing themselves through what they love instead of suppressing it to fit in?

Brennan Lee Mulligan

“I think that coolness is a trap, and I think my favorite song lyric of all time, or at least the song lyric that changed me, I was like, wow, that’s profound wisdom, is from “Hey Jude.” It’s Paul McCartney saying, “for well, you know that it’s a fool, who plays it cool, by making his world a little colder.” People choose to tamp down their internal fire, they choose to tamp down their vulnerability to protect themselves from ridicule, from scrutiny, from vulnerability, and it never, ever, ever, ever works. Those people invariably diminish their life’s joys and still get hurt. So, you might as well feel the f-cking joy.”

How Brennan Lee Mulligan’s Game Changer Character Embodies “Caring Fully”

Perhaps the best example of Mulligan practicing what he preaches is his “Game Changer” character. A larger than life caricature of himself. The “outraged try hard” as Mulligan describes is inspired not only by his belief in putting your all into something, but the “foundational belief that you get two for flinching.” Mulligan’s “Game Changer” character will always put his all into every competition unafraid to show how much he cares about winning. This isn’t simply due to a competitive nature, but the desire to be truthful. “I’ve just never seen guarding yourself work. I’ve never seen it work. I will participate in my life’s joy. I get one life, I’m going to like the sh-t I like as hard as I can.”

Dungeons & Dragons has captured the imaginations and hearts of numerous generations. This has never been clearer. “Dimension 20” sold out Madison Square Garden. They are performing at the Hollywood Bowl. These are iconic venues that usually see professional athletes and musicians take center stage. Mulligan and the Intrepid Heroes are ready for a high stakes battle that could leave fans devastated. “Dimension 20” isn’t afraid to experiment and take risks because they recognize that the love and care they put into their work is reflected in the fans that return it in kind.

“Dimension 20 Live: Battle At The Bowl” will be at the Hollywood Bowl on June 1. Tickets are still available. It will also be available on Dropout later this year.