"Misfits and Magic" was a great "Dimension 20" campaign

First, a small announcement

I’m going to be taking the next week-and-a-bit off from the newsletter (save for this weekend’s bonus issue — see below), as I also take some time off of work to do, basically, nothing. I will be back on August 4th with an internet roundup, though! See you then.

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While I’m probably going to spend most of the weekend watching Season 2 of Ted Lasso, I’m also gonna write a bonus newsletter about a horror movie I watched called Meander. I mean, that’s its official title, but it honestly should have been called What If Cube, But Tube? If you want to read about how absolutely bonkers that movie is, click below to get a paid subscription:

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I’ve written about my love of Dimension 20 before, and since then, I’ve basically gobbled up every campaign and season (I still need to finish Tiny Heist and Pirates of the Leviathan). While the pandemic sent several campaign seasons to Zoom and Zoom-like settings (which still worked great!), it was lovely to see the show return to the dome for their four-episode mini-campaign, Misfits and Magic.

Even more lovely was the show bringing in Aabria Iyengar as Game Master this time, and putting Brennan Lee Mulligan in the player’s seat for the first time in D20 history. Aabria did an incredible job running this campaign, which follows four American teenagers being accepted as exchange students in a Hogwarts-type magic school in England… and then realizing the way its run is illogical, irresponsible, and frankly, dangerous. The players’ exchanges about what a bad idea it is to sort children into “houses” is iconic:

Unsurprisingly, Mulligan is wonderful as Evan Kelmp, a boy who has lived his whole life with the “Dark One” living inside of him and wants, more than anything, to have it removed. D20 main cast member Lou Wilson brings his usual warmth and joy to play Whitney Jammer, a jock who loves and supports his new friends (and is determined to reclaim the word “muggle”), while Erika Ishii (from the Escape from the Bloodkeep campaign) is hilarious as Karen (aka Dream, aka xx_BrokenDream_xx), a wannabe scene/goth kid who is horrified that all of her magic is pink, sparkly, and stereotypically feminine. And what a delight D20 Danielle Radford was as Sam Black, a Twitch streamer who is just upbeat and positive without being toxic about it.

The whole cast of this far-too-short season has such amazing chemistry, which was only amplified by their ability to actually play in person. And Aabria is so generous and creative with them — not in a way that lets them get away with things, but in a way that lets them experiment and explore this magical world she’s created.

What a great mini-campaign! Now I’ll just be finishing up Tiny Heist and Pirates of the Leviathan and waiting impatiently for the next new campaign to come out.

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That’s all for me today, gorgeous! Talk to you soon.

Love,

Kat