Dimension 20
Dimension 20 is CollegeHumor’s actual play D&D show that began in mid-2018. The show features comedians from CollegeHumor playing unscripted D&D campaigns and has quickly gained popularity for its storytelling, humor, creative campaign settings and diverse cast. The show is professionally edited and produced by CollegeHumor into episodes, which is uncommon for D&D shows. Not only is there more official art, detailed minifigures, and a cast including more minority players than other shows, CollegeHumor also employs sensitivity consultants to guide their depictions and representations of diverse characters. What has resulted from all this considerable preparation and care, is a show that has a whole host of complex characters from different identity groups who explore those identities and their intersections with the fantasy genre.
Notable examples of this phenomenon are Lou Wilson and Ally Beardsley and how they create nuanced characters that represent and explore their own identities.
Lou Wilson (left), Ally Beardsley (center), and Brian Murphy (right), at the table during Season 1 of Dimension 20.
Lou Wilson is a black man who goes out of his way to make interesting, black heroes for each of his characters. These characters, such as Kingston Brown, a cleric from New York City, benefit from the authenticity of Lou as a black man portraying them and often reference their own experience with identity and blackness such as making cultural references or talking about race with other black characters. Kingston makes important commentaries on community in New York, gentrification, and the nature of the American Dream for black Americans, bringing his identity to center stage and exploring it meaningfully in the show.
Official character art of Kingston Brown.
Much in the same vein, Ally Beardsley is a non-binary comedian who has depicted queer characters in every season of Dimesion 20. Their characters often go through the process of figuring out their identity and trying out different labels in the LGBTQ community. One of the best examples of this is their character Kristen Applebees who is a lesbian cleric growing up in a conservative, religious household who over the course of a season discovers her own identity, moves out of her parents’ abusive home, and finds love in the form of a werewolf girlfriend. Kristen’s character is highly informed by Beardsley’s own experiences growing up queer and religious and never shies away from hard questions about God, identity, acceptance, and mental health.
Official character art of Kristen Applebees.
While Critical Role and The Adventure Zone did contribute greatly to the degradation of the weird, white guy stereotype through the depiction of diverse characters, Dimension 20’s dedication to depicting and exploring diverse characters has made incredible progress in breaking stereotypes and creating spaces for a variety of people to play D&D.