Dimension 20: Fantasy High Sophomore Year - A Deep Dive into the Plot, Characters, and Themes
Dimension 20 has captivated audiences with its unique blend of comedy, heartfelt storytelling, and innovative gameplay. Among its many successful seasons, Fantasy High: Sophomore Year holds a special place as a direct continuation of the beloved Fantasy High and Dimension 20's only livestreamed season. This article explores the plot, characters, and themes that make Sophomore Year a standout season in the Dimension 20 universe.
Introduction to Fantasy High: Sophomore Year
Fantasy High: Sophomore Year is the fourth season of Dimension 20, the third featuring the Intrepid Heroes, and the second set in the world of Spyre. Brennan Lee Mulligan and The Bad Kids return to Aguefort Adventuring Academy for sophomore year, in a new LIVE chapter full of magic, fantasy, and teen angst. Also called Dimension 20 LIVE presents Fantasy High: Sophomore Year, it tells the continued story of The Bad Kids from Dimension 20's first Main Quest, Fantasy High, starring the original cast, and led by Brennan Lee Mulligan.
Production and Broadcast
Dimension 20 is an actual play show produced by and broadcast on Dropout, and created and generally hosted by Brennan Lee Mulligan as the show's regular Dungeon Master. It is an anthology series, with the setting and cast changing between seasons. Most of the games use Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition. Dimension 20 originated as a production for Dropout, a streaming service launched by CollegeHumor in 2018 to deliver content with R-rated material or an unusual format. Dimension 20 was among the shows listed for the service when it was first unveiled. The format for the show, with distinct story arcs in different settings, was determined early on in the show's development.
Episodes of Fantasy High: Sophomore Year were streamed live on Twitch, unlike the pre-recorded and edited style of other campaigns on Dropout. A total of twenty episodes were planned, but due to health concerns surrounding COVID-19, the penultimate episode was postponed from March 18th, 2020. Instead, it was to be incorporated into the finale episode on April 1st, and the stream start time moved up by 2 hours to accommodate for this change.
The Bad Kids' Sophomore Year Adventures: A Detailed Episode Breakdown
The season follows the Bad Kids as they navigate the challenges of their sophomore year at Aguefort Adventuring Academy while grappling with new threats and personal growth.
Read also: Beyond Spatial Reality
Here's a breakdown of each episode:
Sophomores Start (October 16th): After Arthur Aguefort tasks them with a new quest, the Bad Kids work to put together a crew.
Mirror Madness (October 23rd): Adaine makes a new animal friend. Fabian and Ragh bond. Gorgug buys some wheels.
Havoc at the Hotel Cavalier (October 30th): Gilear takes on his first battle. Riz fesses up. Fig gets her kisses in.
Heartache On the Celestine Sea (November 6th): Gorgug tries to escape the doghouse. Ragh opens up. Adaine has a chilling encounter.
Read also: Unraveling the Dimension Shift
Leviathan Rock City (November 13th): Fabian's reputation precedes him. Riz loosens up. Sandra Lynn schools Fig. In the same universe as Fantasy High, a group of pirates band together to prevent an evil insurance company from destroying their floating pirate city of Leviathan.
Pirate Brawl (November 20th): Fig asks Adaine for help. Riz finds a big piece of the puzzle. Kristen shows off a skill.
The Friendship Section (December 4th): Gorgug seeks answers. Adaine makes a new friend. Ragh gets some bad news.
The Row and the Ruction (December 11th): Fabian loses his mojo. Riz makes a big move. Kristen sets things right.
Fallinel (December 18th): Adaine has a tense reunion. Riz is out of his element. Gilear goes for it.
Read also: What is a Rising Sophomore?
The Dangerous Mind of Aelwyn Abernant (January 15th): The Bad Kids attempt a jailbreak. Arthur Aguefort tries out some new magic. Adaine and Aelwyn finally bond.
Revelations & Revivifications (January 22nd): The Bad Kids learn more about the Nightmare King and Kalina. Gorgug brings back an old friend.
Crustaceans & Crushes (January 29th): The Bad Kids arrive at Hollyhill. Ayda shares an important piece of information with Fig. Kalina makes her presence known.
Hellbound (February 5th): Kristen discovers a defense against the infection. Fig plans a defense for her dad. Gorgug finally comes through.
Daddies & Demons (February 12th): Riz wrestles with temptation. Fig gets a promotion. A few old friends return.
Blast From the Passed (February 19th): The fallen enemies of the Bad Kids return for one last chance at vengeance.
My Green Heaven (February 26th): Riz has a long awaited reunion. The Bad Kids reconsider their riches and hatch a plan to turn the tables on Kalina.
The Forest of the Nightmare King (March 4th): The Bad Kids must contend with an entire new breed of horrors as they make they way into the depths of the Forest of the Nightmare King.
Fearful Symmetry (March 11th): The Bad Kids face their deepest fears as they venture deeper into the Forest of the NIghtmare King.
Spring Break! I Believe In You! (1) (April 1st): The endgame begins as the Bad Kids face down gods, armies of demons, and toxic masculinity. The Bad Kids leave Elmville to retrieve the Crown of The Nightmare King for 60% of their final grade.
Spring Break! I Believe In You!
Key Characters and Their Development
Fantasy High: Sophomore Year sees the return of the beloved Bad Kids, each with their own unique struggles and triumphs:
Fabian Aramais Seacaster: The swashbuckling, self-assured paladin continues to grapple with his family legacy and his own identity. Fabian loses his mojo and must find a way to reclaim his confidence.
Fig Faeth: The tiefling warlock, Fig gets her kisses in, plans a defense for her dad, and gets a promotion. Ayda shares an important piece of information with Fig.
Kristen Applebees: The cleric, Kristen shows off a skill and sets things right. Kristen discovers a defense against the infection.
Gorgug Thistlespring: The half-orc barbarian, Gorgug buys some wheels and tries to escape the doghouse. Gorgug seeks answers and finally comes through.
Adaine Abernant: The elf wizard, Adaine makes a new animal friend and asks Fig for help. Adaine makes a new friend and has a tense reunion. Adaine and Aelwyn finally bond.
Riz Gukgak: The goblin rogue, Riz fesses up and opens up. Riz loosens up and finds a big piece of the puzzle. Riz makes a big move and is out of his element. Riz wrestles with temptation and has a long awaited reunion.
Themes Explored in Sophomore Year
Fantasy High: Sophomore Year delves into several compelling themes:
Identity and Self-Discovery: The Bad Kids continue to explore their identities as they navigate the challenges of adolescence and the expectations placed upon them.
Friendship and Loyalty: The bonds between the Bad Kids are tested as they face new threats and personal conflicts, highlighting the importance of friendship and loyalty.
Family and Legacy: The characters grapple with their family histories and the legacies they inherit, exploring the impact of family on their identities and choices.
Good vs. Evil: The season explores the complexities of morality as the Bad Kids confront the Nightmare King and his forces, challenging their understanding of good and evil.
Dimension 20's Broader Impact and Style
Dimension 20's success can be attributed to several factors, including its talented cast, improvisational style, and innovative use of game mechanics. The show's anthology format allows it to explore a vast variety of genres, styles, and tones, with each season delivering comedic, narrative, and emotional depth.
Glen Weldon, for NPR in 2021, wrote: "Mulligan is such a good DM and he's got so many improv skills. He's such a close and responsive listener that no matter what the players throw at him, he can always roll with it, without breaking the game. And that is a very rare skill, so it's terrific stuff".
Moises Taveras, for Paste in 2023, also highlighted the improvisational nature of the show and how the game mechanics of dice rolls "sets Dimension 20 apart from the rest of TV". Taveras stated that "I can't predict a thing that's going to happen thanks to the insanely successful marriage of this mechanic to the cast's improvisational skills. There's nary a moment, whether it be a rousing victory or an utter defeat, that doesn't propel these characters forward in some way and carve out a unique, player-driven story.
In 2023, Lauren Coates of Polygon highlighted how the anthology format allows Dimension 20 to reinvent itself and span "a vast variety of genres, styles, and tones" with their seasons "consistent in their ability to deliver across comedic, narrative, and emotional fronts". Coates commented that "as funny as the series is, it isn't just Dimension 20's sense of humor that makes it so beloved; it's the consistently heartfelt, poignant storytelling that accompanies it. There's incredible emotional depth to each new world of Dimension 20, as players and game masters collaboratively craft thoughtful, absorbing arcs tailored to each player and character".
In 2024, Christopher Cruz of Rolling Stone opined that "one of the most unique aspects of Dimension 20 is the creative way in which they frame their campaigns" and that "the unique pop cultural spins on each story that push the diversity of storytelling, with many campaigns functioning as parodies of famous fantasy classics". Cruz also highlighted that it is not only "the familiar narrative hooks" which make the show "so accessible" but also "its strong focus on diverse voices and socially relevant themes woven into the framework.
Academic Emma French, in a essay on The Unsleeping City campaigns, explained that the players are "explicitly 'heroes,' not 'adventurers'", who defend their home of New York City (NYC) â Mulligan's fictional NYC is similar to the real world but it also has "innate magic, powered by the diversity of the city's residents and, conversely, their lack of sleep, resulting in a surplus of powerful dream energy.
Justin Carter, in a review of A Starstruck Odyssey for Gizmodo, stated that "the consistency with which Dimension 20 shakes things up has helped give it a different kind of longevity compared to some of its fellow actual play titans, and each season … is able to feel like a natural part of the franchise while also its own distinct thing".
Technical Aspects of Production
Dimension 20 has continually innovated in its production techniques. In an interview, director Michael Schaubach highlighted that Kenny Keeler, the original director of photography, started with a Dana dolly and that "in the years since, Schaubach has overseen the quest for a different, even more articulable jib, updated cameras, an LED projection system that can add shadows and animation onto the walls of the set, and, in Burrow's End, audio recordings presented as artifacts".
Graham Sheldon, the director of photography for Neverafter (2022), stated that they typically used five cameras when filming the campaign with a setup that allowed closeup overhead shots of the maps and miniatures. Sheldon commented that while there is pre-planning to give "everyone a good sense of where things might go" during filming, the improvisational aspect of the show often required people "to hop on additional cameras to follow the action". Sheldon also highlighted that the director tracked "moments in real time that might be a good insert moment later for the minis" and "DP Kevin Stiller was able to shoot the mini closeups as a 2nd unit, occasionally while the main season was still filming in parallel".
Multiple episodes are generally shot back to back, with editing taking place over several days for the batch. Most Dimension 20 campaigns use the Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition system; however, several have used other role-playing game systems such as Kids on Bikes.
tags: #dimension #20 #sophomore #year #plot
