At Madison Square Garden, a roar of cheers erupted from 20,000 fans at the roll of a twenty-sided die. On Jan. 24, the iconic venue became “The Unsleeping City”: a re-envisioned New York City where the subway rats can speak and menacing monsters stalk the streets of midtown Manhattan. Within this urban fantasy, the cast of “Dimension 20” played a thrilling game of Dungeons & Dragons (D&D).
“Dimension 20,” produced by CollegeHumor successor and streaming service Dropout, is one of the shows at the forefront of the actual play genre, which brings stories to life through D&D and other tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs). D&D, which released its first edition in 1974, pioneered the genre through its fantasy theming and dice-rolling mechanics that add a layer of random chance to role-playing.
D&D is played with one person designated as the Dungeon Master, who acts as the main storyteller and describes scenarios for the players to navigate. The rest of the players (called the “party”) roleplay as characters of their own creation, each of which has a class that determines their abilities. The party embarks on a campaign, an ongoing adventure that can last anywhere from a few sessions to years of play.
Dungeon Master Brennan Lee Mulligan, along with the core cast known as the “Intrepid Heroes” — improv comedians Zac Oyama, Ally Beardsley, Emily Axford, Brian Murphy, Siobhan Thompson and Lou Wilson — take viewers on journeys through imaginative worlds full of quirky characters and intense battles without ever leaving the table in their dome-shaped set. Their infectious comedic chemistry has earned them leagues of dedicated fans and introduced many people to the world of tabletop gaming.
The show was full of references for long-time fans, yet accessible for those less familiar with their extensive campaign lore.
This isn’t the first time “Dimension 20” has come to NYC. In 2019, they played at The Bell House in Brooklyn. While they have also ventured outside the dome for live tours in the U.K. and Ireland, no previous “Dimension 20” show had come close to the scale of the Madison Square Garden performance. Playing D&D for a crowd this size came with a host of new challenges and opportunities for Mulligan and his crew, and months of preparation resulted in an immersive, interactive performance that redefines what both roleplaying games and live theater can look like. With the Intrepid Heroes seated at an in-the-round stage decked out with lights, pyrotechnics and giant dice, “Gauntlet at the Garden” had all the electrifying energy of a wrestling match, despite most of the action happening within collective imagination.
With the show being in the heart of NYC, it was no question that the campaign would bring the players to “The Unsleeping City” setting, with the cast reprising their roles as a gang of magical New Yorkers. However, fans also got a surprising treat as the city was invaded by heroes and villains from other “Dimension 20” seasons, making for an exciting crossover story. The show was full of references for long-time fans, yet accessible for those less familiar with their extensive campaign lore.
Thanks to a system allowing audience members to roll virtual dice on their phones, fans also got to impact the story and join in on the anticipation of landing a natural 20 (the best dice roll you can get in D&D, which grants instant success). These audience rolls determined which characters were summoned, and the crowd cheered and booed as Mulligan brought in some of the most beloved and hated characters from some of “Dimension 20”’s previous campaigns: “Fantasy High,” “A Crown of Candy” and “A Starstruck Odyssey.”
Lisa Virginia, Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) ’26, who also attended “Gauntlet at the Garden,” has been watching “Dimension 20” for years and was excited to see how it would translate to a live setting while surrounded by others who love the show.
“Everyone there is a nerd about the same exact thing you are, and that’s the part that is fun,” Virginia said. “I love the community, and for me, the joy of the experience was being surrounded by so many fans and getting to see the hilarity happen on stage in front of me.”
“Dimension 20”’s sold-out gig is not only a triumph for the show, but it is also representative of a broader phenomenon. Fifty years after its release, D&D is reaching new heights of popularity among a 21st century audience. D&D has often been shrouded in preconceptions; viewed by some as a niche, complicated game played only by the most dedicated of nerds, and by others as a demonic ritual (especially during the ’80s Satanic Panic).
Eli Christensen, FCLC ’25, is the Dungeon Master for a campaign he runs with a group of friends. He recounted how his father was initially somewhat apprehensive towards D&D due to growing up in a time when it was considered “the devil’s game.” He later came to view the game in a new light after seeing how much effort and creativity Christensen put into his campaigns.
In addition to its controversies, D&D has historically been seen as a hobby dominated by straight white men. Over time, the TTRPG community has become increasingly accepting, in part thanks to actual play shows like “Dimension 20” which feature diverse casts that include people of color, women and members of the LGBTQ+ community. Actual play’s popularity has also made learning the complex game systems more accessible.
When asked what they might suggest to someone wanting to get into D&D, Virginia enthusiastically answered, “Watch ‘Dungeons and Drag Queens’!”, referring to one of “Dimension 20”’s seasons. “You get to see a bunch of popular drag queens play D&D for the first time, and you learn with them.”
“It’s so much deeper and more intricate when you are the person inhabiting the character. There’s a sense of connection when you’re experiencing everything that the character experiences, in real time … It’s personal and immersive in a way that nothing else can be.” Brynn Peters, FCLC ’25
As the TTRPG community expands, more people than ever are taking interest in the storytelling potential that it has to offer.
Irene Hao, FCLC ’25, a member of Christensen’s campaign, saw D&D as a natural progression from her lifelong interest in RPGs and choose-your-own-adventure stories. She started playing regularly after meeting Christensen as a first-year student and forming a group together. Since then, their campaign has evolved into a world with expansive lore and long-lasting friendships. “It’s quite literally defined and shaped our college years,” said Hao, who shared that her D&D group was a vital source of comfort and community during the challenging transition to college.
Even in an age of highly advanced, graphically stunning video games, Gen Z gamers are being drawn back to pen and paper and polyhedral dice. Brynn Peters, FCLC ’25, an aspiring game developer and avid D&D fan, said that D&D’s legacy is deeply ingrained in game design.
“All of the aspects of what makes a good video game are inherently part of the experience of D&D,” Peters said.
Many video games take inspiration from various parts of tabletop games, such as character creation and combat mechanics. Peters credits much of her creative process to her knowledge of TTRPGs and actual play, especially games such as “Vampire: The Masquerade” and “Candela Obscura” that explore genres beyond D&D’s typical medieval fantasy, such as horror and sci-fi. The immersiveness of tabletop, though, is something that video games, being bound by technical limitations, have found difficult to replicate.
“It’s so much deeper and more intricate when you are the person inhabiting the character. There’s a sense of connection when you’re experiencing everything that the character experiences, in real time … It’s personal and immersive in a way that nothing else can be,” Peters said.
However, that hasn’t stopped D&D from finding its way into other media; a plethora of D&D-derived works have gained traction across pop culture. Web series “Critical Role,” which sold out a similar live show at the U.K.’s Wembley Arena, sits right alongside “Dimension 20” as the actual play trailblazers. Hit Netflix series “Stranger Things,” which takes inspiration from classic D&D for its 1980s nostalgic sci-fi setting, helped bring the game back into the mainstream as well.
2023 saw the release of the movie “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.” “Baldur’s Gate 3” is a video game sensation based heavily on D&D lore and mechanics. D&D has even made its way off-Broadway in “Twenty-Sided Tavern,” a highly interactive theatrical show in which the audience determines the journey of a cast of adventurers.
Though the past 50 years have seen many cultural shifts and innovations, Dungeons & Dragons has remained a staple of gaming because of its ability to adapt to ever-changing players and audiences. Virginia attributes the game’s longevity to it being both a form of escapism and a way to process real emotions through fictional roleplaying.
“Tabletop is immediate and malleable, and I think that’s intriguing to a lot of people,” Virginia said.
Whether it’s on the grand scale of Madison Square Garden or in a friend’s basement with a simple set of dice, D&D gives anyone the chance to be the hero of their own story.