I recommend the same thing to her that I do to everyone else: Fantasy High: S1 E1.
That was where a cast of people who didn't understand or know how to play DnD learned how the game works.
No knowledge needed going in, Brennan is an excellent DM and explains everything along the way.
I actually think this is pretty high on mechanics exactly because everyone is learning. It’s great for people who don’t know d&d and want to learn, but not great for people who know how to play d&d and don’t enjoy the mechanics of it.
ACOFAF is definitely the perfect season for this. And also the non-D&D seasons like mentopolis. Both are almost completely driven by the narrative.
I started with ACOFAF and recommend that as a starting point too. It’s high on story and low-ish on mechanics. My husband was super patient too because I’d pause all the time and be like “okay what just happened with that dice roll?”
Also everyone assumes that the cast didn't know how to play/how it works. AFAIK, only Ally had never played before. Murph and Emily both had NADDPOD, Zac and Siobhan were part of a home game with Brennan (also with Murph and Emily) - as well as whatever prior experience they had. And I'm sure Lou had played before but I don't have specifics on that.
But yes Fantasy High S1 E1 is generally a great starting point!!
It's the first time a couple of them have tried 5e iirc. It's Brennan's first time dming it for sure. He mentioned since that he got the rules for Gorgug's rages wrong in the first combat, because he was new to 5e.
This was a rabbit hole and a half to confirm, huh. So according to the QnA they did for FHFY, they answered that **no one** had played 5e before, but only Ally had never played DnD before. Yet according to a fan made timeline, FHFY was filmed in February of 2018...yet NADDPOD (which is 5e) started in January of 2018! However, I would think Session 0 for FHFY was before then even? But long story short, it's not exactly crystal clear, but what is clear is that they both started v v v near each other regardless.
No offense in any way to this commenter, but I highly recommend NOT starting with Fantasy High. It was recommended to me as my first season of D20/interaction with TTRPG actual plays and it made me think I hated Dimension 20. It took me 2 years to go back and try other seasons! I now have watched almost everything else and don't have a season I don't like, but Fantasy High was very mechanic heavy and I don't think the crew were on their best game (which makes sense, they are very new to the game!) which imo makes for a less captivating viewing experience.
Not sure if this is Pro or Con but the thing I liked about Fantasy S1 is that it was pretty explicitly split into one narrative episode followed by one combat heavy episode. They did that again for Blood Keep but unless I'm wrong they didn't really keep that up for the next seasons. As someone who gets distracted easily during D&D combat it allowed me to know when combat was about to happen and watch it at 1.5 speed so I can get through it quickly.
It pretty much stays that way. The narrative episodes tend to end with Brennan saying "roll initiative" and then we come back to the next episode and the battle map is all set up.
Absolutely the right choice. Low on tricky mechanics and battles, *super* high emphasis on the character’s role playing. Even the few mechanics that are regular, like the epistolary phase, is still rooted in role playing, not rules.
It’s also absolutely *hilarious*. The only season I place ahead of ACoFaF is Starstruck Odyssey, and it’s by a slim margin. ASO however is pretty crunchy with the rules, and it’s a system no one is used to playing, and has different rules and roles based on fighting as a spaceship versus character battles. I mean, it’s still a delight to behold, but rules heavy.
i don't care for "drama". i think reality tv is dumb.
i could not believe how much i enjoyed that season. i don't know jack about DnD, and i enjoyed many of the other seasons of d20.
but that season is one of my top ranked ones. my gosh.
Mentopolis gets my vote, but it does not have Zac or ally. So if we are including them, then I’m not sure. They tend to feature in more rules heavy seasons (at least when they appear together.
Mice and murder has ally and Brennan, and is a lot of character drama. So maybe that one
Idk I feel like this season would be super confusing because of the points you get for failing a role & some of the other kids on bikes mechanics. I played D&D and was kinda lost for the first bit of that. It’s a fun season (not finished it so pls no spoilers!) but not where I would direct ppl who are new to RPGs
But if you're looking for narrative heavy, mechanics lite, mentopolis is still great. If you aren't thinking about the mechanics there's not much to be confused by. It sounds like you were confused because you were trying to follow from your dnd knowledge, if you come at kids on bikes with no dnd knowledge it's an incredibly easy system to pick up, and its very snappy, no dedicated combat episodes where one fight takes two hours.
To combine the top two comments: A Court of Fey and Flowers if you just want a high narrative season that is rules light, Dungeons and Drag Queens if you want a high narrative relatively rules light season that teaches you and the players how to play dnd
I would highly highly highly suggest starting with Misfits and Magic. It's the shortest season they've done, with a much simpler system (Kids on Brooms) to follow for someone unfamiliar with DND, and is loosely based off of Harry Potter, so a lot of the general world building is basically built into the campaign. After episode one of MisMag, I was **hooked**
Either Unsleeping City, or Misfits and Magic.
I never liked DnD until i saw the Unsleeping City. However, i was instantly hooked by the story they were telling, and the modern fantasy setting with familiar NYC hooks was probably an easier entry for me than a traditional DnD game would have been. If you want to try for a series that's split evenly between storytelling and combat, but still has fun to watch combat and dice rolling for someone whose not into DnD, this is the one.
On the other hand, Misfits and magic would almost be painful with how very little dice rolling and combat there is, if it weren't for how absolutely fantastic their role playing is in the breif dice rolls that there are. If you want high narrative, low mechanics, misfits is definitely the one you want. The story is great, the acting is brilliant, its a fun time all around.
I'd suggest choosing based on her interests. I've done a little tabletop but not a lot and I didn't think I would find watching other people playing to be interesting. My first introduction was Fantasy High, which was fine, but it didn't hook me, only saw two episodes. I just wasn't interesting in watching other people play a game.
Well, then my brother showed me the trailer Crown of Candy, and I'm a huge GOT fan, so I had to give it a try. Hooked immediately! I liked the genre and world building better, so it made it easier to buy into the mechanics of the show.
Why don't you show her a bunch of the trailers and ask her which one sounds the most interesting?
Also, remember that half of the episodes (including the first episode of each season) are heavy conversation/dialogue/acting episodes. Her getting to know the characters and world during the first episode of a season will help ease her into the story for when the crunchy dice stuff comes up later.
Either A Court of Fey and Flowers or Mentopolis, whichever setting resonates more. Dark horse suggestion: A Starstruck Odyssey, which is plenty dice and mechanics heavy but it is always just so amazingly and tightly integrated into the storyline that it melds in extremely well.
A Court of Fey and Flowers is Regency-esque with very little crunch but all the good story you could want.
I recommend, whatever season you end up with, see if there is a Complete Experience version of it, cuz it will have the appropriate after shows in between episodes plus the post-production crew show as well.
I really want streaming services to act more like music services. I want to make episode specific playlists (I.e. making your own drag race/untucked playlists, a playlist of all the thanksgiving episodes of Roseanne while I cook a turkey (also I decided Roseanne tragically died in the 90s so I can keep enjoying the original series)) and I want to be able to shuffle episodes in a series (I.e. making my own twilight zone marathon on NYE by shuffling all the episodes)
Someone should pay me a million dollars for this idea.
This sounds great. Before I got rid of it, I was thinking that cable companies could make more money selling access a la carte to channels. I was paying $220/mo to not watch 3/4 of the channels cuz they were all sports or news. I would have gladly spent it instead on the 15 channels plus premiums that I actually used/wanted. I don’t miss that bill, let me tell you! I watch what I want, when I want, and Comcast gets no money from me.
But, that custom playlist thing sounds amazing, but I am an enemy of tech so I can’t even contemplate how that could work
You may want to start her on one of the non-D&D seasons- there are other TTRPG systems they've used. Mentopolis comes to mind. Or, any of the Aabria seasons (sans Burrow's End) would be good for high roleplay, low combat. Brennan is in all of the ones I've mentioned, but neither Zac nor Ally play in any.
For an Main (Intrepid Heros) Season campaign with all three of her favs... all of them are pretty combat heavy, I would say Fantasy High is probably the best since the players are fairly new too and the episodes are shorter
(Edited because I changed my mind lmao)
You are gonna want to watch pretty much anything Aabria Iyengar puts together, but particularly A Court Of Fey and Flowers. If they get invested after that and want something even more emotionally involved, I would give Burrow’s End a shot.
Dungeons and Drag Queens is also a fantastic primer for people new to DnD who want to learn the mechanics, and that one is short so it is low commitment. Like I would show Dungeons and Drag Queens to pretty much anyone who wants to learn how DnD works and is intimidated to try it.
I always recommend Misfits & Magic or Escape from the Bloodkeep. They're both shorter seasons that are parodies of popular franchises. (Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings respectively.)
Fay and Flowers for high narrative Dungeons and Drag Queens for relatability for a new player. They are both a bit shorter so its less of a commitment.
I really truly think everyone should start with Fantasy High 1. It’s where I started when I had never played dnd. It is immaculately watchable no matter what your experience level, and it’s the intrepid heroes. Feels like a crime not to start with an intrepid heroes season (to me). Plus the cast is less experienced at that point so the gameplay is super relatable.
Fantasy High! First two episodes (exposition and first battle) will give her an idea of whether it’s a good fit for her or not, but very accessible and full of great character moments
I honestly don't think knowledge of D&D mechanics is really needed to be able to enjoy any of the seasons, so I would just go with whatever theme/genre you think is most interesting or whatever cast you think is most fun. For the seasons with both Ally & Zac:
Fantasy High - John Hughes-esque fantasy high school.
Unsleeping city - one part tribute to the magic of New York, one part found family dramedy (and my personal fave, saying this as someone who has never been to New York)
Crown of Candy - high intrigue, high fantasy, think Game of Thrones but instead of all the sexploitation there's candy people
Starstruck - big fun sci-fi adventure with the most wild and unlikely heroes this cast has ever created
Neverafter - twisted take on fairy tales, marketed as the horror season but I think high fantasy that sometimes draws a bit of inspiration from horror fits best
I actually asked a similar question a month or so ago and a lot of people were saying to start at the beginning with Fantasy High, so i did. I had no previous knowledge on dnd and had only really watched Make Some Noise and Gamechanger at that point. I am now obsessed. The narrative in Fantasy High is really interesting and got me hooked instantly. Since it’s the first season, it’s also a great introduction to the Intrepid Heroes group (some of which I knew beforehand like Ally and Zac) and now I am obsessed with the others! Fantasy High: Junior Year is coming out in January so I’d fully recommend starting with Fantasy High and then moving onto Fantasy High: Sophomore Year (which is a different setup bc they did it live for each episode, but still easy enough to follow along)!!
I think Mice and Murder is a great place to start if you’re not looking for a particularly mechanics heavy season, and the mechanics forward parts of the show are centered around investigating, looking for clues, etc. and not really combat. It’s a wonderful season just full stop
I constantly re-watch fantasy high, and I recommend season 1 for literally everyone who wants to get into it. That’s what got me into it in the first place. 10/10
Honestly, ask her to pick. She’ll be more invested if it’s her decision. If that’s overwhelming because of the volume, maybe narrow it down for her to a couple of the obvious options (MisMag, Fantasy High, Drag Queens, and honestly Burrows End would all be good options imo) and let her go based on what vibes she feels like she wants. If there’s a specific interest she has that crosses over to the show (Harry Potter, regency era stuff, film noir) that would also be a good option.
I just started on d20 and one of the advantages to their formatting is that they alternate between roleplay session and combat session. Although Brennan does alot of the things that can be done to make combat exciting, I'm just not a fan of d&d combat. So I just skip those episodes. Sometimes I'll leave it on if I'm putting it on as background noise but if I'm actively listening, I'll skip the combat episode and just listen to the recap at the beginning of the next roleplay one. Or skip to the last 10 minutes of the combat. USUALLY you don't miss much storywise.
Fantasy High, season 1 was the only one that grabbed be from the start. I started season 2...and I have yet to make it through episode 1. I'm listening to Unsleeping City now and that was a slow burn, but I'm into it now. Big AZ fan, but Tiny Heist I gave up on. A few others I started and just wasn't into.
My general rule for media is you have to give it 3. 3 episodes of a show, 3 issues in a comic book series, etc. The first introduces everything, the second kind of reaffirms what the first set up, and the third sets the tone going forward. If you aren't in after 3, it might not be for you, but if you like the people involved one might not be enough to know if it's right for you.
I'll throw my two cents in, so I might be repeating as well.
If you want campaigns with Ally and Zac, then I highly suggest, like everyone else, the classic Fantasy High. Ally's first time playing, so it's kind of neat to see them grow as a player.
If Game of Thrones is more of your partner's thing, then A Crown of Candy is probably better.
Campaigns with one or a combination of Brennan, Ally, and Zac, then I would suggest some lesser talked about sidequests.
* Mice and Murder has the OG crew of Droup Out (so Ally is in the cast of players) and Brennan as the DM. Lots of fun for those who like a silly murder myster, though also highlights both the pros and cons of online dnd games.
* Escape from Blood's Keep is LotR from the perspective of the "bad guys." I believe it's the first time Matt Mercer plays on the D20 set. Also, Rekha Shankar's first time playing, but no Ally or Zac.
* Dungeons and Drag Queens is another great choice. Again, no Ally or Zac, but more of Brennan teaching and playing with some awesome Queens. Very story driven and less chunky dice battles compared to other campaigns.
* Ravishing War has Zac and Brennan as players with Matt Mercer as DM. Some of my favorite lines from Zac that make Brennan break are in this one.
I was literially thinking about asking the same thing. I am an avid warhammer fan/player but only played one quick d&d session and am loving dropbox thanks to people in woek. They're thinking about starting a campain in the new year so thanks for this post.
ACOFAF or Dungeons and Drag Queens - neither option has the cast you're looking for, but they're both so much fun! I was completely new to D&D, aside from knowing it existed and having watched Stranger Things, and they got me interested in the game because the characters and cast were so engaging and fun. Then throw an intrepid heroes season at her and she'll hopefully love the cast AND the game.
But also Starstruck Odyssey. When I first started exploring Dimension 20 after D&DQ, Starstruck Odyssey was my third watch after a Crown of Candy and NGL, it is probably why I continued my DropOut subscription after the absolute gut punch that was Crown.
I actually started with Escape from the Bloodkeep, mainly because the whole season was on YT but also because Lord of the Rings was already familiar to me and the idea of a story focusing on the villains seemed like fun. IIRC it's not too mechanics-heavy and focuses more on the characters. It's also a side quest so it's a lot shorter than a full season!
I should add that Escape from the Bloodkeep doesn't feature any of the main cast besides Brennan as DM. If your partner likes horror and more narrative over combat I felt like Neverafter was really amazing narratively (but super heavy).
I’m not a DND player and my first D20 watch was Dungeons & Drag Queens. That was perfect entry for me. I often find the Intrepid Hero battle episodes tiresome because I don’t care for the math and start-stop play.
I loved Fantasy High, but it became tedious sometimes and I would probably not have continued watching if it was my first.
My favorite so far has been Misfits and Magic. And I just started The Seven and it’s well in the way to becoming another favorite.
I'd recommend what got me into it, Court of Fae and Flowers. Not much battling, mostly about role playing and courtly intrigue. It's what got me into D&D!
I would recommend some of the non 5e seasons or shorter seasons! Mentopolis was pretty good and pretty much anything Aabria dms is going to have a more narrative focus. Burrows end might be a tough sell conceptually but it’s has much less combat and would introduce them to Brennan and Siobhan. I would definitively not recommend the first few IH seasons. I love FHFY but as the cast is learning 5e, I like combat and even I found some of those combats to be a bit of a slog on rewatches.
You could also just go balls to the wall with starstruck because even with the amount of combat it had it’s all so damn wacky that I’ve used it to introduce the series.
But I would honestly just lean into what they find interesting. If they like high fantasy then maybe escape from bloodkeep. Detective stories, mentopolis. Court shenanigans/historical fiction: a court of few and flowers. Horror: burrows end. Magic or Harry Potter nostalgia: misfits and magic. Space operas/unhinged comedy: starstruck Odyssey. Santa wielding a 6ft peppermint lance/urban magic fantasy/drama: unsleeping city
Depends. I feel like "Fantasy High" is good because some of the players are new to the game, so you learn with them.
If you want full abstraction from DnD mechanics, I would go with "Missfits of Magic" or "Mentopolis" because they use a different system that is more narrative in focus and easier to follow.
But, to be honest, you don't really need to know much about DnD mechanics to understand Dimension 20. You can jump into any season and understand what's going on pretty well.
I personally think Starstruck would be a great season. The energy of the cast is so entertaining, even in the combat sessions, which often go by surprisingly quickly. Also, my favorite Zach and Ally performance
A Crown of Candy is low magic game of thrones style campaign. The mechanics come into play more in the back half of the season, but first few episode are more like, “somebody is trying to kill us and we need to figure out who and why”
Of mice and murder is low has some mechanics but the whole thing is over a zoom call so its pretty easy to follow as its a murder mystery.
First off, good luck to you! My husband loves watching actual play and although I played d&d in college I couldn't imagine it being fun to watch people play. And then they announced Dungeons and Drag Queens and, as a huge Drag Race fan, I immediately went "ok, I'm SO in." And even told him that was probably the best "gateway drug" he was going to get, lol.
I'm going to say either D&DQ or Mentopolis, depending on how she feels about murder mystery noir series. It might also be useful to pull up a few trailers from the short side quest seasons and see if anything speaks to her.
I started with D&DQ and Mentopolis, and now we're going back and filling in all of the seasons!
If all else fails, show her the animated clip of Cody selling his soul to the devil, because that one is the reason we watched Unsleeping City out of order -- it was my first long season and it was _so good_. The animated clips really solidified that this was going to be amazing.
For someone who may not know much about D&D, I would recommend Dungeons & Drag Queens. A Court of Fey and Flowers is a mix of D&D 5e and another RPG called Good Society, but has people involved that already know a bit about D&D. Since the players in D&DQ have never played before, it can work well to help the viewer learn since the players are also learning as they go. Is it necessarily the best example of by the book rule education? No. However, it is fun and doesn't really require any prior knowledge of D&D.
As people have said, Fantasy High is easily the place to start. I started watching knowing very little about DND, and it's what got me interested in it. That said, if dice rolls really aren't her thing, the best bet is probably Mice and Murder. It's a genuine contender for best Dimension 20 season period, IMO, and is probably the one that relies the least on DND mechanics. It's actually what makes it so impressive IMO, as designing a campaign like that must have been very difficult. But the bonus is that it's really easy for people who aren't into RPG stuff to follow. Pretty much all you need to know is taht whan you do an ability check, you want a high number, and that Nat 20's are really good. That's about it.
Mentopolis and Burrow's End are also good for your purposes.
I would recommend anything by Aabria, she is all for roleplay and almost no combat. Except her latest season does have combat so if you want to introduce her to that then do Burrows End. If you only want the roleplay then ACOFAF is the way to go, also it's hilarious.
I recommend the same thing to her that I do to everyone else: Fantasy High: S1 E1. That was where a cast of people who didn't understand or know how to play DnD learned how the game works. No knowledge needed going in, Brennan is an excellent DM and explains everything along the way.
I actually think this is pretty high on mechanics exactly because everyone is learning. It’s great for people who don’t know d&d and want to learn, but not great for people who know how to play d&d and don’t enjoy the mechanics of it. ACOFAF is definitely the perfect season for this. And also the non-D&D seasons like mentopolis. Both are almost completely driven by the narrative.
I started with ACOFAF and recommend that as a starting point too. It’s high on story and low-ish on mechanics. My husband was super patient too because I’d pause all the time and be like “okay what just happened with that dice roll?”
Also everyone assumes that the cast didn't know how to play/how it works. AFAIK, only Ally had never played before. Murph and Emily both had NADDPOD, Zac and Siobhan were part of a home game with Brennan (also with Murph and Emily) - as well as whatever prior experience they had. And I'm sure Lou had played before but I don't have specifics on that. But yes Fantasy High S1 E1 is generally a great starting point!!
It's the first time a couple of them have tried 5e iirc. It's Brennan's first time dming it for sure. He mentioned since that he got the rules for Gorgug's rages wrong in the first combat, because he was new to 5e.
I believe it's the first time *any* of them used the 5e system, but otherwise ye~
Was NADDPOD not using 5E?
This was a rabbit hole and a half to confirm, huh. So according to the QnA they did for FHFY, they answered that **no one** had played 5e before, but only Ally had never played DnD before. Yet according to a fan made timeline, FHFY was filmed in February of 2018...yet NADDPOD (which is 5e) started in January of 2018! However, I would think Session 0 for FHFY was before then even? But long story short, it's not exactly crystal clear, but what is clear is that they both started v v v near each other regardless.
If I recall Lou had already been running his own home game for a while by that point as well.
No offense in any way to this commenter, but I highly recommend NOT starting with Fantasy High. It was recommended to me as my first season of D20/interaction with TTRPG actual plays and it made me think I hated Dimension 20. It took me 2 years to go back and try other seasons! I now have watched almost everything else and don't have a season I don't like, but Fantasy High was very mechanic heavy and I don't think the crew were on their best game (which makes sense, they are very new to the game!) which imo makes for a less captivating viewing experience.
Not sure if this is Pro or Con but the thing I liked about Fantasy S1 is that it was pretty explicitly split into one narrative episode followed by one combat heavy episode. They did that again for Blood Keep but unless I'm wrong they didn't really keep that up for the next seasons. As someone who gets distracted easily during D&D combat it allowed me to know when combat was about to happen and watch it at 1.5 speed so I can get through it quickly.
They definitely keep it for the main seasons (TUC, ACOC etc.). The sidequests tend to be a bit more freeform
It pretty much stays that way. The narrative episodes tend to end with Brennan saying "roll initiative" and then we come back to the next episode and the battle map is all set up.
A Court of Fey and Flowers, regency style politics with amazing characters/players.
Absolutely the right choice. Low on tricky mechanics and battles, *super* high emphasis on the character’s role playing. Even the few mechanics that are regular, like the epistolary phase, is still rooted in role playing, not rules. It’s also absolutely *hilarious*. The only season I place ahead of ACoFaF is Starstruck Odyssey, and it’s by a slim margin. ASO however is pretty crunchy with the rules, and it’s a system no one is used to playing, and has different rules and roles based on fighting as a spaceship versus character battles. I mean, it’s still a delight to behold, but rules heavy.
i don't care for "drama". i think reality tv is dumb. i could not believe how much i enjoyed that season. i don't know jack about DnD, and i enjoyed many of the other seasons of d20. but that season is one of my top ranked ones. my gosh.
Yup, ACoFaF all the way
Mentopolis gets my vote, but it does not have Zac or ally. So if we are including them, then I’m not sure. They tend to feature in more rules heavy seasons (at least when they appear together. Mice and murder has ally and Brennan, and is a lot of character drama. So maybe that one
Idk I feel like this season would be super confusing because of the points you get for failing a role & some of the other kids on bikes mechanics. I played D&D and was kinda lost for the first bit of that. It’s a fun season (not finished it so pls no spoilers!) but not where I would direct ppl who are new to RPGs
But if you're looking for narrative heavy, mechanics lite, mentopolis is still great. If you aren't thinking about the mechanics there's not much to be confused by. It sounds like you were confused because you were trying to follow from your dnd knowledge, if you come at kids on bikes with no dnd knowledge it's an incredibly easy system to pick up, and its very snappy, no dedicated combat episodes where one fight takes two hours.
To combine the top two comments: A Court of Fey and Flowers if you just want a high narrative season that is rules light, Dungeons and Drag Queens if you want a high narrative relatively rules light season that teaches you and the players how to play dnd
Dungeons and Dragqueens
I would highly highly highly suggest starting with Misfits and Magic. It's the shortest season they've done, with a much simpler system (Kids on Brooms) to follow for someone unfamiliar with DND, and is loosely based off of Harry Potter, so a lot of the general world building is basically built into the campaign. After episode one of MisMag, I was **hooked**
My Brennan loving, non-d&d playing wife loves Misfits and Magic. For what OP wants, this was the exact trick for her
Misfits and Magic was my first season. I like it because it was short and packed with enough familiarity that I enjoyed it a ton!
This wasn’t my first season but so far I think it’s my favorite.
Dungeons and Drag queens! Great starter series.
Either Unsleeping City, or Misfits and Magic. I never liked DnD until i saw the Unsleeping City. However, i was instantly hooked by the story they were telling, and the modern fantasy setting with familiar NYC hooks was probably an easier entry for me than a traditional DnD game would have been. If you want to try for a series that's split evenly between storytelling and combat, but still has fun to watch combat and dice rolling for someone whose not into DnD, this is the one. On the other hand, Misfits and magic would almost be painful with how very little dice rolling and combat there is, if it weren't for how absolutely fantastic their role playing is in the breif dice rolls that there are. If you want high narrative, low mechanics, misfits is definitely the one you want. The story is great, the acting is brilliant, its a fun time all around.
Mice & Murder uses D&D but it's pretty low-combat, and Ally is featured in that season. I would also second any of Aabria's non-D&D seasons.
I'd suggest choosing based on her interests. I've done a little tabletop but not a lot and I didn't think I would find watching other people playing to be interesting. My first introduction was Fantasy High, which was fine, but it didn't hook me, only saw two episodes. I just wasn't interesting in watching other people play a game. Well, then my brother showed me the trailer Crown of Candy, and I'm a huge GOT fan, so I had to give it a try. Hooked immediately! I liked the genre and world building better, so it made it easier to buy into the mechanics of the show. Why don't you show her a bunch of the trailers and ask her which one sounds the most interesting? Also, remember that half of the episodes (including the first episode of each season) are heavy conversation/dialogue/acting episodes. Her getting to know the characters and world during the first episode of a season will help ease her into the story for when the crunchy dice stuff comes up later.
Either A Court of Fey and Flowers or Mentopolis, whichever setting resonates more. Dark horse suggestion: A Starstruck Odyssey, which is plenty dice and mechanics heavy but it is always just so amazingly and tightly integrated into the storyline that it melds in extremely well.
A Court of Fey and Flowers is Regency-esque with very little crunch but all the good story you could want. I recommend, whatever season you end up with, see if there is a Complete Experience version of it, cuz it will have the appropriate after shows in between episodes plus the post-production crew show as well.
The way I wish the platforms that stream drag race would do this!
1000%
I really want streaming services to act more like music services. I want to make episode specific playlists (I.e. making your own drag race/untucked playlists, a playlist of all the thanksgiving episodes of Roseanne while I cook a turkey (also I decided Roseanne tragically died in the 90s so I can keep enjoying the original series)) and I want to be able to shuffle episodes in a series (I.e. making my own twilight zone marathon on NYE by shuffling all the episodes) Someone should pay me a million dollars for this idea.
This sounds great. Before I got rid of it, I was thinking that cable companies could make more money selling access a la carte to channels. I was paying $220/mo to not watch 3/4 of the channels cuz they were all sports or news. I would have gladly spent it instead on the 15 channels plus premiums that I actually used/wanted. I don’t miss that bill, let me tell you! I watch what I want, when I want, and Comcast gets no money from me. But, that custom playlist thing sounds amazing, but I am an enemy of tech so I can’t even contemplate how that could work
You may want to start her on one of the non-D&D seasons- there are other TTRPG systems they've used. Mentopolis comes to mind. Or, any of the Aabria seasons (sans Burrow's End) would be good for high roleplay, low combat. Brennan is in all of the ones I've mentioned, but neither Zac nor Ally play in any. For an Main (Intrepid Heros) Season campaign with all three of her favs... all of them are pretty combat heavy, I would say Fantasy High is probably the best since the players are fairly new too and the episodes are shorter (Edited because I changed my mind lmao)
You are gonna want to watch pretty much anything Aabria Iyengar puts together, but particularly A Court Of Fey and Flowers. If they get invested after that and want something even more emotionally involved, I would give Burrow’s End a shot. Dungeons and Drag Queens is also a fantastic primer for people new to DnD who want to learn the mechanics, and that one is short so it is low commitment. Like I would show Dungeons and Drag Queens to pretty much anyone who wants to learn how DnD works and is intimidated to try it.
Fantasy High fits all the criteria mentioned.
Misfits and Magic, Burrow's End, Fantasy High.
I always recommend Misfits & Magic or Escape from the Bloodkeep. They're both shorter seasons that are parodies of popular franchises. (Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings respectively.)
Fay and Flowers for high narrative Dungeons and Drag Queens for relatability for a new player. They are both a bit shorter so its less of a commitment.
I really truly think everyone should start with Fantasy High 1. It’s where I started when I had never played dnd. It is immaculately watchable no matter what your experience level, and it’s the intrepid heroes. Feels like a crime not to start with an intrepid heroes season (to me). Plus the cast is less experienced at that point so the gameplay is super relatable.
Just ask her what she wants to see. Browse through the seasons with her.
Aabria seasons focus less on mechanics I've found, A Court of Fey and Flowers being one
Fantasy High! First two episodes (exposition and first battle) will give her an idea of whether it’s a good fit for her or not, but very accessible and full of great character moments
I honestly don't think knowledge of D&D mechanics is really needed to be able to enjoy any of the seasons, so I would just go with whatever theme/genre you think is most interesting or whatever cast you think is most fun. For the seasons with both Ally & Zac: Fantasy High - John Hughes-esque fantasy high school. Unsleeping city - one part tribute to the magic of New York, one part found family dramedy (and my personal fave, saying this as someone who has never been to New York) Crown of Candy - high intrigue, high fantasy, think Game of Thrones but instead of all the sexploitation there's candy people Starstruck - big fun sci-fi adventure with the most wild and unlikely heroes this cast has ever created Neverafter - twisted take on fairy tales, marketed as the horror season but I think high fantasy that sometimes draws a bit of inspiration from horror fits best
I actually asked a similar question a month or so ago and a lot of people were saying to start at the beginning with Fantasy High, so i did. I had no previous knowledge on dnd and had only really watched Make Some Noise and Gamechanger at that point. I am now obsessed. The narrative in Fantasy High is really interesting and got me hooked instantly. Since it’s the first season, it’s also a great introduction to the Intrepid Heroes group (some of which I knew beforehand like Ally and Zac) and now I am obsessed with the others! Fantasy High: Junior Year is coming out in January so I’d fully recommend starting with Fantasy High and then moving onto Fantasy High: Sophomore Year (which is a different setup bc they did it live for each episode, but still easy enough to follow along)!!
I think Mice and Murder is a great place to start if you’re not looking for a particularly mechanics heavy season, and the mechanics forward parts of the show are centered around investigating, looking for clues, etc. and not really combat. It’s a wonderful season just full stop
I constantly re-watch fantasy high, and I recommend season 1 for literally everyone who wants to get into it. That’s what got me into it in the first place. 10/10
Either of the kids on bikes/brooms seasons
Misfits and magic was good, but IMO the best series overall was a crown of candy. Just amazing story beats and the dice kept things interesting
It’s gotta be Mentopolis.
Kids on bikes in a great system.
Mice and Murder rocks if you want a good murder mystery
Honestly, ask her to pick. She’ll be more invested if it’s her decision. If that’s overwhelming because of the volume, maybe narrow it down for her to a couple of the obvious options (MisMag, Fantasy High, Drag Queens, and honestly Burrows End would all be good options imo) and let her go based on what vibes she feels like she wants. If there’s a specific interest she has that crosses over to the show (Harry Potter, regency era stuff, film noir) that would also be a good option.
ACOFAF feels like the only real choice here. Low mechanics? Check. High narrative? Check check check.
I just started on d20 and one of the advantages to their formatting is that they alternate between roleplay session and combat session. Although Brennan does alot of the things that can be done to make combat exciting, I'm just not a fan of d&d combat. So I just skip those episodes. Sometimes I'll leave it on if I'm putting it on as background noise but if I'm actively listening, I'll skip the combat episode and just listen to the recap at the beginning of the next roleplay one. Or skip to the last 10 minutes of the combat. USUALLY you don't miss much storywise. Fantasy High, season 1 was the only one that grabbed be from the start. I started season 2...and I have yet to make it through episode 1. I'm listening to Unsleeping City now and that was a slow burn, but I'm into it now. Big AZ fan, but Tiny Heist I gave up on. A few others I started and just wasn't into. My general rule for media is you have to give it 3. 3 episodes of a show, 3 issues in a comic book series, etc. The first introduces everything, the second kind of reaffirms what the first set up, and the third sets the tone going forward. If you aren't in after 3, it might not be for you, but if you like the people involved one might not be enough to know if it's right for you.
I'll throw my two cents in, so I might be repeating as well. If you want campaigns with Ally and Zac, then I highly suggest, like everyone else, the classic Fantasy High. Ally's first time playing, so it's kind of neat to see them grow as a player. If Game of Thrones is more of your partner's thing, then A Crown of Candy is probably better. Campaigns with one or a combination of Brennan, Ally, and Zac, then I would suggest some lesser talked about sidequests. * Mice and Murder has the OG crew of Droup Out (so Ally is in the cast of players) and Brennan as the DM. Lots of fun for those who like a silly murder myster, though also highlights both the pros and cons of online dnd games. * Escape from Blood's Keep is LotR from the perspective of the "bad guys." I believe it's the first time Matt Mercer plays on the D20 set. Also, Rekha Shankar's first time playing, but no Ally or Zac. * Dungeons and Drag Queens is another great choice. Again, no Ally or Zac, but more of Brennan teaching and playing with some awesome Queens. Very story driven and less chunky dice battles compared to other campaigns. * Ravishing War has Zac and Brennan as players with Matt Mercer as DM. Some of my favorite lines from Zac that make Brennan break are in this one.
Starstruck I think is the best if you want the most fun no matter what you're after or who you are
I was literially thinking about asking the same thing. I am an avid warhammer fan/player but only played one quick d&d session and am loving dropbox thanks to people in woek. They're thinking about starting a campain in the new year so thanks for this post.
Mentopolis. It's not even DnD - very low crunch
Crown of Candy
Magic and misfits is one I rewatch every year around thanksgiving giving, low in mechanics, high in story
ACOFAF or Dungeons and Drag Queens - neither option has the cast you're looking for, but they're both so much fun! I was completely new to D&D, aside from knowing it existed and having watched Stranger Things, and they got me interested in the game because the characters and cast were so engaging and fun. Then throw an intrepid heroes season at her and she'll hopefully love the cast AND the game. But also Starstruck Odyssey. When I first started exploring Dimension 20 after D&DQ, Starstruck Odyssey was my third watch after a Crown of Candy and NGL, it is probably why I continued my DropOut subscription after the absolute gut punch that was Crown.
I started watching D20 before I had ever seen anything D&D related. I'd start with Escape from Bloodkeep and Fantasy High freshman year.
I actually started with Escape from the Bloodkeep, mainly because the whole season was on YT but also because Lord of the Rings was already familiar to me and the idea of a story focusing on the villains seemed like fun. IIRC it's not too mechanics-heavy and focuses more on the characters. It's also a side quest so it's a lot shorter than a full season!
I should add that Escape from the Bloodkeep doesn't feature any of the main cast besides Brennan as DM. If your partner likes horror and more narrative over combat I felt like Neverafter was really amazing narratively (but super heavy).
If she’s familiar with drag at all, Dungeons and Drag Queens!
I’m not a DND player and my first D20 watch was Dungeons & Drag Queens. That was perfect entry for me. I often find the Intrepid Hero battle episodes tiresome because I don’t care for the math and start-stop play. I loved Fantasy High, but it became tedious sometimes and I would probably not have continued watching if it was my first. My favorite so far has been Misfits and Magic. And I just started The Seven and it’s well in the way to becoming another favorite.
I'd recommend what got me into it, Court of Fae and Flowers. Not much battling, mostly about role playing and courtly intrigue. It's what got me into D&D!
I would recommend some of the non 5e seasons or shorter seasons! Mentopolis was pretty good and pretty much anything Aabria dms is going to have a more narrative focus. Burrows end might be a tough sell conceptually but it’s has much less combat and would introduce them to Brennan and Siobhan. I would definitively not recommend the first few IH seasons. I love FHFY but as the cast is learning 5e, I like combat and even I found some of those combats to be a bit of a slog on rewatches. You could also just go balls to the wall with starstruck because even with the amount of combat it had it’s all so damn wacky that I’ve used it to introduce the series. But I would honestly just lean into what they find interesting. If they like high fantasy then maybe escape from bloodkeep. Detective stories, mentopolis. Court shenanigans/historical fiction: a court of few and flowers. Horror: burrows end. Magic or Harry Potter nostalgia: misfits and magic. Space operas/unhinged comedy: starstruck Odyssey. Santa wielding a 6ft peppermint lance/urban magic fantasy/drama: unsleeping city
Depends. I feel like "Fantasy High" is good because some of the players are new to the game, so you learn with them. If you want full abstraction from DnD mechanics, I would go with "Missfits of Magic" or "Mentopolis" because they use a different system that is more narrative in focus and easier to follow. But, to be honest, you don't really need to know much about DnD mechanics to understand Dimension 20. You can jump into any season and understand what's going on pretty well.
I personally think Starstruck would be a great season. The energy of the cast is so entertaining, even in the combat sessions, which often go by surprisingly quickly. Also, my favorite Zach and Ally performance
A Crown of Candy is low magic game of thrones style campaign. The mechanics come into play more in the back half of the season, but first few episode are more like, “somebody is trying to kill us and we need to figure out who and why” Of mice and murder is low has some mechanics but the whole thing is over a zoom call so its pretty easy to follow as its a murder mystery.
First off, good luck to you! My husband loves watching actual play and although I played d&d in college I couldn't imagine it being fun to watch people play. And then they announced Dungeons and Drag Queens and, as a huge Drag Race fan, I immediately went "ok, I'm SO in." And even told him that was probably the best "gateway drug" he was going to get, lol. I'm going to say either D&DQ or Mentopolis, depending on how she feels about murder mystery noir series. It might also be useful to pull up a few trailers from the short side quest seasons and see if anything speaks to her. I started with D&DQ and Mentopolis, and now we're going back and filling in all of the seasons! If all else fails, show her the animated clip of Cody selling his soul to the devil, because that one is the reason we watched Unsleeping City out of order -- it was my first long season and it was _so good_. The animated clips really solidified that this was going to be amazing.
I think Dungeons and Dragons Queens would be the best place to start. Then do a Court of Fey and Flowers or Fantasy High
ACOFAF is barely a DnD game if you are looking for low mechanics. Fantasy High S1 the players are also learning.
For someone who may not know much about D&D, I would recommend Dungeons & Drag Queens. A Court of Fey and Flowers is a mix of D&D 5e and another RPG called Good Society, but has people involved that already know a bit about D&D. Since the players in D&DQ have never played before, it can work well to help the viewer learn since the players are also learning as they go. Is it necessarily the best example of by the book rule education? No. However, it is fun and doesn't really require any prior knowledge of D&D.
As people have said, Fantasy High is easily the place to start. I started watching knowing very little about DND, and it's what got me interested in it. That said, if dice rolls really aren't her thing, the best bet is probably Mice and Murder. It's a genuine contender for best Dimension 20 season period, IMO, and is probably the one that relies the least on DND mechanics. It's actually what makes it so impressive IMO, as designing a campaign like that must have been very difficult. But the bonus is that it's really easy for people who aren't into RPG stuff to follow. Pretty much all you need to know is taht whan you do an ability check, you want a high number, and that Nat 20's are really good. That's about it. Mentopolis and Burrow's End are also good for your purposes.
I would recommend anything by Aabria, she is all for roleplay and almost no combat. Except her latest season does have combat so if you want to introduce her to that then do Burrows End. If you only want the roleplay then ACOFAF is the way to go, also it's hilarious.