A ragtag group, who likely wouldn’t have ever crossed paths otherwise, finds themselves trapped inside of a nightmare ruled by an evil overlord. And they quickly realize beggars can’t be choosers. As the world crumbled around them, their circumstances begs them to survive despite all odds.
That’s the fantasy a group of actors from otherworldly fan-favorite tales have been hand-plucked to reckon with each week in Hasbro’s Wizards of the Coast’s new YouTube series, Dungeon Masters.
The first two episodes of the series launched April 22, with episodes airing weekly on Wednesdays at 6:30 PM PT.
Part of what’s made “Dungeons & Dragons” resonate across so many different kinds of players is the way it levels the social playing field. With built-in rules, shared goals and the freedom to throw out the wildest ideas imaginable, the game creates a collaborative world where people connect through creativity rather than social performance. For neurodivergent players, that structure can feel more intuitive than the often-unspoken expectations of everyday life while still bringing neurodivergent and neurotypical players together at the same table.
For neurodivergent players, that structure can feel more intuitive than the often-unspoken expectations of everyday life while still bringing neurodivergent and neurotypical players together at the same table.
The show features Jasmine Bhullar as the Dungeon Master, leading the campaign played by Mayanna Berrin (Dispatch, StoryQuest), Christian Navarro (13 Reasons Why, Forgotten Realms: Tears of Selune), Neil Newbon (Baldur’s Gate III) and Devora Wilde (Baldur’s Gate III).
When I read that cast to my 19-year-old brother, Evan, his reaction was: “Holy sh*t. Astarion’s voice actor is gonna be a part of it. That’s so fun.”
I shared the news with Evan because, while I’ve never personally ventured into the world of Dungeons & Dragons, we’ve bonded over video games that are very clearly inspired by the format. These video games acted as his gateway drug into tabletop gaming with his buddies, and now he plays D&D weekly on his college campus.
And while the show itself isn’t scripted, the nature of the game asks players to perform their role. In the case of Dungeon Masters, the characters being a Dr. Frankenstein-type inventor named Crem, a cold-blooded monster-hunter named Eloin, a death-honoring cleric named Wesley, and Zora, a sorcerer who’s learned her martial prowess from the dark and gloomy place she was raised in.
“The inclusion of Baldur’s Gate III actors has some exciting implications for grabbing a wider audience for D&D,” Evan said. “Many people, such as myself, were heavily introduced by Baldur’s Gate III to this game, and including the actual voice actors behind some of gaming’s most iconic fantasy characters will definitely garner the attention of the gaming world to the tabletop experience.”
Indeed, the game’s format has been widely popularized in recent years by different computer role-playing games coupled with its feature in the hit series Stranger Things, but the actual-play show format has gained popularity through the years as well. And since its genesis, D&D, offering unlimited possibilities and inviting the most unimaginable imaginations, has evolved itself into something widely beloved by all kinds of people.
Part of what’s made D&D stick, beyond the dragons and dice, is the way it reimagines socializing itself.
In fact, part of what’s made D&D stick, beyond the dragons and dice, is the way it reimagines socializing itself. With built-in rules, shared goals and the freedom to exist as someone else entirely, the game has become a kind of low-pressure social sandbox where the strangest, most out-of-the-box ideas drive the story forward — making it a format many neurodivergent players say feels more intuitive than the unspoken rules of real life.
“When we look at how Baldur’s Gate III and Stranger Things, and the D&D movie expanded the fandom and the number of people in the hobby as a whole, I know my goal coming into this, and to a certain extent, Wizards’ goal coming into this, is to expand this hobby that we all love,” Bhullar told Variety. “So if somebody who’s never watched an actual-play watches ours and goes and says, ‘I want to run my own game of D&D,’ then I think we’ve done our jobs well.”
Episodes will drop weekly and showcase official, unreleased D&D content available online directly following each episode, for others like Evan, who look to actual-play shows for inspiration in between his own campaigns in order to push his creative ideas and accomplish his goal of — as he put it — “produce amazing results out of the weirdest ideas possible.”
Featuring an original score by Grammy-nominated composer David Arkenstone, and topped off with a state-of-the-art set, Dungeon Masters will be a major indication of just how big the actual-play genre will be to the future of D&D.
“In many ways, Dungeon Masters is our love letter to the actual-play shows that have introduced so many to D&D,” Wizards of the Coast senior vice president and head of Dungeons & Dragons, Dan Ayoub said. “Our aim with Dungeon Masters is to crystallize all that’s great about actual play — the tension, drama, and unpredictable nature — and put our stamp on it with upcoming official source material. We’re so excited to see how Dungeon Masters can inspire even more adventure from our players, and in turn, see how they inspire us to make the show better and better.”
