This article contains spoilers for Dimension 20: The Ravening War Episode 1, “The Seeds of Conflict,” now streaming on Dropout.
Dimension 20: The Ravening War began its first episode with a brilliant callback to Critical Role‘s spinoff, Exandria Unlimited: Calamity.
The Ravening War guest Dungeon Master Matthew Mercer opened the first session with one word: “Water.” Almost immediately, cast members Brennan Lee Mulligan, Aabria Iyengar and Lou Wilson began to laugh, throwing off the course of the opening for a time. Fans on social media noted how simple yet clever Mercer’s start was, as it called back to Mulligan’s own time on Critical Role. Namely, Mercer mirrored Mulligan’s opening to Exandria Unlimited: Calamity.
Brennan Lee Mulligan on Critical Role
In 2022, Mulligan guest DM’d for Critical Role. He led several players, including The Ravening War‘s Iyengar and Wilson, through the apocalyptic event in Mercer’s homebrewed world of Exandria known as the Calamity. To begin the session, he started with one word: “Fire.” Now, Mercer is leading Dimension 20 players through Mulligan’s world of Calorum and an event with similarly high stakes and long-term repercussions. With the multiple parallels in place, Mulligan, Iyengar, Wilson and fans acknowledged Mercer’s callback to the former’s iconic start to Calamity.
Shortly after the announcement that Mercer would lead the next Dimension 20 campaign, some fans of the show expressed concern he would not be the right fit. Critical Role typically takes a much more serious approach to storytelling, creating dramatic and heartwrenching campaigns lasting well over a hundred 4-hour episodes each. Dimension 20, meanwhile, tends towards shorter campaigns with more comedic tones. However, after the first episode, fans on social media approved of his mixed approach to The Ravening War with both absurd humor and gritty drama.
The Difference Between Dimension 20 and Critical Role
Exandria Unlimted‘s Anjali Bhimani, who also stars in The Ravening War as Lady Amangeaux Épicé du Peche, recently spoke with CBR about working with Dimension 20 and Critical Role. The actor discussed some of the differences and similarities between the two shows, noting that they share more in common than they don’t.
“I can actually more tell you what is exactly the same, which is that both of these companies are filled with people who care so deeply about what they do and care so deeply about their community, who cares so deeply about the quality of what they share. It is such a joy to be around people who take their fun as seriously as I do. It’s always a joy, because there’s nobody there for any other reason than they absolutely love it.
New episodes of Dimension 20: The Ravening War premiere Wednesdays at 4 PM PST on Dropout.
Source: Twitter
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