Today, Dropout and Dimension 20 have released the trailer for their next TTRPG mini-series: Dimension 20: Gladlands. This season welcomes back D20 series regulars to Dimension 20 while also inviting two new faces to the dome. Dimension 20: Gladlands will be led by Brennan Lee Mulligan as the GM over a shorter, six-episode, season.
The cast of Dimension 20: Gladlands will include:
- Ally Beardsley (they/them) as Quinn Wedbush (she/her)
- Kimia Behpoornia (she/her) as Tess Tube5 (he/him)
- Vic Michaelis (they/she) as Hugi (she/her)
- Oscar Montoya (he/him) as Poppy Persona (she/her)
- Zac Oyama (he/him) as Connor Kawasaki (he/him)
- Jacob Wysocki (he/him) as Kokomo (he/him)
While we don’t get too much information about the system that’s being used from a behind-the-scenes photo released it does look to be a homebrewed variant of Kids on Bikes. Each character has the following ‘Virtues’ that have an assigned dice.
The virtues are as follows:
- Charm (Rapport, Persuasion, Small Talk)
- Warmth (Empathy, Connection, compassion)
- Creativity (Wonder, innovation, artistry)
- Awareness
- Resilliance
- Determination
The mutations that each of the characters contribute to their specialization or mutation. Specializations are areas of expertise or heightened skill, while Mutations are ‘functional apocalyptic mutations’ that give a mechanical bonus such as additional damage, resistances, etc. A character is able to be more specialized by reducing the dice that they use for a particular skill.
Players can also be working on pet projects for the betterment of the community, that will also provide a mechanical benefit to the player.
What is Dimension 20: Gladlands?
Dimension 20: Gladlands is a mix of classic post-apocalyptic fiction like Mad Max and Fallout, where the party is made up of survivors of the wastelands. Some characters have quite human forms like the plague-doctor meets camp counsellor character of Michaelis, while others like Behpoornia’s ant-headed human show that some level of radiation and mutation has also taken over the lands.
In the before times, when water was plentiful and the high buildings towered over endless green adn growing gardens, they got so bored and angry that they blew up the world!
The twist on the post-apocalypse comes from every character being incredibly nice and wholesome to one another. Instead of characters being out for themselves there’s lots of talk of helping out one another and working together positively.
Dimension 20: Gladlands Hidden Mechanic
As with many Dimension 20 seasons it seems that there’s more going on mechanically behind the good nature of the characters. Each player is set up with a gauge at their seat, similar to a pressure gauge we see the numbers 0-3 in green, 3-6 in yellow, 6-8 in orange, before a break in the color, and 8-10 in red. At different points in the trailer we see these gauges going up and down too.
Brennan Lee Mulligan sits with a larger gauge in front of him. When Vic’s character is introduced in the trailer they start by saying “We started at a 10 […] let’s just take it down a second” and the shot quickly moves to Mulligan looking to have adjusted his meter down from 10 to a 7 or 8.
Dimension 20: Gladlands will take place over the course of six-episodes beginning on January 7th. The day after each episode releases there will also be an in-dome Adventuring Party where the players will all discuss the events of the episode.
