‘Dungeons and Drag Queens’ Is A Delight Even (Especially?) If You’re Not A Gamer

Never ones to shy away from topical entertainment, actual play favorite Dimension 20‘s current Side Quest is called Dungeons and Drag Queens. It features 4 A-List Questing Queens on a journey through the Underworld. 

Forgive me readers for I have sinned, it has been *mumbles awkwardly* since my last review of Dimension 20. I’ve missed a lot- or rather, you have, since I watched all of it and didn’t review. Maternity leave will do that for you. So will being at the beck and call of tiny twin humans basically all day.

But you’re not here to hear about my progeny. You’re here to hear the gospel of Dungeons and Drag Queens, the current Side Quest run by our beloved Dimension 20. Let me tell you, I didn’t think I could be surprised by Dimension 20 anymore BUT I AM. I didn’t see this coming.

Both the premise and cast are a full-on delight. 

First off, can we talk about how the crew has snagged four actually famous Queens for this show? We’ve got:

• Monét X Change playing a merfolk assassin working to protect her family
• Alaska Thunderfuck playing a beefy barbarian in a tutu
• Bob the Drag Queen playing a sorcerer with a dark secret
• Jujubee playing a delightfully scatterbrained fairy ranger 

You didn’t have to look one of those Questing Queens up, did you? I sure didn’t. Two of them (not saying who) are in my top three drag queens of all time, and that’s a very talented list.

Dungeons and Drag Queens did not skimp on talent, let me tell you.

Coming at a time when my beloved home state (well, I used to live there) of Florida is crushing hopes and dreams left and right in an attempt to implement its own version of religious law, this season feels like a big middle finger and a warm hug all at the same time. 

Second, I want to call out the season’s artist, Savana, who is also a drag queen! How cool is that? It’s like they made a beautiful shield that also functions as something you could use to repel Ron DeSantis Exorcism-style (drag queens? D&D? cis dude in makeup? dude would have an actual stroke if he watched the trailer).

We also have the joy of watching a rather sensually styled Brennan Lee Mulligan guide these brand-new players through the awkwardness of starting their first game. There’s an art to this- you want to invite the players to immerse themselves into the game without feeling awkward about mistakes or getting caught up in too many side bars.

BLeeM (his preferred acronym to avoid BLM confusion) is truly a master here. He hits the right mix of allowing the Queens to volunteer ideas- even silly ones!- while keeping them aimed more or less in the direction of ADVENTURE. Few can resist his theatrical DM style, and the Queens are no exception. I love seeing how the players pick up his excitement and really get into their characters.

I won’t spoil it, but one shining moment is when Jujube makes a joke about an NPC and Bob tells her, “That’s true now. Everything we say happens.” Everyone rolls with it in a hysterical way. Later, when a player doesn’t understand an ability, everyone plays that off without either rewriting the rule or making her feel bad about it.

The Questing Queens are here to play, which I fully appreciate. You could assume they’d make fun of the whole thing and do nothing but raunchy drag humor (and trust me, there is some of that for sure) but they clearly respect their audience enough not to make fun of us. They’re gamely learning the mechanics and taking the adventure as seriously as you’d really want in an actual play show. 

It’s awesome. It’s magical. I cannot stress enough how much fun it is to watch new players catch the tabletop bug. You need to put Dungeons and Drag Queens on your watchlist right now, before you get distracted by all the SDCC coverage we’re about to start dropping. 

Dimension 20: Dungeons and Drag Queens is available in weekly installments over at the DROPOUT streaming platform. Which, I might add, costs the same as a single coffee per month while delivering fresher, socially forward content than any of us have time to watch. We aren’t being paid to say this, either- we regularly give away subs from our own budget, not even promos from the site. If you haven’t subbed treat yourself!

If nothing else, you know you’re supporting a bunch of inclusive creators who create ethical content that makes DeSantis cry.*

*Standard disclaimer that this is Khai’s opinion, not The Geekiary’s official position. We don’t actually know if it would make him cry.

Author: Khai

Khai is a writer, anthropologist, and games enthusiast. She is co-editor (alongside Alex DeCampi) of and contributor to “True War Stories”, a comic anthology published by Z2 Comics. When she’s not writing or creating games, Khai likes to run more tabletop RPGs than one person should reasonably juggle.

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