The Adventure Zone Returns to Balance With Guest DM Aabria Iyengar

The Adventure Zone is returning to its first and most popular storyline, this time with a new Dungeon Master. Earlier today, the McElroy Family announced "The Zone of Adventure: Imbalance," a new three-episode video miniseries starring the McElroys and Aabria Iyengar. The new episode will be set in the world of Balance, the popular initial storyline for The Adventure Zone, but with Iyengar acting as DM. From the initial trailer (shown below) it appears that Justin, Travis, and Cliff McElroy will reprise their characters Taako, Magnus, and Merle. 

The Adventure Zone is one of the many podcasts produced by the McElroy brothers and initially started in 2014 as a special Dungeons & Dragons one-shot released as part of My Brother, My Brother, and Me, the signature podcast for the McElroy family. The Adventure Zone picked up in popularity and was spun out into its own podcast series, with the inaugural Balance arc lasting 69 episodes over three years. After "Balance" was completed, the McElroys took turns acting as Game Master and used several alternate game systems. To date, The Adventure Zone has had four seasons, with the most recent season launching earlier this year. In addition to the podcast, First Second Books has also adapted The Adventure Zone's Balance storyline into a series of graphic novels, all of which have appeared on the New York Times' best-seller list. The McElroys are also developing an animated adaptation of the series for NBC's Peacock streaming service, although they haven't provided a new update on that project in over a year.

Aabria Iyengar has quickly become a premiere GM on various "actual play" podcasts and shows, having run a mini-campaign for Critical Role and Dropout's Dimension 20 in the last year. In addition to her role as Chief Marketing Officer for the popular dice-maker Dice Envy, Iyengar has quickly built a reputation and fanbase due to her fantastic storytelling and rapport with players.  

The Zone of Adventure: Imbalance will debut on the McElroys' YouTube channel, with the first episode premiering on November 11th.

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