Aabria Iyengar is an American web series actress known primarily for

tabletop role-playing game A tabletop role-playing game (typically abbreviated as TRPG or TTRPG), also known as a pen-and-paper role-playing game, is a form of role-playing game (RPG) in which the participants describe their characters' actions through speech. Participa ...

anthologies, streams and

podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosin ...

s. She was the Dungeon Master (DM) for the first season of ''

Exandria Unlimited ''Exandria Unlimited'' (''ExU'') is an American actual play anthology web series where the cast plays ''Dungeons & Dragons'' using the fifth edition ruleset. It is set in the Exandria campaign setting and is a spin-off of the web series ''Critica ...

''. Iyengar has been both a player and a Game Master for multiple seasons of ''

Dimension 20 ''Dimension 20'' is a tabletop role-playing game show produced by CollegeHumor, and generally hosted by Brennan Lee Mulligan as the show's regular Dungeon Master. Most of the games use ''Dungeons & Dragons'' 5th edition. Seasons of the show ...

'' and a guest DM on ''

The Adventure Zone ''The Adventure Zone'' is a weekly comedy and adventure actual play podcast based loosely upon the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' game series, along with other role-playing games. The show is distributed by the Maximum Fun network and hosted by brother ...

''.

Career

Iyengar is the

Chief Marketing Officer A chief marketing officer (CMO), also called a global marketing officer or marketing director, or chief brand officer, is a corporate executive responsible for managing marketing activities in an organization. Whilst historically these titles may ...

for the dice-maker Dice Envy.

Actual play

Iyengar appeared as both a

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who ...

and as the Dungeon Master (DM) in multiple

actual play Actual play, also called live play, is a genre of podcast or web show in which people play tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs) for an audience. Actual play often encompasses in-character interactions between players, storytelling from the game ...

s between 2018 and 2020 on the Happy Jack's RPG Network. Iyengar was originally a guest player, acting as Laura Bennett, in the actual play

web series A web series (also known as a web show) is a series of scripted or non-scripted online videos, generally in episodic form, released on the Internet, which first emerged in the late 1990s and became more prominent in the early 2000s. A single in ...

''Kollok: 1991'' on the Hyper RPG Twitch channel before joining the main cast in the second season in 2019. In 2022, Iyengar reprised her role in the sequel set 30 years after the first show – ''Kollok'' was broadcast on

AMC Networks AMC Networks Inc. is an American entertainment company headquartered in 11 Penn Plaza, New York. AMC Networks owns and operates the eponymous cable channel and its siblings, IFC, We TV, and Sundance TV; the art house movie theater IFC Cen ...

' FearHQ Twitch channel. Iyengar has been part of the main cast, playing as Koseh, for ''Into the Mother Lands'' since 2020. In 2021, Iyengar was the DM for two actual play anthology web series – '' Misfits and Magic'', the tenth season of ''

'', and the first season of ''

, a

Critical Role ''Critical Role'' is an American web series in which a group of professional voice actors play '' Dungeons & Dragons''. The show started streaming partway through the cast's first campaign in March 2015. Campaign one ended in October 2017 aft ...

'' spin-off. She was the first Critical Role DM after

Matthew Mercer Matthew Christopher Miller (born June 29, 1982), better known as Matthew Mercer, is an American voice actor. He is best known for his work with Studiopolis, Funimation, Bang Zoom! Entertainment, Viz Media, and NYAV Post in anime, cartoons, and ...

. Chase Carter, for ''

Dicebreaker Gamer Network Limited (formerly Eurogamer Network Limited) is a British mass media company based in Brighton. Founded in 1999 by Rupert and Nick Loman, it owns brands—primarily editorial websites—relating to video game journalism and othe ...

'', stated that "both appearances were hits within their respective fandoms, leading many to clamor for more Iyengar". Iyengar also performed as a guest DM on ''

'', with the McElroy Brothers as players, in 2021. Christian Hoffer of ''

ComicBook.com The following is a list of major assets that are owned by Paramount Global. Paramount Pictures Corporation (Film) * Paramount Pictures ** Paramount Home Entertainment ** Paramount Television Studios ** Paramount Pictures International ** Para ...

'' highlighted that "Iyengar has quickly built a reputation and fanbase due to her fantastic storytelling and rapport with players". Carter commented that "Iyengar is quickly becoming a household name in the realm of tabletop actual play. ..Her fame has been a welcome change for many who are glad to see a Black woman garnering so much respect and excitement in what has been a predominantly white endeavor within a historically white hobby". Iyengar gave the Storytime keynote at the 2021

PAX Unplugged PAX (originally known as Penny Arcade Expo) is a series of gaming culture festivals involving tabletop, arcade, and video gaming. PAX is held annually in Seattle, Boston and Philadelphia in the United States; and Melbourne in Australia. PAX w ...

. In August 2022, Iyengar appeared as

gamemaster A gamemaster (GM; also known as game master, game manager, game moderator, referee, or storyteller) is a person who acts as an organizer, officiant for regarding rules, arbitrator, and moderator for a multiplayer role-playing game. They are m ...

on ''Dimension 20'': ''A Court of Fey & Flowers'', a combination of ''

Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. (TS ...

'' and the Jane Austen-inspired game '' Good Society''. She also joined the cast of the '' Vampire: The Masquerade'' web series '' NY by Night'', playing as Margot "Fuego" Walker. Em Friedman, for ''

Polygon In geometry, a polygon () is a plane figure that is described by a finite number of straight line segments connected to form a closed ''polygonal chain'' (or ''polygonal circuit''). The bounded plane region, the bounding circuit, or the two to ...

'' in 2022, commented that Iyengar's actual play credits now "span nearly the entire industry" with her ''By Night'' debut. In January 2023, it was announced that Iyengar, alongside

Erika Ishii Erika Ishii is an American voice actress and host. She is best known as the voice of video game characters such as Valkyrie in ''Apex Legends'', as well as her appearances in actual play web series including ''L.A. by Night'' and ''Dimension 20'' ...

, Lou Wilson, and Brennan Lee Mulligan, would star in the creator-owned actual play

''Worlds Beyond Number''; the show premiered in March 2023 and ranked in Patreon's top twenty accounts within a month. Also in March 2023, Iyengar joined the third campaign of ''Critical Role'' as a guest star playing as gnome cleric Deanna. In April 2023, WizKids announced a new miniature boxed set of ''Exandria Unlimited'' characters including a figurine of Iyengar. In November 2023, Iyengar joined ''

Candela Obscura ''Candela Obscura'' is the name of both an American actual play web series and a tabletop role-playing game system. The ''Candela Obscura'' show is a horror anthology series in which actors play a tabletop role-playing game of the same name. I ...

'' as the third chapter's game master.

Personal life

Iyengar attended the University of Iowa where she was a member of the volleyball team. Iyengar first played ''Dungeons & Dragons'' in 2015 or 2016 when she was invited to her now husband's board game group and was given a cleric character sheet to play. ''

Wired ''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San ...

'' highlighted that "Iyengar was often the only woman or person of color at the table, and she faced a lot of other players questioning her knowledge of the game, as well as more overt harassment. As a GM, she now works to ensure her players don’t have to face those same challenges. ..With the increased visibility of actual play games, ..Iyengar has increasingly been able to tailor her playing experience to what she wanted it to be for both herself and her audience".

Filmography

Web series

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Iyengar, Aabria Actual play performers American voice actresses American web series actresses 21st-century American actresses Women podcasters Living people Year of birth missing (living people) American people of Indian descent CollegeHumor people