Dungeons and Dragons Kinda Funny Laura Bailey

The podcasting medium is known for true crime, one-act, and regular hits of ripped-from-the-headlines news. Correct now, though, one of the biggest emergent genres is Dungeons & Dragons. Whether it's "actual play," in which a group of people sit down and tape themselves playing a tabletop roleplaying game, or resources for people wanting to run their own games, D&D and other tabletop podcasts have go dear listens.

While actual-play podcasts aren't any replacement for adventuring with friends, they're a mode to get the feeling of a campaign if you don't take a group yet — and you tin take that campaign wherever you get. For new Game Masters, Storytellers, or Keepers, they're a great way to learn the ins and outs of running a campaign and how to manage players. They give glimpses into platforms y'all might non have tried yet, bear witness how different rules tin can be interpreted and, near chiefly, have astonishing plots and characters. People who take played a tabletop roleplaying games know that it's a completely different way of experiencing a story, and actual-play podcasts assist bundle that particular kind of magic regardless of where yous are or when yous're listening.

Finding the actual-play podcast that'south correct for you can be pretty daunting — there'south even a website dedicated to keeping runway of all of them — and then here's a collection of some fan favorites and indie greats to get-go you lot off.

Dragon Talk

Dragon Talk is the official Dungeons & Dragons podcast of Wizards of the Declension, featuring both playthroughs and word about D&D in all its iterations and editions. The episodes also have guests, ranging from Dylan Sprouse (all-time known for his part on Disney Channel's The Suite Life of Zack and Cody) to John Darnielle (the musician backside The Mountain Goats) to Patrick Rothfuss (author of The Kingkiller Chronicle), showing how of import D&D has been for such a wide array of creators.

Disquisitional Office

Critical Role is an bodily-play podcast made up of phonation actors — including Matt Mercer, Ashley Johnson and Laura Bailey — and featuring guests like Felicia Day and Wil Wheaton. While Critical Office is known all-time for its YouTube and Twitch presence, yous can't lookout YouTube while driving during a road trip — or, at least, you lot really shouldn't. The podcast frees you from having to have your eyes on the screen but leaves y'all with all the story. Critical Role has go one of the biggest actual-play stories out there, with a massive, dedicated fan following. The series finished its showtime total story in October 2017, and is currently on its 2d campaign. This ways you can jump in right at the start of that entrada without having to worry about catching up as much.

Join the Party

If you've never played a game of D&D and you're worried about the rules going over your head, Join the Party is the perfect podcast to start you off. The start arc has 2 tracks: one for beginners, with quick explanations of how stats and rolls work to assistance teach listeners how to play, and ane for experienced players without the explanations. Join the Party is fantasy with a twist, calculation cooking competitions, greaser-esque gargoyles, and an entire arc inspired by The Bachelorette. It too has great music and sound design, making it an immersive experience that'south easy to lose yourself in and enjoy. The main characters are a cool teen rogue, a loveable and formidable warforged barbaric, and a used automobile salesman of a warlock.

The Terminate of Fourth dimension and Other Bothers

The End of Time and Other Bothers uses the Dungeon World platform, which is similar to Dungeons & Dragons, but a bit looser with the rules. Run by Sean Howard, author of the comedy podcast Alba Salix, The End of Fourth dimension and Other Bothers focuses on a a relatable, exasperated human, an oblivious fairy baker and a ripped, feet-prone half demon. When the group is transported from their futuristic reality to a fantastical past, they have to notice a style to escape and survive. The End of Time and Other Bothers leans heavily into comedy, weaving in improv games and absurdity to requite as many laughs as possible.

Serendipity City

If you like the idea of tabletops merely you want something with a more than off-kilter, modern feel, Serendipity City's dieselpunk urban fantasy might be upwardly your alley. Serendipity City is potent on artful and flair, and its setting is exemplified in its core bandage of characters which ranges from a seer to a witch to a clockmaker. Serendipity City has an border for intrigue and a focus on the intricate worldbuilding behind the city. Instead of using one specific system, Serendipity City meshes Sprawl, Urban Shadows, and Dungeon Globe, making its rules and setup totally unique.

Ghostpuncher Corps

Ghostpuncher Corps is a decidedly metal Dungeons & Dragons actual-play podcast that focuses on a mod-solar day bard, druid, and warlock who are tasked by Lucifer to wrangle upward demons that have escaped from hell. The show has a similar experience to the hyperbolic graphic novel series Preacher, and draws on horror picture show elements from both slasher classics and more recent comedies similar Dale and Tucker vs. Evil or Cabin in the Woods. The podcast's setting is the same as a webcomic of the same name (but featuring a different plot and different characters) for a visual aspect to the earth-building.

bomBARDed

bomBARDed is an inventive accept on the typical bodily-play format. Instead of merely being friends playing a tabletop game, the group is fabricated upward of bandmates, and in each episode, the players have to write a vocal to use their bardic inspiration. To make things even more interesting and ridiculous, aspects of the song they take to write are determined past die rolls. bomBARDed is pun-heavy in a way that'southward as funny equally it is groan-inducing, and the music jokes range from pretty accessible to nitty-gritty into music theory.

20 Sided Stories

20 Sided Stories is an actual-play podcast that casts its NPCs with voice actors and puts an emphasis on music and audio design — making the whole production that sound similar an sound drama. It features several small arcs with dissimilar settings and systems, ranging from a mail service-apocalyptic Western to a Sherlock Holmes style mystery — the current arc is set within the earth of Pokémon. The episodes are gripping and usually hilarious, and each entrada stays around just long enough to feel complete before the team moves on to a totally dissimilar style of take chances.

Very Random Encounters

Very Random Encounters is extremely true to its proper name. This podcast is made of up several short campaigns in which everything other than the GM and the system is completely randomized: the player characters' names, races, classes, and stats, too as plot points and, of course, encounters. While this ordinarily makes for some early on jokes every bit each player and GM commits fully to the decisions being made, trying to tell the best story they tin with the least amount of control instead of just relying on comedy.

Center Beats

Bodily-play podcasts aren't always almost fighting dragons or telling as many jokes per infinitesimal equally yous tin, and Center Beats is here to prove it. While the setting of Heart Beats is fantastical, the main characters and their trials are ordinary. There'due south a sweet, hostage piece-of-life feeling to Heart Beats that arrive experience more at home with a cozy romcom than Lord of the Rings, but the stakes still feel high plenty to get invested in the loveable characters and their conflicts.

The Dungeoncast

The Dungeoncast is a valuable asset for any dungeon master. It's a conversational podcast about all things Dungeons & Dragons, breaking downward different monsters, classes, stats, races, and best practices for DMs. D&D core books are information-heavy and tin can be overwhelming, so The Dungeoncast breaks them down in a way that'southward equally entertaining every bit it is accessible. Information technology's a way to make planning a footling easier, learn some great tips for running a game, and mind to fun conversations nearly the organisation.

Behold Her

Behold Her is an interview podcast focusing on women in the tabletop roleplaying game community. Interview guests range from an artist who sells hand-drawn character sheets and hand-crafted dice bags to some of the women on the Dungeons & Dragons team of Wizards of the Declension. The podcast is a combination of give-and-take on roleplaying games and the guests' anecdotes from their own campaigns.

The Adventure Zone

Like Critical Role, The Adventure Zone is currently one of the about pop actual-play podcasts. Featuring Griffin and Justin McElroy (both formerly of Polygon), their brother Travis McElroy, and their father Clint McElroy, what started off as a bonus episode of comedy podcast My Blood brother, My Blood brother and Me eventually became a profound story about hope and loss — while still maintaining its massive quantity of jokes. The beginning arc of the first campaign has been adapted into a best-selling graphic novel, and another is in the works for its second arc. The Take chances Zone is in its second campaign, and while the first used a fantasy-based setting and Dungeons & Dragons fifth Edition rules, the second campaign is a contemporary adventure story in the vein of Supernatural or Buffy the Vampire Slayer with Evil Hat Product's Monster of the Week system.

Character Creation Cast

Grapheme Creation Cast is a show that spotlights interesting tabletop systems by interviewing people familiar with them and discussing what sorts of characters you lot can build in them. Each interview is framed like an arc, starting with building characters and ending in give-and-take. The podcast as well has special episodes with tips on how to run a game in a manner that makes sense for your player characters, your players, and your NPCs.

I Am Hear

I Am Hear is an interview podcast that skews towards the meta: The interviews are usually with members of the actual-play community. The discussion of the episode centers on how tabletop roleplaying has been a significant positive change in the interviewee'southward life, and how they've taken that positivity and spread information technology through their ain podcasts or other tabletop-related work. It's a delightfully feel-skillful heed for anyone who's had their life inverse by tabletops.

Wil Williams writes, listens, and loves podcasts. She runs the website Wil Williams Writes, co-hosts the podcast Tuned In Dialed up, and has piece of work featured in Discover Pods and Bello Collective. She is agape of whales and suspicious of dolphins.

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Source: https://www.polygon.com/podcasts/2018/9/26/17860176/best-dungeons-dragons-dd-podcasts-tabletop-gaming