Table of Contents
Dungeons and Dragons has seen a massive resurgence in its player base in recent years. One of the biggest contributing factors to this resurgence is the ever growing number and popularity of live play streaming shows and podcasts. Groups of friends getting together and recording their weekly D&D sessions for you to listen to and virtually join their campaign.
Here we’ve listed our picks for the best DnD podcasts/shows for you to check out if you are looking to lose yourself in another world. Whether you are just getting in to D&D, have never played before, or are a veteran looking to start a new show; we’ve got you covered.
Critical Role
Critical Role is the most popular DnD show/podcast, and for good reason. It consists of 7 voice actors sitting down every Thursday evening and streaming their massive campaign sessions on Twitch, later editing and uploading the episodes to YouTube and other podcast providers. The very first episode of Critical Role aired in 2015 and since then they have formed a huge fanbase of “Critters” and continue to go from strength to strength. Many, many current players of DnD, us included, cite Critical Role as their inspiration and ‘push’ to start a game of their own.
As an example of their popularity, in 2019 they crowdfunded over $11 million to create an animated series of their first campaigns characters, titled The Legend of Vox Machina. In 2021 they wrapped up their second long form campaign and have started a new series of mini campaigns with a new DM and new players set in the same world as their previous campaigns, Exandria.
Matt Mercer, the dungeon master of Critical Role, is often held (against his will) as the pinnacle of what a DM can become. The world he has crafted has an absolutely exquisite amount of detail in every corner, and this allows the world to become easily fully realised in everybody’s collective imagination. Its a living, breathing world that you can tell has had thousands of devoted hours put into its development. The NPCs are deep and rich and performed so expertly, that you can’t help yourself getting attached. And the players, Marisha Ray, Liam O’Brien, Laura Bailey, Travis Willingham, Ashley Johnson, Talliesin Jaffe and Sam Riegel match Mercer in both roleplaying skill and character performances & growth. Together they form a powerhouse of a DnD group and give a masterclass in roleplaying and improvisation.
The series is fairly serious in tone compared to some other D&D shows. It explores themes of loss, romance, friendship and tears have been shed at the table. But there is still lots of laughs to be had throughout the 2 campaigns. Core rules are taken seriously, there is a small bit of room left for the “cool factor” (not sticking super strictly to the rules when a player wants to attempt something particularly cool), but in general and especially in combat, the core rule book is followed and this helps bring a balance to the game that’s important with 7 players.
The length of the campaign means there is so much room for character growth, in depth world building, brilliant NPC storylines; and all of those ‘big’ moments in campaigns, moments of large world events, big character reveals, boss battles etc. have so much more weight behind them when they occur because of how time has built to them (Chroma Conclave attack anyone?).
Each episode is well over 3 hours and each campaign over 100 episodes long. This can put some people off, the same way you don’t want to start watching Lost with 6 full seasons to get through. But the best response to this is just give it a go! Start, and see where you get to. What’s the harm? If you do end up getting hooked, you’ll be grateful that there is so much content ahead of you to enjoy for months to come. A great place to start is Episode 1 of Season 2. If you want to fully commit, you can start right from the beginning with Episode 1 Campaign 1; but be warned, there has been a lot of improvements to the quality of the show over the years in its presentation and Campaign 1 doesn’t have the same polish in its audio and editing as C2 does. Still though, the quality of the players, DM, roleplaying and story is brilliant throughout.
Critical Role can be listened to as a pure podcast but it’s home is video streaming, so if you are planning on listening as a podcast you will miss out on seeing the battle maps which are utilised and the occasional visual gag. The miniatures and landscapes used are realised brilliantly with the help of Dwarven Forge and other suppliers, but Mercer does do a great job of describing everything in detail so it’s by no means a requirement.
Critical Role is a great place for those completely new to Dungeons and Dragons to get a feel for the game, pick up the rules slowly and get completely immersed in an expansive story. We think it would be criminal not to include it as one of the best DnD podcasts around.
Dimension 20
If you’ve read the above and still think 300 hours of content is just too much to commit to, Dimension20 might be your saviour. Dimension20 is also a live play podcast with 6 players, set up by the guys at CollegeHumor, but has a variety of shorter campaigns (12 – 30 hours) with a range of different players at the table and game worlds to explore. Everything from a fantasy High School, to a miniature world of insects, pixies and Lego men in a backyard; to a magic infused New York City.
The great thing about this is if you start listening to one of their campaigns and for whatever reason you don’t gel with the players or the setting, you can try a different one and get something completely new. The players in the longer campaigns are often other members of the CollegeHumour cast so their is great chemistry between them. However, with the sorter campaigns they can branch out to get new players including the DMs of both the other series on this list which is a real treat to watch.
The Dungeon Master, Brennan Lee Mulligan, is a lifelong DnD veteran and it shows. He is a genius at creating new, unique and engaging worlds for his players to roam and employs deep and clever worldbuilding to flesh out these sandboxes.
As the campaigns are shorter, the stories tend to be slightly more linear than a pure DnD 5e campaign like Critical Role to make sure that they wrap up nicely. Although this may put off some hardcore ‘freedom’ DnD players, it has the benefit of allowing some brilliant story arcs, beautifully crafted miniature’s and character art, as well as the most incredible hand built battle maps that the players can explore that you’ll ever see. (This does mean that you will miss out on some of these aspects if you listen to the series in a pure podcast format.)
Brennan still gives his players complete freedom in how they engage with the world and its NPC’s, and has no problem shifting around crazy player moves deftly and usually in a very entertaining way. Who doesn’t love a random NPC becoming a main character? Not taking itself too seriously Brennan and the players find themselves having some of the most entertaining player-NPC conversations you will ever hear.
The longer campaigns such as Fantasy High still come with a packing of emotion and character growth, whereas campaigns such as Escape from Bloodkeep are pure hilarious madness.
Dimension 20 is perfect for those looking for a faster paced and more crafted Dungeons and Dragons series with a high production budget.
The Adventure Zone
Whereas Critical Role and Dimension20 are both very polished live play series in terms of the players knowledge of the game and style, The Adventure Zone (or TAZ for short) starts off very differently.
Beginning as a one off special episode of their usual podcast “My brother, my brother and me”; the 3 McElroy brothers invite their dad to participate in a game of DnD. And they have pretty much no idea what they are doing.
The DM Griffin McElroy leads the group through a starting adventure and, not being particularly concerned with the specifics of the rule book, they soon uncover the magic of DnD. After the popularity of that first episode, they never looked back.
Podcasting veterans, what makes this series special is the unparalleled chemistry that the brothers have with each other and their loveable dad Clint. Nothing can beat the McElroy brothers for pure comedy gold when they get on a roll. We’re talking genuine uncontrollable laughter. If you are a long time DnD player and a real stickler for the rules, you might find this series a little frustrating to listen to; but if you can put that to one side you will fall in love with the chaotic, joyous silliness that is The Adventure Zone.
The first campaign is named Balance and it holds a special place in many fans hearts. Griffin transforms what starts out as a silly adventure in to a vast, expansive story with a soul to it that is rare to find in any piece of media. It is separated in to distinct chapters, all of which are unique and some of which try out some really novel concepts even to long time DnD players. The ending few episodes of Balance will send chills down your spine, make you cry and still be laughing all in one episode.
Balance is now being transformed in to a series of beautifully illustrated Graphic Novels.
Following the popularity of this first campaign, the group went on to explore multiple different game styles, game worlds and different members of the Group DMing. They have just started their latest longer campaign Ethersea, set in an undersea metropolis.
We think The Adventure Zone is the best DnD podcast for completely new players who aren’t that bothered about game rules or pure RPG’s and they just want to have the best time with loads of laughs.
Honourable Mentions
We believe you can’t go wrong with one of these three podcasts, but we also wanted to mention a number of additional series that deserve some of the limelight.
High Rollers
High Rollers is often described as a UK version of Critical Role. No, it doesn’t have a line up of famous voice actors as players but what it does bring is a similar play style, some serious world building and a nice balance of story and comedy. The DM Mark Hulmes is a very skilled and imaginative DM and can often be seen comparing notes with Matt Mercer. There are whole completed campaigns to get your teeth in to or smaller campaigns and one shots to try out first.
Acquisitions Incorporated
Acquisitions Incorporated was one of the first streamed D&D live play series and features one of the official D&D game designers as its DM, Chris Perkins. So you know you’re in safe hands. The star studded players also include Name of the Wind author Patrick Rothfuss and Penny Arcade/PAX founder Jerry Holkins.
Many now long time players of D&D attribute first getting in to it after listening to Acquisitions Incorporated either as a podcast series or watching some of the first ever big live plays that happened at PAX events. It’s a great introduction to the game, clearly respecting and explaining core rules while not taking itself too seriously.
Not Another D&D Podcast
If you have already watched and loved Dimension20, Not Another D&D Podcast is a sure bet next place to start. The DM is Brian Murphy, ex-Collegehumour writer and frequent player of Dimension20 campaigns (Riz Gukgak, Kugrash, Sir Theobold Gumbar)
The players are also ex Collegehumour so you know you are in for a fun time. Attesting to this is the whole premise, a campaign set in a world that was saved by a band of heroes, only to soon start sucking again soon after.
BomBARDed
What makes BomBarded special is the unique premise and the unique players. Its a campaign series that follows three bards and their adventures in Strumlott’s School for Bards; but both the players and the DM are all actual musicians themselves.
Any long time DnD player knows how powerful the right piece of music can be in a game; and every musical not in this show is sumptuous. BomBARDed is the perfect podcast for those looking for something different or happen to also be Music majors.
UnDeadwood
OK maybe this one is cheating a bit, but we just love it. UnDeadwood is a four part mini series run by the guys behind the scenes at Critical Role with some special guests. Based on the Deadwood TV series, it puts a handful of strangers in the old west town and pits them against an old evil.
It’s high production, great casting and overall a great little short adventure.
Did we miss one of your favourites? Let us know in the comments what you would add to this list.
5 Beginner Tips for Selling at Conventions & Artist Alleys
Learn how to get started selling at the Artist Alley section of geek conventions like C2E2 and Comic Con!
The Ultimate Guide to the Fighter DnD 5E Class
The Fighter class doesn’t always get the attention it deserves. This guide covers how to build the most fearsome Fighter in the land.
The Ultimate Guide to the Cleric DnD 5E Class
One of the best and most versatile DnD classes, the 5E Cleric is a great choice for new and veteran players alike. Find all the details in this guide
7 thoughts on “The Best D&D podcasts – 2023”
Pingback: How to play Dungeons and Dragons for Kids
I personally enjoy Dungeons and Daddies and DnDnD
Awesome suggestions!
Yessss… I love Dungeons & Daddies. I can’t believe this didn’t make the list!
Belkinus Necrohunt, run by JoCat on YouTube (with Davvy Chappy, Wystle While You Work, and CamiCat) was also very good, I’ve rewatched it a couple times, and he’s started a campaign in the same universe with another group of friends.
I suggest checking out Just Roll With It! Especially if you like pirates and lots of bits.
It’s too late for 2023, but Tales from the Stinky Dragon needs to go on the list for 2024. Made by Rooster Teeth (RIP) folks, with EXCELLENT production value, comedic chops, and a fun crew who really enjoy playing together right off the bat.