Streaming introduces a new generation to Dungeons & Dragons

It's not only video games dominating the digital airwaves on platforms like Twitch — there's a huge audience yearning for the old pen-and-paper days, with tabletop RPGs making a huge splash in just about the last few years. In fact, one-time games like Dungeons & Dragons (turning 50 this year) have been revived in the age of live streaming and are more popular than ever.

Starring “real games,” podcasts or webcasts featuring groups of players creating narratives from their imaginations without the aid of impressive video game graphics, their popularity has led to a tabletop revival whose audience is now more inclusive. and diverse. Expanding on genre staples, officially licensed expansions of existing franchises, and even homebrew titles that people make themselves are one of the most unexpectedly exciting ways to lose yourself online.

But how can watching people roll dice and make a story out of thin air be so exciting? Like anything online, it starts with personalities. With well-known super geeks Vin Diesel, Joe Manganiello and Wil Wheaton pushing their favorite hobbies in interviews and YouTube appearances for years, alongside the rise of content creators whose fans remain captivated for hours, it was only a matter of time before they became board games attracted the main attention. Most groups in the space, like some of the ones featured below, are made up of beloved nerd figures, from voice actors who dominate the anime and video spaces, to comedians who slay on socials, but what makes the actual works so addictive to watch is what always made them work. It's about community.

For those who play, the appeal of games like Dungeons & Dragons he's been sitting around with a bunch of friends week in and week out just shooting shit. It's a shared experience, limited only by imagination, where people can work together (or against each other) to create worlds and stories that reflect their own desires. It's a rite of passage. And nothing quite describes the rise of live streaming itself from ritual viewing. Think of it as an ongoing audiobook written in real time, narrated by a handful of professional friends just having a good time. It's all the joys of TTRPG without having to manage the rules.

Here are some of the best shows you can watch to dip your toes into the world of board gaming.

Critical role

The kings of the real game, Critical role started as a group of friends made up of veteran voice actors who were just putting together their weekend sessions for a live audience on Geek & Sundry's Twitch channel. Since launching in 2015, they're now a media empire with thousands of hours watched across three campaigns, an animated adaptation airing on Amazon Prime Video with another in the works, and even their own TTRPG games hitting shelves thanks to Darrington type.

Led by Dungeon Master Matt Mercer (aka Sexy Ganondorf), the core cast includes voice actors Ashley Johnson, Laura Bailey, Liam O'Brien, Marisha Ray, Travis Willingham, Sam Riegel, and Talisan Jaffe — all of whom are essential in games and anime.

By far the most famous troupe in the scene, Critical Role helped bring real gaming to mainstream audiences through a combination of accessibility and their genuine affection for each other, with every stream feeling like you've been dropped into a group with good news friends It's an atmosphere they've maintained even as they've grown over the years, and it makes them the perfect entry point for viewers who may know little or nothing about D&D. It also helps that the cast tends to appear in other people's series, so starting with Critical Role ensures you'll have some familiar faces when you branch out.

Their campaigns are big, with the first two (Vox Machina and The Mighty Nein) run over 100 episodes each and their third campaign, Bells Hells, there are currently over 80 episodes, but don't let that deter you. part of the joy is investing in stories that last for years. Critical Role's success means there's not just gameplay to watch, but a vast world of rich lore that expands through books, graphic novels, and of course the passionate community around it.

Critical Role airs every Thursday at 7 p.m. PST on Drawing. Jump right in or start over with older episodes YouTube channel.

Dimension 2.0

Another prominent one D&D-main game show, produced by Dropout, Dimension 20 stands by Critical role as a highly accessible — and inclusive — board game app. Led by the game's creator and mastermind, Brennan Lee Mulligan, the cast consists primarily of actors and comedians such as Lou Wilson, Ally Beardsley, Zac Oyama, Emily Axford, Siobhan Thompson and Brian Murphy, known collectively as the “Fearless Heroes”. The comedy aspect is a key asset to the series, as the complex narrative is enhanced by persistent banter without things going wrong very away from the tracks.

Despite the use D&D 5th Edition as a foundation, one of its most unique aspects Dimension 20 it's the creative way they frame their campaigns. “Main Campaigns” are longer primary seasons — though their overall length of around 20 episodes makes them much more digestible than, say, Critical Role years of epics. “Side missions” are shorter, generally 10 episodes or less. But it's the unique pop culture spins on each story that drive the diversity of the narrative, with many campaigns serving as parodies of famous classic fiction, including copyrighted works Lord of the Rings, Sherlock Holmes, Harry Potter, Draculaand a brilliant shot indeed Candyland-meets-Game of Thrones in their sixth campaign, “A Crown of Candy”. Their first breakthrough season, Fantasy Highacts as a version of John Hughes in a fantasy school setting and has garnered multiple sequels and spin-offs, most recently starting its latest with the current run Fantasy High: Junior Year.

It's not just the familiar narrative hooks that do D20 so accessible, but its strong focus on diverse voices and socially relevant themes that fit into the context. Cast members and characters represent all of the BIPOC and LGTBQ communities, and the stories told are often deeply personal and moving. Last year's side quest Dungeons and Drag Queens it was even a full four-part campaign starring faces from RuPaul's Drag Race.

Mostly pre-recorded with some occasional live sequences, there are many places to start, but the best introduction is from the beginning with Fantasy High.

You can see new episodes and the back catalog exclusively at Abandonment.

World of Darkness

One of the first major real game organizations to find success outside Dungeons & Dragons it's the World of Darknessa sultry modern vampire series using the 2018 ruleset Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition. Hosted by the game designer and master storyteller for the ensemble World of Darkness universe, Jason Carl, the rotating cast includes principals Alexander Ward, Cynthia Marie, Xander Jeanneret and voice actor-Dimension 20 regular Erika Ishii.

By deviating from D&D mold, World of Darkness The series show a different facet of the TTRPG experience, with contemporary stories revolving around secret factions or 'Coteries' of conflicting machinations within the dark underbelly of real-world cities. It was spun off into several independent series starting in 2018 LA By Nightwhich ran for five seasons, and now includes variations as well NY By Night and Seattle By Nightthe scope of the world is diverse and constantly growing.

The biggest hook that sets the series apart from other real projects is that it is one of the few that is actually supported by the game's publisher, White Wolf Publishing. The impact is that each campaign, while ultimately not scripted in nature, falls within the larger story of Vampire: The Masquerade universe, normally set alongside the franchise's various media extensions, including video games, books, graphic novels, and more. Tuning in Seattle By Night live playback means you actually watch the rule being written in real time.

Keeping track of the various properties can be more difficult than with other shows, as each of the brand's individual series has aired on different platforms. LA By Night originally aired Geek & Sundry's YouTube channelwhere past episodes can be found. NY By NightIts first two seasons are visible on the official World of Darkness YouTube channel. Finally, Seattle By Night aired in partnership with Penny Arcade – originally live on Twitch, now cataloged on Penny Arcade YouTube Channel.

Keep an eye out for news on its future installments World of Darknessor check out the time when Jason Carl himself produced an exclusive one-shot live Rolling rock.