You know how it goes, you have nothing to do, and you are looking for some good fantasy to binge on. Good DnD podcasts are hard to find. My favorite at the moment are Adventure time, The Glass Cannon and Nerd Poker. However, I am pretty sure you have heard of most of those already. So I am going to try and be a bit more original in this article.
There are many more fantasy role-playing shows that aren’t great mainstream shows but still are pretty good and entertaining. Yes, there are a lot of mediocre ones around, but how many are you actually going to listen to for more than 4 long episodes without losing interest? I made a list of good dungeon and dragons podcasts that are actually worth listening to.
What makes a good DnD Podcast?
I have a couple of criteria I look for before investing my time in listening to podcasts
1. Put effort into the story
I want a good story, magic, dungeons, evil necromancers, etc. This is the most important part. The story needs to be consistent, too. Don’t have all-powerful magical beings to kill in one episode and have low tier villains the next one. I love it when an early villain does something like Feign Death and comes back later in the show much stronger out of the blue. Great DM’s don’t plan everything out, but do have somewhat of a plan A, plan B and C for an overlapping story arc.
2. Diverse Adventurer group
Having a bard, a barbarian, a wizard, etc. is one thing. But are the characters deep and different? Do they have different backgrounds, motivations, humor, etc? Don’t give me a podcast where the entire group does well because it’s the good thing to do, *barf*. I want moral dilemma’s the occasional evil doing, morally questionable behavior like using spells like Agonizing Blast for fun and giggles. Doing things for the greater good that might not be morally sound is great in fantasy. Do what you secretly want to do, that is the whole point of most role play in my opinion.
3. Long and a lot of episodes
Enough episodes to start binging. Nothing more frustrating than starting a show and have the producers stop or slow down halfway through. I would prefer them to upload at least once a week. Ideally, the podcast is almost finished with the first adventure or finished already. I would love it to have 20 or more episodes. Long episodes. I really need some time to get immersed in the story, and once I am in I don´t want it to end. If the episodes are only 10 to 15 minutes long I am not going to bother.
Give me those 2-hour podcasts, please. Good DnD podcasts are on the long side of things, since that gives a lot more depth to the story, and it makes it a lot easier to grow fond of the characters. It also gives the Dungeon master the opportunity to bring out more obscure spells and beginner monsters nobody uses like fire snakes. I really don’t mind a Dungeon master that makes the party do side quests.
4. Do not go overboard with politics
No real-life politics is one of my personal criteria that hold a lot of weight when I pick out a show. Nothing bothers me as much as linking real-life political issues to fantasy stories in a direct way. If I want to watch a political show ill watch one. I do not need it shoved in my throat. For me, Dungeons and Dragons podcasts are about escaping the stress of daily life. You can have a revolt against nobles, but don’t make obvious politcal references that aren’t clever or funny.
Here are my top 5 good Dnd podcasts I recommend
5. Dragon Talk
4. Join the party
3. Ghostpuncher Corps
2. Bombarded
1. Viva La Dirt League D&D
If you do not know who Viva La Dirt League is, you are missing out! They have some of the best Youtube content around, my personal favorite mini-sketch show is NPC man. Give that a watch if you are bored! Their DnD Podcast is very entertaining and has some superb production quality. You won’t get put under the influence of the Catnap spell when you listen to this team from New Zealand. They are mainly focused on the comedy aspect and also have a sketch show about our favorite role-playing game. In short, this is my clear favorite out of this list!
There you have it. Four amazing Dungeons and Dragons podcast I think are worth checking out. Have you have recently listened to an amazing show, that deserves to get a lot more attention? Don’t be shy! Let us know in the comments and we will be glad to list it here.