If you’re like me, you enjoy a good podcast as an alternative to music when you just aren’t feeling the music. And if you’re also like me, you enjoy podcasts that intersect with your hobbies and interests. There are a startling number of gaming related podcasts on there on the net, and the ones that I find I enjoy the most are the “actual play podcasts” where adventures and even entire campaigns are recorded and uploaded for us to listen to. I have found there are a *lot* of them of varying quality as well, both in terms of actual gaming to recording to editing. Today I figured I would give you some of the ones that I have enjoyed (as well as a couple that I’m looking forward to enjoying) to fill up your own podcast queues –
What started as a DND podcast has now morphed into something else entirely. Griffin, Justin, and Travis McElroy (from My Brother, My Brother, and Me) have recruited their dad Clint to record an actual play podcast. The first season is an epic fantasy arc using the Dungeons and Dragons rule set. The ongoing season two however sees the boys playing Monster of the Week from Evil Hat Productions. At times hilarious, at times tear jerking, this is a show you definitely don’t want to miss.
I will admit it. I have not listened/watched any of this show. But it is one that I am looking forward to sitting through as it has over a year of material to enjoy. For those of you not familiar with the show, voice actor Matt Mercer plays DM to a group of players (who are all also voice actors) in this multi-season show brought to you by the folks at Geek and Sundry.
I have only recently discovered this 5th Edition podcast, but was sold on the idea before I even listened to the first episode. Pitched as “the campaign after the campaign” this story focuses on the efforts of a party of adventurers that are forced to clean up the mess that was left behind by the three great heroes after their recent victory over darkness. But don’t let the serious nature of the pitch fool you – these guys are quick with a joke or a funny character quirk (Crick Elves? Paladin Boy Scouts?) that will have you grinning as they tromp their way through the world.
Androids and Aliens is a Paizo licensed actual play podcast of the Dead Suns Adventure Path, so fair warning if you are taking part in that. This is another podcast that I just started listening to very recently, but I have quite enjoyed the content they’ve been producing. It’s fast, it’s funny, and it doesn’t take itself too seriously. What’s more, it’s a look into the Starfinder game that has actually made me interested in grabbing the book and taking a peek under the hood. It has also made me very interested in taking a listen to their namesake podcast which is an actual play of the Pathfinder Giantslayer Adventure Path.
Lindby is a band in the Dallas/Fort Worth area that decided to make a DND podcast all about bards. That’s right. Bards. Every character in the party is a bard multiclass of some sort. This is one of those podcasts that I haven’t listened to a lot of, but what I have was entertaining. As a bonus, at the end of each session, the DM rolls a special “chord die” and the players must write a song about that session in that key. So if you want to see how Dungeons and Dragon’s most versatile character can get more versatile, check this one out.
This is one of the other podcasts on this list that I haven’t actually listened to but really look forward to i,t strictly from the wealth of material they have to go back through. Multiple groups of multiple characters are all a part of the same world, the world of Theria consisting of over 19 players/DMs; there is a LOT to listen to here.
Okay, this one isn’t technically a tabletop actual play podcast, but it is about roleplaying games. In this audio Let’s Play, Jeff Eckmann and Ryan Kasmiskie have made it their goal to play through every Final Fantasy game in the way it was originally meant to be played (no emulators) and record the entire process. This sounds like a terrible idea when it’s pitched like that, but listening to these two friends brave the early days of the game series (without autosave features) is honestly incredibly fun. They edit down what could be a boring slog into an entertaining trek through the games with plenty of side conversations and jokes. If you’re a fan of the Final Fantasy series, you should definitely check it out. So far they have played through the original Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy II (IV) with the release of their Final Fantasy III (VI) content to be soon released.
So check these casts out if you haven’t. And if you have a favorite cast of your own that I missed, drop it in the comments below!
Ben Erickson
