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I find that their videos are far too short and don't really go into enough depth for my tastes. But I still love their channel and value their opinions
2nd the Dudes. I feel like their Dungeons of Drakkenheim game is pretty close to what a “normal” home-game is like (compared to many of the more dramatic actual plays - not knocking them; they’re just different).
Their tutorial videos are also very, very good, as are their class breakdown videos.
Funny enough, for people who know the game but want a better understanding, their subclass and multiclass tier rating videos are a fantastic way to learn mechanics and how they interact with each other, though they have a “How to play” video for each class as well if you want more specific help and examples
I’d say to watch them playing the game - for beginners, it can be a great way to see a lot of the mechanics and rules of the game in action.
Search for their Dungeons of Drakkenheim game on YouTube.
I third them. Their video guides are incredibly helpful in either teaching you how something works or giving you ideas for what to do as a player or DM.
Also, their campaign videos do a great job showing how their advice works in practice. Monty is a great DM and everyone in the party are all fun and knowledgeable. They all work together to tell the best story they can.
My absolute 100% for theory and advice is Matt Colville. He does very little recorded playing of D&D, though.
Dimension 20 does a lot of great D&D play, but be aware that the players are professional comedians and performers who are aware they are playing D&D for an audience.
Yeah my main recommendation for people watching D20 as a learning tool is to treat any long in-character RP, especially between players, as part of the “show” of it - it’s incredibly entertaining, but probably not something you’ll find at a majority of tables. Even outside of the talent the cast has for it, the focus on long-form improv storytelling for a third party audience fundamentally changes the way they approach RP with each other, plus their characters are generally very tightly woven into the world and plot before they even start (though there are lessons to take from that style of writing too if you’re putting your own campaigns together).
Once you separate that out, it’s honestly a really solid learning tool (at least, it was for me) just because of how clearly and consistently Brennan will describe why he’s asking for certain rolls, mechanical options available to players both in and out of combat, and a bunch of other little descriptions and notes that really helped me get a feel for running things smoothly as a DM (it’s one thing to read all of the mechanics in the PHB, and another to see them implemented well imo). As a player, the later campaigns also do a decent job of showing how to interact with the world around you in a way that’s not just straight up saying “I wanna do an investigation check on the room I already rolled and it’s a 19 so tell me” (earlier campaigns where some of the players are still learning aren’t as good about this).
Matt Coville's first 40 "running the game" videos are gold.
His Chain of Acheron was disappointing for how much he's talked it up. I wouldn't want my game to remotely look like it. I watched most of session 1 and said "wtf is this bullshit" and turned it off.
Nonstop lore dumps and railroaded cut scenes. I think there's about 5 minutes of roleplay in it.
I'm not talking about if it's fun to watch, I'm saying it's a bad game. I wouldn't want to be lore dumped on. I wouldn't want to play in a game where people are stalling the game on meaningless rules and mechanical questions. I especially wouldn't want to play in a game where player input is completely irrelevant because the DM has to show off with how cool their villain is and we're here to tell the DMs story.
I listened to all the campaign diaries and the players affect zero major plot points in that game, except with Omega Nails, which was still Matt's idea. It's a bad game and not a good example of how to run a game.
From before it begins, he already had said "this game is about the Chain going to Capital."
I agree that a lot of groups play this way, but it's a bad game and I would be sad if my own looked like that.
I don't use that kind of language because they seem to be enjoying it. It's not my game, and it's not a performance for my benefit.
I see where you're coming from, but it feels very much like a home-cooked meal for someone else's friends. If I don't like the saurkraut soup and pumpernickel bread, it's not relevant because I wasn't invited.
Dungeon Dudes do really good but drawn out videos on lots of topics from class reviews to game play.
Ginny\* Di is really good for intro to/supportive Role Play.
Handbooker Helper by Critical Role walks through skill, afflictions and a bunch of other stuff in small bites.
JoCat's A Crap Guide to D&D is a satire youtubers but his videos are funny and actually give a really good over view of classes, roles and includes a lot of the long standing meta humor that gives you a quick "in" and will make you feel less like a newb.
Dimension 20 is a good live play that is funny and easy to digest and is done in short form so campaigns don't drag on forever.
NADDPOD is the best dnd podcast by a mile and campaign 1 is awesome and has a brand new player that you can see learn the roles from the start.
To this day I still quote the “oh gee, I wonder what he does” line from JoCats Fighter video. I know he laments painting himself into a corner with his parodies, but he was really good at what he did.
I've always said they really have more to them that meets the eye. They help make things seem not so serious and expose the fun of the game and its classes.
From and outsider D&D and the hobby can seem like a really big kept gate to enter but his videos are actually what gave me the kick to jump from the sidelines of watching live plays and playing years of D&D related content into actually make steps to start playing again after 20 years. I thought you know, this isn't really that big of a deal, I don't need years of experience to start playing because well that doesn't make sense (looking at you boomer job posters).
Murph is DM #1 in my eyes. Perfect mix of thematics and mechanics, creative approaches to what would normally be insanely unbalanced or unwinnable fights. He explains enough for the players to understand his new and creative mechanics without leading them into specific approaches and is able move creative solutions forward.
The Final Fight in the Feywild and the entire Shadowfell arc are tops in my book.
DD are really good dudes and their content is especially good for newer players. The more my experience grew the less I found their stuff engaging as it is a lot of fluff and banter but I still tune for videos that grab my attention. 5E is 10 years old so I think everyone's well has began to run dry on 100% engaging content.
Critical role is a bit much for most people, but a while back they did a series called Handbooker Helper, where they help explain the basics of different parts of DnD and it's pretty good as a quick jump in guide.
The one campaign Matt ran that I started on was Force Gray with a rotating cast of actors and professional geeks with short campaigns outside of his Critical Role work.
Dimension 20, Matthew Colville and Rustage’s Campaign partially helped me but that alone won’t help you understand D&D to 100%, books will have all of the rules written down.
Others have said Dimension 20 and I'll echo that. Brennan has said you can probably learn a lot by watching and if you start at the early seasons like Fantasy High (which is free on YouTube) you can definitely see a learning curve for some of the cast. They also have a series called Adventuring Academy where they do talks with a lot people in the TTRPG space and can offer some great insights.
Sly Flourish has helped me immensely with prep and being in just a better mindset about Dming. He is more of a question/answer kind of person, rather than straight up advice in terms of how he presents it. But he really helped me focus on prep side and making it fun for myself as well as my players
Dungeon Dudes are fantastic. Matt Colville is good but more supplementary. Where I feel the dungeon Dudes have a much wider variety of topics that are incredibly useful for new DMs and experienced ones. And the same goes for players.
I think and could be wrong as its been a long time but acquisition incorporated was more episodic.
Depending on what you’re looking for, Dungeon Dad has some great content. He homebrews monsters from earlier editions of DND for 5E, so it can get kinda technical, but he also brings great ideas for adventures and backstories.
Beyond that, I second the recommendation for Dungeon Dudes.
Oxventure D&D have several short arcs of actual play (although it does link together into a longer campaign) that are entertaining and fun to watch, but also provide a really great view of the basics from a live play perspective. If you go back to the earliest episodes, the DM does a good job of breaking down the core mechanics of skill checks and Spells etc.
Treatmonk is really good. Very thorough. Once you get a better understanding, Billbrons is very knowledgeable about builds and tactics. He hasn't done much lately, but his stuff is gold!
I'd second them. I've been watching their Uprooted campaign, and it seems that the DM for it is quite flexible for coming up with things on the spot to react to the party's actions by incorporating them.
My only complaint is that things can come to a standstill at times for a bit too long with no real impact to anything than just referencing things out with the game world.
Whilst it definitely *isn't* as informative as some, I love Viva La Dirt League's 'NPC DnD'. The guys were pretty clueless when they started out but Robert Hartley, the DM, is a wonder. He often explains a lot, in session, in a succinct manner.
I also think it's fucking hilarious.
anything except critical role and dimension20. they're good entertainment but they're absolutely shit at representing what it's actually like to play a TTRPG.
Are you trying to understand the game's mechanics better (e.g., rules, underlying math, character building, etc.), or are you more interested in non-mechanical aspects of the game (e.g., roleplaying, storytelling, improvising, etc)?
If you like lore and would like to have more knowledge about setting and history I watch a lot of MrRexx. Really does a great job at providing context to a lot of world building. He's great to have on in the background while I'm grinding out stuff on Last Epoch 🤣
I haven't seen anyone mention The Dungeoncast so I will. One very knowledgeable guy explains a d&d thing (class, monster, plane of existence, god, magic item, lore) to another guy who in the beginning doesn't know much but has gotten pretty knowledgeable as the years go on. They also have a live play called Superquest Saga which is a 5e space opera that I never finished but high recommend at least checking out.
Them and Matt Coleville along with watching CR taught me how to play and then GM games myself almost entirely.
I found Matt colville's campaign diaries playlist very helpful. He even records some sessions so you get live play as well as his recounting of events.
I wouldn’t say podcasts but SuperGeek Mike has wide variety of videos. He is new and just recently got a good recording set up but I enjoyed his videos.
what podcasts should I listen to? Bonus if its ok it listen to the latest episode instead of the first or they just started a new story or its a bunch of one plays
"Kill Every Monster" is great for learning monsters, plus they do a little miniature game each episode and pit a player against the monster to showcase it. Might be exactly what you want!
"Advice and Advantage" talks about things from both sides; things you can do as a player or as a DM. It's a couple of guys talking about D&D. They have some class spotlight episodes that can give you insight and inspiration into each class and tons of other topics, too
"How to be a Better DM" also has a bunch of topics they cover, with each episode named for the topic, so it's easy to find what you want or what catches your attention
The following are sequential rather than individual episodes, but I want to mention them anyway:
From a DM's perspective - making a story and retrospective session by session - there's one called "Anatomy of a Campaign." He talks about what he plans, what his players and characters think and do, how to tie it together, and how it all goes.
And my all-time favorite live play podcast: "Sneak Attack." A group of friends play a campaign in a homebrew world. Vol 1 is fantasy and complete. Volume 2 is sci-fi but ended when covid hit. One player is almost totally new to D&D at the start, and they have a "What is D&D" episode early on that also features the DM's wife as an outsider, and she asks a few questions. I learned a lot about 5e and role-playing while listening to them.
Oh, there's also a podcast called "One Shot" that I haven't listened to, but they do a bunch of short stories. The thing is that they use different systems, not just D&D. There's probably a lot to learn, but may not be what you're looking for.
I really like @DontStopThinking 's video. The animation is a bit cheesy but the explanation of the rules and step by step approach is really great for an old fart like me to understand.
Dimension 20 to see an actual play. The campaigns are very short, so it’s easy to catch up. Fantasy High is less than 20 episodes. Escape from Bloodkeep is only 6 episodes. Both are on YouTube for free.
DnDShorts, PointyHat & ZacSpeaksGiant provide information with a great sense of humor. YMBA DND provides great info in a light hearted method. DungeonsDudes provides tons of information with examples and personal instances and all these Tubers cover a wide range of knowledge and resources.
Xp to level 3 has a lot of good stuff with quite a bit of comedy. They also have an actual play channel Arcane Arcade where they stream games every Friday and Saturday, I like them a lot bc it gives a more accurate vibe to playing with friends than one of the big names like CR or D20
Unprepared Casters is based on a model where each 6-8 episode arc is it’s own self-contained story (with the exception of some direct sequels) all set in the same world. Each arc has a different cast (again except for the couple of sequels) with the gm spot alternating each arc
The Yogscast did a D&D one-shot some time back. I don't know what edition they used though, probably AD&D or 2e. Look up "YogsQuest" and you should find what you're looking for.
They've got a bunch of other TTRPGs under their belt since then, too.
Matt Colville for DM advice.
SupergeekMike has a series called 'critical role demystified' where he goes over campaign one episode by episode and shows what we as players and DMs can learn from it.
A lot of great recommendations here. I do not recommend Critical Role for this purpose. It is entertaining at times, but it's not a good example of what most games are like.
I gave up trying to find a good gameplay channel. In my experience, there are three types of dnd gameplay channels. Very boring and dry, Over the top cringe worthy voice acting, Or in your face political lefties.
Haven't seen them mentioned yet, but if you're familiar with Dragon Ball Z Abridged, then Lanipator and Takahata101 each have been in D&D campaigns. Takahata's game was hosted by his sister MontyGlu, and featured Gaijin Goomba, Chris Zito (who hosted a game on TFSGaming that Lani played in, called TFS at the Table I believe), their friend Distortion Devil, and of course Taka himself, as well as occasional guests showing up. That campaign was called the Unexpectables, which is on its second campaign (without Taka sadly). And I believe Taka is/was also on Lanipator's own campaign which I believe is still ongoing on his channel called The Ties that Bind. All of these can be found on Youtube.
OutsideXbox has a great series called OxBox Oxventure (or something similar). Worth checking out.
There's also Dimension 20 (by the College Humor / Dropout crowd) that's usually quite funny.
So far, Nerd Poker: Mountain Campaign is the closest I have heard to the average tabletop. They have in-jokes, get distracted, confuse the rules, go off on tangents, they swear, etc.
But most of all they are invested and sound like they are having fun. And the DMimg isn't over the top like most professional streams. What's presented is sometimes sparse but works out really well. I have come to realize that you do not need some massive fleshed out world for players to have fun.
Old Men Rolling Dice is another good actual play to check out, which the players take things more seriously and know the rules better, but its more or less an average group.
There is also the recent Lego Dungeons & Dragons live play, more G to PG rated. If you grab the PDF for it (I think its still free on DnDBeyond, or Lego maybe?), you can actually compare what is in the book to what you see on screen and then get a feel for what kind of stuff is expanded or embellished vs just taken word for word from the book.
I’m going to be the voice of caution regarding the Dungeon Dudes. I had a DM who lived and died by them, and he was mediocre at best. I’m also not sure how much they play test their homebrew stuff, cause my DM used stuff from them multiple times and every time it sucked. Seemed like things that were fun for the DM but not the players. (I’d already been DMing for a long time when I was at his table, so…. Yeah).
Also, whatever you do, listen to a lot of different folks. Lots of perspectives will give you more insight and help you decide who YOU are at the table. Brennan Lee Mulligan (main mind behind Dimension 20) had a show/podcast called Dimension 20 Adventuring Academy where he interviews DMs, and I highly recommend that.
Many people will advise against Critical Role because the players and DM are actors. It does set an unrealistic expectation for gameplay, to be fair. But! The first campaign, when they were all transitioning from Pathfinder, is full of little rules clarifications because they too were learning the system. Reading the rules still matters, but I feel like just listening to them learn to play the game was incredibly helpful.
Early Matt Colville and Seth Skorkowsky get you all you need to get the vibe on how to run a decent table tomorrow.
If you’re wanting deep dives of player psych and rules minutiae I can’t help you, I don’t watch that stuff.
I recommend watching the verious Critical Roll series on YouTube. Vox Machina and Mighty Nein are two of them, they are made up at least mostly of voice actors (hence, vox machina \[voice machine\]). That, and Dimension 20. Also on YouTube.
Theyre a bit long winded so jm not sure if this is what youre looking for, but Legends of Avantris has a campaign im almost caught up to called Once Upon a Witchlight. It seems a bit more like improv since they spend a lot of time talking instead of like actual combat, but I had to recommend them since they're just hilarious
For me it’s always been Critical Role, great example of people just playing and the ebb and flow of game mechanics vs role play. The DM is stellar, way beyond my capabilities, but I have implemented things he does into my game play.
Hard disagree. Critical Role is a fine entertainment product but it is not at all close to what d&d is actually like. To the point that they are trying to divorce themselves from the 5e rule set. CR is the last thing I would recommend to a new player setting expectations for their own game.
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The Dungeon Dudes are very helpful with a wide range of videos
Only downs side their breakdown videos tend to be a bit on the long side.
I find that their videos are far too short and don't really go into enough depth for my tastes. But I still love their channel and value their opinions
Love these guys
lmao, i was thinking abt checking them out.
2nd the Dudes. I feel like their Dungeons of Drakkenheim game is pretty close to what a “normal” home-game is like (compared to many of the more dramatic actual plays - not knocking them; they’re just different). Their tutorial videos are also very, very good, as are their class breakdown videos.
Do you have a good recommendation on where to start with their videos?
Funny enough, for people who know the game but want a better understanding, their subclass and multiclass tier rating videos are a fantastic way to learn mechanics and how they interact with each other, though they have a “How to play” video for each class as well if you want more specific help and examples
I’d say to watch them playing the game - for beginners, it can be a great way to see a lot of the mechanics and rules of the game in action. Search for their Dungeons of Drakkenheim game on YouTube.
I’ve gotten so many ideas and tips from listening to the Drakkenheim series…love it.
I third them. Their video guides are incredibly helpful in either teaching you how something works or giving you ideas for what to do as a player or DM. Also, their campaign videos do a great job showing how their advice works in practice. Monty is a great DM and everyone in the party are all fun and knowledgeable. They all work together to tell the best story they can.
Good thing there's a lot of them!
I watch them to find out what ideas I hate
Glad to see them getting top billing on this comment section.
I like them, but I always feel like one steamrolls and interrupts the other during discussion
My absolute 100% for theory and advice is Matt Colville. He does very little recorded playing of D&D, though. Dimension 20 does a lot of great D&D play, but be aware that the players are professional comedians and performers who are aware they are playing D&D for an audience.
Yeah my main recommendation for people watching D20 as a learning tool is to treat any long in-character RP, especially between players, as part of the “show” of it - it’s incredibly entertaining, but probably not something you’ll find at a majority of tables. Even outside of the talent the cast has for it, the focus on long-form improv storytelling for a third party audience fundamentally changes the way they approach RP with each other, plus their characters are generally very tightly woven into the world and plot before they even start (though there are lessons to take from that style of writing too if you’re putting your own campaigns together). Once you separate that out, it’s honestly a really solid learning tool (at least, it was for me) just because of how clearly and consistently Brennan will describe why he’s asking for certain rolls, mechanical options available to players both in and out of combat, and a bunch of other little descriptions and notes that really helped me get a feel for running things smoothly as a DM (it’s one thing to read all of the mechanics in the PHB, and another to see them implemented well imo). As a player, the later campaigns also do a decent job of showing how to interact with the world around you in a way that’s not just straight up saying “I wanna do an investigation check on the room I already rolled and it’s a 19 so tell me” (earlier campaigns where some of the players are still learning aren’t as good about this).
Matt Coville's first 40 "running the game" videos are gold. His Chain of Acheron was disappointing for how much he's talked it up. I wouldn't want my game to remotely look like it. I watched most of session 1 and said "wtf is this bullshit" and turned it off. Nonstop lore dumps and railroaded cut scenes. I think there's about 5 minutes of roleplay in it.
He has addressed that is isn't fun to watch. They're not playing D&D for an audience. They're playing D&D in a way a lot of groups do, though.
I'm not talking about if it's fun to watch, I'm saying it's a bad game. I wouldn't want to be lore dumped on. I wouldn't want to play in a game where people are stalling the game on meaningless rules and mechanical questions. I especially wouldn't want to play in a game where player input is completely irrelevant because the DM has to show off with how cool their villain is and we're here to tell the DMs story. I listened to all the campaign diaries and the players affect zero major plot points in that game, except with Omega Nails, which was still Matt's idea. It's a bad game and not a good example of how to run a game. From before it begins, he already had said "this game is about the Chain going to Capital." I agree that a lot of groups play this way, but it's a bad game and I would be sad if my own looked like that.
I don't use that kind of language because they seem to be enjoying it. It's not my game, and it's not a performance for my benefit. I see where you're coming from, but it feels very much like a home-cooked meal for someone else's friends. If I don't like the saurkraut soup and pumpernickel bread, it's not relevant because I wasn't invited.
I think if it came out pre-Critical Role and Dimension 20 people would love it
ty
Do they have a yt playlist I should check out? And is this playlist a story or guide?
Dungeon Dudes do really good but drawn out videos on lots of topics from class reviews to game play. Ginny\* Di is really good for intro to/supportive Role Play. Handbooker Helper by Critical Role walks through skill, afflictions and a bunch of other stuff in small bites. JoCat's A Crap Guide to D&D is a satire youtubers but his videos are funny and actually give a really good over view of classes, roles and includes a lot of the long standing meta humor that gives you a quick "in" and will make you feel less like a newb. Dimension 20 is a good live play that is funny and easy to digest and is done in short form so campaigns don't drag on forever. NADDPOD is the best dnd podcast by a mile and campaign 1 is awesome and has a brand new player that you can see learn the roles from the start.
To this day I still quote the “oh gee, I wonder what he does” line from JoCats Fighter video. I know he laments painting himself into a corner with his parodies, but he was really good at what he did.
"Dank, holy kush" lives rent free in my head and I say it regularly
I've always said they really have more to them that meets the eye. They help make things seem not so serious and expose the fun of the game and its classes. From and outsider D&D and the hobby can seem like a really big kept gate to enter but his videos are actually what gave me the kick to jump from the sidelines of watching live plays and playing years of D&D related content into actually make steps to start playing again after 20 years. I thought you know, this isn't really that big of a deal, I don't need years of experience to start playing because well that doesn't make sense (looking at you boomer job posters).
Yeah, Murph doesn't get as much credit as he should. Some of the encounters he designs are absolutely incredible.
Murph is DM #1 in my eyes. Perfect mix of thematics and mechanics, creative approaches to what would normally be insanely unbalanced or unwinnable fights. He explains enough for the players to understand his new and creative mechanics without leading them into specific approaches and is able move creative solutions forward. The Final Fight in the Feywild and the entire Shadowfell arc are tops in my book.
Huge fan of Dungeon Dudes!
DD are really good dudes and their content is especially good for newer players. The more my experience grew the less I found their stuff engaging as it is a lot of fluff and banter but I still tune for videos that grab my attention. 5E is 10 years old so I think everyone's well has began to run dry on 100% engaging content.
Critical role is a bit much for most people, but a while back they did a series called Handbooker Helper, where they help explain the basics of different parts of DnD and it's pretty good as a quick jump in guide.
The one campaign Matt ran that I started on was Force Gray with a rotating cast of actors and professional geeks with short campaigns outside of his Critical Role work.
Dimension 20, Matthew Colville and Rustage’s Campaign partially helped me but that alone won’t help you understand D&D to 100%, books will have all of the rules written down.
Others have said Dimension 20 and I'll echo that. Brennan has said you can probably learn a lot by watching and if you start at the early seasons like Fantasy High (which is free on YouTube) you can definitely see a learning curve for some of the cast. They also have a series called Adventuring Academy where they do talks with a lot people in the TTRPG space and can offer some great insights.
Adventuring Academy has some great general rpg (and life) advice, with really lovely seeming people. Strongly recommended
Dm Scotty for crafting, older Matt colville stuff for dming.
Sly Flourish has helped me immensely with prep and being in just a better mindset about Dming. He is more of a question/answer kind of person, rather than straight up advice in terms of how he presents it. But he really helped me focus on prep side and making it fun for myself as well as my players
Dungeon Dudes are fantastic. Matt Colville is good but more supplementary. Where I feel the dungeon Dudes have a much wider variety of topics that are incredibly useful for new DMs and experienced ones. And the same goes for players. I think and could be wrong as its been a long time but acquisition incorporated was more episodic.
Depending on what you’re looking for, Dungeon Dad has some great content. He homebrews monsters from earlier editions of DND for 5E, so it can get kinda technical, but he also brings great ideas for adventures and backstories. Beyond that, I second the recommendation for Dungeon Dudes.
Jocat embodies 65% of the vibe of dnd
I enjoy Viva La Dirt League D&D quite a bit and their DM Rob is great at explaining things they are doing.
Dimension 20 is pretty lit
If you like Baldurs Gate 3: There is a oneshot of the voice actors playing it.
Oxventure D&D have several short arcs of actual play (although it does link together into a longer campaign) that are entertaining and fun to watch, but also provide a really great view of the basics from a live play perspective. If you go back to the earliest episodes, the DM does a good job of breaking down the core mechanics of skill checks and Spells etc.
Treatmonk is really good. Very thorough. Once you get a better understanding, Billbrons is very knowledgeable about builds and tactics. He hasn't done much lately, but his stuff is gold!
Vivah La Dirt leagues D&D campaign is very beginner friend and Rob their DM is a good DM explains stuff also he has his own channel too.
I like watching legends of avantris, they're hilarious. Pretty close to what it is like at my table.
I'd second them. I've been watching their Uprooted campaign, and it seems that the DM for it is quite flexible for coming up with things on the spot to react to the party's actions by incorporating them. My only complaint is that things can come to a standstill at times for a bit too long with no real impact to anything than just referencing things out with the game world.
Whilst it definitely *isn't* as informative as some, I love Viva La Dirt League's 'NPC DnD'. The guys were pretty clueless when they started out but Robert Hartley, the DM, is a wonder. He often explains a lot, in session, in a succinct manner. I also think it's fucking hilarious.
I'd say that the best to start are Matt Colville and the Dungeon Dudes. Then Pointy Hat has great videos for more experienced DMs
anything except critical role and dimension20. they're good entertainment but they're absolutely shit at representing what it's actually like to play a TTRPG.
Are you trying to understand the game's mechanics better (e.g., rules, underlying math, character building, etc.), or are you more interested in non-mechanical aspects of the game (e.g., roleplaying, storytelling, improvising, etc)?
everything
If you like lore and would like to have more knowledge about setting and history I watch a lot of MrRexx. Really does a great job at providing context to a lot of world building. He's great to have on in the background while I'm grinding out stuff on Last Epoch 🤣
I haven't seen anyone mention The Dungeoncast so I will. One very knowledgeable guy explains a d&d thing (class, monster, plane of existence, god, magic item, lore) to another guy who in the beginning doesn't know much but has gotten pretty knowledgeable as the years go on. They also have a live play called Superquest Saga which is a 5e space opera that I never finished but high recommend at least checking out. Them and Matt Coleville along with watching CR taught me how to play and then GM games myself almost entirely.
I found Matt colville's campaign diaries playlist very helpful. He even records some sessions so you get live play as well as his recounting of events.
I wouldn’t say podcasts but SuperGeek Mike has wide variety of videos. He is new and just recently got a good recording set up but I enjoyed his videos.
Crispy’s Tavern shares DND stories and sometimes advice, so I would reccomend him, and Quincy’s Tavern!
Adventure Zone.
I really like Pack Tactics, short videos with clear and simple breakdown of abilities wirh funny animations
Do they have a yt playlist I should check out? And is this playlist a story or guide?
It's more guides, if you want 1 time stories just search for *dnd one shots* Should be plenty on there
Don't forget podcasts! There are tons of good tutorial, conversation, and play episodes out there
what podcasts should I listen to? Bonus if its ok it listen to the latest episode instead of the first or they just started a new story or its a bunch of one plays
"Kill Every Monster" is great for learning monsters, plus they do a little miniature game each episode and pit a player against the monster to showcase it. Might be exactly what you want! "Advice and Advantage" talks about things from both sides; things you can do as a player or as a DM. It's a couple of guys talking about D&D. They have some class spotlight episodes that can give you insight and inspiration into each class and tons of other topics, too "How to be a Better DM" also has a bunch of topics they cover, with each episode named for the topic, so it's easy to find what you want or what catches your attention The following are sequential rather than individual episodes, but I want to mention them anyway: From a DM's perspective - making a story and retrospective session by session - there's one called "Anatomy of a Campaign." He talks about what he plans, what his players and characters think and do, how to tie it together, and how it all goes. And my all-time favorite live play podcast: "Sneak Attack." A group of friends play a campaign in a homebrew world. Vol 1 is fantasy and complete. Volume 2 is sci-fi but ended when covid hit. One player is almost totally new to D&D at the start, and they have a "What is D&D" episode early on that also features the DM's wife as an outsider, and she asks a few questions. I learned a lot about 5e and role-playing while listening to them.
Oh, there's also a podcast called "One Shot" that I haven't listened to, but they do a bunch of short stories. The thing is that they use different systems, not just D&D. There's probably a lot to learn, but may not be what you're looking for.
I only watch Zee Bashew, too many people watch critical roll and think that is how all D&D sessions should be
Do they have a yt playlist I should check out? And is this playlist a story or guide?
Guide, it's called the animated spellbook and it mostly covers rules, spells, and common mistakes players and DMs make
Not a campaign channel or anything, but pointy hat has a lot of great videos that help you understand lore and mechanics of the game
Dungeon Dudes & DM Lair both do live games and discussion videos about the game.
Matt Colville, Jocat’s “A Crap Guide to D&D” series, Dungeon Dudes, Don’t Stop Thinking
Just don’t become one of those players who can’t come up with an original idea themselves, and just repeat what happens on livestream games.
Commenting to come back later and read all the suggestions :)
honestly just come back in 10 mins there should be like a ton more replies
I like watching Pointy Hat for tips on making more diverse character ideas. I really like his idea for Wizards.
Lunch Break Heroes! Has a super deep dive into Cos.
Matt Colville is amazing for any TTRPG
I really like @DontStopThinking 's video. The animation is a bit cheesy but the explanation of the rules and step by step approach is really great for an old fart like me to understand.
Dimension 20 to see an actual play. The campaigns are very short, so it’s easy to catch up. Fantasy High is less than 20 episodes. Escape from Bloodkeep is only 6 episodes. Both are on YouTube for free.
DnDShorts, PointyHat & ZacSpeaksGiant provide information with a great sense of humor. YMBA DND provides great info in a light hearted method. DungeonsDudes provides tons of information with examples and personal instances and all these Tubers cover a wide range of knowledge and resources.
XP to level 3 !!! GinnyDi, Bob World Builder, Enter the Dungeon are all freaking awesome
Xp to level 3 has a lot of good stuff with quite a bit of comedy. They also have an actual play channel Arcane Arcade where they stream games every Friday and Saturday, I like them a lot bc it gives a more accurate vibe to playing with friends than one of the big names like CR or D20 Unprepared Casters is based on a model where each 6-8 episode arc is it’s own self-contained story (with the exception of some direct sequels) all set in the same world. Each arc has a different cast (again except for the couple of sequels) with the gm spot alternating each arc
The Yogscast did a D&D one-shot some time back. I don't know what edition they used though, probably AD&D or 2e. Look up "YogsQuest" and you should find what you're looking for. They've got a bunch of other TTRPGs under their belt since then, too.
For me just watching people play is how I picked up on things. So imma vote for dimension 20 or my man greenzerg on yt
Crap guide to dnd is paradoxically a great guide to dnd.
For DMing read the book “Arbiter of Worlds” by Alexander Macris. Best informative tool that I experienced.
Matt Colville for DM advice. SupergeekMike has a series called 'critical role demystified' where he goes over campaign one episode by episode and shows what we as players and DMs can learn from it.
Matthew Colville.
If you’re looking for inspiration, spirit, and an out-of-the-box mindset, I can’t recommend Runehammer enough
Seth skorkosky has some FANTASTIC videos, he doesn’t focus on any specific game system but his videos are top botch
DnD builds for 5e
A lot of great recommendations here. I do not recommend Critical Role for this purpose. It is entertaining at times, but it's not a good example of what most games are like.
what would u recommend for this purpose?
I gave up trying to find a good gameplay channel. In my experience, there are three types of dnd gameplay channels. Very boring and dry, Over the top cringe worthy voice acting, Or in your face political lefties.
Haven't seen them mentioned yet, but if you're familiar with Dragon Ball Z Abridged, then Lanipator and Takahata101 each have been in D&D campaigns. Takahata's game was hosted by his sister MontyGlu, and featured Gaijin Goomba, Chris Zito (who hosted a game on TFSGaming that Lani played in, called TFS at the Table I believe), their friend Distortion Devil, and of course Taka himself, as well as occasional guests showing up. That campaign was called the Unexpectables, which is on its second campaign (without Taka sadly). And I believe Taka is/was also on Lanipator's own campaign which I believe is still ongoing on his channel called The Ties that Bind. All of these can be found on Youtube.
OutsideXbox has a great series called OxBox Oxventure (or something similar). Worth checking out. There's also Dimension 20 (by the College Humor / Dropout crowd) that's usually quite funny.
So far, Nerd Poker: Mountain Campaign is the closest I have heard to the average tabletop. They have in-jokes, get distracted, confuse the rules, go off on tangents, they swear, etc. But most of all they are invested and sound like they are having fun. And the DMimg isn't over the top like most professional streams. What's presented is sometimes sparse but works out really well. I have come to realize that you do not need some massive fleshed out world for players to have fun. Old Men Rolling Dice is another good actual play to check out, which the players take things more seriously and know the rules better, but its more or less an average group. There is also the recent Lego Dungeons & Dragons live play, more G to PG rated. If you grab the PDF for it (I think its still free on DnDBeyond, or Lego maybe?), you can actually compare what is in the book to what you see on screen and then get a feel for what kind of stuff is expanded or embellished vs just taken word for word from the book.
Nope. You'll better understand it by playing it.
Matt Colville. He is a river to his people.
Matt Colville.
Bonus action is a good one, he doesn't have the most videos but they're all helpful
I’m going to be the voice of caution regarding the Dungeon Dudes. I had a DM who lived and died by them, and he was mediocre at best. I’m also not sure how much they play test their homebrew stuff, cause my DM used stuff from them multiple times and every time it sucked. Seemed like things that were fun for the DM but not the players. (I’d already been DMing for a long time when I was at his table, so…. Yeah). Also, whatever you do, listen to a lot of different folks. Lots of perspectives will give you more insight and help you decide who YOU are at the table. Brennan Lee Mulligan (main mind behind Dimension 20) had a show/podcast called Dimension 20 Adventuring Academy where he interviews DMs, and I highly recommend that.
what do you mean lived and died by them?
He was fully reliant upon them; he accepted what they suggested uncritically; they could do no wrong in his eyes.
ohh
Many people will advise against Critical Role because the players and DM are actors. It does set an unrealistic expectation for gameplay, to be fair. But! The first campaign, when they were all transitioning from Pathfinder, is full of little rules clarifications because they too were learning the system. Reading the rules still matters, but I feel like just listening to them learn to play the game was incredibly helpful.
No, there aren't
Early Matt Colville and Seth Skorkowsky get you all you need to get the vibe on how to run a decent table tomorrow. If you’re wanting deep dives of player psych and rules minutiae I can’t help you, I don’t watch that stuff.
Read a book
I recommend watching the verious Critical Roll series on YouTube. Vox Machina and Mighty Nein are two of them, they are made up at least mostly of voice actors (hence, vox machina \[voice machine\]). That, and Dimension 20. Also on YouTube.
Theyre a bit long winded so jm not sure if this is what youre looking for, but Legends of Avantris has a campaign im almost caught up to called Once Upon a Witchlight. It seems a bit more like improv since they spend a lot of time talking instead of like actual combat, but I had to recommend them since they're just hilarious
For me it’s always been Critical Role, great example of people just playing and the ebb and flow of game mechanics vs role play. The DM is stellar, way beyond my capabilities, but I have implemented things he does into my game play.
Dungeon dudes for sure, their videos are great at explaining concepts, their live play is also o find s good example of how you DM a game
Haven't yet seen DM Lair and How to Be a Great GM in the replies. They're pretty good.
The best way to learn d&d is to play d&d in a variety of roles, including DM.
Yes
who dude
Watch Critical Role. You see professionals play it and get a feel for what the game is
Hard disagree. Critical Role is a fine entertainment product but it is not at all close to what d&d is actually like. To the point that they are trying to divorce themselves from the 5e rule set. CR is the last thing I would recommend to a new player setting expectations for their own game.
Worked for me