The 15 Best D&D Podcasts (2026)

Critical Role is the show that turned a group of professional voice actors rolling dice around a table into a full-blown cultural phenomenon. What started as a home game between friends like Matthew Mercer, Laura Bailey, Travis Willingham, and Sam Riegel has grown into something with over 410 episodes, four major campaigns, and a dedicated streaming platform called Beacon. The format is straightforward: long-form, unscripted D&D sessions where the cast plays completely in character, often for three to four hours at a stretch. These are trained performers, so the emotional range is staggering. One moment you are laughing at Sam Riegel's absurd ad reads, and the next you are genuinely tearing up over a character's sacrifice. Campaign 4 shook things up in a big way by bringing in Brennan Lee Mulligan as Game Master, stepping away from the familiar world of Exandria into Mulligan's own setting of Araman. The cast expanded too, adding Robbie Daymond, Aabria Iyengar, Whitney Moore, and Alexander Ward alongside the original crew. Episodes now drop in two parts each week. The production quality is top-tier, with professional sound mixing that translates surprisingly well from the video format to audio-only listening. If you have never experienced actual play D&D before, this is the gold standard that everyone else gets measured against. Fair warning though: each campaign is a massive time commitment. Start with Campaign 1 or jump straight into Campaign 4 for a fresh entry point.

The McElroy family turned a bonus episode of their comedy advice show into one of the most beloved actual play podcasts ever made. Justin, Travis, and Griffin McElroy play alongside their dad Clint, and the result is this wonderful collision of genuine family dynamics and absurd fantasy storytelling. The first campaign, Balance, is widely considered a masterpiece of the genre. Griffin's DMing builds from goofy monster-of-the-week adventures into this sweeping emotional epic that had listeners openly sobbing by the finale. It is genuinely one of the best stories told in any medium, and the fact that it emerged from improv dice rolls makes it even more impressive. Since Balance, the show has become more experimental. They have rotated DM duties, tried different game systems, and explored shorter arcs. Recent campaigns include Versus Dracula, a vampire hunter story, and various Marvel-inspired crossover adventures. Not every arc hits as hard as Balance, but the family chemistry never gets old. Clint McElroy rolling terribly and then somehow saving the day is a recurring joy. The podcast drops biweekly on the Maximum Fun network and has racked up over 400 episodes and 35,000 Apple Podcasts ratings. The tone leans heavily comedic with genuine heart underneath. If you want actual play that prioritizes story and character over rules accuracy, and you do not mind a dad who still confuses his spell slots, this is your show. The Balance arc alone is worth the listen even if you never touch another episode.

NADDPOD, as the fans call it, is what happens when CollegeHumor alumni decide to take D&D extremely seriously while also being extremely funny about it. Brian Murphy runs the game as DM, and he is absurdly good at building interconnected worlds with callbacks that pay off dozens of episodes later. Emily Axford plays with a tactical brilliance that regularly catches Murphy off guard, and she also composes the original music for the show, which adds a surprisingly cinematic layer. Jake Hurwitz and Caldwell Tanner round out the party with characters that range from lovable idiots to genuinely compelling heroes. The first campaign set in Bahumia is a fantastic starting point, running about 100 episodes with a complete and satisfying arc. Since then, they have completed campaigns in Eldermourne and the space-fantasy setting of the Third Mates, plus shorter side campaigns like Trinyvale and the recent Trinyvale x Strahd crossover. The humor is sharp and improvisational, but the show never loses sight of real storytelling. Big emotional moments land hard because you actually care about these characters. They also produce D&D Court episodes where listeners submit disputes to be settled through dice rolls, which are genuinely hilarious standalone listens. With over 820 episodes, 38,000 Patreon subscribers, and a Radio City Music Hall live show announced, NADDPOD has earned its spot near the top of any D&D podcast list. The Headgum production keeps everything sounding clean and professional.

Dungeons and Daddies has one of the best elevator pitches in podcasting: four dads from our world get transported into a fantasy realm and have to rescue their sons. That premise alone is funny, but the execution is where this show really shines. Anthony Burch serves as DM, joined by Freddie Wong, Matt Arnold, Will Campos, and Beth May as players who lean way more into comedy and character work than strict rules adherence. And honestly, that is what makes it so good. The show barely follows D&D mechanics half the time, treating the game system more as a loose framework for collaborative improv storytelling. Season one follows the dads on their rescue mission and builds to a genuinely emotional conclusion. Season two flipped the script with the dads' kids as protagonists. Season three departed from D&D entirely, using Call of Cthulhu rules for a horror-comedy campaign. The newest season, Grandpas and Galaxies, launched in early 2025 and sends grandfathers into space using the Dark Matter sci-fi D&D conversion. Each season works as a standalone story, so you can jump in anywhere, though starting from season one gives you the full emotional payoff. With a 4.9 rating from over 10,000 reviews, the audience clearly agrees this is something special. The episodes release semimonthly and are tightly edited compared to most actual play shows, keeping the pacing snappy. If you want actual play that treats D&D as comedy scaffolding rather than a strict ruleset, this is your best bet.

Dimension 20 is Brennan Lee Mulligan's anthology actual play series, and it might have the highest production values in the entire genre. Originally a video show on Dropout (formerly CollegeHumor's streaming service), the podcast version brings the audio from these meticulously crafted campaigns to your earbuds. The first season, Fantasy High, is a love letter to both D&D and teen coming-of-age movies, set in a world where adventuring is the high school curriculum. Mulligan's DMing style is electric. He builds worlds with an almost manic creative energy, voices dozens of distinct NPCs, and adapts to his players' chaotic choices with the kind of improv skill you would expect from someone with a background in competitive storytelling. The cast rotates between seasons, drawing from a roster of comedians and performers. You will see names like Emily Axford, Zac Oyama, Ally Beardsley, and Lou Wilson across different campaigns, each bringing wildly different energy. The podcast feed on Apple has about 41 episodes from the earlier seasons, but the full Dimension 20 library lives on Dropout with dozens of complete campaigns spanning fantasy, noir, sci-fi, and even a Willy Wonka parody. In 2025, Mulligan signed a three-year deal with Dropout and also took over as GM for Critical Role's fourth campaign, cementing his status as arguably the most in-demand game master working today. The Fantasy High Webtoon adaptation launched in March 2025, and the Battle at the Bowl live event at the Hollywood Bowl was a massive spectacle.

High Rollers is Europe's biggest independent TTRPG stream turned podcast, and it has been running strong since 2016 with over 650 episodes. Mark Hulmes serves as Dungeon Master, guiding his players through the homebrew world of Altheya: The Dragon Empire. The show takes its lore seriously. Hulmes builds intricate political landscapes, divine pantheons, and interconnected storylines that reward long-time listeners with layered callbacks and reveals. The current cast includes Trott, Kim, Rhi, and Katie, each bringing distinct roleplaying styles that create a nice balance between combat tactics and character-driven drama. Tom Hazell handles the sound design, which adds atmospheric weight to key moments. New episodes drop on Tuesdays and Thursdays, with live streams happening every Sunday at 5pm UK time on Twitch and YouTube. That is a lot of content, which can feel intimidating for newcomers, but the community is welcoming and there are good starting points for each major campaign arc. The production is handled by Pickaxe, a UK-based podcast network that also manages several other TTRPG shows. What sets High Rollers apart from the American-dominated actual play scene is its distinctly British sensibility. The humor is drier, the pacing more deliberate, and the worldbuilding leans into high fantasy with a grounded tone rather than comedy. If you have burned through the big American actual play shows and want something with a different flavor, High Rollers is an excellent pick with a massive back catalog to explore.

Tales from the Stinky Dragon started at Rooster Teeth but went independent in 2024 when the company shut down, and the transition actually made the show stronger. The cast includes Gustavo Sorola as Game Master, with Barbara Dunkelman, Blaine Gibson, Chris Demarais, and Jon Risinger as players. What makes Stinky Dragon stand out in the crowded actual play space is the production quality. This is not a raw recording of people sitting around a table. Every episode features fully voiced NPC characters, immersive sound design, original music, and careful editing that keeps the pacing tight. It feels closer to an audio drama that happens to use D&D rules than a typical let's-play podcast. The show is rated clean, which is unusual for the genre and makes it genuinely accessible to younger listeners or anyone who does not want explicit content mixed into their fantasy adventure. With around 208 episodes released biweekly, the back catalog is substantial but not overwhelming. The independent team launched a Patreon to fund production and also partnered with Critical Role Productions to distribute through Beacon. That partnership makes sense given the overlap in audience. The comedy leans on the cast's natural chemistry, which goes back years to their Rooster Teeth days, and the stories balance humor with enough dramatic stakes to keep you invested. If you are looking for a family-friendly actual play show with professional-grade audio production, this is one of the best options available.

Dragon Talk is the official Dungeons and Dragons podcast from Wizards of the Coast, and it fills a completely different niche than the actual play shows dominating this category. Hosted by Shelly Mazzanoble and Greg Tito, the format is interview-based. Each episode brings on guests from across the D&D community: game designers who worked on the latest sourcebooks, content creators running their own streams, actors who play in high-profile campaigns, and regular players with interesting stories about how the game changed their lives. The conversations tend to run between 50 minutes and an hour and a half, with a relaxed conversational tone that feels more like eavesdropping on industry insiders chatting than a formal interview show. With over 430 episodes in the archive, Dragon Talk has become a living oral history of modern D&D culture. You get behind-the-scenes looks at how adventures get designed, discussions about representation in fantasy gaming, and insights into where the hobby is heading. The show is rated clean and updates weekly, making it easy to keep up with. Mazzanoble brings genuine enthusiasm and a self-deprecating humor about her own gaming experiences, while Tito provides more of the industry knowledge and journalistic perspective. They also co-authored a book called Welcome to Dragon Talk. If you are interested in the people and creative process behind D&D rather than watching a campaign unfold, this is essential listening. It pairs nicely with an actual play show as a way to deepen your understanding of the game.

Dungeon Delve is the other official D&D podcast from Wizards of the Coast, and this one focuses on actual play rather than interviews. Chris Perkins, the principal story designer for Dungeons and Dragons, serves as Dungeon Master for remastered recordings of live play sessions. The most notable content here is the Acquisitions Incorporated series, featuring Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik from Penny Arcade alongside guests like Wil Wheaton and Kris Straub. These are historically significant recordings in the actual play space because Acquisitions Inc. was doing live D&D at PAX conventions before the format exploded in popularity. Perkins is a masterful DM who writes official D&D adventures for a living, so his game mastering reflects deep mechanical knowledge combined with a flair for dramatic storytelling. The episodes have been remastered for better audio quality, which is a welcome improvement over the original convention recordings. With 109 episodes covering various campaigns and one-shots, the library is manageable compared to the multi-hundred-episode behemoths elsewhere on this list. The show includes sessions set in popular campaign settings like Icewind Dale and Dark Sun, giving you a taste of official D&D worlds run by the people who actually designed them. Episodes are explicit-rated and run about an hour each. The podcast is less polished than modern productions, but there is a scrappy charm to hearing the early days of actual play from the people who helped invent the format. Think of it as the historical archive of D&D live play.

Oxventure brings together a crew of British gaming journalists and YouTubers for tabletop adventures that are genuinely, consistently funny. The cast includes Jane Douglas, Andy Farrant, Mike Channell, Ellen Rose, Luke Westaway, and Johnny Chiodini, most of whom came up through Outside Xbox and Outside Xtra. Their chemistry is the real draw here. These are people who have been making content together for years, and it shows in how effortlessly they riff off each other and commit to increasingly ridiculous character choices. The D&D campaigns form the core of the show, but Oxventure has branched out into other game systems too. You will find Deadlands sessions for Weird West horror, Blades in the Dark for urban gothic fantasy, and various one-shots using different rulesets. In 2025 they brought back the original Oxventurers Guild crew for a live show at the Bloomsbury Theatre, ran a D&D session where every player character was secretly a mimic, and tried out the new Daggerheart system. The variety keeps things fresh. Episodes release monthly with about 235 in the archive, and the show is part of the Geek Media Podcast Network under IGN Entertainment. The tone is distinctly British: dry humor, self-deprecating wit, and a willingness to let plans go spectacularly wrong rather than trying to look cool. If you enjoy the chaotic energy of friends who are more interested in making each other laugh than optimizing their builds, Oxventure is a treat. The 2026 live tour is already selling tickets.

Three Black Halflings is hosted by Jasper William Cartwright, Olivia Kennedy (everyone calls her Liv), and Jeremy Cobb, and their tagline says it all: Roll for Melanin, It's a Nat 20. The show occupies a unique space in D&D podcasting by centering discussions of diversity, representation, and inclusion within the tabletop gaming world. But this is not a dry academic exercise. These three are genuinely funny friends with strong opinions who happen to care deeply about making the hobby more welcoming. Episodes blend discussion segments with actual play mini-series, DM tips, pop culture commentary, and interviews with guests from the Black, Asian, and LGBTQIA+ communities in gaming. The actual play arcs showcase creative storytelling with a variety of guest players, and the discussion episodes tackle real topics like representation in published adventures and the experience of being a person of color at the gaming table. With over 360 episodes releasing biweekly and a 4.8 rating on Apple Podcasts, the show has built a dedicated following. In May 2025, they launched their first official campaign setting module: City of the Black Rose: A Dark Metropolis Campaign Setting. That is a significant milestone, going from podcast commentary to actually creating the kind of diverse content they have been advocating for. The episodes run between 45 minutes and nearly two hours depending on the format, and the explicit rating reflects honest, unfiltered conversations. If you want a D&D podcast that challenges you to think about the hobby differently while still being genuinely entertaining, this is it.

Unprepared Casters solves one of the biggest problems with actual play podcasts: the commitment. Instead of one sprawling campaign that runs for hundreds of episodes, hosts Haley Whipjack and Amelia Som structure their show around short, self-contained arcs of six to eight episodes each. Every arc brings a new story, new characters, and often new guest players from the broader TTRPG content creator community. Haley and Amelia trade off as Game Master between arcs, and their DMing styles are different enough that each swap feels like getting a fresh show. The format means you can jump in at any arc without needing to know what happened before, which is incredibly refreshing in a genre where most shows expect you to listen to 200 episodes of backstory. Each arc explores a different corner of D&D and tabletop gaming, from classic dungeon crawls to more experimental narrative setups. The guest rotation keeps the energy varied and introduces you to creators you might not have discovered otherwise. With about 189 episodes and a perfect 5.0 rating on Apple Podcasts from 400 reviews, the show has found an audience that appreciates the anthology approach. Episodes drop biweekly and are available on the Realm podcast network. The production is clean, the chemistry between the two hosts is warm and playful, and the shorter arc structure means every story has real stakes because there is an actual ending coming. If you love the actual play format but cannot commit to a 400-episode campaign, Unprepared Casters is exactly what you need.

Cast Party starts with a premise that hooks you immediately: four cast and crew members from a Hollywood film set find themselves transported to the fantasy world of Fendraeya, gaining new powers in a reality none of them really know how to process. It is a fish-out-of-water setup that creates natural comedy and genuine character development as modern-day people try to navigate a traditional fantasy setting. The show is produced by Pickaxe (the same UK network behind High Rollers) and has been running since October 2020, building up over 250 episodes across five seasons. The current campaign features a second group of characters in what functions as a prequel to the original story, which is a bold structural choice that adds depth to the world without requiring you to have heard everything that came before. Episodes run anywhere from 47 minutes to nearly two hours and release weekly, giving you a steady stream of content. The production includes edited audio with sound design elements that enhance key moments without losing the spontaneous feel of actual play. Reviews consistently praise the blend of comedy and tragedy, and with a 4.9 rating it is clear the balance works. The cast brings real emotional investment to their characters, and the longer episode format gives scenes room to breathe. If you are looking for a serialized D&D podcast with a creative premise and strong character work that flies under the radar compared to the bigger names, Cast Party deserves your attention.

Pork Fried Dice is the kind of actual play podcast that makes you feel like you pulled up a chair to someone's home game. The show has been going strong since 2017 with over 400 weekly episodes, and that longevity is a testament to how well the group works together. The cast includes Alex, K.T., Erick, and Abby, playing through long-form D&D campaigns with a heavy emphasis on roleplay and character interaction. The humor runs toward crude jokes, anachronistic references, and an impressive quantity of puns, which either sounds like your ideal Friday night or your worst nightmare, and you probably already know which camp you fall in. What separates Pork Fried Dice from the slickly produced bigger shows is the rawness. This is not heavily edited. You hear the table talk, the side conversations, the moments where someone forgets what their character can do. For some listeners, that is the whole appeal. It feels authentic in a way that polished productions sometimes lose. The group takes the story seriously even when they do not take themselves seriously, and over 400 episodes of character development means the emotional stakes are real when things go sideways. The show updates weekly on Castos and has a dedicated Discord community and Ko-Fi subscription for bonus content. The Apple Podcasts rating sits at 4.7, which reflects a loyal but smaller audience compared to the heavy hitters. If you have already burned through the major actual play shows and want something that captures the messy, hilarious reality of a long-running home game, Pork Fried Dice delivers exactly that energy.

Starter Set lives up to its name. This is a D&D podcast built specifically for people who are either new to the game or curious about getting started, and it does that job really well. The show takes listeners deeper into the pages of Dungeons and Dragons, blending actual play sessions with guidance on character creation, rules explanations, and tips for running your own games. Hosts Ed and Oli bring an approachable energy that avoids the insider jargon and assumed knowledge that can make other D&D content feel exclusionary to newcomers. The multi-season narrative includes campaigns like Beowulf, which ran through Season 2, and the show has built up about 230 episodes since launching in 2018. Episodes come out weekly with an explicit content rating, and the show maintains an active Discord community where listeners can ask questions and share their own gaming experiences. The production is straightforward and unfussy, keeping the focus on the game and the learning experience rather than flashy audio effects. What makes Starter Set valuable in a category full of veteran players is the intentional accessibility. You do not need to know what a d20 is or understand armor class to enjoy this. The hosts walk you through concepts as they come up naturally in play, which is a much better way to learn than reading a rulebook. The show ran actively through 2024, giving newcomers a complete and substantial library to work through at their own pace. If you have been curious about D&D but intimidated by the 400-episode backlogs of bigger shows, start here.