6 Dungeons & Dragons Actual Plays That Are Easy to Start Listening To

Seven years ago, The Adventure Zone was started by the McElroy brothers using the Fifth Edition of the role-playing game as a basis for their comedy. Critical Role and Friends at the Table are obvious mentions, but actual plays have become an art all their own as the scope of the medium expanded.

Many shows have been going for years, and new shows pop up all the time. As more and more people experiment with different ways to distribute and play games for an audience, it's hard to know where to start. To help you get into it, here are six APs where you can either catch up quickly or jump right into a season.

Even though it is one of the longest-running APs on this list, it has less than 50 episodes on its stream and its format is very easy to access. OMAMAM takes inspiration from classic literature in each of its five to 12 episode mini-arcs, making it a perfect show to watch.

Deborah Ann Woll is the leader of the AP that has just started. A fairy tale goes wrong on a train through a magical realm, taking a more modern approach to D&D.

The Borros Saga: Banesbreak is a brand-new D&D stream that features the likes of Aabria Iyengar, Kailey Bray, Saige Ryan, and others. The show takes characters out of the realm they thought they knew and puts them in a world with an expansive backstory. The show airs on Tuesday nights. There is a time delay on the Pixel Circus channel.

Everyone is horny all the time in Roll 4 Rainbow, and evil doctors, strange temples, and other things we love about D&D are included. It started in 2021 with a 20-odd episode D&D arc and has just started a new season. The first season is a perfect month-long marathon and it is included.

Reckless Attack is a polished, exemplary AP that is classic D&D with some very excellent twists. This is a game that everyone is going to be talking about soon, and it is set in a homemade world with wonderful, diverse characters. The world has only recently come to know about the tentative peace that is threatened by cataclysmic events.

Here it is! The one that started in June of 2020 is the last AP I recommend. There are tons of episodes, but Transplanar has a handy recap guide that makes it easy to get into the game. This all-transgender,POC-led livestream is set in a non-colonial, anti-orientalist world and is being led by the current DM, Connie Chang. It's fantastic, and it's less than halfway through its fifth season, which means you have plenty of time to catch up. Transplanar broadcasts on Saturdays at 7 p.m. It's easy to tune in whenever you have time on Tuesdays thanks to the streaming services.

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