D&D General Live-Action D&D Shows/Podcasts: Love Them or Hate Them?

[commandercrud]

I don't give a naughty word about them.

 

[Morrus]

I like some and not others!

 

[ReshiIRE]

Genuinely unsure. You would think after watching half-way through Critical Role Campaign 2 and other Critical Role campaign stuff, and a smattering of other sessions and such, but I admit I drift in and out of focus, and am terrified of being contaminated in a negative way by watching them.

I often use them as noise, to help me through my day. For a wide variety of reasons I prefer to have some background noise on when I can (such as when I'm alone and focusing on some tasks). This is partly why I navigated to Critical Role (besides familiarity from hearing from friends and cultural inertia): there are a LOT of episodes, and a lot to listen to. And visuals to focus on, I suppose, with actual people.

if there are other shows that have had long campaigns (a good fourty or so episodes), then I would be interested. For other TTRPGs too - I have been meaning to watch some Cyberpunk Red and Pathfiner 2e actual play as well.

 

[overgeeked]

The only ones I've been able to stomach are the Critical Role streams. Their Call of Cthulhu one-shot game is what drew me in. After that I tried their regular game, which was early-mid Campaign 2 at the time. I've tried a few others but they just seem off. Trying too hard, not trying hard enough. CR is slick. Most of the rest are not. I also haven't been able to get into CR's Campaign 1 because of the same issues. The sound is terrible in the early days, the chat and the cast's engagement with it is maddeningly distracting, one of the players (later removed) is a jerk, etc. I like Matt Colville and his DM advice videos, and I tried to watch his game streams, but no dice there either.

 

[ReshiIRE]

I must admit the best Critical Role content I watched was the Doom Eternal oneshot. The guests especially where fantastic.

 

[Greg K]

I don't like or hate them. In general, I have disliked most that I have seen and find them boring. However, there have been a few that I have enjoyed.
To my surprise, I, finally, found one episode run by Chris Perkins enjoyable to watch (the players were from Stranger Things). My enjoyment came more from watching the interaction and reaction of cast members, but it was actually fun to watch. However, if the adventure had been part of a regular campaign in which I was participating, I would have been annoyed as a player.

 

[cmad1977]

I can only listen to the podcasts. Can’t watch people. I use them as a “watch the tape” kind of thing. I listen to the situation and either come up with “my” ruling in the moment and see what the DM does. Maybe I agree with them maybe I don’t. Maybe I don’t agree with them and then more circumstances arrive and I agree. Or maybe I would do something different. Helps me think about various potential situations in my games and how I’d handle them.

 

[not-so-newguy]

The only Actual Play podcast that I listened to regularly was the early episodes of Nerd Poker with Brian Posehn. I think my enthusiasm was based on the fact that half of them were professional comedians familiar to me. The D&D part was just a nice bonus. I've tried several other Actual Play podcasts but I find them boring

 

[Ristamar]

I listen to a few, mostly those with a comedic bend (Glass Cannon, Dungeons & Daddies, Crit Juice, etc), but I don't have the time or patience for 3+ hour podcasts. Even 2 hours is pushing it. If it's not roughly an hour or less, I'll typically pass.

 

[Oofta]

I enjoy some, others I can take or leave.

I listen to a few, mostly those with a comedic bend (Glass Cannon, Dungeons & Daddies, Crit Juice, etc), but I don't have the time or patience for 3+ hour podcasts. Even 2 hours is pushing it. If it's not roughly an hour or less, I'll typically pass.

Which is why I only tend to listen for an hour or so at a time. Well, longer sometimes depending on my bike route.