Taking nominations for best RPG Podcasts of 2018!

The Gauntlet's Fear of a Black Dragon takes a look at (mostly) TSR-era and OSR adventures, analyzes how they play, and then pivots to deeper discussion on GMing a particular facet of that adventure.

 

[Kiestered]

My favorite Table Top gaming podcast since 2013 is Critical Hit! They have been playing the same campaign for almost 10 years and it just keeps getting better.

 

[Jake Harkins]

https://youtu.be/E7geZ3TktpA
Inappropriate characters from the edgelords Venger Satanis, "Grim" Jim Desborough and the RPG Pundant discuss the OSR-ish subjects and go off page adventuring.

 

[sleypy]

I'm voting for Fandible podcast. It is primarily an actual play using a variety of different system. The group has great chemistry and is fun to listen to. They each have different GM styles so each campaign offers a unique listening experience that ranges from casual beer and pretzel to intense radio drama.

http://www.fandible.com/

 

[Blackthorne88]

Seconded

My vote would be for d20 Dames, a dnd5e actual play podcast. It's dmed, casted, and produced by a diverse group of women. It's super funny and super engaging.

www.d20dames.com

As someone who's been sifting through a number of all female podcasts this has been my favorite!

 

[boo_cait]

Dungeons & Randomness has my vote! The story and cast are all amazing! http://www.dandrpodcast.com/

 

[lasselantanariel]

I nominate Chaotic Goodness!
"a space opera game following the often inept usually foolhardy, and extremely dangerous crew of the Wombat-class freighter Irritated Badger as they try so hard to make a living in an unforgiving galaxy full of corporations, space pirates, religious fanatics, insurmountable armies and feudalistic slavers.
They try to make money while having a little action and adventure on the side, they’re just bad at it."

https://www.nerdsmith.org/content/chaotic-goodness/
(I'm an artist who's a part of Nerdsmith, but not a part of this podcast. Just a fan who thinks these people are awesome and hilarious. They have some crazy and zany adventures, please check them out.)

 

[kinoaka]

Chimpions podcast

http://www.chimpions.co.uk great super hero actual play RPG fun .

Seconded.

It is an great, well-paced, well-edited actual play podcast using Champions (Hero Systems).

 

[HighLevelGames]

On A Roll Podcast

https://www.onarollpodcast.com/

Walking Away From Arcadia

https://walkingawayfromarcadia.podbean.com/

 

[doctorbadwolf]

The Broadswords is an actual play podcast running 5e in Faerun, primarily in Rashemen. It’s amazing. I’d rank it up with any others I’ve listened to.
https://thebroadswords.com

Mouse Guardians is an actual play podcast running Mouse Guard. There is a lot of cute, a lot of feels, and a lot of fun. https://mouseguardians.simplecast.fm

Hello From The Magic Tavern is an improv podcast based on the tropes of dnd, so I’m not sure it counts. https://hellofromthemagictavern.com

The Adventure Zone just gets better and better as they keep going. The current campaign is awesome, and I’d pay good money to see it as a tv show. https://www.maximumfun.org/shows/adventure-zone

 

[engrpe]

My vote is for The Redacted Files podcast
https://www.theredactedfiles.com/

They have a huge catalog of over 200 episodes. They cover a wide variety of rpgs and systems. Their Delta Green episodes are awesome! Each episode has a really high production; It's easy to focus on the game because the sound is so clean. I always come to The Redacted Files when I want to see what is like to play a new scifi, fantasy, or horror rpg

 

[resindoctor1]

Seconding Dungeons and Randomness

Dungeons & Randomness - This is a fun group of people who have a good global community to of players from all over the world. They have been consistently playing D&D campaigns for some time. The most amazing thing about this pod cast has been listening to the transformation of the Dungeon Master's life. He started the pod cast as a factory worker who was always told that he shouldn't follow his ambitions, and through help with the community he transformed his life so that he was able to do this pod cast and make a living by doing it! He even eventually meets his wife. The blend of real and fantasy is truly inspiring in this epic podcast.

I agree wholeheartedly with Sands999. Three groups playing independently in the same 5e world and timeline - plus awesome DM and characters - give this long-running podcast’s second Arc real suspense and draws you in quickly. The world has immense depth of backstory (partly from roughly 600 hours of Arc 1 still available) and a setting book is promised for Kickstarter next year.

I can’t wait!

 

[Joseph Hines]

I nominate the On A Roll Podcast. https://www.onarollpodcast.com/

They look at the state of play, talk game theory, and focus on tabletop, larp, and mush. Excellent show format and hosts.

 

[Eyes of Nine]

Down with D&D https://misdirectedmark.com/category/podcasts/dwdd/
Gaming and BS https://gamingandbs.com/
We Hunt the Keepers AP http://www.gauntlet-rpg.com/we-hunt-the-keepers
Discern Realities http://www.gauntlet-rpg.com/discern-realities
GM Word of the Week https://www.gmwordoftheweek.com/

 

[funkbuqet]

Author & Dragons (https://www.authorsanddragons.com/) is my favorite actual play podcast. It features 6 comedy-fantasy authors playing to their strengths.

 

[MaxPower94]

People have nominated a lot of podcasts. I'm sure you all think your nomination is the best show and deserves the award. I'm sure many of them are very good shows. However, the best podcast of 2018 is unequivocally Dungeons and Randomness. I give the show not just another nomination, but the strongest endorsement I can.

The PCs have real agency unlike many other shows where the DM is shoehorning the story to fit their plot line. Crucial to this effect is, rather than letting the players run wild, binding them by consequence. Each choice is haunted by the show's maxim, everything has a price. The price can be great too in the brutal and nihilistic type of world that can only be created by someone from New Jersey. PCs suffer permanent injury or death, and it's more than a matter of paying for resurrection or restoration. Regrowing a limb is the result of a long and complex quest. Resurrection has been greatly tempered and if it succeeds it may change and break a PC, it could kill the caster, or both. The spell lists have been stripped of teleportation, goodberry, and other powers that trivialize the rigors of an adventurers life.

This fundamental philosophy makes D&R a top tier podcast alone. What sets it above and beyond anything else is the use of multiple parties. Any one of their groups would make for a great show, but when their stories weave together over time, and you see the law cracked down on one group so hard because the last set of adventurers nearly burned down the town, or a group defeats an evil wizard in the east and you realize this will hasten his tyrannical ally combating the group in the West, the feeling can be overwhelming.

http://www.dandrpodcast.com/

 

[BigJackBrass]

"Improvised Radio Theatre - With Dice!" (https://tekeli.li/podcast/) in which Roger Bell_West and Michael Cule discuss games, listener questions and why you can't just do everything in GURPS the way Roger would like.

Consistently released on the first of each month, it's a very thoughtful and considered discussion.

 

[Morrus]

Just a couple of days left! There's a lot of awesome podcasts nominated. This will be one heck of a competition!

 

[John Brese]

I would like to nominate (if it hasn't been already) https://utilitymuffinlabs.com/25-years-of-vampire-the-masquerade/

 

[targetedpodcast]

I nominate On A Roll Podcast onarollpodcast.com because the hosts are great as they are well informed, but also have fun.

 

[Morrus]

So far we have 99 nominations. They are:

25 Years of Vampire the Masquerade
8bit Saga
Advanced Sagebrush & Shootouts
Androids and Aliens
Author & Dragons
Board With Life
Chaotic Goodness
Character Creation Cast
Chimpions
Critical Hit
Crudely Drawn Swords
D&D Is For Nerds
d20 Dames
Dames and Dragons
Death Saving Bros
Demipia, the Third Age
Discern Realities
Down with D&D
Dragon Talk
Drunks and Dragons
Dungeons & Randomness
Dungeons Master's Block
Fandible
Fate and the Fablemaidens
Fear of a Black Dragon
Fear the Boot
Forgot My Dice
Friends at the Table
Gamers Table
Gaming and BS
Gaming with Gage
Glass Cannon Podcast
Glitter Dice
GM Word of the Week
Godsfall
Happy Jacks RPG
Heart Beats: A Heart Warming Fantasy Podcast
Hearty Dice Friends
Hello From The Magic Tavern
Heroes Rise Podcast
HexTalk
Hobbs & Friends
How We Roll
Improvised Radio Theatre with Dice
Interstitial
Just One More Fix
Ken & Robin Talk About Stuff
Kids on Bikes
Know Direction
MegaDumbCast
Miskatonic University Podcast
Morrus’ Unofficial Tabletop RPG Talk
Mouse Guardians
Mud and Blood
Myth Takes
Neoscum
North by North Quest
On A Roll
Play Better Podcast
Protean City Comics
Queer Dungeoneers
Quest Friends
Red Moon Roleplaying
Roll For Combat
Roll To Play
She's a Super Geek
Skype of Cthulhu
Sounds Like Crowes
Spout Lore
Suddenly Tabletop
System Mastery
Tabletop Babble
Tabletop Champions
The Adventure Zone
The Broadswords
The Coriolis Effect
The Demonplague
The Dungeoncast
The Esoteric Order of Roleplayers
The Formal Gamer
The Good Friends of Jackson Elias
The Grognard Files.
The Iconic Podcast
The One Shot Podcast
The Order 66 Podcast
The Redacted Files
The Rolistes Podcast
The RPG Academy
Total Party Kill
Total Party Thrill
Very Random Encounters
Walking Away From Arcadia
We Hunt the Keepers
What Would the Smart Party Do?
Wizard on the Wynd
Wizard on the Wynd
You Meet In A Tavern

There's one day left, so if your favourite podcast isn't in that list, nominate it quick!