10 Best D&D Streams You Should Watch
A New Age of Dungeons and Dragons
We REJOICE as we live in a time where DnD has become so popular that at every corner there is some group of players streaming their zany campaigns on the internet. Although I am so happy to see this hobby expanding exponentially, it makes it hard to keep up with what streams are the best in quality. Several professional streams stand out from the rest but which ones should you spend the countless hours it takes to invest yourself in their story?
Well, I have just the answer! These are the Top 10 DnD streams that you can utilize to get your DnD fix if you don’t have a group to play with, learn to play the game at an even higher level by watching professionals roll some dice or to just laugh hysterically when the characters do something ridiculous like turning into a dinosaur in the middle of a mansion.
10. Acquisitions Incorporated: The “C” Team
One of the DnD streams that became so popular that Wizards of the Coast published an offical DnD book in their honor.
Led by one of the minds behind the creation of many official DnD adventures, Chris Perkins and Jerry Holkins. Acquisitions Incorporated is a humorous show with rich gameplay as you might expect from a Wizards of the Coast official stream. They also venture to many Cons and play their games live on stage at times, making it one of the few Dungeons and Dragons games you can buy tickets to see! They stream on Twitch every Wednesday at 4 pm Pacific but you can watch every episode so far on the Penny Arcade official Youtube channel!
Twitch: Pennyarcade
Youtube: PennyArcadeTV
9. Force Grey
We've come a long way from the stereotype of "Nerd in Mom's basement" DnD fans! Just look at these beautiful people!
Force Grey is a weekly stream, airing Mondays at 5 pm Pacific on the D&D official twitch channel. If you would like to see professional actors like Deborah Ann Woll from Daredevil or Dylan Sprouse from Sweet Life of Zach and Cody being led through your favorite game by the Legendary DM, Matt Mercer, then, this just might be the show for you.
The Campaign is based out of the Forgotten Realms which is the standard D&D setting and they focus on mainstream adventures like Storm King's Thunder and Tomb of Annihilation. If you want to catch up on the games you may have missed or just have some free time, you can watch the edited episodes on Youtube!
Twitch: DnD
Youtube: Dungeons & Dragons
8. Encounter Roleplay
Encounter Roleplay is a TTRPG brand of it's own and I'm a little jealous of that tentacle arm.
Encounter Roleplay is more of a collection of separate DnD streams all chocked up into one channel! They play through the many published adventures as well as other various Tabletop RPGs like the Game of Thrones RPG, Star Trek, Vampire the Masquerade, or even Call of Cthulhu.
If you’re looking to get a good example of a group running through a particular published adventure before you run it yourself to get some ideas, this channel is the perfect place to look because, chances are, if you type the name of the module then follow it with “Encounter Roleplay”, you will find exactly what you’re looking for! They just started a new Dungeons and Dragons campaign inspired by Scottish history that you can watch on their twitch or check out on the Encounter Roleplay Youtube channel!
Twitch: EncounterRoleplay
Youtube: Encounter Roleplay
7. Dice, Camera, Action
Did you notice that crawling hand on the ground? It took me quite a few times seeing this picture to realize that nightmare was just lurking there!
Another official DnD stream represented by the actual Dungeons and Dragons channel! Chris Perkins, the official Story Designer for Dungeons and Dragons, is the sole DM of this stream taking his band of intrepid adventurers through Curse of Strahd, Storm King's Thunder, and into a homebrew campaign. Chris Perkin’s genius and heavy emphasis on the “rule of cool” will have you taking notes on his style of DMing. They stream every Tuesday at 4 pm Pacific but an album of all their episodes to date can be found on the official Dungeons and Dragons Youtube channel!
Twitch: DnD
Youtube: Dungeons & Dragons
6. Maze Arcana
Maze Arcana in its early days complete with a ship and its crew... and maybe just a bit of shenanigans.
I have a real soft spot for live DnD games where all the players are sitting around the same table rather than an online game run by having the players and DM on some sort of conference call during their game. If you feel the same way, then rest assured, because Maze Arcana is an actual play stream based on a group of all women bards traveling the lands of Faerun getting into all kinds of trouble!
Run by the brilliant Satine Phoenix who even appears in her own series of GM tips on Youtube. Her storytelling is so extravagantly crafted that the official DnD twitch has picked up the show and now broadcasts it as well! If you want to check out the madness you can tune into the stream on Tuesdays and Wednesdays or catch up on the story so far on their Maze Arcana Youtube channel.
Twitch: MazeArcana
Youtube: Maze Arcana
5. Rollplay
Rollplay is a staple for interesting homebrew rules and an assortment of interesting characters, oh and the pink haired beauty, Adam.
DMed by a top tier DnD personality, Adam Koebel. The group has played through several homebrew campaigns all run in a way that highly encourages player agency. The players often dictate where the story goes or specific details about their environment, taking some pressure off the DM but also expanding the game into a more collaborative work of art.
Although it is not an actual play stream with all the players at a single table, the quality is good enough that you will forget each player isn’t in the same room! If you want to check out Rollplay, you can sort through the number of campaigns they have run on their Youtube channel “ItmeJP” or catch them live on twitch but you’ll need to keep up with their schedule by following their twitter and Reddit group.
Twitch: Rollplay
Youtube: ItmeJP
4. The Chain of Acheron
The Chain of Acheron fanart as they pose to rebuild their alliance and maybe cause some pain along the way.
The Chain of Acheron was a LONG awaited DnD actual play stream brought about after years of fans begging for Matt Colville to run such a game. Fans were taken through his design process on Matt’s youtube channel that, before this, was populated with an abundance of DM tips.
Many say that Colville is one of the best Dungeon Masters in the DnD community and has helped many hopeful fans gain the confidence to run their own games. The Chain of Acheron is based in Matt’s Homebrew setting where an evil Tyrant rules over the land and a single order, The Chain, opposes his rule and this is the story of their defiance. You will be hooked from the first episode.
The downside to this DnD stream is that no new episodes have been streamed since September of 2019 but you can watch all 27 episodes on the MCDM Youtube channel.
Youtube: MCDM
3. Realmsmith
The DnD stream that has quickly jumped into popularity with its Curse of Strahd adventure will leave you in stitches.
Realmsmith which, previously, focused on miniature painting tutorials and DnD tools has quickly shot to one of my favorite DnD streams to date when they released their “Into the Mist” series as they play through the Curse of Strahd module.
The quality of play is excellent and the players at the table really get into character. This stream gained so much traction that they were picked up by the DnD official twitch channel and are featured on the DnD official Youtube channel. They are an actual play stream as their group of friends gathered around the table to play together but during the Covid-19 quarantine, they have vowed to continue their campaign by running their game through online play.
They have, also, just began another campaign called “The Tides of Wildemount” which will play through one of the beginning adventures in the new Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount campaign setting but they have pledged to return to the Curse of Strahd campaign after the Wildemount game’s conclusion. You can catch them live every Monday at 4 pm Pacific or catch up with their games after the fact on the Realmsmith Youtube channel.
Twitch: RealmSmith
Youtube: RealmSmith
2. High Rollers
When you want a stream dominated by those sweet UK accents, you cant go wrong with High Rollers. Stay tuned if you want to see Mark dressed as Bowsette!
Powered by the mind of Mark “Sherlock” Hulmes, High Rollers is a completely homebrew campaign that streams every Sunday at 5 pm BST or 9 am for Pacific Standard Time. Mark is an amazing homebrewer himself but also uses content from the Dungeon Masters Guild to homebrew elements into his games.
They are currently playing through their Aerois Campaign based on Eastern Mythology, complete with floating islands and sunken ancient cities. They have some One-off adventures as well as their completed campaign “Lightfall”. If you want to check out their streams you may have missed, you can catch up by going to the High Rollers DnD Youtube channel!
Twitch: HighRollersDnD
Youtube: High Rollers DnD
1. Critical Role
The MacDaddy stream that rules them all. Yes a DnD stream that has a Karoke theme song and sells out stadiums when they want to roll some dice.
As far as I’m concerned, this is THE DnD stream. A table of Nerdy Voice actors sit around and play dungeons and dragons. Matthew Mercer is a brilliant DM with a multitude of voices to accompany his hundreds of unique NPCs and Villains.
The group focuses heavily on the Roleplay aspect of the game giving their audience the sense that a true bond is formed between their characters, leading you to weep when their characters face turmoil and celebrate along with them in their victories. Critical Role has made an insane impact at the resurgence of the DnD hobby and has brought thousands, if not millions, of new players to the game and given them the confidence that DnD is not just for nerds in their mother’s basement.
Matthew Mercer’s setting has become so popular in the DnD community that 2 campaign settings have been published based on the show, the first by Green Ronin focused on the continent of Tal’dorei and the second published by Wizards of the Coast based on the continent of Wildemount.
Critical Role is currently in their second campaign but you can also go back and watch their first campaign in its entirety on the Geek and Sundry Youtube channel. They have since become their own entity and separated from Geek and Sundry so you can find their second campaign on a mix of their personal Critical Role channel and the Geek and Sundry channel. If you want to be drawn into a compelling story and be shocked by the professional level of play then you can catch this DnD stream every Thursday at 7 pm Pacific.
Twitch: CriticalRole
Critical Role Channel: Critical Role
Geek and Sundry Channel: Geek & Sundry
The real beauty of these streams is watching these intricate and deep plots unfold before your eyes while allowing you to spend hours getting to know your favorite characters. From the insane quotes by Scanlan, to the threats by Ajax, or the innocence of Sterling these streams will have you hooked and CRAVING to jump into a game of your own!
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