Hello, neighbours! I’ve been doing a metric buttload (equal to three metric Jesus loads) of data entry lately, and nothing helps the time sail by than having excellent podcasts and actual plays on in the background. I have a bunch of excellent productions to choose from, but lately I’ve discovered and am enjoying three new channels.
A quick word about support before we jump in. With so many TTRPG podcasts and actual play shows out there, it can be difficult to get eyeballs on a show, never mind making it thrive. If you find a show or a channel you love, be loud about it. Yes, of course, your favourite show will love it if you can support them with Ko-fi donations or Twitch subs. You should absolutely do that if you are able. But more than that, talk about what you love watching! Retweet their “going live” tweets, give them shout-outs where ever you are on social media. Heck, engage with them and let them know how much you enjoy what they do. No creator hears that enough, often we feel like we’re releasing our creations into the void. So get out there and talk excitedly about what you love. Your favourite show will appreciate it.
Speaking of, here are three of my new favourites:
Roll Together – Produced out of the UK, Roll Together is a largely D&D focused channel with a variety of campaigns, as well informational videos and a talk show. Only recently discovered that episodes are pre-recorded and then released on Twitch, which is great because the players are often in chat during the broadcast; it’s fun to kibitz over some of the dicier moments. I love the core cast for most of their shows and the rapport they have with the guest players is outstanding. There is an obvious love for playing here that makes watching feel like I’m hanging out in a friend’s basement watching a game. If you need some new D&D AP in your life, give them a follow on Twitter and hit the Subscribe button on YouTube. They are just wrapping a campaign today, so you’re just in time to catch the next one.
Kerri Smith – I’ve been a huge fan of weird wild west tales and specifically the Deadlands RPG since it first released. So when I found Kerri’s channel and found a new source for western weirdness, I was ecstatic. And the channel doesn’t disappoint, except that shows only release once a week. That’s not Kerri’s fault, a daily release schedule would hardly satisfy. Episodes are pre-recorded (that seems to be an unintentional theme so far) with an excellent cast of players. Besides the excellent game and gameplay, there are a couple of things I particularly love about these shows. First, content warnings at the top, built right into the opening of the show. Yeah, sure, with a game like Deadlands you should expect a certain level of mature content. But that’s no excuse not to explicitly warn about specific content and I appreciate the care Kerri takes for her viewers in doing this. Second, the “exit on death” policy adds a lovely edge to the gameplay. When you know that not only can characters die, but that the player is also going to exit the show when they do, the stakes feel higher. It adds an extra layer of tension I enjoy, even if it has meant losing players I enjoy watching. But don’t take my word, go see for yourself: Subscribe and Follow.
Bards & Brews – I love finding a small channel which is about to start growing, and getting to watch that growth happen. The channel recently announced it was expanding the leadership of their platform, moving from a single producer to a diverse team developing new content. The current content is already excellent, including a Starfinder campaign, a game I haven’t seen played a bunch out in the AP community. The GMs and players are excellent and have a great chemistry, which makes the shows a delight to watch. Shows go live every Sunday on Twitch, with VODs available later on YouTube. The channel has been on a bit of a tech-related hiatus (laptop deaths are a plague upon the AP industry) but that just means you have time to hit the YouTube channel and get yourself caught up. Which is a good thing, because I have a feeling once these folks get going you’ll have to run to keep up! Do yourself a favour and give them a Follow and a Subscribe now.
Okay, that should keep your AP queue filled for a little while. But that’s just what I’m watching. What are you watching that we should know about? Drop us a line on Twitter and tell us about your favourite show or channel. We love finding great new shows.
