Actual play podcasts use tabletop roleplaying games to tell improvised stories. These shows bring together the casual banter of chat shows, the structured storytelling of audio drama, and a heavy pour of gamified chance. 

Last year, I wrote about the best actual play podcasts of 2019. At the time I had assumed that I would also create a list of the best shows of 2020. However, things happened, because 2020 was the year that things happened. 

When I initially put together this year’s list, I realized that I didn’t start that many new actual play shows, be them newly released or long running.  A lot of the shows I wanted to feature in a smaller list were shows that had already been on my list last year. While those shows are still really good, a part of me felt guilty. It’s possible that my favorite actual play show of 2020 is sitting in my podcast library right now, waiting to be started. 

I was at a loss. But then, inspiration dropped. Or, more specifically, Discover Pods dropped this article about the 71 (originally posted as 68) best podcasts of 2020. 

Like everyone else who saw this article, I thought that we should have gone with 69 because that’s the sex number. But, as the saying goes, if you want to get something done right, you must reach the arbitrary number yourself. 

This silly joke actually did help me format this article. There are some shows that I’m very passionate about and could gush over endlessly. There are also shows that, while not breaking the mold too dramatically, I just think are neat. 

The cover art for 20 Sided Stories. Orange-toned textured paper background with an outline of a 20-sided die in red, a red banner, and the podcast's title in white all-caps serif font.

20 Sided Stories

  1. 20 Sided Stories kicked off this year with a campaign set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, during the five year post snap time skip from Avengers Endgame. The season followed the adventures of a ground level super hero group doing what they can to help people outside of the weirdly regimented superhero rules of the universe.
  2. After concluding Marvel Series, the show shifted to an anthology format, ala The Twilight Zone, to touch upon various different worlds that they wanted to explore but might not have legs to be a full season. 
  3. The Green Knight two-parter is set in the Arthurian Camelot, following a group of charming heroes on a quest to slay the Green Knight using the honor-bound Green Knight system. The next Twilight Space one-shot was… Twilight, as in the vampire movie. This one shot was an absolute delight for both fans and critics of the franchise. The Halo One-shot maintains the chaotic, larger than life energy of the original Halo before it got bogged down in its own lore. I’ve yet to listen to the Hospital Drama Oneshot they’ve released, but I have no reason to doubt that it will also be impressive. 
  4. The editing of every episode is superb and professional, taking in the style of the world that the game is set in while also keeping some cross-game sound cues to help people follow along with the action. 

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The cover art for Join the Party. Over a black background there is a white outline of an eight-sided die with asteroid belt-esque lines around it. The podcast's title is written in neon green.

Join The Party

  1. Join The Party is sticking with D&D for it’s second season, but has home-brewed a modern day superhero setting. This is great for AP fans who are used to D&D shows but want to check out new genres besides fantasy. 
  2. Join the Party’s current season is set in Laketown City, a setting the team built up together in a creative worldbuilding episode. 
  3. The periodic “After Party” episodes break down the action of the previous two episodes, giving a behind the scenes look that is helpful for people who want to produce AP shows, get tips for their own games, and advice on how to plan for sessions as a game master. 

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The cover art for Campaign Skyjacks. A moody, ominous painting of an airship flying low over the sea. The word "CAMPAIGN" is in red text with a black inner shadow.

Campaign Skyjacks

  1. The crew on Campaign sticks to what they’re great at: spending a year in a location that’s currently having a festival of some kind and just going ham on the world building. 
  2. Johnny O’Mara and Liz Anderson are playing one of the most fascinating player character relationships on an actual play podcast, giving depth to the long, intense, and complicated relationship between the two immortals Travis and Gable. 
  3. Casey Toney is one of the best podcast editors in the game. 
  4. The show has been very open about addressing criticism and, upon realizing they walked themselves backwards into a pretty contextually bad situation, have been very vocal with their audience about explaining the issue and the changes that are being made. 
  5. At the end of most sessions, the cast answers questions from the audience in character, as well as audition potential audience suggested crew members for their skyship, some of whom have shown up on the show. One of the crew interviews with what was clearly a Jellicle Cat lead to Arne Parrot creating this amazing song that almost seems like it jumped out of the musical, were it not for a few theme issues. 

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Skyjacks Courier’s Call

(Disclosure: I was a backer of the season 1 Kickstarter campaign.)

  1. This show expands on the growing world of Skyjacks, this time with a show made for kids just like you. The show focuses on the flying mail ships manned mostly by teens, going from town to town delivering and collecting mail.
  2. The show does an amazing job keeping the same energy as Skyjacks without the darker themes. The stakes still feel just as high, but from the perspective of a group of children. 
  3. Even though the cast of characters don’t have as many supernaturally high stakes going on as the main show’s crew, these kids feel fully realized, with the tough June, the boisterous Cici, and the timid Kiran. 

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The cover art for bomBARDed. THe image has a lime green background with two musical eight notes connected at the top. Instead of the usual round note marker at the bottom of the eight notes, there are outlined 20-sided dice. The show's title overlays the image in white, all-caps sans-serif font.

bomBARDed

  1. bomBARDed continues to be a delightful show with a fun, Adventure Time-like vibe, following the continuing adventures of the all bard adventuring party/band, Chaos Sauce.
  2. A lot of actual play shows can get caught up in their own lore once they get long enough, so the show took a step back to simplify the plotlines and clear up the goals of the party in a method I won’t spoil here. 
  3. Once an episode, the cast rolls chord dice to generate a unique song for different situations, all of which tend to be creative, catchy, and fun.

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Critical Bits

  1. Critical Bits came into its sophomore year exploring the darker natures of their characters and setting while keeping up the fun Ren And Stimpy superhero goofs. 
  2. The guest appearances are consistently excellent, with the full episode titled based on the guest character and focusing on how they play with the group, be them fellow superheroes, supervillains, or just weird people the team happens upon.  
  3. The episodes never really blend together, with each episode and session feeling like a unique comic book issue (to keep with the comics aesthetic Masks: The Next Generation excels in.) 
  4. To heighten the stakes as the show headed toward the climax of the current story arc, the show played around with it’s format, introducing different game systems and some light scripted audio drama aspects.
  5. This year also saw the return of “Spider Day”, with a six hour episode featuring 40 players playing a diverse group of heros, villains and everything in between through 10 sessions.

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Dungeons and Daddies

  1. This year, Dungeons and Daddies reached the point where they had completed the initial pitch of the show, with the crew of dads finding their sons. Where most shows would falter at this potential stumbling block, the show managed to transition to a new main plot hook that still fits the same drive as the original. 
  2. Each of the new plot arcs focus on each specific dad and son, doing a deep dive on their characters and relationships while exploring different parts of fatherhood, both the fantastical and realistic aspects. 
  3. The Dad Facts at the beginning of each episode, where each player gives one fun fact about their character, is one of the best and simplest tools for character building I’ve seen on an actual play show. The dad facts have gotten so specific and ridiculous that they’ve lead to the creation of a rap album about rocks,

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Friends at the Table

  1. This year, Friends at the Table returned to their popular mecha-anime influenced setting of the Divine Universe, narrowing its focus on the war-torn moon “Partizan.” 
  2. The show has always been known for having complex characters, but there was an extra amount of effort put into making this season’s cast as morality complicated as the politics of the world they inhabit. 
  3. The Kingdom miniseries “Millennium Break” focused on exploring how a revolution could eat itself alive due to conflicting interests in an organization with otherwise overlapping politics, a situation which resonated in an election year.
  4. The performances of the players really stood out this year, such as Jack de Quidt’s entitled heiress Clementine Kesh or Sylvia Clare’s mean girl super soldier Ver’million Blue.

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Superidols RPG

  1. A Masks: A New Generation actual play podcast that takes its influences from magic girl pop idol anime, following the adventures of a super-powered teen idol club trying to achieve fame in an idol centric world. 
  2. The home-brewed mechanics make magical performances feel just as thrilling and dangerous as combat while keeping the music concert flair. 
  3. The large cast means an exploration of the books in Masks, showing what a pop idol version of that type of character would look like, such as the Doomed being involved in an evil record company deal

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Fun City

  1. I remember wanting to include this show on last year’s list, but held off because the show hadn’t clicked for me yet. Friends, Fun City has clicked for me like Adam Sandler in that one movie.
  2. The dual game master system is inspired, with one GM, Mike Rugnetta, focused on world building and general GM business while having a second person, Taylor Moore, play any major villains or other NPCs, keeping the show dynamic and riveting. 
  3. The show’s pandemic miniseries, “Float City”, has also been fun, showcasing the range of the players and proving that the format they created in Fun City has legs beyond the current campaign. There’s a moment when listening to a podcast when you cross the barrier of “enjoying the specific game and story” to “knowing you would listen to anything this team creates.”

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The Adventure Zone

  1. The player characters in this new season of The McElroy Family’s popular D&D show are fun and varied. It’s refreshing to see Griffin as a player, looking into the cracks of the world and playing around with a self absorbed-character. Every TAZ campaign has forced Clint into a position of dramatic character development, and every time I am surprised by how much he hits it out of the park. Justin’s nameless firbolg is also an instant classic, keeping his words brief but impactful.
  2. I’ve enjoyed Travis’s focus on exploring some of the less commonly used parts of D&D, such are stranger races, classes, and powers.
  3. The setting of a school for heroes and villains showcases a world where the battle between good and evil has been tied up in red tape. While the buildup and set up of the rules of the world took some time, the story is now at a full open world pace, with the players having their own approaches to doing things.
  4. The Adventure Zone is one of those shows that sets the tone and makes waves for other actual play podcasts. They are usually never the first to do something, but when they do it, that trend starts to splinter across the industry. I’m excited to see what this season provokes other creators to do, both out of inspiration and out of spite.

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Neoscum

  1. Popular Shadowrun podcast Neoscum took a lot of this year off, but recently came back with a vengeance. Neoscum is gross, wacky, ultraviolet and sexualized, and yet every episode feels like slipping into an old familiar pair of jeans. 
  2. Did I already give Casey Toney a nod for his amazing editing skills in the Skyjacks section? Yes, but he’s also a player on this show and I need to get to 69 highlights, so good job performing and editing, Casey!
  3. I wanted to joke tha Neoscum wasn’t engaging in the mechanics of Shadowrun, but then I finished listening to a section where the crew took 20 minutes to figure out the mechanics of jumping out of a 10 story building onto a man, so egg on my face. 
  4. They released a series of catch-up episodes for each story arc to encourage new listeners to jump in anywhere. 
  5. Neoscum, to its benefit, doesn’t wrestle with the mechanics of the game they are playing, allowing it to focus on comedic improvised storytelling. This lets the show be more approachable to casual listeners 

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Not Another D&D Podcast

  1. The NADDPOD team ended a lot of campaigns this year, starting with the end of their long-running Bahumia campaign. I would put it up there as a hallmark of actual play podcast campaigns, right next to The Adventure Zone Balance. 
  2. The ending of the cartoonish Trinnyvale series was also a delight, with Caldwell Tanner “yes, and”-ing to the point where he pivoted his anime-inspired campaign setting into a vain influencer hellscape based on character bits. 
  3. Emily Axford took the DM reigns for “The Mavris Chronicles” AKA “Hot Boy Summer”, a miniseries focusing on the crew of Zac Oyama’s Bahumia guest character Mavrus the Unschooled, and his gang of emotional toxic bros. This series is a fun mix of The Hangover, every spring break movie you have ever seen, and a dash of Get Out. 
  4. The chemistry of the core four cast members of this show is amazing. Watching them introduce so many new player characters this year showcased their ability to quickly find a dynamic in their crew and hone in on the chemistry their characters share. 
  5. The music of the show came on strong this year, with Axford creating backing tracks for every scene, using motifs and songs that hit you at surprising moments. 
  6. Unlike a lot of other D&D shows, not only does NADDPOD often engage in the game’s combat mechanics, but also finds a way to keep it fun and exciting through banter, running jokes, and high energy. 

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Rude Tales of Magic

  1. Rude Tales of Magic follows the adventures of the survivors of a vanishing magical university, as they explore a strange, gross, weird, and rude world to find their lost school and…graduate, I guess?
  2. A wonderful show that falls avoids getting lost in the rules of D&D, prioritizing characters and improv. 
  3. One of the best RPG miniseries to come out of the quarantine, “Come At The King” is an amazing stand-alone series and an absolutely wild ride. If you want a sampler for this show’s energy, check it out!
  4. This show has so many ridiculous ideas. There is an episode with a stellar guest appearance from Brennen Lee Mulligan where he and Carley Monardo discuss the concept of nirvana and, in that same episode, a cloud that sounds like Peter Griffin farts into a bird’s mouth and gets him really high.

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The Last Tapestry

  1. This delightful little D&D show with fun 20’s fantasy vibe.
  2. A time loop story about three doofs trying to save the world. The NPC’s are well characterized and delightful.
  3. This show isn’t trying to break ground or innovate or anything, but it’s a very good version of what it is. 

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The End of Time and Other Bothers

  1. 2020 was the year of the soft reboot! Other Bothers entered a new arc, where the characters were placed into a brand new situation, assumed skills were taken away, and the new world that they were initially starting to become accustomed to completely changed. 
  2. Considering that the initial premise of Other Bothers was a story about the heroes traveling into the past, this second past time jump makes it sort of a double idekai situation, getting closer and closer to the beginning of time. 
  3. Another relaxed mechanics based show, although instead of ignoring the rules of D&D, they are ignoring the rules of Dungeon World. The majority of the structured improv and rolls tend to revolve around homebrewed mechanics, such as a randomized roll to travel between new worlds or the classic fairy cakes. 
  4. Blat, Darcy and Eggerton have become fully realized characters that can be thrown into any situation and, while not exactly keeping their cool, maintain a consistent level of utter confusion that they always have in any situation.
  5. The show still promotes itself as taking place in the world of Alba Salix, but at this point, given the amount of dramatic world building that has gone on in this series, I’d say Alba Salix is taking place in the world of Other Bothers.

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Spout Lore

  1. If I had a time machine, I would go back in time to when I was writing my 2019 article and shake myself for not including Spout Lore on my list. Then I would quickly leave before answering any questions on how 2020 went. 
  2. There was a soft reboot structural change in the show last year, following a long arc in the spirit world trying to reunite the main cast. Since then, the show has taken steady steps to become one of the best actual play shows out there.
  3. This year saw the crew tussle with a journey through the Sea of Graves and then, after a character build restructuring and a time skip, found themselves living in Tuk’s home town, Makal. I know it’s not revolutionary when actual play podcasts go to and flesh out areas they only referenced and talked about in previous episodes, but as a long time fan there was something exciting about finally going to these areas. 
  4. The level of collaborative worldbuilding in this show is remarkable. A lot of actual play shows have this kind of collaborative world building, but the cast’s chemistry makes it feel like a bunch of friends sitting together at a table telling a story. 
  5. There are moments where Shawn the GM will throw to the cast and say something like “what are you about to fight” and the answers can range from silly to deadly, yet always making sense in the world. 
  6. The final confrontation of season 7 at the Sea of Graves stands out to me as one of the best moments in actual play this year. A series of threads they had been building through worldbuilding, character choices, and improvisation become entangled together to create a climatic battle with an old foe. 

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Join me next year when I write the best 420 something of 2021, because God has cursed me for my hubris and my work is never finished.

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