RPG Youtube Channels that Don't Suck

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Voros

Voros

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A pretty tall order perhaps, YT is clearly the beloved home of many a self-important blowhard blabbing from his bedroom but there are a few I can stand and even like.

Unfortunately these are all about D&D almost exclusively, if anyone knows a broader RPG channel that doesn't suck please let us know. I really think TTRPGs need more shows of the caliber of Shut Up and Sit Down or Dice Tower.

Questing Beast, his reviews are clear and to the point, not rambling and endless, plus he realized we don't need to look at his mug while talking about a book. Plus he designed the cool little mini-system Maze Rats. PS. Make sure to watch his review of Dark Albion.



Satine Phoenix's series for Geek and Sundry is a bit hit or miss depending on the guest but you gotta love this episode with Zak wearing a 'Free Tupac' tshirt.



WebDM, these guys sometimes get too lost in the weeds of min/maxing character builds for me but it is well shot and produced and the hosts are actually not annoying to me, huge plus.



Nerdarchy, these guys are unquestionably the real deal, although they like Fate which probably puts their grognard credentials into question (jk). I just wish they'd improve the production values and keep the conversations a bit less rambling. But hey they do a Spelljammer and MSH live play so you know they've got their hearts in the right place.

 
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And to wrap up with some obvious picks...

Mathew Colville, probably one of the best known Youtubers that covers D&D at this point. Sure, if you're an experienced player or GM this is going to be pretty obvious stuff but unlike a lot of other 'expert' nerdculture commentators on YT I don't want to punch him in the face everytime he opens his mouth. As his internet semi-celebrity has grown he does a lot more rambling Twitch chats that I don't really care for compared to his earlier, concise videos, plus we don't need yet more Star Wars talk on the net but what the hey.



Tabletop with Will Wheaton, I know a lot are going to be groaning here but I think it is easy to assume that everyone knows these channels. Ninety percent of the time it is about board games but when they do the occasional TTRPG, usually storygame oriented, it is the most watchable demo of a game you're going to find online I think.

 
I don't know why, but I have a hard time watching videos about RPGs. Every once in a while I'll check out a review of something if I'm looking for more information, but none of the channels I am subscribed to are RPG related. A metric TON of miniature painting channels I could share, even a few videogame related channels even though I don't play videogames. But for some reason listening to someone talk about RPGs (or seeing other people's games) has never really captivated me.
 
I remember watching a handful of channels a few years back, after a long hiatus from gaming and some of them were useful for seeing some systems I was unfamiliar with in a play environment, but mostly I just remember some of the more insufferable bastards that kept getting into pissing matches with other channels.

There were a couple of people that had a laid back style and some good insights but their names escape now.
 
I like some of the wargame channels but the RPG stuff often irritates me... lots of pretentious twaddle to wade through.
Blogs tend to have a lot more useful and focused content, for me.
 
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Colville's YouTube Rpg channel is the only one I've watched, and only a couple of videos that someone linked to. And I found them entertaining.

But I don't really go out of my way to subscribe to, and watch YouTube channels.
 
Most of the YouTube I watch is a guy who talks about foreign (non-English) languages and a professional jazz guitarist who posts awesome instructive videos about things like "The Genius Guitar of George Harrison" and breaks down incredible things most people wouldn't have the ears to notice or the chops to play.

I can't think of what they're called but you can probably find them with key words. I recommend them highly as they are much more interesting and educational than watching guys talk about hobbits and elves. :pizza::present::cake::clown::drink:
 
Seth Skorkowsky--writer and gamer, mostly Call of Cthulhu. Highly amusing. He plays all the roles in his videos including Jack the NPC and three funny players around his table as well as himself as DM and host.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQs8-UJ7IHsrzhQ-OQOYBmg

Runeslinger--works on RPGs by Triple Ace Games and wrote an adventure for Design Mechanism. Videos on FFG Star Wars, RuneQuest, CoC, Ubiquity, and more as well as unboxings, reviews, advice, and couple a on sword fighting.
https://www.youtube.com/user/Runeslinger

Runehammer--D&D and his own RPG Index Card RPG. Lots of terrain crafting, philosophy applied to gaming, art applied to RPGs, and Viking antics. His drunken review of the 5E DMG is hilarious. He quit his job to go RPG/writing full time.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCh5vto8JFstb9Sma9zV25g

Complex Games Apologist--Star Trek from Modiphuis, Traveller, Hackmaster, and Harn. Loves complex games and explains why.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4R53JO42zK7C3VFgF_e_mg

Lindy Beige--this guy does it all. A few on RPGs, lots on history and war and weapons, even dancing and forging.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9pgQfOXRsp4UKrI8q0zjXQ

Ivan Mike 1968--old school games and is trying modern games like Fate and Ubiquity. Mostly talking and thinking but has some live plays and after action reports.
https://www.youtube.com/user/ivanmike1968

Dark Age of Roll Play--old school games and is trying modern games like Ubiquity. Mostly talking and thinking but has some live plays and after action reports.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEPDe-2045AHmnKfEeIve7Q
 
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Traveller is a "complex game"?
 
Agreed on Matt Colville and Web DM. They often cover stuff I already know, but you can always learn something from another experienced DM. It helps that I share their approach to D&D and DMing. They're both shot well and feature hosts who communicate clearly and effectively, so they're pleasant to watch.

I've also recently discovered Questing Beast, and really like his reviewing format of flipping through a book while expressing opinions about the content. It uses the advantages of video - with a lot Youtube reviewers I'm left wondering why it couldn't have just been a blog post.
 
The Frontier Explorer Star Frontiers fanzine/fan site has a podcast of recorded Star Frontiers game sessions which is audio only. That's about the extent I've found. Just about everything on YouTube I've come across is D&D, D&D-derived, and/or FATE centric which makes me turn it off within five minutes.
 
My issue with WebDM is that is too informed by the post 3E ethos for my tastes.

I like the few guys doing Palladium coverage but I wish they’d do more mechanics stuff.
 
I've enjoyed watching Critical Role. Interesting RPG campaign play with a group of voice actors.
 
Tom B said:
I've enjoyed watching Critical Role. Interesting RPG campaign play with a group of voice actors.
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Gods, I tried. A guy at work recommended it and they were just starting a new season so I figured it was a good time to jump in.

I didn't last fifteen minutes. Given all the production budget and the table full of professional actors, I expected something more than what I could get five nights a week down the FLGS, minus the Coke spills and fart jokes.

That's a really nice table, though.
 
To me the closest to watchable actual play sessions are this one with Vin Diesel and Mercer, Vin loves his criticals!



And the Force Grey sessions with Mercer, Hardwick and other comedians, plus some minor animations, soundtrack, editing and good production, etc.



Are they 'accurate' recreations of play? Not really but they help people get interested in RPGs so it is alright by me.
 
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Well...I don't care for Vin Diesel and Co., but then again I don't believe any "accurate" representation of an RPG session would be watchable. Too much mumbling, side-talk, people asking what someone said because they weren't paying attention, lots of ums, ahs, ers, people leaving the room to take a leak or get a drink...you'd need to heavily edit it as well as mike everyone separately so you can get a good sound mix. I don't see it happening. Reality is too messy.
 
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I actually found an useful RPG YouTube channel, Taking20. Like every other RPG YouTube channel I've come across, it's a little too D&D and Pathfinder centric for my taste. However, Cody Lewis (the guy behind the channel), has a lot of useful Roll20 tutorial videos. It's very good for those new to Roll20, especially GMs new to Roll20. It helps that the guy has an upbeat, down-to-earth personality. If you use Roll20 or are thinking about it, I highly recommend it.

Edit: Also, Tom Stephens' Roll20 Star Frontiers campaign is now up on YouTube. New episodes are uploaded every other week.
 
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Dumarest said:
Well...I don't care for Vin Diesel and Co., but then again I don't believe any "accurate" representation of an RPG session would be watchable. Too much mumbling, side-talk, people asking what someone said because they weren't paying attention, lots of ums, ahs, ers, people leaving the room to take a leak or get a drink...you'd need to heavily edit it as well as mike everyone separately so you can get a good sound mix. I don't see it happening. Reality is too messy.
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This one is pretty close...
 
I don't watch a lot of Youtube these days. Search function is horrible, you can't find anything but annoying people pulling Youtube faces and scream-babbling in Youtube voices.

That said, I've enjoyed Seth Skorkowsky's videos even if I don't agree with 100% of what he says. Gotta love Dweebles, Mike, and Todd!

I also like Chris Normand's GURPS stuff. It's unflamboyant, to the point, informative, and earnest. Can't ask for more.
 
Voros said:
A pretty tall order perhaps, YT is clearly the beloved home of many a self-important blowhard blabbing from his bedroom but there are a few I can stand and even like.
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Who sucks and who doesn't is a matter of perspective.

But try if you'd like these guys. They've got a Mythras campaign going:grin:!

 
Seth Skorkowsy's videos are good. They are pretty funny and his reviews of adventures have actually useful advice in them. It helps that he only does videos on adventures and games that he has actually played.

I think Notepad Anon is funny but he's kind of a shitposter.

Most of the actual play videos I have seen are just too long and rambly. I like playing rpgs but I don't find watching other people play rpgs to be very engaging. A lot of the ones for smaller games are also stuffed with various sorts of cringe. I was looking for anything on Golden Sky Stories. I found an actual play and started watching it. They spent an absurd amount of time at the start gassing on about safety tools and about how one of the players didn't want violence against children in the game. If there was ever a game that didn't need this. it's Golden Sky Stories. It doesn't even have combat.
 
yosemitemike said:
Most of the actual play videos I have seen are just too long and rambly. I like playing rpgs but I don't find watching other people play rpgs to be very engaging.
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Same here. Hence my "it's subjective" warning...:grin:

yosemitemike said:
A lot of the ones for smaller games are also stuffed with various sorts of cringe. I was looking for anything on Golden Sky Stories. I found an actual play and started watching it. They spent an absurd amount of time at the start gassing on about safety tools and about how one of the players didn't want violence against children in the game. If there was ever a game that didn't need this. it's Golden Sky Stories. It doesn't even have combat.
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Yeah, unnecessary is unnecessary:thumbsup:!
 
Runehammer, Dungeon Craft (ie Professor Dungeon), The Alexandrian, Me Myself and Die, and Seth Skorkowsky are among my favorite rpg youtube channels.

Runehammer also has a podcast called RPG Mainframe which is excellent and Seth has a cohosted podcast called Modern Mythos which I really enjoy. Both get posted to YT so I don't consider those as being cheat recommendations. ;)

Edit: And obviously Matt Coville.
Adam Kobel had a YT series called Afterhours (or something to that extent) which was really good.
 
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