actual play

According to Evan Torner writing in Watch Us Roll, actual play is rooted in phenomena including magazine "play reports" of wargames and internet forums dedicated to role-playing games. With the emergence of esports, livestreamed gaming, and Let's Plays, actual plays of TTRPGs became a popular podcast and webseries format, and contributed to the resurgence of TTRPGs in the 2010s and 2020s.{{Cite web|last=Whitten|first=Sarah|date=March 14, 2020|title=How Critical Role helped spark a Dungeons & Dragons renaissance|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/14/critical-role-helped-spark-a-dungeons-dragons-renaissance.html|url-status=live|access-date=August 31, 2021|website=CNBC|language=en|archive-date=August 12, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210812013515/https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/14/critical-role-helped-spark-a-dungeons-dragons-renaissance.html}}

In 2008, the creators of Penny Arcade partnered with Wizards of the Coast to create a podcast of a few 4th Edition Dungeons & Dragons adventures which led to the creation of the Acquisitions Incorporated.{{Cite book|last=Carbonell|first=Curtis D.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1129971339|title=Dread Trident: Tabletop Role-Playing Games and the Modern Fantastic|publisher=Liverpool University Press|year=2019|isbn=978-1-78962-468-7|location=Liverpool|oclc=1129971339}} After the podcast was well-received, the players began livestreaming games starting in 2010 at the PAX festival.{{rp|108}}{{Cite web|last=Farough|first=Amanda|date=March 17, 2021|title=How tabletop RPG actual play shows are inspiring a new generation of fans — and products|url=https://venturebeat.com/2020/03/17/how-tabletop-rpg-actual-play-shows-are-inspiring-a-new-generation-of-fans-and-products/|url-status=live|access-date=August 31, 2021|website=VentureBeat|language=en-US|archive-date=January 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210118232717/https://venturebeat.com/2020/03/17/how-tabletop-rpg-actual-play-shows-are-inspiring-a-new-generation-of-fans-and-products/}} Acquisitions Incorporated went on to be described by Inverse in 2019 as the "longest-running live play game". Critical Role, a web series in which professional voice actors play Dungeons & Dragons, launched in 2015. Critical Role has been credited by VentureBeat as responsible for making actual play shows "their own genre of entertainment", and has since become one of the most prominent actual play series. Another popular series is The Adventure Zone, a comedic actual play podcast which has featured several TTRPG systems. {{As of|2021}}, it received over 6{{Nbsp}}million monthly downloads, and ranked highly on Apple podcast charts.{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1239982762|title=Roleplaying Games in the Digital Age: Essays on Transmedia Storytelling, Tabletop RPGs and Fandom|publisher=McFarland & Company|year=2021|isbn=978-1-4766-4201-7|editor-last=Hedge|editor-first=Stephanie|location=Jefferson, NC|pages=3|chapter=Introduction|oclc=1239982762|editor-last2=Grouling|editor-first2=Jennifer}} By 2021, there were hundreds of actual play podcasts. Many web festivals, such as New Jersey, Minnesota, Los Angeles, Baltimore, Cusco, and New Zealand, "now include actual play categories, and many have scholarship programs".{{Cite web |last=Friedman |first=Em |date=2024-01-30 |title=Professor Friedman has a look at the very best actual play coming in 2024 |url=https://www.polygon.com/tabletop-games/24052123/best-actual-play-2024-dungeons-dragons-critical-role-dimension-20-acquisitions-inc |access-date=2024-01-30 |website=Polygon |language=en-US}} Polygon highlighted that "web fest selections are quickly becoming one of the best places to discover the undersung 'ambitious middle' of actual plays — that is, shows that aspire to the same storytelling heights as the most popular troupes, but that lack the resources of time and production budget".

TTRPG publishers have engaged with actual plays by licensing shows based on their products, running their own, incorporating content from actual plays back into source material, and playtesting games in actual play format. L.A. by Night is an actual play licensed by the publisher Paradox Interactive, and based on their role-playing game Vampire: The Masquerade; it premiered on Geek & Sundry in 2018.{{Cite web|date=June 17, 2020|title=Vampire: The Masquerade - What You Need to Know About LA by Night|url=https://www.cbr.com/vampire-the-masquerade-la-by-night-guide/|access-date=November 12, 2020|website=Comic Book Resources|language=en-US|archive-date=March 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308215449/https://www.cbr.com/vampire-the-masquerade-la-by-night-guide/|url-status=live}} Rivals of Waterdeep is an official Wizards of the Coast actual play show, based on their Dungeons & Dragons system. Wizards of the Coast has also published collaboration sourcebooks based on actual play shows, such as the Explorer's Guide to Wildemount (2020) based on Critical Role{{Cite web|last=Culver|first=Jordan|date=March 25, 2020|title=Dungeons & Dragons while social distancing? It's free to try the newest 'Critical Role'-inspired sourcebook.|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/gaming/2020/03/24/dungeons-dragons-coronavirus-matthew-mercer-critical-role-sourcebook/2905556001/|url-status=live|access-date=September 1, 2021|website=USA Today|language=en-US|archive-date=May 12, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210512220151/https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/gaming/2020/03/24/dungeons-dragons-coronavirus-matthew-mercer-critical-role-sourcebook/2905556001/}} and Acquisitions Incorporated (2019) based on the live play game by the same name.{{Cite web|last=Plante|first=Corey|date=June 16, 2019|title=Acquisition Incorporated Source Book Review: Perfect for New D&D Players|url=https://www.inverse.com/article/56755-acquisitions-incorporated-adventure-book-review-dungeons-dragons|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210115154704/https://www.inverse.com/article/56755-acquisitions-incorporated-adventure-book-review-dungeons-dragons|archive-date=January 15, 2021|access-date=September 2, 2021|website=Inverse|language=en}}

During the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, Charlie Hall of Polygon commented that "actual play, which has grown in popularity since well before the pandemic, has often pulled in Hollywood types to fill seats at the table. But neither SAG-AFTRA nor AMPTP is regularly involved in the productions that Polygon spoke with, and therefore they will not be affected".{{Cite web |last=Hall |first=Charlie |date=2023-07-14 |title=Actors' strike will likely have no impact on your favorite actual play series |url=https://www.polygon.com/23795078/actors-strike-sag-aftra-critical-role-actual-play-production-stops |access-date=2023-07-14 |website=Polygon |language=en-US}} Justin Carter, for Gizmodo, stated it was tricky as the "fate of an Actual Play show depends on the company behind it, and possibly what platform it's released on" – shows such as Dimension 20 on the streaming service Dropout and Purple Worm! Kill! Kill! on the "upcoming 24-hour Dungeons & Dragons Adventure streaming channel" are impacted by the strike as they "fall under SAG's Electronic Media contract, and are thus shut down".{{Cite web |date=July 15, 2023 |title=What Does the SAG-AFTRA Strike Mean for Actual Play Shows? |url=https://gizmodo.com/sag-aftra-strike-actual-play-shows-whats-affected-1850643857 |access-date=July 16, 2023 |website=Gizmodo |language=en}} However, other actual plays such as Critical Role and shows on the Glass Cannon Network were not impacted by the strike. Christian Hoffer, for ComicBook.com, explained that YouTube and Twitch channels appear to be a "grey area" so "Critical Role and most Actual Play shows that air exclusively on YouTube and Twitch do not appear to impacted by the SAG-AFTRA strike, while productions like Dimension 20 that hire talent and airs on a closed platform (i.e., one that's not open to anyone to post content on) are impacted by the SAG-AFTRA strike".{{Cite web |last=Hoffer |first=Christian |date=July 15, 2023 |title=How the SAG-AFTRA Strike Impacts Actual Play TTRPG Shows |url=https://comicbook.com/gaming/news/sag-aftra-strike-actual-play-ttrpg-shows-critical-role-dimension-20/ |access-date=July 16, 2023 |website=ComicBook.com |language=en}} In August 2023, Sam Reich announced that all Dropout shows (including Dimension 20) have resumed production as it was determined that their "New Media Agreement for Non-Dramatic Programming" was actually a non-struck SAG-AFTRA contract.{{Cite tweet|number=1688955479765155840|user=samreich|title=Dropout is back in production. 🫡 Details below. 👇 [Thread]|first=Sam|last=Reich|author-link=Sam Reich|date=August 8, 2023|access-date=August 8, 2023|archive-url=|archive-date=|url-status=}}{{Cite web |last=Carter |first=Justin |date=August 8, 2023 |title=Streaming Platform Dropout Is Resuming Production |url=https://gizmodo.com/dropout-streaming-resume-production-hollywood-strikes-1850717894 |access-date=August 8, 2023 |website=Gizmodo |language=en}}

In 2018, the Diana Jones Award for excellence in tabletop gaming named the concept of actual play as that year's award winner, marking the first year the award was not awarded to a game, organization, or individual.{{Cite web|last=Hall|first=Charlie|date=July 9, 2018|title='Actual play' RPG experiences like Critical Role, Adventure Zone are having a moment|url=https://www.polygon.com/2018/7/9/17549808/actual-play-critical-role-adventure-zone-kickstarter-graphic-novel|url-status=live|access-date=August 31, 2021|website=Polygon|language=en|archive-date=August 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210824223555/https://www.polygon.com/2018/7/9/17549808/actual-play-critical-role-adventure-zone-kickstarter-graphic-novel}} Academic Emily Friedman, writing for Los Angeles Review of Books, highlighted that "there's the elemental pleasure of being told a story, intertwined with the alchemy of watching that story be created in front of your eyes (or ears). [...] We perceive simultaneously the character played and the player playing".{{Cite web |last=Friedman |first=Emily C. |date=April 8, 2023 |title=Who Owns Dungeons & Dragons? |url=https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/who-owns-dungeons-dragons/ |access-date=April 11, 2023 |website=Los Angeles Review of Books |language=en}} Friedman also commented that the largest "actual plays have viewer numbers that are the envy of some television networks". Amanda Farough wrote for VentureBeat that "the boundaries and barriers that have traditionally kept TTRPGs hidden behind an opaque divide have come tumbling down" and that actual play "long-form narrative is reshaping itself as an expression of both players and the audiences that accompany them on the journey ahead". Curtis D. Carbonell, in his book the Dread Trident: Tabletop Role-Playing Games and the Modern Fantastic, commented that shows such as Acquisitions Incorporated and Critical Role reflect "a wider phenomenon made clear by numerous Youtube.com videos of individual gaming sessions by random groups{{Nbsp}}... The confluence of these digital and analog streamed elements adds to the increasing archive of realized gametexts that can be consumed and analyzed with the modern fantastic".{{rp|108}} Both Farough and Carbonell highlighted that actual play shows have also increased sales of TTRPGs and related products.

Actual plays have contributed towards improving representation of people of color, women, and others in tabletop gaming, which has had a reputation of being primarily made up of white men.{{Cite magazine|last=Gault|first=Matthew|date=December 31, 2020|title=Dungeons & Dragons' Racial Reckoning Is Long Overdue|language=en-US|magazine=Wired|url=https://www.wired.com/story/dungeons-dragons-diversity/|access-date=September 1, 2021|issn=1059-1028|archive-date=August 25, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210825220720/https://www.wired.com/story/dungeons-dragons-diversity/|url-status=live}}{{Cite book|last=Cote|first=Amanda C.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1164497475|title=Gaming Sexism: Gender and Identity in the Era of Casual Video Games|publisher=New York University Press|year=2020|isbn=978-1-4798-0221-0|location=New York|pages=194|oclc=1164497475}} Maze Arcana's Sirens, with Satine Phoenix as dungeonmaster (DM), features an all-women group of players.{{Cite web|last=Tran|first=Tony|date=July 24, 2021|title=Rick and Morty vs. D&D actual play is Comic-Con's nerdiest crossover event|url=https://www.polygon.com/22587354/dungeons-dragons-rick-and-morty-actual-play-sdcc-satine-phoenix|url-status=live|access-date=September 1, 2021|website=Polygon|language=en|archive-date=July 28, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210728203903/https://www.polygon.com/22587354/dungeons-dragons-rick-and-morty-actual-play-sdcc-satine-phoenix}}{{Cite web|last=Hoffer|first=Christian|date=June 18, 2019|title=Satine {{as written|Pheo|nix}} Talks About the Dungeons & Dragons Community and Neverwinter's Enduring Success|url=https://comicbook.com/gaming/news/dungeons-and-dragons-satine-phoenix-neverwinter/|url-status=live|access-date=September 1, 2021|website=Comic Book Resources|language=en|archive-date=September 22, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200922175722/https://comicbook.com/gaming/news/dungeons-and-dragons-satine-phoenix-neverwinter/}} Rivals of Waterdeep, DMed by Tanya DePass, and Into the Motherlands are actual play shows with casts that are entirely made up of people of color.{{Cite web|last=Wilson|first=Jason|date=October 9, 2020|title=Into the Mother Lands interview: Twitch invests in an RPG show led by people of color|url=https://venturebeat.com/2020/10/09/into-the-mother-lands-interview-twitch-invests-in-an-rpg-show-led-by-people-of-color/|url-status=live|access-date=September 1, 2021|website=VentureBeat|language=en-US|archive-date=July 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709190352/https://venturebeat.com/2020/10/09/into-the-mother-lands-interview-twitch-invests-in-an-rpg-show-led-by-people-of-color/}} Death2Divinity is an actual play show with an all-queer, "all fat-babe" cast.{{Cite web|last=Nightingale|first=Ed|date=June 30, 2021|title=Queer Twitch streamer launches joyous 'all fat-babe' body positive Dungeons and Dragons campaign|url=https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2021/06/30/dnd-twitch-streamer-body-positivity/|url-status=live|access-date=September 1, 2021|website=PinkNews|language=en-GB|archive-date=July 5, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210705120129/https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2021/06/30/dnd-twitch-streamer-body-positivity/}} Actual play shows have also been credited with improving representation of LGBT people in media more generally. Entertainment website CBR has said that LGBT representation has been more easily incorporated into actual plays because they are often produced by independent creators and distributed online. The site named The Adventure Zone and Dimension 20 as two examples of actual plays which include LGBT characters. Academic Melissa Allen, in the Journal of Fandom Studies, wrote that "viewers often feel it is their right to address happenings in-game they do not like because they too are an active participant despite being viewers, not players", which has led actual play series to carefully navigate when to let fan conversations occur freely and when to intervene directly.{{Cite journal |last=Allen |first=Melissa L. |date=2024-09-01 |title=‘Reset the counter, guys!’: A thematic analysis of fan discourse about female players on Dungeons & Dragons actual play web series |url=https://intellectdiscover.com/content/journals/10.1386/jfs_00097_1 |journal=Journal of Fandom Studies, The |language=en |volume=12 |issue=2 |pages=159–178 |doi=10.1386/jfs_00097_1 |issn=2046-6692}}{{rp|162}} In particular, she highlighted the problematic treatment of female players in fan discourse – "there is a small window in terms of mechanics knowledge fans find appropriate" for female players, noting that these players "have to be extremely knowledgeable of game mechanics to an almost impossible extent, but they cannot be so outwardly knowledgeable that they challenge men's standing as arbiters of D&D knowledge".{{rp|166}} Allen commented that fan criticisms often "reflect the unease when women and their characters are the focus of the campaign's story".{{rp|169}} Allen also stated that "despite the presence of these gatekeeping behaviours and comments that reflected misogynistic discourse, there were many that applauded the female players" in actual plays with fans who frequently challenged sexist discourse, "indicating that male preserve-sanctioned behaviours are actively pushed back against by many in the fandom".{{rp|173}}

The Critical Role animated series The Legend of Vox Machina was crowdfunded on Kickstarter in 2019, where it raised {{US$|11.39 million|link=no}}, setting the record for the most highly-funded film or TV project in the platform's history. Following this, Amazon streaming service Prime Video acquired exclusive streaming rights to the series.{{cite web|last1=Spangler|first1=Todd|date=November 5, 2019|title=Amazon Orders Two Seasons of Critical Role's Animated 'Legend of Vox Machina' Series|url=https://variety.com/2019/digital/news/critical-role-amazon-prime-video-legend-of-vox-machina-1203388522/|url-status=live|website=Variety|accessdate=April 7, 2020|archive-date=January 3, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210103130959/https://variety.com/2019/digital/news/critical-role-amazon-prime-video-legend-of-vox-machina-1203388522/}}

The "Balance" campaign of The Adventure Zone was adapted into a series of graphic novels, the first of which was published in 2018.{{cite news|last1=Sava|first1=Oliver|date=May 7, 2018|title=This The Adventure Zone Exclusive Brings the Zany Fantasy Podcast to Comics|language=en-US|work=The A.V. Club|publisher=G/O Media|url=https://www.avclub.com/this-the-adventure-zone-exclusive-brings-the-zany-fanta-1827362582|url-status=live|access-date=January 28, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210208075029/https://www.avclub.com/this-the-adventure-zone-exclusive-brings-the-zany-fanta-1827362582|archive-date=February 8, 2021|quote=The Adventure Zone podcast has been delighting listeners for years with its blend of exciting fantasy storytelling and sharp comedy, and it's moving into a new dimension with the release of a new graphic novel from First Second.}}{{Cite web|last=Goldberg|first=Lesley|date=January 16, 2020|title=Peacock Sets Expansive Scripted Development Slate Ahead of Formal Unveiling|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/peacock-sets-expansive-scripted-development-slate-formal-unveiling-1270374|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210202090040/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/peacock-sets-expansive-scripted-development-slate-formal-unveiling-1270374|archive-date=February 2, 2021|access-date=February 14, 2021|website=The Hollywood Reporter|language=en-US|quote=The Adventure Zone is a side-splitting and heart-filled fantasy animated comedy series}}

{{see also|List of Dungeons & Dragons web series}}

• The Adventure Zone
• Candela Obscura{{cite web |last=Friedman |first=Em |date=June 1, 2023 |title=Critical Role's new RPG is a whole cabinet of curiosities — and familiar mechanics |url=https://www.polygon.com/tabletop-games/23744350/critical-role-candela-obscura-quickstart-mechanics-interview |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230608133723/https://www.polygon.com/tabletop-games/23744350/critical-role-candela-obscura-quickstart-mechanics-interview |archive-date=June 8, 2023 |access-date=June 10, 2023 |website=Polygon}}
• Critical Role and its spin-off Exandria Unlimited{{Cite web |last=King |first=Chris |date=2021-07-21 |title=Critical Role's new D&D show is great but still challenging for newcomers |url=https://www.polygon.com/reviews/22587057/dungeons-dragons-critical-role-exandria-unlimited-review |access-date=2021-07-23 |website=Polygon |language=en}}
• Dimension 20
• Dungeons & Daddies
• Friends at the Table
• The Glass Cannon
• HarmonQuest
• L.A. by Night and its sequel NY by Night{{Cite web |last=Friedman |first=Em |date=July 1, 2022 |title=New York by Night brings Vampire-themed actual play to the City That Never Sleeps |url=https://www.polygon.com/tabletop-games/23189660/new-york-by-night-preview-vampire-the-masquerade-actual-play-aabria-iyengar |access-date=July 1, 2022 |website=Polygon |language=en-US}}
• Nerd Poker
• Rivals of Waterdeep

• Fantasy podcast

{{Reflist}}

Category:Diana Jones Award winners

Category:Narrative forms

Category:Role-playing games

Category:Web series