Are Dimension 20 and Critical Role Kid Friendly?

It’s probably the most popular DnD show out there — but is Critical Role for kids? We’ll help you decide what kinds of DnD shows are best for your family.

Shows like Critical Role, Dimension 20, and The Adventure Zone are called “Actual Play” – shows where people tell a story by playing Dungeons & Dragons (and games like it). These shows have become hugely popular, spinning off into live performances, production companies, and even animated TV shows. We already went over everything you need to know about actual-play shows in general, but today we wanted to address some questions about what shows like Dimension 20 are rated. Is it okay for, say, a 12 year old to watch Critical Role? Should you let your child listen to The Adventure Zone? Are there actual play shows for kids specifically? We’ll provide you with everything you need to know to find a good D&D show for kids in your family. 

Is Critical Role Good for Kids?

Critical Role Productions is the Marvel Cinematic Universe of actual play – the first big breakout of its kind, and the most popular by far. Their flagship show is, of course, Critical Role. This series is set in the world of Exandria with all-new parties of characters for each season: Vox Machina, The Mighty Nein, and Bells Hells. Each Critical Role season, while they’re fantastic stories, is pretty thoroughly imbued with R-rated shenanigans: flagrant cursing, fairly explicit sexual content, and a whole lot of irresponsible tavern visits. Their animated show, The Legend of Vox Machina, adapts the first season….including these not-so-PG elements. Though each family needs to make media decisions for their own children (we have seen many a young Critical Role enthusiast!), we can’t give the main series our stamp of approval.  

Critical Role’s age rating varies, but their show The Re-Slayer’s Take is made for kids and families!

Fortunately, Critical Role has also produced several miniseries and one-off episodes, some take place in Exandria, like Wildemount Wildlings, while others venture to other worlds, like the Lengend of Zelda adventure Lookout, Here We Come! The best Critical Role for kids, though, has got to be The Re-Slayer’s Take. This takes place in Exandria, spinning off of Critical Role’s legendary monster hunters The Slayer’s Take. Now, these monster hunters have turned a blind eye to rumors of undead monstrosities – and it’s up to a crew of misfits to battle the monster and save the day! This show is actually designed for kids from the ground up with family-friendly Critical Role content and episodes lengths that are a much better fit for young listeners’ attention spans.

What Is Dimension 20 Rated?

When looking for Dungeons & Dragons shows for kids, many look to the ever-popular Dimension 20. Much like Critical Role, Dimension 20 started off as a single show then spun off into several different miniseries and ongoing adventures. The original show is Fantasy High, named for Aguefort Adventuring Academy: a 1950’s-style high school for adventurers in the middle of a region of wild magic. This show was actually launched by a production company called CollegeHumor (since renamed Dropout), and it shows. Their humor is laden with swears, sexual innuendo, and references to drugs and alcohol. All of this is plenty fun for many adult listeners, but it’s not the best choice for young ears. 

Can kids watch Dimension 20 DnD shows? Well, they can definitely watch this one! Check out the awesome parents and kids in the adventure of The Slumbering Forest.

But Dimension 20 is much more than just Fantasy High; they’ve got Greek-mythology pro wrestling, meta 80s action adventure, film noir, horror fairy tales, Regency fairies, galactic adventures, murder mysteries, and even a mashup of Candy Land and Game of Thrones. The ratings of Dimension 20 shows vary, but since none of them are made for younger listeners, the cast will often go off on a lewd tangent or two. But several of the people behind Dimension 20 are parents, and know about the need for family friendly D&D shows. Enter Roll in the Family, a Dimension 20 show for kids. Not only is the content family-friendly, but the players are too: three nerdy parents joined Brennan Lee Mulligan’s game and brought their awesome kids along with them!

Our Age Guide to The Adventure Zone 

Unlike Critical Role and Dimension 20, the D&D show The Adventure Zone is a family affair; in the show, three brothers (Justin, Travis, and Griffin McElroy) play D&D with their dad (Clint McElroy). Each season of The Adventure Zone is a new story with new characters. They started out with a traditional D&D show with wizards, magic, and cursed items, but they have since done undersea adventures, dystopian theme parks, and a vampire hunting. Some of these series, like their Sherlock-Holmes-themed adventure, keep the content wholly PG. So is The Adventure Zone kid friendly? Well, there’s no getting around it; as anybody who’s listened to the brothers’ podcast, My Brother My Brother and Me, will know, these boys love a dirty joke or an emphatic curse word (before you ask, no, the inclusion of their dad does NOT help). Because of this, we can’t recommend most of The Adventure Zone show – or the graphic novels it inspired, which illustrate a highlight reel of NSFW jokes both in and out of universe. 

Their latest season, Abnimals, is The Adventure Zone’s first DnD show for kids!

Between the beginning of The Adventure Zone in 2014 and now, these three brothers (and dad) have become three dads (and a grandpa), so they wanted to create an adventure series that their own kids could listen to — without needing to cover up anything with bleeping noises. So they decided that their latest season, Abnimals, would keep their overall humor but leave the R-rated bits at the door. This story is perfect for kids too — straight out of a Saturday morning cartoon! Abnimals takes place in a world of athletic crime-fighting animal heroes inspired by the shows the brothers watched growing up (think Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or Street Sharks). Another great benefit of Abnimals for young listeners is the simplicity of the game they play . Unlike the seasons where they play D&D, which is a more complex game best for older kids and adults, Game Master Travis actually invented his own game just for the show!

Podcasts To Listen To When Kids Are Too Young For D&D

There are plenty of people looking for a kid’s version of D&D or wondering whether a show with D&D is appropriate for kids. We went into full detail about when kids can play Dungeons & Dragons in a previous blog post, but what about when they’re watching (or listening to) someone else play? Some D&D shows will go in detail about the rules they’re referencing, the dice they’re rolling, and the math they’re doing. For some kids, trying to keep up with all of that can be frustrating – and for busy parents, listening to hours of D&D content to see what’s a good fit for your child can be wholly unfeasible. Luckily, some actual-play shows for kids use games that are much easier to understand than Dungeons & Dragons. Some of them are even designed specifically for kids! 

One show that fits the bill perfectly is the Autonomic podcast. The show is an ongoing story created in the Bryte System (used in Burn Bryte), a game with simplified mechanics that make sure to everyone in the story. Autonomic takes place in the world of Respite, an Indian- and Ecuadorian-inspired world of dangerous monsters, powerful magic and super-powered humans, called Nomics. Over a decade ago, all of the Nomics protecting the people of Respite disappeared mysteriously. Now, a group of middle-schoolers find themself saddled with the powers of Nomics and have to solve this new mystery, protect the world, and try not to fail algebra. This show was built specifically with kids in mind by Kat Kuhl, one of the cofounders of the One Shot Podcast Network, a nifty collection of podcasts related to tabletop roleplaying games like D&D (The network also has their own all-ages podcast, Courier’s Call, about a group of teen couriers sailing on airships and riding giant magical birds).

If you’re looking for an actual play podcast for kids (and by kids!), Almost Bedtime Theater is a great choice.

Another great show for listeners too young for D&D is the Almost Bedtime Theater podcast. Unlike most of the shows we’ve listed so far, which are performed by professional adult actors, comedians, and improvisors, Almost Bedtime Theater is a small crew where the kids outnumber the adults: one game-designer dad, his daughter, and her cousin. They made the show to introduce families to all kinds of tabletop roleplaying games. It features all different kinds of games and stories: dragon taming, fairy heists, and even tech-savvy ninjas!

Dungeons & Dragons Shows for Kids

The Kid's’ Table is a fantastic kid friendly DnD show

If your kids have a taste for actual-play shows, but are starting to become interested in Dungeons & Dragons specifically, there are several great D&D shows for kids. In The Kids’ Table podcast, kids quite literally run the show: they get to decide where the story goes and how they want to play. The show was created by two like-minded educators and D&D fans who saw how helpful D&D was for kids and how little family-friendly D&D content was out there. In the show, they modify the game as needed to make D&D good for kids, plus their episodes are short (20 minutes tops), which is perfect for young attention spans. Like Almost Bedtime Theater before it, Dadventurous features a father-daugther team playing D&D together, and Dungeons & Dragons & Daughters has twin teenage sisters who have been playing on the show together since they were eight! Though this one’s technically not a show, we do have to give an honorable mention to World of Corde. They’re another family outfit creating a Dungeons & Dragons campaign together with six players. While they don’t have record audio or video, you can still keep up with their adventures by reading their session transcripts, worldbuilding lore, and reviews on their website.

Kids Don’t Need A Podcast To Play D&D

As fun as D&D podcasts are, we’re of the (perhaps a little biased) opinion that the best way for kids to experience Dungeons & Dragons is to play it for themselves. But, much like finding a family-friendly D&D podcast, finding a D&D game for kids can be a challenge. Luckily, Young Dragonslayers is here to help. We’re a team of educators, actors, and mental-health professionals who love D&D and are experienced working with children. We run small D&D groups online for tweens and teens who would like to dip their toe into the game. Whether your young adventurer has listened to every Critical Role episode they can or they’ve never heard of the game before, we’ll get them started with a family-friendly adventure tailored to their play style and interests!