Resources
10 years ago, Dungeons & Dragons (or DnD) was barely known except as an old, nerdy table-top role playing game. But today, Twitch has its own Dungeons & Dragons category page, and more people are playing than ever. Here are our tips on starting your first DnD Twitch channel, and how to create a DnD stream overlay using our free overlays.
Dungeons & Dragons is experiencing somewhat of a cultural renaissance, thanks to pop cultural references in the Netflix series, Stranger Things, and due to the massive success of actual play shows like Dimension 20 and Critical Role. For audiences, DnD streaming combines the fun of watching live gameplay with collaborative storytelling and a sense of community garnered by cooperative play between friends.
A live stream DnD Twitch channel also has the potential to earn streamers a significant amount through monetization. If you’re already meeting your friends regularly to play, you might be considering starting your own channel.
There are many ways to include your audience in the action. Virtual tabletop services like Roll20 provide tools to visualize mechanics onscreen, including virtual dice and character sheets. If you prefer to keep things old school, fans also love getting to see close-up or bird’s-eye-view shots of dungeon maps and miniatures.
DMs can build ambiance or suspense with music, but remember to use royalty free music, especially if you plan to upload live streams to YouTube.
As with live streaming podcasts, we always recommend that you provide one microphone per person. However, how you set up your cameras will depend on how you’re playing. If everyone is sitting at the same table, your blocking, lighting, and lens must be able to capture all players on the camera – or use multiple cameras, if budget allows. Meanwhile, for remote DnD sessions, you will need a reliable video conferencing platform, such as Zoom, Discord, or Google Hangouts.
Most experienced DMs will suggest that you program each live stream episode through OBS, then stream via Twitch, YouTube, or any of your favorite live streaming platforms. Expand your reach by uploading recordings of your live stream to YouTube.
A lot goes on during a session of Dungeons & Dragons. You have multiple players whose faces you want to capture, as well as your DM, dungeon map, character sheets, and even custom artwork. Organize the chaos onscreen with a DnD stream overlay.
There are no wrong ways to set up a DnD stream overlay for your Twitch channel. Use whatever layout works best for depending on how you run your campaigns. You can create a brand-new overlay using tools like Adobe Illustrator or GIMP, or commission a custom DnD overlay from an artist. You can also find a wide variety of community-created or paid DnD stream overlays.
You can also repurpose uno live stream gaming overlays, sports team lineups, and full screen bios. Here’s a few ways you can customize uno overlays to create the DnD stream overlay you need for your Twitch channel:
Use our Matchup Fullscreen overlay to display headshots of each character with two levels of editable titles. To add your character art to each panel, simply upload the images directly to My Images on overlays.uno, and add them to the overlay by selecting from your personal image library.
Use the Venue | Map table to upload your dungeon map. You can use a bird’s-eye image of your tabletop model dungeon, or use virtual map-making tools.
You can also use a separate camera for your DM and another for your players, and highlight your DM with our Web Cam Border overlay.
Remind your viewers of the dungeon layout by using this Headline-themed Image Panel overlay. With a streaming tool like OBS, you can stack different overlays with different images on screen at the same time. You can also display NPC character art, introduce enemies, or show stats of any weapons or treasure your party come across.
Sports bios are well organized and display key stats, and can be easily repurposed to show each character with a short background description. We used our Varsity-themed Fullscreen Player Bio overlay to create this DnD character bio.
Uno overlays are free, customizable, and can be controlled through our online interface from any of your devices. Explore our range of full screen overlays, lower thirds, and streaming graphics, and discover what combination works best for your DnD stream overlay.
