Gotta be the Easy Allies podcast . These guys used to be GameTrailers until they got shut down so they went and started an independent group supported by Patreon . They have 2 podcasts , the main one every Friday Wednesdays for patrons and a secondary one every second Saturday . They talk about games and gaming news mostly , but quickly it becomes about the people themselves , they are amazing personalities and have running segments and bits . They are a fantastic group of passionate people , check them out ! <| sep |> He ' s not saying the band is epic , he ' s talking about the genre . <| sep |> But the compelling narrative is not something that Dungeons and Dragons by Wizards of the Coast is rewarding you with . A compelling narrative could come from literally any experience , from a trip to the supermarket to a session of DD . The narrative is what the people playing the game look back on and remember . It ' s the stories they tell their friends about that one time they saved the continent from werebears . DD aids players in creating a narrative only in the sense that it gives players a fantastical setting which lends itself to memorable stories . Even so , the players and the GM are the ones doing all the work to turn it into a narrative . As for social encounters using mechanics , that ' s absolutely true . But social encounters don ' t necessarily involve roleplaying . A social encounter is essentially showing a PC get what they want out of an NPC or occasionally another PC by means other than combat . One can embellish the encounter by roleplaying their character , but it has no mechanical effect , there are no rules supporting it , and it ' s as tacked on and unnecessary as a player embellishing a lance thrust with some colorful words as it pierces a demon ' s flesh . All DD cares about in terms of any action or encounter is success or failure . Everything else is added flavor brought in by the players and the GM because It ' s a roleplaying game and we ' re supposed to roleplay , right ? I want to conclude by saying that one can play the game however they wish . I love roleplaying in DD , but it ' s important to recognize that it ' s not inherently part of DD unless some serious homebrewing is done . I also want to draw attention to other amazing games where roleplaying and story building IS supported by game mechanics . Burning Wheel , Dungeon World , Apocalypse World , and Mouseguard RPG are just a few games that really do a wonderful job tying roleplaying into the game with actual mechanics . Apocalypse World even has a free pdf on their website if you want to give it a shot !