Dungeons and Dragons is the juggernaut of the tabletop roleplaying game genre, but it's not the only system out there. Players may be familiar with other popular systems like Pathfinder, Shadowrun or even Call of Cthulu that provide alternatives to D&D. But it can be hard to get into new systems, especially ones that require large parties and time commitments or ones that aren't getting the press that D&D gets. Actual play podcasts that feature playthroughs of these other systems are great ways to learn about them.
Actual play podcasts earned their name because they feature groups actually playing a TTRPG. Podcasts like The Adventure Zone, Friends at the Table and Critical Role like to tell long stories over months or years using these roleplaying systems. Most at least start in the D&D universe but feature other TTRPG systems either in main storylines or in one-shots. These audio adventures are then great ways for fans to learn about D&D alternatives.
Friends at the Table recently released a quick one-shot playthrough of Sports are Just Numerology, a game designed by Ben Roswell to tell the story of two intertwined athletes. Through a random number generator and collaborative storytelling, players craft the narrative of these two athletes, highlighting the importance of numbers but also the fact that any number can be made important. Hearing the Friends at the Table crew play Sports are Just Numerology isn't necessary to understand the game -- its rule-sheet is only one page long -- but it can help to draw attention to the game and to bring the rules to life. There's a significant difference between seeing rules as written on a page and hearing them enacted between characters.
Another TTRPG that the Friends at the Table crew played through is Avery Alder's The Quiet Year. Billed as a map game, The Quiet Year allows a group to work together to flesh out a blank map by introducing features, characters and conflict. Each turn is guided by one card from a deck of playing cards as players define the events of each season this community experiences, ending with the arrival of the Frost Shepherds.
Friends at the Table played The Quiet Year to build up the map and community that formed the basis of their Marielda arc. As a listener, it was great to hear the creation of the world, to be a part of the decisions that the history that informed the later game, giving the world a sense of depth that is often missing. But more importantly, it gave players a chance to hear how The Quiet Year works and can be played, introducing them to this "part roleplaying game, part cartographic poetry."
But Friends at the Table isn't the only actual play podcast to make use of these shorter TTRPGs. Familiar names like Critical Role and The Adventure Zone both played through Honey Heist, a short game by Grant Howitt. Players are bears about to embark on an elaborate and ridiculous heist at HoneyCon and must roll on random tables to determine everything from what type of bear they are, their role in the heist, what they're trying to steal and what type of hat they wear. Hearing familiar voices of the TAZ and the CritRole crews work through the hilarity of managing their criminal and bear sides in pursuit of honey makes a compelling case for this short game.
There are plenty of other TTRPGs out there, and many actual play podcasts that make use of them in really cool ways, combining multiple systems throughout unique stories or pulling main characters off into one-shots with entirely different vibes. While these podcasts aren't the only ways to learn about non-D&D systems, they're certainly a great way to make them approachable to broad audiences.