It was recently that time of year for many people. What time? The time where summer ends and college begins. When many people are moving away from home again or perhaps for the first time. The time when that final summer at an internship turns into a job that may not be near to home. Or simply, the time when things get tight as kids go back to school. Or any number of other things.
Fall is a time of change, and this can wreck havoc on gaming groups. Whether we're are talking about a group splitting up for different colleges or a member moving for a new job, distance gets in the way of sitting down together at a table regularly. If the distance or timing is too difficult to sit together at least once a month, then time together becomes too precious to be monopolized by a tabletop RPG. There are other places to visit, people to check up on.
The answer to this problem is incredibly easy and obvious. Internet based playing, duh! But I find a great many people believing that it will not work out or getting discouraged at the problems playing away from each other, with a computer screen in front of them. I have one sentence for those people:
DON'T PANIC!
And bring a towel, of course. But seriously, the web gains more and more resources to play at a computer all the time. Many of these resources are free! There's chat programs, video programs, virtual tables, google drives, and more. I have used all of these to play games of D&D, pathfinder, star wars, and more. Next week I will share some of what I have done and how it can help you play a game, and how I use some of it for home games too. But first, why you should reconsider online gaming or perhaps consider it for the first time.
I have to tell you from experience, playing online is no more challenge than sitting at a table. Recently someone shared a meme. It said something like: I don't always play D&D but when I do, I don't because someone can't show. It was too true, and let's face it the use of the internet is not going to change that fact. Things happen. Your group needs a way to deal with it. Other games or campaigns, or in game ways of dealing with missing people. It is just the way it is. In fact, part of the cause of that is the entire affair takes time. Driving, eating, preparing. But, using the internet character sheets can sit at the desk with dice, and a window can be opened to order pizza. Or the fridge is right there. You could potentially get out of work an hour late and just pop online instead of cancelling a whole night.
Another concern is that of distractions. Well, we have computers in our hands every day, many of us all day. They just call them phones now. Me? I use at least 2 personal "computers" a day if not up to 4. And when I am at work I may have 4 going at a time (mostly broken). That's the age we live in. Even at the table there are rules for using phones, and the same rules can apply to an internet game. You just need to trust that everyone is there to play, and that is not an internet issue.
The final major complaint I have seen is the use of battle maps. I understand this concern. Truly, I do, I am quite the fan of having them. But I'll let you in on a secret. Once upon a time, everything was done in the theater of the mind. You didn't even need penciled little diagrams! Though battle maps help. In fact in some systems they are necessary. Despite Wizards failing to make good on the virtual table idea long ago, many others have taken up the banner. I will try and make a list for next weeks article, but I am personally experimenting with Roll20 right now. So don't let battle mats discourage you. Explore your options, or forego them.
All other issues if seen are really minor issues that a group should be able to work out. They tend to be issues that stem from a dislike of changing how things are done, an aversion to using technology for something based so far from it, or something that already existed but the internet just revealed. If you have a long time group you can try to make it work. Would transferring to a game on Skype be that much harder than finding a new group, or some new players? It'll probably be easier.
I'm not trying to call out people on being against or afraid to use tech to play D&D, but, at the same time, you out there (yes you!) stop being a pansy. You guys can all sit around the table and play D&D every week or month from hundreds or thousands of miles away. Who said it has to be the SAME table? Next week I will fill you in on some of my struggles with internet gaming and how we have solved them. I have 6 years of experience playing short and long term campaigns over the internet with a variety of systems, and if you are still discouraged or would like some experienced insight check back next Tuesday!
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