Playing RPGs Online, Lessons I Learned

Last week I made a post about the ability for groups to play tabletop RPGs such as D&D on the internet because, like as not, groups can't always be in the same place to play.  Often I find that peopel are discouraged by this idea, often believing that playing over the internet detracts from the experience or has some inherent obstacles associated with it.  I suggested that this is more of an illusion, and the internet can, in fact, make things easier for groups to play.  Any other problems are still problems whether the table is virtual or not.  Today I promised to share some tips about playing online, but I am not taking the method of laying out answers.  What I will do is share my experiences.  What I have played in, what I have run, and what tools we used.

One of the first games I played in online was with a friend from my World of Warcraft guild.  We had been friends for a few years at this point and I had even managed to make it to his wedding.  The party consisted of me, him, his wife, and another of his friends.  A friend of theirs hosted the game, running a Gloranthan campaign using (I believe) old hero quest rules.  I had virtually all of the table top game experience our party could muster, but had never heard of Glorantha before and never seen such a rule set.  Nevertheless, I was confident of my ability to learn.

This game utilized all of two tools to be played, although the good microphone the home group had to pick up 4 voices could count.  The first of these is probably avoiding your acknowledgement, even as you come up with possibilities.  Facebook.  Yep, what better tool to play a social game than social media?  We formed a Facebook group and posted documents, maps, character sheets, recaps, audio, and even links we found amusing.  We knew where to get info and where to share it.  We knew when we would be playing next and if someone couldn't show, everyone knew at once.

In fact, I have used Facebook for every single campaign I have run with at least one person playing over the net.  It free, its easy, and normally everyone already has access to it.  You can set play times, pin messages, private message, and upload whatever you need to.  That doesn't even include the simple fact that you can link to infinite numbers of sources.  Facebook is by-far one of the best tools you could ask for and it is right at your finger-tips.

The other tool we used was Skype.  Obviously you need to talk with one another and text just is not an efficient way to have conversations.  Especially ones that are supposed to be emotional and dramatic.  Occasionally we had problems.  Sometimes acoustics got in the way or an internet speed, but we dealt with them solving them to the best of our abilities and continuing on with the fun.

Looking back, running a stable D&D game, or any other table top RPG, requires only three things: people, a way to communicate, and a place to do it.  Once you have that first one, the rest is a breeze.  In addition to Facebook, I have used a few other methods of communication.  GroupMe is a great app that works across operating systems and in browser to allow people to text as a group, see the text as a group, and make sure everything is maintained in a group.  Cross-OS texting can prove tricky.  Group messages may not show to someone or perhaps they get each group message from each individual separately.  GroupMe sets up a web-based phone number that is the group chat.  I currently have a phone number in my phone labeled Pathfinder!  When I get a text from that I know who it might be and what it might contain.  I also know who else is seeing it, and I can easy confirm times with everyone at once.  Without the internet, without phone calls, and without much time.

Something else that is incredibly helpful is Google Drive.  I have used google drive to maintain information on different campaigns, god lists, NPC lists, xp tracking, and recaps.  Sharing what needs to be shared with who needs it.  That is most of the use I have gotten out of it, for online games and table games alike.  One of the other games I played in was a 4E game, sometime right before programs like Roll20 existed (or maybe before I managed to find them).  For this we used a spreadsheet to make a battle grid and used typed names to represent characters.  We could also lay down outlines for things like zones.  It worked very well, when people weren't changing each others names or editing the map or some such.  Self control is key!

Without needing a map, though, online playing is a simple as getting Skype.  You can use video or not. I have done both, and often completely based on the upload speed of certain players and whether video would just end in disconnects all the time.  These games are first and foremost, mostly, about the experience, the story, and a good time.  No visuals really needed.  Honestly, you can even get away with it in 4E if you're stubborn enough.  Skype isn't the only option, especially now, and recently video calls became free on Skype.  But if you just want voice there are programs like Axon and browser-based applications like Discord, both of which are free by the way.

If you do need a map, well I just started using Roll20.  Thursday is my first in-game use.  So far I like it.  It is browser based, and the map feature is fairly simple to use.  There is a bit of a learning curve but you can watch tutorials, or stubbornly do things over and over until you get it, like me.  Either way it provides you with a platform for displaying a battle if you prefer that method over the theater of the mind.  This one is free, but other programs are out there.  Things like Fantasy Grounds.  Most of them, Roll20 included, have voice and video chat capability, dice rolling, character sheets, and even jukeboxes.  Essentially, if you need everything go to one of these programs and get it all.

What else could you folks possibly want advice for?  If you don't use a program you can still use dice.  You have to trust your players and anyone who has ever played before knows that lying is stupid, you will get bagged, and critical fails can be as awesomely fun as critical successes.  Microphones and cameras are built into many devices, and if you don't have them you can get pretty cheap ones.  Even cheap ones are fine if you have a quiet room.  What else do you need pencil and paper?  Some people prefer digitally tracking.  Guess what now you don't have to worry about the DM getting mad that your laptop is out!

So I guess I will wrap this up with a smidgen of advice.

1. Remember most "problems" aren't actually caused by playing on the internet
2. Choose a way to communicate times (Facebook)
3. Choose a method of playing, a replacement for the table (Skype)
4. Add a microphone and/or camera to list of gaming equipment like pencils, books, dice
5. Decide if you need a map, experiment without one, and decide how complicated it must be
6. Just play!