Tele-gaming solutions

[Whimsical]

I need the DDI virtual tabletop right now!

But, since I can use this vaporware right now, I would like to know what is available to support this need.

Last week, one of the players who is currently in a different state was participating with our tabletop game via internet telephone. We, of course, had to spend a lot of time describing the battle layout every round so that he could make a good decision about what his character will do that round.

So, we have a player who has a laptop at the table and is willing to detail what's going on to the displaced player. I have casually heard every so often of web sites or programs that are made specifically for this situation, but I haven't looked any further than that since I've never needed them before.

So, please tell me of what options are available for this, and your experience with them. We play D&D 3e and 4th ed.

Thank you very much.

 

[Goumindong]

maptools

RPTools - Home

edit:Fantastic program, especially if you're willing to put in the prep. Makes running games much faster than real life when combined with voice software like ventrillo

 

[Nytmare]

A brief discussion of my experiences while running a normal tabletop game with one player who was working 3 states away.

http://www.enworld.org/forum/4e-fan-creations-house-rules/252951-playing-via-tubes.html

 

[JoeNotCharles]

I'm running a game over Skype and Maptool. Works great. (In fact, I doubt I'd switch to the DDI tabletop if it ever comes out, because Maptool is so good and open source so I know I can always find community people to make changes and not have to worry about being jerked around by DDI.)

One thing is, depending on how artistic you are, expect to spend more time setting up each game than in a face-to-face game. I spend a lot of time looking for the perfect art for tokens and map backgrounds, when in a face-to-face game I'd be content with just scrawling on graph paper and using counters. I find it helps to keep he atmosphere up, and make up for not being able to use gestures and facial expressions and things.

Also, I've found running it is slower than it would be face-to-face because more description and back and forth is needed, so I doubled all the XP rewards. (Maybe didn't have to be quite that much - maybe 1.5 times or something - but I wanted to advance a little faster anyway.)

 

[chriton227]

We use MapTool and Ventrilo for our online game, it has worked really well for us. For the games I run, I notice I spend a lot more time on prep than in face to face games, but that is because I like to set up macros for the enemies attacks. I have macros set up to streamline tracking damage, temp hps, bloodied/dying, etc, which makes that much easier. TokenTool is great for making tokens quickly, and you can drag and drop the tokens straight from TokenTool onto the map. The only issues I've run into are moving characters from one map to another (we usually just copy and paste the tokens, but would rather actually move the token) and I can't figure out how to implement a Savage Worlds style initiative (or any other card draw style mechanic).

 

[catsclaw227]

Have any of you used the 4e frameworks that fans have put together for MapTools? Which ones have you used and why do you prefer it?

 

[kitsune9]

I need the DDI virtual tabletop right now!

But, since I can use this vaporware right now, I would like to know what is available to support this need.

Last week, one of the players who is currently in a different state was participating with our tabletop game via internet telephone. We, of course, had to spend a lot of time describing the battle layout every round so that he could make a good decision about what his character will do that round.

So, we have a player who has a laptop at the table and is willing to detail what's going on to the displaced player. I have casually heard every so often of web sites or programs that are made specifically for this situation, but I haven't looked any further than that since I've never needed them before.

So, please tell me of what options are available for this, and your experience with them. We play D&D 3e and 4th ed.

Thank you very much.

Try Maptools, Klooge, Battlegrounds, or Fantasy Grounds II. I think these are programs designed for VT play.

 

[Stoat]

My group has used d20 Pro for several years. It's a stable program, and I've found it a little easier to use than Klooge or Fantasy Grounds.

Virtual Tabletop Gaming with d20Pro

Its specifically designed for 3.5 D&D, but we use it for 4E with little difficulty.

 

[Goumindong]

Have any of you used the 4e frameworks that fans have put together for MapTools? Which ones have you used and why do you prefer it?

No, i've found most of them too confusing. But it might just be because when i had the time to DM i preferred making my own macros and didn't want things as intrusive or "universal" as they had it, since i rarely needed that when setting up things for myself.

I ended up making the modules that came after rescue at rivenroar[which you should be able to find by searching their forums, which cannot be run without the material from DDI and which fall under fair use] and so you can see how you can set up monster macros and get a gist for making player macros by looking at those campaign files.

RPTools.net Forums • View topic - [Campaign: DnD 4e] Den of the Destroyer

link to a thread with download links if you want to check out some of the things you can do.