D&D 5E What does this photo say to you? [Project: Morningstar)

[Ruin Explorer]

or functionally needs, as was arguably the case in 4e) an online reference

I don't think you can reasonably argue that 4E needed an online reference any more than any other edition. You didn't NEED any of that stuff to be online, and we've played plenty of sessions offline and not noticed.

But it was horribly useful. Like, I'd never play 3E again without something like that (which PF kind of has, actually, now).

I see it as a multi-step process. The first thing you do is a straight replacement. With some simple advantages like saving your changes and not worrying about losing the individual papers.

Then after that, people start exploring the capabilities of the device, and creating new things.

I strongly agree with this - just shifting the medium is a good start, and one that's already been done for a lot of games - I know our Fighter in 4E uses a strictly virtual sheet, for example, on his iPhone.

 

[Thaumaturge]

"I hope to god it works with both Android and Apple devices, because otherwise it will be 100% completely worthless to my group, who have a mix" (and I imagine most groups who have tablets have a mix).

They've said on their twitter account that, at launch, they'll support web access, iOS tablets, and android tablets. Phones and native Windows 8/phone apps are for "later".

Thaumaturge.

 

[Henry]

Looks like me at any Pathfinder game i've played or DM'ed in the last two years.

I'm almost all PDF and office suite these days, instead of carrying a stack of 30lbs of books.

 

[herrozerro]

Reading through this thread part of me wonders "Good god! do these people play with adults?" Seriously? My group is half remote, we play with roll20 and that means that half my players have their full computers to deal with and it seems like those are the players who are paying the most attention!

Back on topic though. I'm loving the idea!

 

[mechascorpio]

I played 5E today using the new CM tools and it was awesome, seriously excellent experience. No more obtrusive than books and a notepad at the table, and really useful. We did not just sit there staring at our iPads, anymore than people might stare at their sheet. It will take a bit for any table that uses it to develop "manners" (for lack of a better word), but it really didn't impede the game at all. In fact it helped us get started with our own custom characters quite quickly.

Loved 5E itself, btw. First live experience with it and it's very fast, a lot of fun. I'm sold.

I can't say that there is anything like CM on the market right now, and it will be a great enhancement for 5E. Plus they're a fabulous team, obviously real fans and gamers who have really thought this through. They are much further along than you might expect, and they're going deeper than anyone has guessed, I believe.

That's all I can say due to NDA, but I can't wait for more off you to try it, and to be able to talk about it.

BTW, despite that particular photo, our table was male and female, not just white, various ages and experiences. I thought I'd be the grognard, but I was not!

 

[Starfox]

I discovered that tablets are a LOT less distracting than laptops. Abouyt half of my players use characters sheets on pads, and I use dropbox to distribute pics and handouts. Strongly considering some kind of electronic tabletop, maybe just a flatbed TV.

 

[CM]

I've been using a 22" widescreen touch screen, mounted on a monitor stand directly to the table, at my DMing seat for about 3 years now. About half my group brings a smartphone, PC, or tablet for google docs / DDI compendium access, but the great majority still use physical character sheets.

Sometimes the laptops do become a distraction...

 

[Blackbrrd]

My first reaction was that they were doing character creation, since everybody was looking at the tablet at the same time.

The second thought I had was: hope I don't need it.

The third one was: I don't need it, I have a 1-page level 13 4e character sheet, and run initiative on cardboard triangles that are physically laid out in the initiative order. I have the monster name/hp on a piece of paper because it's less distracting. Nah, I am good.

Did I mention using cardboard triangles with numbers/names on physicall laid out for everybody to see probably halved the time we use on combat in 4e? That I ran 6 combat encounters in a row without forgetting someones initiative* (or have a player complain about me skipping them)?

If you run combat that involves multiple monsters and PC's, there is nothing that beats physically showing the initiative order when it comes to improving combat speed. It really makes players pay attention instead of glazing over, waiting for their turn.

*After I started using a small box to indicate who's turn it was.

Anyway, I am really happy they are going the cross-platform way, and it sounds like they are basically making what I hoped they would. The only thing missing now is the payment model. I really hope they drop the subscription, and go for the "pay per book" approach instead. I think they might have hinted that they might go in that direction...

 

[amerigoV]

I see everyone looking at their tech instead of each other.

 

[Tarrl]

I'm a grog who uses a #2 pencil and a sheet of paper... but that paper is printed by PCGen or DDI Adventure Tools. This is the next step in the evolution. It is inevitable. We can shake our fists and rage impotently against the terrible march of progress, but this is the future of gaming.

Looks a lot like my current table, honestly.

I use a kindle for rule book stuff, I guess isn't much of a stretch to use it for character management. Looks like they're having a good time doing what they're doing.

I don't think you can reasonably argue that 4E needed an online reference any more than any other edition. You didn't NEED any of that stuff to be online, and we've played plenty of sessions offline and not noticed.

But it was horribly useful. Like, I'd never play 3E again without something like that (which PF kind of has, actually, now).



I strongly agree with this - just shifting the medium is a good start, and one that's already been done for a lot of games - I know our Fighter in 4E uses a strictly virtual sheet, for example, on his iPhone.

Reading through this thread part of me wonders "Good god! do these people play with adults?" Seriously? My group is half remote, we play with roll20 and that means that half my players have their full computers to deal with and it seems like those are the players who are paying the most attention!

Back on topic though. I'm loving the idea!

I played 5E today using the new CM tools and it was awesome, seriously excellent experience. No more obtrusive than books and a notepad at the table, and really useful. We did not just sit there staring at our iPads, anymore than people might stare at their sheet. It will take a bit for any table that uses it to develop "manners" (for lack of a better word), but it really didn't impede the game at all. In fact it helped us get started with our own custom characters quite quickly.

Loved 5E itself, btw. First live experience with it and it's very fast, a lot of fun. I'm sold.

I can't say that there is anything like CM on the market right now, and it will be a great enhancement for 5E. Plus they're a fabulous team, obviously real fans and gamers who have really thought this through. They are much further along than you might expect, and they're going deeper than anyone has guessed, I believe.

That's all I can say due to NDA, but I can't wait for more off you to try it, and to be able to talk about it.

BTW, despite that particular photo, our table was male and female, not just white, various ages and experiences. I thought I'd be the grognard, but I was not!

Thank you so much for sharing!!!