I find so much lacking in VTT/VOIP play...
- Ability to read faces and microexpressions
- The pleasure of watching others dice roll on the table
- ability to legally pass the book back and forth
- ability to have the multi-person unspoken body-language cues not visible on camera
- Ability to share snacks/meals
- Ability for minor physical interactions.
I've driven 30 min each way for game for the last 15 years... for 3.5 to 4 hours? usually worth it for me.
- I'm the GM, so reading faces doesn't matter to me. Although Discord allows video links for the entire group, so it is available. I turn it off to save bandwidth.
- Still have that. And no fudging, no chasing lost dice, and no delays while someone hunts for the d10 they just had.
- Have that. Roll20 and D&D Beyond allows you to legally share your books.
- Again, I don't need to read gamers.
- Able to afford my own snacks.
- Not sure what you're doing at your table. I gamed with one guy weekly for 19 years and we never had a reason for physical contact.
What you have, besides a dice roll noting player, weapon/skill, modifiers, abilities, result, and damage, is a tremendously easy-to-use VTT that, if you're playing 5e, will test passive perception to determine whether a PC spots a trigger, and if they miss, trigger both a trap graphic, sound, and roll damage.
Endless supplies of players; I formed two groups of five in 5 days. All good, quality players that show up as planned, and are invested in the game. Earlier tonight I was watching as my Tuesday group text-discussed their future plans. I haven't gamed twice a week since the 1980s. No accepting duds just to make player count. Someone quits or gets booted, you are briefing a replacement in 24 hours.
Dynamic lighting that have to be seen to be believed.
Incredibly simple monster/NPC interface so as a GM you spend more time building a coherent chain of events instead of looking up powers and abilities.
All your notes on the screen, invisible to the player. No scribbling hit points or wound levels on scrap paper.
The ability to show/distribute handouts, from a simple image to a fifteen-page document, at the click of a button.
GM drudgery is gone; the VTT system handles all the dull stuff. You can spend all your prep time focusing on props, plots, and personalities.
All in the comfort of your own home. My VTT is on a 42" TV, and anything else I need to reference is on my 22" monitor. The AC is set just right. A cat sits on my desk and watches.
And when the session is over, the BS'ing and goodbyes are said, you click a button, plug your headphones in to recharge, and...you're home.
I'll never play F2F again.
