D&D 5E Running a game from a tablet.

NaturalZero · Dec 4, 2016

I've run RPGs for years now and I've always relied on typing out my session plans on the PC and printing them out before bringing them to the table. Doing so has often been a huge hassle though, with dried out ink nozzles or lack of paper.

I've decided to completely reboot my DM organization style and use a tablet for pretty much everything but I'm not sure how to take full advantage of the tech. I can see google docs being a big help since I can type up sessions like I used to on the desktop and load them up automatically on the tablet wherever there's wifi but what else do people use?

Is there a good art app for drawing dungeons? What's a good dice roller? Are there tools that are useful for DMs? I wondering if anyone can give me some pointers on how to get the most out of utilizing a tablet at the game table.

Satyrn · Dec 4, 2016

I use tablets to play. plural. I find it helpful, easier to reference things on separate tablets rather than flipping between apps and documents. Plus, I feel like I'm on Star Trek, and that's cool.

So, I use them as book replacements, using an online srd and a spellbook app, and for my prewritten notes. But I still track monster HP with pen and paper, and would do so for initiative, too, if we used initiative. I find using them as "book replacement" keeps them from being a distraction and improves my efficiency.

So that is what I suggest you try, too. At least to start. Eventually, adding in a dice roller or an initiative tracker app could work for you (although try combining them, I think, and have a dedicated tablet for that.)

I like to think I will never use a dice roller, though.

mellored · Dec 4, 2016

IOS or Android?

roll20.net has some stuff.
Fantasygrounds.com is the premium option, you can directly load monster and character data, though at premium cost.

Dice rollers are plentyful and free.

Satyrn · Dec 4, 2016

Also, no. I have not found a good app for drawing dungeons. Use a PC program and transfer them over. I don't actually have any recommendations for that, though. I just snap a picture of mine.

ehenning · Dec 4, 2016

For map drawing, InfinitasDM just came out. I haven't had time to fully play with it, but it shows promise.

Greenstone.Walker · Dec 5, 2016

Satyrn said:
I use tablets to play. plural.

I found this as well - one tablet is not enough screen real-estate.

Normally I GM from an open 3-ring binder and I usually have a couple of loose pages onb my desk, as well as monster on several 150×100 index card clipped to my GM screen. A one-page tablet just wasn't enough - I spent far too much time switching between windows.

Bupp · Dec 6, 2016

I don't use a tablet for my games, but I do use a Chromebook. It's a browser-based laptop that runs mostly online.

I tend to run pre-published adventures that I modify, and I usually run them from a pdf.

Google Docs is a great resource. I've filled mine with homebrew and stuff copy and pasted from blogs and message boards and use it as my own SRD.

If you use Chrome or Firefox as your browser, there is a great extension called OneTab. Using it, before a game I'll open a bunch of windows with things I think I'll need. The adventure pdf, maps and pictures that I can find online, monster stats, spells and other things from an SRD. Then OneTab will collapse them all into, get this, -one tab- that is really nothing more than a list of links that I can then pull up as needed. Makes it much easier than searching through different open tabs and files.

pdzoch · Dec 6, 2016

I have too many sheets of paper in front of me that I have to access concurrently for a tablet to be much use for me. Too much note taking, marking, etc also. And REAL DICE please! One area where a tablet or digital media shines for me though is the reference books, rules, errata, etc. I love hard copy materials, but quick referencing is a nightmare, especially with D&D 5e deplorable index. I try to avoid looking rules up during the game, but a tablet (I use a nook with a pdf reader) makes a breeze to find necessary rules in a hurry (especially when I forget to transcribe important data on my playing sheets).

JonnyP71 · Dec 6, 2016

I tried DMing using a laptop and pdfs once.

NEVER AGAIN!

Paper all the way. Real books. And loads of handwritten notes.

Kid Charlemagne · Dec 6, 2016

I've run the gamut when running a game, from pure paper to laptop to tablet. I've been running my current 5e game using a tablet (an older ipad) for seven sessions now. I use Fight Club 5 to organize the sessions and run combats; it has a built in encounter builder and dice rolling capability. I tend to track HP and roll dice manually but Fight Club has the ability to do all of that. I'm keeping my session notes in Google Docs which makes them easy to access on the ipad too - although the main reason I'm doing it that way is so I can jot down notes no matter where I am and I don't really need to marginal increase in functionality that Word gives me.

I can pull up images on my ipad (I keep a lot of RPG inspiration images on Pinterest, as well as tons of maps in a private Pinterest collection so that I can easily access them) and just show it to my players really easily, even pass it around the table if necessary. Sometimes my players will text me rather than passing notes. Using Google Hangouts might work even better for that now that I think about it.

The best part of running a game with electronic tools, I've found, is the initiative tracking - they all keep track of rounds, and they're all really simple to use.

Now the drawbacks - flipping back and forth between google docs and fight club is a hassle. I use a small logitech bluetooth keyboard and it allows me to alt-tab on my ipad which helps a lot, but its still not anywhere near as fast or easy to switch between apps as it is on a laptop. Now, my ipad is pretty old and slow by todays standards so that may be part of it. I'm thinking of getting a new laptop, and a small portable laptop (like what I have at work) would only be slightly bigger than the ipad, and give me a lot more functionality and comfort level.