Do you allow electronics at your gaming table?

[Cristian Andreu]

I used to avoid electronics on the table, but now I let everyone use iPads to keep track of stuff and check the rules. I still ask them to use print character sheets, however.

As the DM, I use them constantly now. Being able to roll initiative every single turn without a hassle is great.

 

[Madmaxneo]

I also prefer that the players to have printed character sheets.

There are so many apps available (both paid and free) that are a great help to the game. I have been using Inspiration Pad Pro for treasure generation and a few other things. It is a great program (easy to program at that and is free for the PC. There is a paid android app ($1.80) that you can export your tables to and use on your android device (I prefer to use my windows tablet). I also have an automated PDF character generator that I developed using Javascript, it is a pretty good auto PDF but I still have to write up directions for others to use. I have a few other programs that I own but have not used for the game just yet, one is Realm Works which if I ever get to doing all the data entry would be an awesome tool to use even at the table. As it would give the players access to all the campaign info I allow them to see. Unfortunately they still have not implemented calendar support so it only uses our Gregorian calendar for now. I also have Hero lab but found that having to develop my own code for the game I play was more than cumbersome. I found it easier to learn Javascript and program my own character generator. There are loads of map making programs that can help a great deal in a game, if there is a map you only want one or a few PC's to see then you can easily share or email it to them.


I am waiting for the day when someone develops a gaming chat app that allows the GM to have a chat set up at the table and he can send private text messages to individual players and have them make rolls over the chat with maybe a few more extras that may be helpful like saved pre-made chat dialogues for quick access. Anyone know of such an app already developed or in development?

Bruce

 

[Henry]

one guy has an ipad with his character. there's a laptop streaming music. that's all we use.

That's kind of like us, except replace "one guy" with "4 people out of a table of 8." Interestingly enough, though, we still restrict to physical dice; the aesthetics of tapping a button and seeing a 20 on screen is 100% unappealing compared to the table-wide excitement of watching someone roll a 20 on a die, so by majority agreement we don't use die rolling apps.

These days I don't know that i'd play Pathfinder without hero lab and the "PFRPG RD" on my iPad. Too many books and fiddly bits. Other game systems like Savage Worlds? No problem, i usually use pen and paper.

 

[bmackenty]

This was one of those things that made 5e better for me

So I used electronic character creation in 4e, but the lack of it for 5e (at first) forced our group to paper. I've never looked back. The time, conversation, and connection that was created during the paper character creation process was worth the weight in gp. Players and I (the DM) were able to dig deeply into who this character really was in a way that didn't work electronically. I've often thought that doing something quickly and efficiently robs us of depth (not always - but....)

I've used a computer at the table to show pictures of monsters, but now I just print them out. I'm also working on better describing the despicable beasts my group my faces.

I'm still wedded to mini's and maps, and my current group seems to love combat-heavy games.

My opinion is that electronic crap interferes with the deep waters of RP in dnd.

 

[Olaf the Stout]

Our table allows them, but the only time I've seen them in use is one player who occasionally uses an iPad for stuff related to his character, and myself when I DM (using the Hypertext d20 SRD to look up core rules, spells and monsters a lot quicker for me than using my hard copy books).

The main potential problem with them is people getting distracted from the game.

 

[Li Shenron]

I don't think I've ever seen anyone using e-stuff in any game I've been, although as a DM only I have sometimes used a laptop (with rules and notes) in place of the DM screen. Part of the appeal of RPG to me is their pen-and-paper nature.

 

[Jeff Carlsen]

It's discouraged, but not forbidden. Half of my players remote in through Skype, so I can't exactly forbid them devices. A couple keep their character sheet electronically, since they're at a computer anyway. Everyone at the actual table sticks with pencil and paper.

 

[barasawa]

Our GM is always allowed electronics.
As to the players, it depends.
Several of them in our group will do everything but game, including one that's been caught hitting adult chatrooms.
Having pdfs to replace 30lbs of books is awesome, but getting sucked into cat videos, or worse, during game isn't cool in any way.
Although we haven't explicitly stated it, I guess our groups rule is you can use them for gaming with the group, but if you go off on a tangent, or worse yet, disrupt the game, you lose the privilege.

 

[Zhaleskra]

I've also used electronics at the table as a player. As a player, they are a distraction to me. Using it as a GM means I don't have to find the pieces of paper that form my reference cards.

I guess I'm more of an allow and discourage style guy.

 

[Duskdreamer]

My players usually do not use eletronic devices while playing, sticking to pen, pencils and notebooks. I'm the only one with an iPad (GM).