Do you play online D&D?
- Thread starter takasi
- Start date
Treebore
First Post
takasi said:
We use SKYPE in conjunction with maptable/maptools so we can talk and use the pogs to clarify our actions.
See, there is this free version of SKYPE that allows you to talk, like on a great phone connection, while using your computer and maptools to draw maps and use pogs (mini's) to show move actions, etc...
You know how every once in a while people comment on these boards about wishing they could play together? With SKYPE you can do so and its about as good as face to face. In some ways even better.
Treebore
First Post
Nikosandros said:
Sound quality is great, now. A heck of a lot better than Yahoo Messengers calling program.
The only problem, and it seems to mostly involve Canadian connections, is "dropping calls" a lot (like 2 to 4 times over a 3 hour period). Fortunately it usually only takes a few seconds to reconnect, so pretty easy to deal with.
Hussar
Legend
I'm going to be rich and famous when I invent a way to slap people in the face over the internet. 
((Blatantly ripped from somewhere else))
I've been playing over OpenRPG for the past four years now. Yes, VTT play is different from tabletop. In some ways it's not as good - no pizza, no face to face, no voice acting (at least in our group) and body language. OTOH, it's far and away better - instant maps, instant rules lookups, people stay in character far better IME, and, since you have a computer right there, most of the mathy bits get done automatically.
When you first start out on a VTT, it's slower than tabletop. Now, I'd say my group is just as fast as tabletop, if not faster sometimes. We regularly had three, sometimes four or five, encounters in a 3 hour game. Even at high levels (we capped out the last campaign at 17th) we still could run three or four encounters in 3 hours.
YMMV obviously.
((Blatantly ripped from somewhere else))I've been playing over OpenRPG for the past four years now. Yes, VTT play is different from tabletop. In some ways it's not as good - no pizza, no face to face, no voice acting (at least in our group) and body language. OTOH, it's far and away better - instant maps, instant rules lookups, people stay in character far better IME, and, since you have a computer right there, most of the mathy bits get done automatically.
When you first start out on a VTT, it's slower than tabletop. Now, I'd say my group is just as fast as tabletop, if not faster sometimes. We regularly had three, sometimes four or five, encounters in a 3 hour game. Even at high levels (we capped out the last campaign at 17th) we still could run three or four encounters in 3 hours.
YMMV obviously.
My 3.X games have been exclusively run in chatrooms for the 6 1/2 years they've been going. We've been using psionics.net, or rather irc.OtherWorlders.org since they changed names, for a couple of years now. I've occasionally toyed with the notion of running using VTT software, but haven't ever taken the step of doing it- at least partially because we're all used to the chatroom setup now, I suppose.
One does miss the face-to-face interaction over the Net, but for me the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages. Private "notes" and splitting the party are a breeze, I have a DM screen that the players absolutely can't ever peek around, I can let my emotions run free during the game session since I don't have to worry about a stray facial expression giving my secret nefarious plan(s) away... I could go on.
The one area I've found a pure chat game lacking is in the tactical side of combat, and honestly since the games hit high level we haven't much concerned ourselves with that anyway given that PC mobility is so high. We basically go on an "honor system" where players ask me (for instance) how many monsters they can get in that 100-foot-radius area effect, or if they can find a group clustered together for convenient Cleaving, and I tell them what they can do. They then decide what to do, for example- specifying that that Reverse Gravity is going right next to the main entrance to the underground temple so the colossal pseudonatural centipede is lifted off the ground to hang absurdly in midair when it charges, and the fighter can take advantage of his flying movement to slice & dice... that sort of thing. I suppose we've got something similar to Exalted going, which isn't a bad thing.
One does miss the face-to-face interaction over the Net, but for me the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages. Private "notes" and splitting the party are a breeze, I have a DM screen that the players absolutely can't ever peek around, I can let my emotions run free during the game session since I don't have to worry about a stray facial expression giving my secret nefarious plan(s) away... I could go on.
The one area I've found a pure chat game lacking is in the tactical side of combat, and honestly since the games hit high level we haven't much concerned ourselves with that anyway given that PC mobility is so high. We basically go on an "honor system" where players ask me (for instance) how many monsters they can get in that 100-foot-radius area effect, or if they can find a group clustered together for convenient Cleaving, and I tell them what they can do. They then decide what to do, for example- specifying that that Reverse Gravity is going right next to the main entrance to the underground temple so the colossal pseudonatural centipede is lifted off the ground to hang absurdly in midair when it charges, and the fighter can take advantage of his flying movement to slice & dice... that sort of thing. I suppose we've got something similar to Exalted going, which isn't a bad thing.
PbP only for me. It's the easiest way to play if you can't find a group or don't have the time. I've got a steady gaming group of players that have played - often multiple games at a time - together for years now. We all enjoy the writing, storytelling and character interaction that this form provides, and it doesn't take up a huge amount of time. Mind you, games naturally take longer but our DM tends to shorten parts of the adventure while keeping only the interesting bits. We run through one adventure approximately every 6 months, so in our Shackled City Campaign which started 18 months ago, we've finished the first three adventures. One of the great perks of PbP is that you can play in three or four or even more adventures at a time so you get to sample all the great adventures out there.
Pinotage
Pinotage
FungiMuncher
First Post
I've been playing the RPGA's Living Greyhawk via OpenRPG (VTT), and frequently with Ventilo (voice chat) at the same time.
It's pretty awesome that I can play the same character online and face-to-face at conventions.
It's pretty awesome that I can play the same character online and face-to-face at conventions.
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