I'd never thought I'd miss...

[sircaren]

A couple of months ago, I decided to convert my DM style to an electronic one. I am a Network Administrator by trade (that's right, one of those guys with all the goofy letters after my name in emails that 'arbitrarily' turns off servers for no reason while you all are trying to work ). I'm a real computer geek, I spend a lot of my free time in front of my PCs. I also happen to have a laptop at work, that dual boots quite nicely. I thought I'd try using it at the table. With the help of the great program RoleplayingMaster (www.roleplayingmaster.com), I was able to move all my notes online for great use during play. What a great program Luke! A lot of the program is a godsend during play, especially combat, but...

Wait there's a But?!?!?!? But you just said how great everything was...

I miss my dice, and my big 3 ring binders with the taped up covers, and my campaign notes on notebook paper, and my hand drawn(and often printed) maps, and... well you get the picture. Just curious if anyone else experienced this? I really do enjoy a lot about RPM, and it makes it less obvious when I have to come with something on the fly, as I don't have to write anything down, just say 'hold on while i look it up'(all the while furiously typing it up on the fly). But the game just doesn't seem to be the same to me this way. Maybe I just need a hobby that isn't computer related...

On a side note, I love having MP3 access right there at the table; really helps with the mood. I can even design playlists for that particular session.

After all that rambling, I'm just wondering if other's have had similar experiences?

 

[Mark]

Nothing wrong with keeping your materials on the laptop and rolling the dice on the side. I'd miss the dice, too.

 

[MarauderX]

No offense, but I would stick with the hard copies during the game.

I was in a campaign where the DM used a computer and 2 of the players had hand-helds, and I swear it took twice as long to do anything from dice rolls to looking up background character info. I found it annoying and very easy to go off on tangents while the DM would keep stuttering "...just gimme a sec to pull this up, ok, there's the folder, the file, and now scroll down... ok, now you can roll your opposed move silently check." followed by said player poking things at his hand held no less than 3 times followed by "I got a 17, but let me check to see if all my bonuses are added in...yeah, 17 it is." For one opposed check.

Now I dare you to imagine a battle with attack rolls and ACs that had to be looked up every so often, along with tracking HP by typing in the new damage for each baddie. You got it, boredom sets in and the players end up talking about 3.5, playstation 2, or anything else. I was glad when the group disbanded, and promised myself that I would never DM with a computer until I have seen it done effectively.

Out of the sessions, I keep everything on a computer and print out all things that pertain to the game before the session starts. I like fast flowing sessions without that many pauses to keep the players on their toes as well as get through adventures with less stalling, but good luck incorporating your laptop into your game.

 

[MarauderX]

The infamous double post