Laptops at the table - Do you use them?

[Hussar]

Since I play entirely online over OpenRPG, gaming with a computer is a must.

However, even before that, I haven't prepped a game on actual paper in about twenty years. Everything I do in game is prepped on a computer - maps, adventures, whatever. Once I found a few decent art programs, we started doing combat on computer as well.

Never mind having my books on computer (the Core Rules CD's back in 2e days and now various tidbits) means that I don't ever lug a backpack anywhere.

6 pounds for a laptop that holds my entire collection, or a hockey bag full of books. Not a huge challenge of a decision.

 

[Graybeard]

I don't use a laptop in any of my games. One of the other players does. He has his character sheet, equipment sheet, etc on it. He also has the SRD and other useful game stuff on it. I have thought about using one at the table. It would make it easier to keep track of things on my character sheet. No more erasing, writing stuff down, erasing some more, etc. I just haven't
committed myself to do it yet. When I DM, I have the books I'll need to access nearby, my DM screen, a notebook, and my homebrew world notes and maps. I tried to make maps on the computer using Campaign Cartographer but I just couldn't get the hang of it. I found the program too complicated.

 

[HellHound]

For GMing only.
- Initiative Tracking is the main use
- SRD reference
- Whatever core rules I'm running if not d20

 

[BlueBlackRed]

My only rule for using a laptop at our game table - it must be quiet.
The sporadic humm of a fan can be quite distracting and therefore irritating to the rest of us, especially if we have to talk over it.

Then there's the table space & outlet issues. Luckily only a couple of us use them, but that's really plenty enough.

 

[Obrysii]

Since we don't have the DMG, MM, or PHB, we use my laptop for the SRD.

We also use it as a backup for my character sheet, and my DM uses a cad program on it which he makes his dungeons in. It's also a good backup for dice, too.

 

[The Levitator]

Every mechanical aspect of our game is taken care of on my laptop. I use DM Genie to manage the camapaign and gaming sessions, Maptools and Battlegrounds for mapping encounters (to a HD projector and 8' screen), RPG audiomixer (I also have RPG Soundmixer)for background music and sound effects, Dundjinni for creating maps, Tavernmaker and Innmage for creating buldings of the fly, NPC Designer for rapidly creating NPC's, Farland's Mass Combat program for skirmishes and large background battles, and Namemage for creating NPC names.

Not only do we use DM Genie for managing the game, but we also use the autoroll option in DM Genie so nobody rolls dice. Our 2 biggest reasons for playing diceless are 1. speed and 2. better roleplaying. Tucking the mechanics away allows us to focus on the story. Combat is exponentially faster than paper and pencil, and there is less metagaming because I don't have to rely on players for rolls. It's not for everybody, but it's been for everybody who's every gamed with us.

We have talked about the players bringing laptops so that they can track their character sheets better (using Player Genie). Another benefit would be that each player could have their own view for encounters. Yet another advantage would be that we could use messaging to lower metagaming even further. If a player wants to go against the grain (for example, choose NOT to follow the party into the cave) but doesn't want to tip off the party, they could message me with that information. It also helps the players to minimize MY metagaming. If they wanted to try an unusual strategy, they can discuss it without the DM hearing it. Of course, messaging wouldn't come up very often, but it could make things a little more interesting and suspenseful.

While I totally respect the "old school" feel of paper, pencil and dice, I would never DM without being able to use the tools I currently use for gaming. I've been gaming since 1980, and DM'ing since 1985, and I'm grateful for the tools available today that make my job easier, and put the emphasis back on roleplaying's best feature (in my opinion), roleplaying!

 

[Shieldhaven]

I use my laptop to reference the hypertext d20 SRD, Kate Monk's Onomastikon, a few other minor online resources, and my pages and pages of stat blocks. I find it cumbersome to shuffle through printed pages, but easy to scroll up and down with the PageUp and PageDn keys. I would never talk on AIM, play WoW, or anything remotely along those lines during a game, finding it inexcusably rude. But then, I wouldn't bring my laptop to a game I wasn't running, either.

Dice, character sheets, miniatures, etc., remain entirely necessary to my gaming experience.

Haven

 

[Darth Shoju]

I play a Barbarian/Fighter and was wearing holes in my character sheet with all the mods I was dealing with every session. So I grabbed an old Gateway and made up an Excel character sheet that tracks everything for me, from all my mods, my skills and feats (and the mods they provide) and equipment. I also use it when it is my turn to take notes for the session. If I ever step back behind the screen I'll certainly be using my laptop extensively.

Ironically, all the mods and logistics we had to track that prompted me to use a laptop have lead my group to search for a more "rules-light" system, possibly making my excel sheet useless.

Also, on the flip-side of the merits of laptops; our player with the most tenuous attention span recently picked up a nice Dell laptop and uses it to read, listen to music (which competes for volume with the mood music we play) and basically just distract himself.

Ultimately a laptop is just a tool, entirely dependant on the user.

 

[GeorgeFields]

play World of Warcraft during the session.

That would drive me insane. If I ever had palyers doing that at my game, I think I'd ban laptops.

We have 2 in our Buffy group that use laptops: the GM and one other. Of the other four, three of us don't have laptops. The fourth has no real reason to bring it as the GM provides up-to-date sheets on the characters.

 

[Thotas]

We don't. But then, I'm the only one of us who has a lap top, and I've only had it for three months ... a fact which, when combined with the fact that summer schedules don't allow us to play much, means I've effectively not had the chance. I am thinking about whether it might be helpful when I'm the DM. I do know that if, while I am the DM, someone is playing WoW on their laptop during the game, their character has a blood vessel explode in their head, resulting in instant death.