laptops in-game?

[werk]

When I DM, I use a notebook computer. I have all my books on softcopy, for reference, and take the books that I know I'll need. I have all the NPCs and monsters written up soft copy, so they are easy to manage. Notepad has more scratch paper than anyone could ever use, and I can title and organize those as well.

If you are a computer person, and work on computers all day and night, they become much easier, faster to use and are easier to organize and have immediate access compared to hard copy.



Now, people that aren't adept, or surfers at the gaming table using their notebooks...

When I play, no need.

 

[Mark CMG]

Does anyone who's done this find it worth it? Is it obtrusive to other players and/or the DM? Does it cause any problems?

Provided they aren't absorbing a person any more than a book (or books) gets used for reference, I've never seen a problem with them. In fact, they can also speed up a game and allow for a lot more to get done in-game, if they can be used to reference material more swiftly. I use a PDA, myself, and it is much quicker than using books or hardcopies of materials.

 

[Kid Charlemagne]

I used to DM from a laptop, and I stopped because it put an obstacle for communication in.

I use my laptop, but I only use it for certain things for this very reason - I do my session notes and then print them out, and use the laptop for the SRD and for initiative order via an excel spreadsheet that autsorts, etc. I've never felt that I was losing that connection with the players.

 

[Man in the Funny Hat]

I've noticed that a lot of the character generator software (e.g. Hero Lab and PC Gen) have tools for use in-play. While I can see how this could be handy, it also strikes me as something maybe a bit unnecessary and possibly disruptive to other people at the table. I've been considering bringing my laptop to my next game and trying it out, since I've been using Hero Lab pretty exclusively for everything else but have yet to use that option. Does anyone who's done this find it worth it? Is it obtrusive to other players and/or the DM? Does it cause any problems?

I feel that the ONLY individual at the table who should ever need to manage so much information that they feel they REQUIRE computerized assistance is the DM. For the most part I would defintely prefer that the DM be the only one with a computer at the table. One of the downsides of players having computers at the table is it provides easy distraction from the game. If you have a player whose concentration is... questionable, to let him have a laptop to run his character sheet is ASKING for permission to repeatedly thwack him upside the head to get him to pay attention instead of reading old OOTS, playing minesweeper, or worse yet - World of Warcraft during an ACTIVE game of D&D.

That said, on another level I don't have a problem with it. Players can keep a copy of the SRD for faster lookups, keep their character sheets in constant synch with the DM, utilize various electronic aids like virtual D&D tools to replace battlemats & minis, dice rollers for cheaters , play soundtrack music, sound effects, display visual aids rather than use handouts, provide immediate/constant access to house rules documents for those games with large versions of such, and so on. It CAN be a significant plus to the game, I'm sure.

Still, I resist any attempts to too-liberally mix the two. It should either be ALL THE WAY or exceptionally limited, and then much more a tool for the DM rather than anything like required equipment. And the DM should use it AS a tool - not a crutch.

 

[Wombat]

From what I've seen, the more laptops you have on the table, the more people pay attention to the screens and the wargame/competition aspect of the game and the less time is spent either in noncompetitive aspects of the game (schticking) or in friends interacting.

I see laptops at the table, barring maybe one for a GM, and that to be used rarely, as a barrier in human interaction.

 

[cthulhudarren]

I don't really like it, but ALL my regular players use virtual character sheets (heroforge, PC Gen, etc) and also use their laptops for searching for spells, etc. I don't really think it's more distracting than staring at character sheets and flipping thru spell books all night. If it does occupy a player for too long I'll start raining down the thunder threateningly.

But as the current GM, I do not use a laptop. I'm a luddite I suppose but I like the old school methods.

 

[Lockridge]

I don't use a laptop in game because it creates a wall and takes up space. I can see how it would speed some things along however.

One thing that would change my mind though was a new laptop I saw recently. The monitor screen is able to reverse which means that you can open it, rotate the screen and close it again so that the screen faces you and is still on. The screen is also touch sensitive so you can still use your application and a touch pen to use functions. In that way, it does not create a "wall" and it does not take up more space than a book.
D&D would be a great use for such a thing.
Looked cool.

 

[Kid Charlemagne]

I don't use a laptop in game because it creates a wall and takes up space. I can see how it would speed some things along however.

In my case, the laptop doesn't create much more of a wall than a DM Screen, and it takes up less space because I don't need to bring as many books. I used to carry a big legal case full of books to every game, but now I can reduce that way down. I probably cut the weight of my backpack in half.

 

[Nightchilde-2]

Also I use DM Genie, and it has made combat unbelievably easy.

Seconded.

DM Genie is flippin' awesome.

 

[The Truth]

I've been DMing from a laptop for several years. I write up all my adventures on it and use it for a DM screen (its also nice to have a record of all my past sessions). I also have a ton of mood music on it and a pair of small speakers for decent sound. Just recently I started frequenting the truly indispensable d20srd.org, which is a massive timesaver. The dice roller on WotC's web site can also be handy. On top of that we import an out-of-state player through a webcam on my desktop. So, yeah, its a great playing aid, even without the D&D specific software.