laptops in-game?

[EricNoah]

I DM with a laptop -- it is off to one side on a little tray, and I use it to take notes during the game on a calendar spreadsheet and look up rules on d20srd.org. I rarely have to crack open a book during a game. I do use a computer for character/monster/adventure prep beforehand but I have those notes printed as I usually have to scrawl all over them as combat progresses.

One of my PCs is complicated enough that I use my laptop to deal with spells (using a spell spreadsheet so things are caluclated a head of time; and using a "die roller" spreadsheet to calculate huge handfuls of dice for damage) and conditions (keeping a running tab of what spells are cast on me so if I get hit with dispel magic I know what gets affected). But another of my PCs is simple enough that I use a printed character sheet for him.

 

[thedungeondelver]

I did for a while; then I stopped. The chief reason I stopped was because apparently this sent some secret signal to my players to show up with laptops.

The final insult was when one of my group started repairing his rig at the table, as in: laptop in pieces, asking for a few sauce cups to put various screws in, etc.

I politely suggested he either leave the table to work on his laptop or wait until the game was over.

With that said...I may return to using the laptop as the DUNGEON MASTER'S ASSISTANT (both VOLUME I and VOLUME II) are invaluable for quickly generating random encounters...

As long as that's all I'm using it for I should be A-OK.

 

[sniffles]

One of my GMs uses a laptop some of the time and it doesn't seem to make much difference to his GMing. It neither improves his ability to multitask nor distracts him from the game. He has a tendency to get distracted looking up rules anyway.

I also have a fellow player who uses his laptop to keep his Champions! character sheet. I haven't particularly noticed that being a problem either, except when he's occasionally had a software problem during a game and had to get the GM to print a hard copy of his sheet for him so he could continue to play.

I sometimes wish I had a laptop, because I have PDF copies of all my gaming books on a USB drive and it would be so convenient to just plug in my drive and look up spell descriptions or other info, instead of asking to borrow a book. We play at other peoples' homes so I can't carry all my books with me. But the people whose homes I play at have most of the books anyway, and computers available, so I get by without a laptop.

 

[painandgreed]

As a DM, I liked it. It held all my papers and notes on the game. Any notes I took were readable to me later. It acted as a Dm screen so that only I could read my papers and notes that I was either reading or had on the table.

I tried it as a player and it was interesting. I always knew where my character sheet was as well as most everything I needed for the game. I could take limitless notes (which agian would be readable to me at a later date) and no matter how much I edited them or my character sheet, it never degraded to to a worn and torn rag of paper. It did act as sort of a barrier and was larger than a normal character sheet. i think as a player, I would prefer a tablet.

 

[EricNoah]

It did act as sort of a barrier and was larger than a normal character sheet. i think as a player, I would prefer a tablet.

Agreed. I prefer to have my laptop off to one side during play, whether as DM or player.

 

[sjmiller]

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.

I am a computer person who looks at a computer for 8+ hours a day at work (where I am typing this now). When I am trying to relax and either play or run a game, the last thing I want is to look at a computer. Fun time, for me at least, means time away from a computer. Besides, as a highly organized DM, I tend to have little or no problems finding things I need in my books and notes. Remembering where I put the miniatures, however....

 

[Piratecat]

Having tried it both ways, I don't care for my players using laptops. I find it really distracting.

 

[Thornir Alekeg]

I used a laptop as DM. I had information in DMs Familiar to help keep track of combat and loved that. In addition, for books I only referenced occasionally, I purchased them in PDF form and kept them on the laptop. Since I usually DMed at someone else's house, it saved me from having to carry an extra 20 or so pounds of books that I might or might not need.

I prefer to not use a laptop as a player.

 

[FnordBear]

As a player, with DMs permission, I have been using a laptop for about 2 years as a player. We have gotten pretty high level and it makes handling things for the player and DM much easier, so much so he himself bought a laptop.

Initially I did find I was more distracted but over time the 'new' has worn off and I preffer to just set it aside with the monitor closed and only refference it when I need to look at my character (we know most of our skill checks and various modifiers by heart at this point)

Dont dig dice rollers, like my good ole bag of plastic 3d solids.

 

[DonTadow]

As a DM I encourage bringing laptops. I use DM genie, and it allows me to send character information, secret notes, messages and updated conditions without taking too much game time away.