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Message: <blockquote data-quote="MNblockhead" data-source="post: 8086543" data-attributes="member: 6796661">For me this was no different than my in-person games. I have a monthly 8-hour Saturday session. The only difference is that I had to put the Google Meet and VTT links into my Google Calendar invite.Yes. This can be one of the bigger challenges. If you change the platform too often, you risk confusing and turning off your players, unless they are technically inclined and enjoy testing new tools.This is one reason I prefer platforms that do not require players downloading and installing software. It is bad enough if players have to adjust to a new interface, but if they have to download and install new software as well, that compounds the inconvenience and increases the likelihood of tech issues and the need to help troubleshoot them.  As a DM I don't want "IT tech support" to be one of my roles.With Roll20, Astral, or Foundry, for three examples, the DM generally just has to give out a URL. As long as the players are comfortable with their PCs and navigating Web sites, then the DM only needs to tell them where to click and a few hot keys or mouse controls and they'll be up and running quickly.When I was using MapTool and when I was testing Fantasy Ground Unity, I didn't bother using them as try collaborative VTTs, I just ran two instances (a DMs view and a players view) and shared the players view via Google Meet.  Yes, it meant that I had to move all the tokens, including the player tokens, but it allowed me to test various VTTs without the players having to install multiple programs and I didn't have to deal with port forwarding and other network-setup hassles that come with installed (vs Web native) programs.My experiences are the opposite of yours on this point. First, we have fewer conversation tangents (which is NOT a benefit in my opinion, but does keep the game moving).  Second, there are tools like initiative trackers and automations that keep players on track and speed up the resolution of some game mechanics. Also, if players are moving their own tokens, there is less need to take time to describe positioning.One of the benefits of having a dedicated gaming area for in-person gaming, that is on a separate level with a door and good sound proofing, is that it works quite well for on-line gaming. Also, one benefit of online gaming regarding this point, it you can put on a headset and your gaming need be no more noisy than a telephone call.Note that this is especially a problem for the DM.  I find it much more difficult to eat while running online games than in person. Especially since I DM with a wireless headset.Depends. I always recommend starting with just basic map sharing. No need to use every bell and whistle.I can trow up a map with fog of war in Foundry or MapTool and put tokens on it far more quickly than I could draw something out on a Chessex mat and I used to spend a lot of time sorting a prepping miniatures and dungeon dressing for in-person play than I do prepping VTT maps.Prepping maps for vision and line of sight can take more time, but with foundry, I can prep even a complex entire dungeon level in under an hour. When I don't have time for that or when the party goes to an unprepped area, I just throw up the map with fog of war and manually reveal areas as they explore.Well, if you are building the maps from scratch, maybe. But there are so many battlemaps available that I rarely create one from scratch any more. If I need to do something on the fly, throwing up a grid and drawing on it is no more time consuming than using wet-erase markers on a Chessex, and I don't have to move dice and snacks out of the way to do it.</blockquote>

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