Options for Tabletizing

[Jan van Leyden]

My beloved wife is currently casting anxious looks at tablet computers - after she's seen one of our boardgame-friends touting his ipad with the i4e app.

This motivates my question: which apps - iOS, Android, or Win8 doesn't matter, but please mention the system(s) - can you recommend for helping in our 4e games?

We'd be looking for support for the player, the ability to incorporate DDI-data, and multi-user abilities so that more than one player can use the device during the game.

I'm not looking for GM support, as both my co-DM and me are very satisfied with our Windows laptops for in-game use.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

To be honest, even thought there are gaming apps out there, I just use my iPad2's Notes app like a notepad to make a homemade PC sheet, email for passing messages. (One advantage a tab let's Notepad app might have over a dedicated gaming app is that they can be synchronized over multiple devices via the cloud, meaning its a lot harder to forget your character..)

Under the right circumstances, I could use the camera or music apps for inertial things as well. If you're a music loving DM or a PC with a bard, a playlist could be used to add an auditory dimension to the game.

For almost any game with an online SRD, my iPad is handy for quick rules referencing- I have several of them bookmarked.

I suppose that if I felt like it, I could set things up to read the DDI PC sheet- Macs can make pdfs out of the DDI Character builder- and there are apps out there that let you read Excel files- handy if you make your own character sheets for crunchy games like HERO or GURPS.

 

[Wednesday Boy]

Two of the guys in our 4E game use K Sheet for their Android tablets. (http://udm4.com/Android/KSheet_Pro_DnD_4e-3335649) They like it because it imports their DDI characters, they can roll attack and damage with each of their powers, and it seems to keep track of everything (HP loss, HS usage, power usage, etc.). And I think each of the elements (feats, magic items, powers, etc.) have a full description available.

One of those guys used DnD Buddy for his Android tablet. (http://udm4.com/Android/DnD_Buddy-1035751) It seemed to have similar capabilities but also could be used for D&D 3.5 and Pathfinder characters. I'm not sure why he switched to K Sheet.

I got an iPad so I could have the same capabilities as those players but I have not found an app that I like. I tried i4e around six months ago but there were little elements about the layout that I disliked, so I decided to stick with a printed character sheet. (It's been a while so I can't remember many specifics about what I disliked about the layout but I can load it tonight and update my post.)

 

[Siberys]

I use two apps during play; DMTools on my old iPhone 3GS for tracking combat, and Battle Mat on my iPad for minis and maps. It takes a bit to set up and to add status effects to DMTools, but it looks great, and I have my player's current status WRT HP, conditions, powers used, &c. right there at my fingertips during - and between - sessions. Battle Mat lets me use the maps from PDF adventures I've purchased, and I can choose "minis" by scouring the internet for art. It's a lot better than using colored tokens or mismatched minis for creatures I don't have an appropriate piece for.

DMTools is only a couple of bucks and is well worth the cost, but Battle Map is $30 USD - easily the most expensive app I've purchased. I like it because I hate screwing about with physical minis and maps, but I'd only really recommend it if you were to use it a fair bit or really liked prepping encounter maps; otherwise it's just too expensive.

 

[Jan van Leyden]

Thanks for the interesting responses! I actually thought there'd be more answers and options available, what with smartphones and tablets being so widespread.

I think I'll borrow one of my childrens' phones for next weeks games and give KSheet Trial a shot just to get a feeling for the possibilites.

And I'll entice the new player to get i4e and bring his iPad along.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

There ARE more options- I bet your thread simply hasn't caught everyone's eyes yet. In the meantime, see here:

http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?297626-Ipads-and-gaming

http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?274221-DDI-and-IPAD

http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?322388-Kindle-or-iPad-3

http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?310398-iTunes-Store-Apps-for-D-amp-D4e

http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?274552-iPhone-iPod-Android-Applications-for-RPGs