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<blockquote data-quote="Kalshane" data-source="post: 6575886" data-attributes="member: 9505">I've been running and playing games in Roll20 for close to two years now (and been a subscriber for a little over a year). While I'd rather play face-to-face, my old gaming group is scattered around the country (one of them was even in Taiwan for awhile, but has since moved back stateside) and even getting the people that are still local together can be problematic, at best. We typically use Google Hangouts for video chat, since it integrates with the Roll20 page, though we've had good luck with the native video chat, as well.I agree with the others that say prep time is actually longer, since there's a temptation to make the most of the interface, especially since you are missing out on some of the intangible aspects of playing face-to-face. Familiarizing yourself with the ropes of the interface and getting the necessary macros setup ahead of time is highly recommended before you start running games. There are built-in character sheets, but we started playing before it was an option, and prefer using our custom-built sheets and macros with the full sheet on a fillable PDF or Excel file for reference. Finding the right button to press for the roll you need on the built-in sheets can be a little difficult at times, IMO. (Though I'm sure folks who started off on them probably don't have that issue.)Another thing that takes getting used to is that only one person can talk at a time, since side conversations are just as loud as conversations directly between the DM and players, which can make for a confusing mess. What our group has actually done is handle &quot;flavor RP&quot; via the text chat (side conversations between characters, reactions to things that are being said, or going on that don't require die rolls, etc) so as to not drown out the DM and whomever he's talking to.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Kalshane, post: 6575886, member: 9505"] I've been running and playing games in Roll20 for close to two years now (and been a subscriber for a little over a year). While I'd rather play face-to-face, my old gaming group is scattered around the country (one of them was even in Taiwan for awhile, but has since moved back stateside) and even getting the people that are still local together can be problematic, at best. We typically use Google Hangouts for video chat, since it integrates with the Roll20 page, though we've had good luck with the native video chat, as well. I agree with the others that say prep time is actually longer, since there's a temptation to make the most of the interface, especially since you are missing out on some of the intangible aspects of playing face-to-face. Familiarizing yourself with the ropes of the interface and getting the necessary macros setup ahead of time is highly recommended before you start running games. There are built-in character sheets, but we started playing before it was an option, and prefer using our custom-built sheets and macros with the full sheet on a fillable PDF or Excel file for reference. Finding the right button to press for the roll you need on the built-in sheets can be a little difficult at times, IMO. (Though I'm sure folks who started off on them probably don't have that issue.) Another thing that takes getting used to is that only one person can talk at a time, since side conversations are just as loud as conversations directly between the DM and players, which can make for a confusing mess. What our group has actually done is handle "flavor RP" via the text chat (side conversations between characters, reactions to things that are being said, or going on that don't require die rolls, etc) so as to not drown out the DM and whomever he's talking to. [/QUOTE]

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