Im considering attempting to expand my fledgling campaign into the online realm. We've suffered some group attrition and currently I can count on only 1 player regularly. This may change but Id like to keep a regular playing schedule in order to learn the system, familiarize myself with the genre and improve my role as a GM in the mean time.

Ive never participated in an online RPG but it would see from my admittedly ignorant perspective, it should not only work but have a number of advantages. (Pre-drafted descriptions for example, the ability to inform one player without the others knowing, and so on)

I know there are some programs out there specifically for this purpose but honestly I don't see why a simple chat program like Yahoo Messenger wouldn't work. (Includes ability to show pictures, maps or whatever, voice and camera capable if that's something you want, group chat and one on one simultaneously etc.)

Comments? Opinions? Suggestions?

Is a publicly viewable die roller a must? Is it silly to just assume everyone will roll their dice and truthfully report the results?

Is cam/cam contact that necessary? How about voice chat? Do you lose something in a strictly written word exchange?

Im considering attempting to expand my fledgling campaign into the online realm. We've suffered some group attrition and currently I can count on only 1 player regularly. This may change but Id like to keep a regular playing schedule in order to learn the system, familiarize myself with the genre and improve my role as a GM in the mean time.

Ive never participated in an online RPG but it would see from my admittedly ignorant perspective, it should not only work but have a number of advantages. (Pre-drafted descriptions for example, the ability to inform one player without the others knowing, and so on)

I know there are some programs out there specifically for this purpose but honestly I don't see why a simple chat program like Yahoo Messenger wouldn't work. (Includes ability to show pictures, maps or whatever, voice and camera capable if that's something you want, group chat and one on one simultaneously etc.)

Comments? Opinions? Suggestions?

Is a publicly viewable die roller a must? Is it silly to just assume everyone will roll their dice and truthfully report the results?

Is cam/cam contact that necessary? How about voice chat? Do you lose something in a strictly written word exchange?

My wife and I use Roll20.net and Google Hangouts to play because we don't know anyone in the area who plays EotE/AoR/F&D. It allows us to play with my brother, who lives on the east coast, and a couple guys from England. It's also free, which is nice, and it's helpful to have access to maps or other visual aides when they're needed. I've never used video chat, but I enjoy having voice communication. There have been a few sessions we've played that one or more players hasn't had a mic, and it has drastically slowed down the game.

I think most people are honest with the dice, but there will always be those who aren't. I've played with one person who insisted on using her own physical dice to make rolls, and while I can't prove she was fibbing the results I find it highly unlikely she succeeded at every roll for 3 sessions straight. I also think there's something lost by others not seeing the results. It's fun (for me anyway) to see how each individual dice was rolled.

The biggest downside from playing online is groups seem to fall apart more easily, on the other hand finding replacements seems to a lot easier too.

I believe there are significant advantages to systems like roll20 for use to this purpose. They make it easy to show maps, and for the GM to prepare everything in advance “off screen” and then to bring it “on screen” when they want. Good tools in this space also let you do a “fog of war”, so that you can only see that part of the map that is within range of you. They also let you quickly build representations of the place, with representative tokens for the players and the NPCs, and everyone can directly control where they go within the restrictions of the place map. They also give you voice and text chat, and the option of using cameras to see each other.

Then there’s the shared dice thing, and auto-netting of the rolls so that you don’t have to worry about someone mis-reading or mis-calculating their roll.

Then there’s the ability to send private notes from players to other players or the GM, or vice-versa, etc….

With the dice roller, Roll20 lets you specify what the difficulty is (based on what the GM says), and then just click the dice icon next to the skill in question, and you don’t have to worry about figuring out how many yellow versus green dice you’re rolling, or if you have an item that gives you an automatic Advantage or other type of boost to your actions. All that can be pre-calculated for you.

I’ve only played one game so far on roll20, but I’m already convinced that this is the best type of solution in this space. Of course, roll20 is not the only choice, but I think you definitely want something that is intentionally and explicitly designed to make this process as easy as possible for the players to get into.

I've used both Roll20 and Fantasy Grounds as a GM and a player. I find that FG is far more robust in features and you only pay once for the software as you own it for life. Everything for your game is stored locally, so you can end up having a massive archive of maps, characters, etc... without paying the monthly storage tax that Roll20 has. I've had my copy of FG since 2008 and I've gotten all the updates with no problems. Support is also pretty awesome and quick to reply to any problems you have.

In that I seldom, if ever, use tactical maps of any kind and depend on descriptions only for encounters, does that change the usefulness of these programs? Is the tactical layout a major part of what they do?

In that I seldom, if ever, use tactical maps of any kind and depend on descriptions only for encounters, does that change the usefulness of these programs? Is the tactical layout a major part of what they do?

The main feature is there are a couple die roller options and those are really key to doing this stuff.

I've had my copy of FG since 2008 and I've gotten all the updates with no problems. Support is also pretty awesome and quick to reply to any problems you have.

I worked with FG's support to get the DEMO running on my mac - we actually had a google hangout call to work through it. Now that's support!

In that I seldom, if ever, use tactical maps of any kind and depend on descriptions only for encounters, does that change the usefulness of these programs? Is the tactical layout a major part of what they do?

No, the main feature is the dice roller, character sheets, and the library of things that you have for the game like equipment and story outlines. Roll20 and FG can do both with the advantage going to FG due to its integrated drag and drop features plus no monthly tax for storage. Also, you can easily transfer any character you have from one game to another game of the same system without paying the tax that Roll20 charges.

ThePatriot, you've definitely piqued my interest in Fantasy Grounds. One of the features I use the most is Roll20's page+sound linking for SoundCloud & Tabletop Audio clips. Does FG have something similar? I use a lot of sound files in my campaign and having music play automatically instead of searching through long lists is really helpful.

ThePatriot, you've definitely piqued my interest in Fantasy Grounds. One of the features I use the most is Roll20's page+sound linking for SoundCloud & Tabletop Audio clips. Does FG have something similar? I use a lot of sound files in my campaign and having music play automatically instead of searching through long lists is really helpful.

Not natively, but there are options to use Teamspeak for voice, virtual audio cable, and Audacity. It will fulfill the needs of streaming both the voice and music on the same channel. You can also set up a free TS server to run on your machine that your players can connect to.

Here's a page dedicated to using music and sound effects with Fantasy Grounds.

Here's a tutorial page for adding music and sound effects to Skype and Google Hangouts.

Thanks, I'll take a look!

Im considering attempting to expand my fledgling campaign into the online realm. We've suffered some group attrition and currently I can count on only 1 player regularly. This may change but Id like to keep a regular playing schedule in order to learn the system, familiarize myself with the genre and improve my role as a GM in the mean time.

Ive never participated in an online RPG but it would see from my admittedly ignorant perspective, it should not only work but have a number of advantages. (Pre-drafted descriptions for example, the ability to inform one player without the others knowing, and so on)

I know there are some programs out there specifically for this purpose but honestly I don't see why a simple chat program like Yahoo Messenger wouldn't work. (Includes ability to show pictures, maps or whatever, voice and camera capable if that's something you want, group chat and one on one simultaneously etc.)

Comments? Opinions? Suggestions?

Is a publicly viewable die roller a must? Is it silly to just assume everyone will roll their dice and truthfully report the results?

Is cam/cam contact that necessary? How about voice chat? Do you lose something in a strictly written word exchange?

I feel your pain brother. My group of regulars has been dwindling slowly over the course of the last 10 years. Now we really are running with a skeleton crew so I know exactly what you mean. I've not had any personal experience of online role play, although I watched one Cthulhu group on youtube a while back and am currently tuning in to Verdantsf's group. If your looking for players let me know and ill join you.

I've used both FG and R20. I prefer FG personally but it's a bit more cerebral than R20 -- it can be hit or miss with certain players who have a low-click-distraction threshold. R20 is a bit more intuitive for the uninitiated and it is very straightforward. It's also more limited in terms of its overall capacity, so YMMV depending on how you want to run your campaign. Both are well-supported.

It's also more limited in terms of its overall capacity

In what way do you see Roll20 limited compared to FG?

It's also more limited in terms of its overall capacity

In what way do you see Roll20 limited compared to FG?

I've found FG to be a bit crunchier and granular in terms of design options -- that is NOT to say "tactical options", which are definitely richer in R20.

It's also more limited in terms of its overall capacity

In what way do you see Roll20 limited compared to FG?

I've found FG to be a bit crunchier and granular in terms of design options -- that is NOT to say "tactical options", which are definitely richer in R20.

I guess I am still confused? what design options does Roll20 lack that FG has? are you referring to "play area", "character sheet", or some other thing? Just trying to nail down specifics.

I feel your pain brother. My group of regulars has been dwindling slowly over the course of the last 10 years. Now we really are running with a skeleton crew so I know exactly what you mean. I've not had any personal experience of online role play, although I watched one Cthulhu group on youtube a while back and am currently tuning in to Verdantsf's group. If your looking for players let me know and ill join you.

Just a heads up, you can be a viewer and a participant! SotB always has a spot reserved for guests in each of our weekly sessions. Frequent guests have gone on to become full members .

I feel your pain brother. My group of regulars has been dwindling slowly over the course of the last 10 years. Now we really are running with a skeleton crew so I know exactly what you mean. I've not had any personal experience of online role play, although I watched one Cthulhu group on youtube a while back and am currently tuning in to Verdantsf's group. If your looking for players let me know and ill join you.

Just a heads up, you can be a viewer and a participant! SotB always has a spot reserved for guests in each of our weekly sessions. Frequent guests have gone on to become full members .

Cool, send me a PM next time your gonna do a game and with your permission I'll roll up a character

Game announcements are posted weekly at /r/shadowofthebroker. Coming up is a 2-Team, 2-GM adaptation of Perlemian Haul.

My one regular player and I decided to experiment a bit this past weekend. We used Yahoo Messenger only, chat function only as well (no cam and no voice) just to see how the game would play out. We used the share pictures feature as well as the drawing board a few times but basically played for about 4 hours as a written exchange.

I had my doubts but walked away actually really, really impressed. The nature of the exchange between GM and Player was different of course, a bit slower and lacking some of the chuckles and emotion typical of the gaming table but what it gained and how it benefited the game was truly amazing.

With time to think before I wrote out my descriptions the quality of my narrative improved dramatically. Much of the game took on a deeper, more descriptive feel, like reading a novel rather than just blurting out a rough description. Equally affected were the Player's responses, more intuitive, more thought provoking and more attentive to detail. We went minutes, scores of minutes, in narrative only without the need for a die roll and enjoyed it immensely.

Die rolls were of course dependent on trust but the resulting interpretations more creative and detailed than before.

I chalk a great deal of this up to the lack of pressure from having someone there staring at you and waiting for an instant response. By communicating indirectly through the chat we both had time to comfortably consider our decisions and what we wanted to relate. I can only imagine this would be felt equally or perhaps even more powerfully with a larger group when the conventional table top dynamic tends to have players talking over one another or worse, delving into side-bar conversations.

As GM I was shocked at how much more relaxed I was than normal. (This after 30+ years of GMing) My books and notes were stacked all around me where most accessible with no need to worry about prying eyes or décor. I flipped through graphics on google as the game progressed and presented far more visuals than I normally would, as I was conscious of the limitations of my written descriptions alone without hand gestures or what have you.

The combats were especially impacted as they leaned more toward tactical exchanges rather than chaotic dice fests, with each action carefully thought out and more importantly, described in detail, both the intention and the outcome.

I have to say I was both surprised and really impressed. So much so that we have agreed to try this again soon on those nights when we would like to play for a bit but family and other obligations make it tough to get together. (For Example - Normally a window of maybe 9pm to 11pm would never work for a regular face to face game but its easy enough to sit down in your pajamas in front of the computer for a couple hours before bed.)

Im not in anyway claiming this will replace a face to face game but it certainly provides a quality alternative. I may well consider opening up the game to other players in the near future once Im a bit more comfortable with the system.

And all this without any sort of Online Gaming Software at all.

Just another vote for Roll20 plus Hangouts. 4 years running, a satisfied subscriber.

Roll20 prep (images for NPCs and items, maps, text) is a terrible rabbit hole, but it's because I have a ton of fun doing it.

Just another vote for Roll20 plus Hangouts. 4 years running, a satisfied subscriber.

Roll20 prep (images for NPCs and items, maps, text) is a terrible rabbit hole, but it's because I have a ton of fun doing it.

Are you a preferred or pro sub of Roll20? In either case, you could have spent that money on 3 copies of FG Ultimate that none of your players will ever need to buy the license and just use the demo.

Thanks for the recommendation, ThePatriot. I took a look and fiddled around a lot. Unfortunately, it doesn't suit my group's needs quite as well as Roll20. We reserve guest spots each session, so being able to instantly get the game app and voice communication tool necessary to play with a single clink on any browser is a real boon. Having to get a new player up to speed on a new program right before game time, then get them set up on TS/Skype/Ventrilo, etc. just isn't as attractive. However, I totally see the benefit for set group that doesn't change from week to week! If FG happens to add the ability to link music to slides, I'll take another look. On a sidenote, does FG allow fully animated gifs? Roll20 doesn't and that would be a nice bonus.

Thanks for the recommendation, ThePatriot. I took a look and fiddled around a lot. Unfortunately, it doesn't suit my group's needs quite as well as Roll20. We reserve guest spots each session, so being able to instantly get the game app and voice communication tool necessary to play with a single clink on any browser is a real boon. Having to get a new player up to speed on a new program right before game time, then get them set up on TS/Skype/Ventrilo, etc. just isn't as attractive. However, I totally see the benefit for set group that doesn't change from week to week! If FG happens to add the ability to link music to slides, I'll take another look. On a sidenote, does FG allow fully animated gifs? Roll20 doesn't and that would be a nice bonus.

Yes, it does allow animated gifs. All it takes is for you to add them to your game and have it streamed automatically to your players.

I find as a Roll20 Pro subscriber it offers a lot of features that help me out.

I have even edited the character sheet to make it more useful and utilized scripts that allow a lot of shortcuts so I can focus on GM'ing and my Players can focus on Role Playing and not be bogged down in trying to figure things out.

After having many people I have GM'ed for state "that game was really easy to figure out with that character sheet and the other features you used", I think it is successful at what I want. Is it potentially a more expensive option? sure, but you get value from it, and they are constantly improving.