How To Play D&D Online
I love playing Dungeons and Dragons with my friends next to a table with some terrain props, snacking, and laughing next to other people at the table. I always thought it's the best way to do it. But besides, organizing logistical aspects of your game is not the only hardship for playing D&D in these times.
And it's pretty hard to play one of the most social games when the social distancing is settling in our daily routine. But there are other alternatives, that to be honest, are not that bad. They are pretty great and offer new opportunities for your tabletop games, and today let us talk about that.
It's actually pretty great.
I was a bit of a purist a while back, looking at some ways to play Dungeons & Dragons online as not the best possible experience to be had. But I tried it and...I liked it. Even though I love to play with miniatures, terrain, and other things, I quickly realized that it offers many opportunities that even the IRL games could lack sometimes.
So one of the things I like as a Dungeon Master and as a player is that there is a force to play the game using maps and dungeon maps if you play online. And even though there is more theater of the mind in the social encounters, there is an opportunity for way more immersive combat. The Dungeon Master can put the city/town map with the character tokens, which the players can see and interact with them, you can even put some notes to the NPC's to keep that relevant information for easy access.
Another thing is the combat. If you have the combat encounter, and you have enabled such features as the line of sight. There is no discussion about whether or not you see a specific thing. The movement is a bit clearer on how much you can move and how the attacks and spells interact with the environment/creatures.
Another thing that gets into my mind is the limitations of seeing everything on the table. If Bob the Cleric goes to the second level and Tom is left fighting on the first floor, they don't know what's happening, and that makes it harder for your players to metagame. Putting a cherry on top, if you make some rolls a secret to the Dungeon Master - Now the death saves are a mystery, and it becomes frightening to the players when they find poor Tom gasping for air left alone with five orcs to deal on its own.
So okay, If I sold you the idea of playing online, let's see how to play D&D online, shall we?
Choosing a Platform
Some many platforms or apps let you play D&D online. It depends on how do you want to play. Virtual Tabletops Simulation apps are great if you want the closest IRL-like experience visually. In comparison, services like Roll20 or Fantasy Grounds can give you unique playing experiences.
Virtual Table Tops
Virtual Tabletops like "Tabletop Simulator" are a good choice that goes around for 20$ and lets you add custom assets into the game and have the IRL similar experience with 3D miniatures and tilesets. Though it could have a learning curve to master, it's still a viable option if you're looking for the closest tabletop experience there is for a real one. This is also an option if you already have the books and use them when you DM'ing.
Roll20
Roll 20 is what I personally with my party use, just because it's relatively easy to use and doesn't require that much effort to set up. It's also free for the basic needs of D&D. It might take you a bit to get used to the functionality of Roll20, but the ease of use is quite similar to many of these types of services. When you look at it, Roll20 is just a virtual battle mat with an intractable character sheet. And for a pen-and-paper RPG is all that you need. Tier list for paid subscriptions gives you more storage space, but since I started playing last year on Roll20, I still didn't use all of the 100Mb of space. And even then, 3Gb of storage for 49.99$ and 6Gb for 99.99$(Like...I don't know how would you fill that storage, but okay) is not a massive expense for a party of 4-5 people for a year.
Fantasy Grounds
Now I'm not too fond of how Fantasy Grounds price themselves because 5-4 players wanting to play a game would cost the group around 159$-234$ for a standard license or chip in for the Ultimate license for a DM for 149$, which lets one person host games and share bought content with others. Though Fantasy Grounds only require a one-time payment and might be a cheaper option in the long run, what puts me off is the UI with a steep learning curve of this platform. It's really up to you what you value because, again, these virtual tabletop services are pretty similar. However, Fantasy Grounds license is still a significant cost investment to start playing D&D, in my opinion.
Supplements for Remote Play
Whatever platform you choose to supplement the experience with extra things is crucial and effortless to do. I can't stand seeing people playing D&D if there's no music in the background or DM's use plain battle mats to convey combat. Let's see what we can do about that.
Discord - I use Discord in my games since it's easy to use and has plugins to support such things as playing background music. If you are thinking of using Discord, I recommend getting the Groovy plugin for your music and checking out Dungeon Goblin Spotify Playlists. Discord is also great for adjusting mics and plugins like Groovy.
Video - This is more of what you personally use, I don't use video-call apps to have a better lag-free connection while playing, and the battle mat with tokens is enough for my party and me.
Maps - Inkarnate - I use this service for all of my battle maps and map-making in general. It's easy to use with many great features. If you want to learn more, check out this Dungeon Goblin Review. Or if you want some already made maps like these airship battlemaps.
DM Notes - If you're a DM, I advise using some notes application during the session. More on what to choose, check this blog about Which app to use for your DM notes.
Other - Token Stamps - This is great if you're looking to create custom tokens fast and easily. If you're looking for inspiration for your RPG characters and villains' portraits, Check out Dungeon Goblin Pinterest.
The Setup
Since there are multiple options for the platform that you can use, and this blog would explode in length, these are a couple of links to get you started on the set up of your preferred platform:
After you set up your platform and migrate some of the necessary notes to them, I advise using Discord as a voice call application, since with the help of plugins, you can still have some background music that is played smoothly.
Don't forget all of the things that make D&D great.
Personally, calls with friends are not the same as meeting them in person or telling a joke through the phone. The same feeling occurs with playing D&D online, it's not the same, but you still need to make a conscious effort to try your best, don't forget to roleplay, voice-act, and giving your best for the people you're playing with.
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