High Level Games
High Level Games
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Store
    • Storytellers Vault Products
    • Fantasy Adventures
    • DMs Guild Products
    • Snowhaven
    • Army Men
  • Podcasts
  • Video
  • Trusted Resources
  • Join The Team
  • About
  • Contact
    • Star Trek Adventures
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Store
    • Storytellers Vault Products
    • Fantasy Adventures
    • DMs Guild Products
    • Snowhaven
    • Army Men
  • Podcasts
  • Video
  • Trusted Resources
  • Join The Team
  • About
  • Contact
    • Star Trek Adventures

Welcome to the High Level Games Blog, News, and other stuff to take your games to the next level!

Best Selling RPGs - Available Now @ DriveThruRPG.com

Tabletop-less RPG Gaming: 8 Impressions After My First Campaign In Online Tabletop Role-Playing

3/10/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
There has recently been an explosion of websites and programs which allow for players to play their favorite tabletop role-playing games over the internet. For those of you who many not be aware, these services, such as Fantasy Grounds, Roll20, and Fabletop, use webcams and software to mimic a tabletop gaming experience, down to rolling dice, map grid, and miniatures. They also can add a variety of other features using the magic of computers, such as dynamic lighting and automated stats. I recently wrapped up a campaign on Roll20, which was my first experience using an online tabletop platform. Here are a few of my impressions:
 
1. Easy to use-
The game interface is simple enough to get playing right away. And why shouldn’t it? Online role-playing can be accomplished with just a random number generator and a webcam. Even without any knowledge of how to use any fancy features which are included, you can still effectively participate. Many of the features (e.g. integrated character sheets, miniatures) are intuitive enough that it doesn’t take a computer genius to figure out how to use them. Once everything is set up correctly, playing the game becomes a breeze; no longer will you ever need to search multiple pages of a character sheet to determine roll bonuses, as all of them can be automatically applied at the push of a button.

 2. Hard to master-
The software used in these programs is very robust and can be used to create a customized experience for the player. That being said, it might take a computer genius to get the most out of these features. There is a fairly steep learning curve to master some of the more complex features in these platforms, such as creating macros for taking specific actions, integrating conditional statements, and troubleshooting the technical issues which inevitably will arise with the user’s hardware (best solution: turn your computer off and back on again). Being the GM in an online campaign requires additional knowledge of the programs’ capabilities; however, as I was but a player in my game, I cannot speak to the GM’s experience.

3. No dress code-
You no longer have to worry about being decent to go to gaming. You can now role-play in your three-day old, dirty, inside out tidy-whities and no one will even bat an eye. However, care must be taken when you get up to go to the bathroom…

4. Linear conversation-
Unlike when a group is playing in person, there can only be one person talking at a time; it becomes impossible to understand multiple people talking through computer speakers at once. If your in-person group is anything like mine, there’s at least three conversations happening at all times, with the volume steadily rising to a dull roar before the GM calls for order. Limiting the chatter to a single conversation keeps everyone engaged in the story and the actions being taken by their fellow players. However, it also removes some of the fun that comes along with being able to have free-form conversations with fellow players.

5. Private conversations-
Even though only one person may be able to talk at a time, that’s not to say that you can’t be communicating. Typing may not be a particularly desirable way of communication, but it allows for characters to have private conversations with each other and the GM. The GM can assign characters confidential information not available to the whole party, characters can make secret plans unbeknownst to their fellow party members, and yes, you can still make snide comments about the GM privately with your friends. This sort of secrecy is difficult to obtain in-person, as typically the entire group knows when there has been secret information passed (even if they don’t know what that information is) as the GM has to pull someone aside or text them.

6. Sensory component-
I had assumed that the visual elements would distract from the gaming experience, but it was rather the opposite: having the map grid and miniatures take center screen aided in visualizing what was going on. Furthermore, there are a variety of features which enhance the effect, such as fog of war and dynamic lighting. Moving your character through a dark, incredibly detailed dungeon, being able to see no further than the light of your torch, combines some of the best aspects of video games (that edge-of-your-seat tension) with tabletop role-playing. Sound effects and music can also be easily integrated into the game, if desired.

7. No free snacks-
you can no longer mooch off of your friends’ food. You must provide any snacks or beverages for yourself, which is a real letdown.

8. Distance-
The best thing about online tabletop platforms (and I would say their raison d'être) is that they allow you to play with people with which you otherwise wouldn’t be able. It has allowed me to stay connected with my previous role-playing group, despite moving down to Texas. That being said, the experience isn’t quite the same as playing in person; there’s something about the in-person interactions that webcam and typing alone can’t replicate.
 
Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the experience and some of the features which aren’t replicable in plain tabletop (especially private chat with the GM and dynamic visual effects). It offered a unique role-playing experience that didn’t lose much of the character of the tabletop gaming experience (I was concerned it would feel too much like a video game). For those of you who’ve never tried it before, I’d definitely suggest giving it a try. It’s a great way to stay connected with fellow gamers who may be far away. Or if you just don’t get enough role-playing with your in-person group, there are a multitude of gaming groups you can find around the interwebz; just be careful though, you never know how many of them are playing in their underwear.
 
- Jake is the least experienced and most underpaid writer at High Level Games. Living in Texas, he is also the southernmost contributor to the site.
 

Savage Worlds: Fast, Furious, and Fun! - Available Now @ DriveThruRPG.com
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    All blog materials created and developed by the staff here at High Level Games 

    ​

    Picture
    Click here to support our community for as a little as $1.00 for exclusive content, free downloadable stuff, and even discounts on role-playing game items.

    Archives

    April 2023
    February 2021
    November 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016

    Categories

    All
    13th Age
    2d20
    2nd Edition
    3.5 Edition
    3Deep
    4th Edition
    5th Edition
    7th Sea
    Acquisitions Inc
    Actual Play
    AD&D
    AdventureLookUp.com
    Adventurers!
    Aether Sea
    A+ Fantasy
    After Collapse
    Alignment
    Amazing Tales
    Amazon
    Anima: Beyond Fantasy
    Anime
    Apocalypse World
    Atomic Robo
    Australian
    Award Winning
    Basic Fantasy
    Belly Of The Beast
    Big Eyes Small Mouth
    Black Lives Matter
    Black Void
    Blades In The Dark
    Blood Pangea
    Board Games
    Book Of Exalted Darkness
    BrigadeCon
    Burning Wheel RPG
    Call Of Cthulhu
    Capers RPG
    Casual Roleplaying
    Changeling: The Dreaming
    Chaosium
    Character Arcs
    Character Creation
    Chris Spivey
    Cinematic RP
    Classics
    Comic-books
    Conventions
    Corvus Belli: Infinity
    Crawl
    Creators
    Critical Role
    Cthulhutech
    D100 Dungeon
    D20
    D&D
    D&D Beyond
    Deadlands
    Defenders Of Tokyo
    Degenesis
    Detako Saga
    Discord
    DMsGuild.com
    Dnd
    Dndbeyond
    Doctor-who
    Double-cross
    Dread
    Dresden-files
    DriveThruRPG.com
    Dr. Who
    Dungeon Crawl Classics
    Dungeons
    Dungeons And Dragons
    Dungeon Slayers
    Dungeon World
    Dystopia Rising
    Encounters
    Era: The Consortium
    Era: The Empowered
    Esper Genesis
    Evil Hat
    Exalted
    Faith RPG
    Fandom
    Fantasy-age
    Fantasy-flight
    Fantasy Grounds
    FATE
    Fate Accelerated Edition
    Fate Core
    Fate Rpg
    Fate-rpg
    Final Fantasy
    Forgotten Realms
    Fragged Empire
    Free League Publishing
    Furries
    Game Design
    Game Lore
    Gencon
    Ghosts Of NPCs Past
    GMTips
    Golden-sky-stories
    GoodmanGames.com
    Grognards
    GUMSHOE
    GURPS
    GURPS Lite
    Halloween
    Harlem Unbound
    Harry-potter
    Hero Builder
    Heroes Against Darkness
    Heroes-unlimited
    HERO System
    High Level Games
    Historical Fantasy
    HLG Con 2018
    HLG Reviews
    Homebrew
    Humble Bundle
    Indie
    Interface Zero 2.0
    Interview
    Invisible Suns
    Japanese RPGs
    JRR Tolkien
    Kickstarter
    KoboldPress.com
    KULT
    L5R
    Lankhmar
    LARP
    Lasers And Feelings
    Legendlore
    Legend Of The Five Rings
    LexOccultum
    LOTR
    Low Magic
    Mage
    Mage: The Awakening
    Magic And Steel
    MAID
    Mayhem
    Mazes And Minotaurs
    Meikyuu Kingdom
    Mekton Zero
    Mental Health
    Middle Earth
    Mighty Narwhal
    Mini Six
    Modern Adventures RPG
    Modiphius
    Monarchies Of Mau
    Monsterhearts
    Monte Cook Games
    Morra
    Mummy: The Curse
    Mutants And Masterminds
    Mythender
    Narrative Games
    Nechronica
    Night's Black Agents
    Novel
    NPC
    Numenara
    Odyssey Of The Dragonlords
    One Shot
    Online Gaming
    Orun
    OSCRIC
    Osr
    OVA
    Palladium
    Pathfinder
    Pathfinder 2.0
    PbtA
    PDQ
    Pire: The Masquerade 5th Edition
    Play By Post
    Player Tips
    Podcast
    Powered By Apocalypse
    Power Outage RPG
    Preview
    Promethean: The Created
    Pugmire
    Pulp
    Puzzles
    Questlings
    Ravenloft
    Ravnica
    Red Markets: A Game Of Economic Horror
    Research
    Review
    Review Article
    Rifts
    Risus
    Role Play
    Roll20
    Romance Of The Perilous Land
    Ryuutama
    Satanic Panic
    Savage Rifts
    Savage Tokusatsu
    Savage Worlds
    Seeds Of Wars
    Setting
    Settings
    Settlement Building
    Shadowrun
    SIGMATA
    Snowhaven
    Social Combat
    Social Systems
    Solo Play
    Standard Roleplay System
    Star Trek Adventures
    Star Wars
    Storytellers Vault
    Suited RPG
    Summerland
    Supplements
    System Design
    Table Top
    Tabletop Simulator
    Tales From The Loop
    Tales Of Equestria
    Talislanta
    Tariffs
    Teenagers From Outerspace
    Ten Candles
    Tenra Bansho Zero
    The Dark Eye
    The End Of The World RPG
    The Great Long Dark
    The One Ring
    The Very Important Task
    Titan Effect
    To The Temple Of Doom
    Trial Of Cthulhu
    Trinity Continuum
    TSR Marvel Super Heroes
    Ttrpg
    Twitch
    USTR
    Va
    Valiant Rpg
    Vampire: The Masquerade
    Video Games
    Villian
    Volo
    Vs Ghosts
    Warhammer
    Warhammer 40K
    Werewolf: The Apocalypse
    Westbound RPG
    Wild West
    World Building
    World Of Darkness
    Writing Tips
    Year Zero
    Zweihander

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly