Hey all, really, I'm really old and was around when DnD first came out. I am looking to get back into adventuring, maybe even DMing. But I am clueless as to what I need to do to get hooked up. What sites do I need to access and join, is there any special equipment I need, or can I play directly from a gaming laptop? I've been watching YouTube videos of RealmSmith and feel this would be a good start but am not that confident in my computing skills to get to where I need to be. Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated. My time has not been waisted in the interim, as I have already created two characters that I am interested in playing, a Level 1 female fighter and a level 2 male fighter/cleric. Help me out here y'all. And thanks.
PS. i am currently located in the Pacific Northwest time zone for those that are interested.
Well, I'm not an expert on everything you'll need, but I can help to some degree.
You shouldn't need any equipment other than your laptop, so no worries there, though you may want to buy a headset if you don't already have one. Some DMs like to have the players on video as well, but most don't require it or won't mind if you'd rather not be on camera.
As far as signing up for sites, I would say to get a Discord account if you don't already have one. Discord is, by far, the most frequently used app for voice and text for TTRPGs. Frequently the handouts you would have been given in person in a live game when you began you'll receive through Discord. [https://discord.com]
There are a number of virtual tabletops (VTTs) out there, and the ones your future DMs will prefer -- and/or you'll prefer, especially if you decide to get back to being a DM -- are different enough not to get into detail, and to be honest, I know enough to do basics in most of the ones below, but would not consider myself much of an advanced user in any. VTTs I've had games in are, in approximate order of frequency:
Roll20 [https://roll20.net]
Foundry [https://foundryvtt.com]
The Forge [https://forge-vtt.com] (which is, at least from the player's perspective, essentially identical to Foundry)
Owlbear Rodeo [https://www.owlbear.rodeo]
TaleSpire [https://talespire.com]
Fantasy Grounds [https://www.fantasygrounds.com] (I haven't actually had a game there to be honest, but I have seen it, hence why I'm including it)
Your DM may also choose to use Maps here on D&D Beyond, which would fall in the middle of the list above in frequency in my experience. There are many other VTTs as well, so don't consider this a complete list. (In fact, there is a second VTT on D&D Beyond -- Sigil -- which I have not had a game in yet.)
With the exception of TaleSpire, there are ways for you to sign up for all of those sites without paying, however, I would not bother doing so until you join a game and know which the DM wants to use. (Technically for TaleSpire, the DM can pay for seats -- guest licenses -- for players to play for free, but the easiest way to be sure you can use TaleSpire is to pay $24.99 for your own license through Steam. That may be more than you will feel comfortable with doing on a computer or perhaps want to spend; on the other hand, TaleSpire is quite impressive.)
You might also want to consider installing the Beyond 20 extension on your browser. Beyond 20 allows you to roll from your D&D Beyond character sheet to Roll20 and Foundry, including Foundry-based servers like The Forge. It's available for Chrome as well as Firefox, though it seems it can be downloaded for Edge from Microsoft's Addon site. [https://beyond20.here-for-more.info]
That's all I can think of from a general perspective. Most of the other things will be game/DM specific, so they'll be better off helping you once you join.
Hope this helps!
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
Hey all, really, I'm really old and was around when DnD first came out. I am looking to get back into adventuring, maybe even DMing. But I am clueless as to what I need to do to get hooked up. What sites do I need to access and join, is there any special equipment I need, or can I play directly from a gaming laptop? I've been watching YouTube videos of RealmSmith and feel this would be a good start but am not that confident in my computing skills to get to where I need to be. Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated. My time has not been waisted in the interim, as I have already created two characters that I am interested in playing, a Level 1 female fighter and a level 2 male fighter/cleric. Help me out here y'all. And thanks.
PS. i am currently located in the Pacific Northwest time zone for those that are interested.
Hello!
Well, I'm not an expert on everything you'll need, but I can help to some degree.
You shouldn't need any equipment other than your laptop, so no worries there, though you may want to buy a headset if you don't already have one. Some DMs like to have the players on video as well, but most don't require it or won't mind if you'd rather not be on camera.
As far as signing up for sites, I would say to get a Discord account if you don't already have one. Discord is, by far, the most frequently used app for voice and text for TTRPGs. Frequently the handouts you would have been given in person in a live game when you began you'll receive through Discord. [https://discord.com]
There are a number of virtual tabletops (VTTs) out there, and the ones your future DMs will prefer -- and/or you'll prefer, especially if you decide to get back to being a DM -- are different enough not to get into detail, and to be honest, I know enough to do basics in most of the ones below, but would not consider myself much of an advanced user in any. VTTs I've had games in are, in approximate order of frequency:
Your DM may also choose to use Maps here on D&D Beyond, which would fall in the middle of the list above in frequency in my experience. There are many other VTTs as well, so don't consider this a complete list. (In fact, there is a second VTT on D&D Beyond -- Sigil -- which I have not had a game in yet.)
With the exception of TaleSpire, there are ways for you to sign up for all of those sites without paying, however, I would not bother doing so until you join a game and know which the DM wants to use. (Technically for TaleSpire, the DM can pay for seats -- guest licenses -- for players to play for free, but the easiest way to be sure you can use TaleSpire is to pay $24.99 for your own license through Steam. That may be more than you will feel comfortable with doing on a computer or perhaps want to spend; on the other hand, TaleSpire is quite impressive.)
You might also want to consider installing the Beyond 20 extension on your browser. Beyond 20 allows you to roll from your D&D Beyond character sheet to Roll20 and Foundry, including Foundry-based servers like The Forge. It's available for Chrome as well as Firefox, though it seems it can be downloaded for Edge from Microsoft's Addon site. [https://beyond20.here-for-more.info]
That's all I can think of from a general perspective. Most of the other things will be game/DM specific, so they'll be better off helping you once you join.
Hope this helps!