Hey hivemind! I've been DMing for just over a year, but, thanks to the Rona, it's all been online. Now that things are better, I'm starting an in-person group. What are some tips you can all give me to be good in-person as compared to online? I'm sure it will be a different experience. What things may I need to prep that I may not consider, what can I do to make it better for my players, etc. Thanks.
Hmm. I too, have had mainly online campaigns. However, since other family members have played in them with me, many of them had both online and in person components. Miniatures are a big part of it- if your players have custom minis they will probably make appearance- and you might have to get used to other players moving things on the board! Scheduling might be more difficult, considering that commute can take a bit. Oh, and why didn’t I put this first- snacks. Essential. :)
Seriously though, I can only imagine things being better. No Internet troubles, no video chat stamina issues, and easier conversation rhythm!
I'm super excited to use things like battlemaps and minis! The immersion of the visuals has so much potential. I'm gonna get spell cards and make cards for all the magical items I give my players so that there's always something tangible.
I find (could just be me) there’s less cross-talk online. In person, it’s really easy for the people not taking their turn to have a side conversation and then not be sure what’s going on when their turn comes up. It’s the kind of thing that’s annoying from a game play point of view, but is good to help build group cohesion, and lets people become better friends, so it’s not necessarily all bad. So it’s something to be prepared for. Minis can get expensive very quickly. But painting them can get a little addictive. Spell cards and handouts are cool, but your players will lose them, well some of your players will.
If people are using their laptops for their character sheet (as opposed to paper) it can end up eating up a lot of table space. Between that and the snacks, there’s sometimes very little room left for the battle mat. And with those laptops in front of them, some people will just be on the internet while you’re playing, though that happens in online, too, I suppose.
Make sure you meet new players in person before their first session, and do it at a neutral location. It’s one thing to invite a stranger onto a zoom call, it’s entirely different to invite them into your house.
Snacks. Maps. A well lit entryway (if you play in the evening). Don't be afraid to stand up and move around the table/room (you and the players) to dramatize the action. A clean bathroom. If you have pets, ask if anyone has allergies.
I'm super excited to use things like battlemaps and minis! The immersion of the visuals has so much potential. I'm gonna get spell cards and make cards for all the magical items I give my players so that there's always something tangible.
My advice in regards to this is to wait a while before investing in minis, especially ones that will be one off. I very much prefer theatre of the mind but, if you want to use a battle map, then I have a 32 inch flatscreen TV I picked up cheap second hand. I lie it on it's back and present the map on it in the middle of the table. We then use coloured tokens to represent the different players and npcs, but I dont really worry too much about ranges or distance, no square counting for me, I would rather a player describe what they want to do and then use a bit of leeway to work out if they can pull it off, in the past I have used a VTT and had the players have laptops around the table, this can work well, I have also had a VTT and only me control moving things so we only have 1 laptop.
My other key advice in person, use music. Online music is a distraction that makes it harder to focus on whats going on mainly because it all comes from the same single point of origin (headphones/speakers), around a table I set up a playlist on my Iphone and then play that in the background, I have numerous playlists I have found/made depending on the situation.
Having a communal dice box to roll in is good for the players and, if like me, you believe in an open palm style. As DM I make ALL my rolls public, even ones that are for secret things like that monster stealthing, But I also make lots of random pointless dice rolls :). The only dice roll that is ever hidden is death saving throw, I have a dice tower that points behind my screen, that means a player can feed the dice into the tower, and then has no idea if they are alive or not.
Also be aware that the game will initially slow down, if you have been using online tools for dice rolling and working out things like the damage, or the result of a skill check then switching to manually remembering what to add will take time people (including you) will make mistakes. Same with spells, spell cards are a great idea and you can save yourself time by buying deks of spell cards online, this is especially good for the classes who can access all there spells daily. There is also a larger risk of overtalking, on video calls people stall and wait, but, around a table 2-3 people can talk at once more easily, so a little bit more table managment is needed.
Also you as a DM might slow down, my Online setup is 4 monitors (laptop and then 3 monitors plugged into it) this means I can have multiple browsers open, I can search rules at the touch of a button and find things really quickly.
My in person setup is my laptop and 1 monitor, these have my campaign notes and adventure on them and then all my books, this means that I spend a lot more time flicking through books to clarify things (I have markers on important sections in each book) so in person things slow down a little.
Food and soft drinks are pretty common at the table in person. If you are hosting the location as well as DMing, it is fair to ask the players if someone can bring snacks and beverages.
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BioWizard
I no longer post to the forums -- PM me if you need help or anything.
Another thing agree as a group the alcohol policy before the session, my current group are really good at sticking to a 2 can/bottle limit for every 3 hours of play before and during play. When we finish we usually have a couple of hours relaxing and drinking a bit more (those that are not driving at least). This means that everyone at the table is in the same headspace as everyone else and means the DM isnt reduced to herding cats more then they usually are in a session :).
I have had loads of fun in groups that have a bit more freedom in drinking rules and we have loads of fun, but the campaign by definition became more random and crazy and the sessions where more a beer and pretzel session as opposed to a deep involved campaign
Hey hivemind! I've been DMing for just over a year, but, thanks to the Rona, it's all been online. Now that things are better, I'm starting an in-person group. What are some tips you can all give me to be good in-person as compared to online? I'm sure it will be a different experience. What things may I need to prep that I may not consider, what can I do to make it better for my players, etc. Thanks.
Hmm. I too, have had mainly online campaigns. However, since other family members have played in them with me, many of them had both online and in person components. Miniatures are a big part of it- if your players have custom minis they will probably make appearance- and you might have to get used to other players moving things on the board! Scheduling might be more difficult, considering that commute can take a bit. Oh, and why didn’t I put this first- snacks. Essential. :)
Seriously though, I can only imagine things being better. No Internet troubles, no video chat stamina issues, and easier conversation rhythm!
Only spilt the party if you see something shiny.
Ariendela Sneakerson, Half-elf Rogue (8); Harmony Wolfsbane, Tiefling Bard (10); Agnomally, Gnomish Sorcerer (3); Breeze, Tabaxi Monk (8); Grace, Dragonborn Barbarian (7); DM, Homebrew- The Sequestered Lands/Underwater Explorers; Candlekeep
I'm super excited to use things like battlemaps and minis! The immersion of the visuals has so much potential. I'm gonna get spell cards and make cards for all the magical items I give my players so that there's always something tangible.
I find (could just be me) there’s less cross-talk online. In person, it’s really easy for the people not taking their turn to have a side conversation and then not be sure what’s going on when their turn comes up. It’s the kind of thing that’s annoying from a game play point of view, but is good to help build group cohesion, and lets people become better friends, so it’s not necessarily all bad. So it’s something to be prepared for.
Minis can get expensive very quickly. But painting them can get a little addictive.
Spell cards and handouts are cool, but your players will lose them, well some of your players will.
If people are using their laptops for their character sheet (as opposed to paper) it can end up eating up a lot of table space. Between that and the snacks, there’s sometimes very little room left for the battle mat.
And with those laptops in front of them, some people will just be on the internet while you’re playing, though that happens in online, too, I suppose.
Make sure you meet new players in person before their first session, and do it at a neutral location. It’s one thing to invite a stranger onto a zoom call, it’s entirely different to invite them into your house.
Snacks. Maps. A well lit entryway (if you play in the evening). Don't be afraid to stand up and move around the table/room (you and the players) to dramatize the action. A clean bathroom. If you have pets, ask if anyone has allergies.
Anzio Faro. Protector Aasimar light cleric. Lvl 18.
Viktor Gavriil. White dragonborn grave cleric. Lvl 20.
Ikram Sahir ibn-Malik al-Sayyid Ra'ad. Brass dragonborn draconic sorcerer Lvl 9. Fire elemental devil.
Tayn of Darkwood. Human Life Cleric. Lvl 10.
Music,
My advice in regards to this is to wait a while before investing in minis, especially ones that will be one off. I very much prefer theatre of the mind but, if you want to use a battle map, then I have a 32 inch flatscreen TV I picked up cheap second hand. I lie it on it's back and present the map on it in the middle of the table. We then use coloured tokens to represent the different players and npcs, but I dont really worry too much about ranges or distance, no square counting for me, I would rather a player describe what they want to do and then use a bit of leeway to work out if they can pull it off, in the past I have used a VTT and had the players have laptops around the table, this can work well, I have also had a VTT and only me control moving things so we only have 1 laptop.
My other key advice in person, use music. Online music is a distraction that makes it harder to focus on whats going on mainly because it all comes from the same single point of origin (headphones/speakers), around a table I set up a playlist on my Iphone and then play that in the background, I have numerous playlists I have found/made depending on the situation.
Having a communal dice box to roll in is good for the players and, if like me, you believe in an open palm style. As DM I make ALL my rolls public, even ones that are for secret things like that monster stealthing, But I also make lots of random pointless dice rolls :). The only dice roll that is ever hidden is death saving throw, I have a dice tower that points behind my screen, that means a player can feed the dice into the tower, and then has no idea if they are alive or not.
Also be aware that the game will initially slow down, if you have been using online tools for dice rolling and working out things like the damage, or the result of a skill check then switching to manually remembering what to add will take time people (including you) will make mistakes. Same with spells, spell cards are a great idea and you can save yourself time by buying deks of spell cards online, this is especially good for the classes who can access all there spells daily. There is also a larger risk of overtalking, on video calls people stall and wait, but, around a table 2-3 people can talk at once more easily, so a little bit more table managment is needed.
Also you as a DM might slow down, my Online setup is 4 monitors (laptop and then 3 monitors plugged into it) this means I can have multiple browsers open, I can search rules at the touch of a button and find things really quickly.
My in person setup is my laptop and 1 monitor, these have my campaign notes and adventure on them and then all my books, this means that I spend a lot more time flicking through books to clarify things (I have markers on important sections in each book) so in person things slow down a little.
Food and soft drinks are pretty common at the table in person. If you are hosting the location as well as DMing, it is fair to ask the players if someone can bring snacks and beverages.
BioWizard
I no longer post to the forums -- PM me if you need help or anything.
Another thing agree as a group the alcohol policy before the session, my current group are really good at sticking to a 2 can/bottle limit for every 3 hours of play before and during play. When we finish we usually have a couple of hours relaxing and drinking a bit more (those that are not driving at least). This means that everyone at the table is in the same headspace as everyone else and means the DM isnt reduced to herding cats more then they usually are in a session :).
I have had loads of fun in groups that have a bit more freedom in drinking rules and we have loads of fun, but the campaign by definition became more random and crazy and the sessions where more a beer and pretzel session as opposed to a deep involved campaign