So, I have a dilemma that's currently affecting my D&D game. One of my players cannot be present for a session every week as he moves around a lot. This affects our schedule as we can now only play every other week instead of every week, slowing down the players' progress throughout the game. I'm thinking of setting up something over skype or facetime so that he can play without physically being here.
Any advice on setting this up? I've seen this done on D&D shows such as Critical Role but I'm not sure how this will work in a home game.
In the group I play with, when we have players who are absent or can only attend every so often we usually have whoever's DMing run their character as an NPC during that time. They'll get XP and loot the party gives them, but they won't take as much an active part in roleplay scenarios as a player character would.
If you want to do something over skype or discord, I would make sure you have a decent webcam and microphone capable of picking up everyone at the table. You may also want to make rolls for the player to ensure they're accurate, unless you trust that player not to cheat. It would work, but it'd be extra logistics on you to get that all set up.
My entire group of best friends plays weekly over Discord video chat. Some use their phones at times, most use their laptops. It's most helpful for everyone playing to use a headset of some sort, so their isn't any weird feedback and vocals come through more clear. A somewhat common problem with this option is technical difficulties, i.e. internet dropping, discord errors, etc, but playing is the important thing for us.
We use "Theater of Mind" play style, so I just make sure I, as the DM, am explaining situations and scenarios clearly enough so they can understand what the field is like in their heads to be able to effectively play their characters.
If you're playing using a tabletop, and everyone else in the group is present, I would definitely invest in a movable webcam, along with a desk/table microphone that way the player has better viewing angles of the game field and the microphone picks up on all the attendants better than a regular laptop mic.
As for what app to use, Skype, Google Hangouts, Facetime, Discord, etc, just tinker around with each and read reviews of their video chat services to see which works best for your needs.
I have a group of friends that is separated into two pieces (me and my sister, and my old Dungeon Master and our friend), but we all like playing together, so we play over Discord when we can. When you play on Discord, instead of Skype, you can add a dice rolling bot (usually using the !d20 command typed into the chat to roll 1d20) to make sure nobody lies about their rolls at home if they're using dice physically. Anyway, the setup isn't too hard, just make sure that you can hear him on the computer, and you can roll his dice for him if you think he might not tell the complete truth about the results. If you have a map that everybody else can see, send him a picture.
Another thing to keep in mind if you have most of the party around a table and one person one a tablet or PC is the dice on the table. By this I mean, in our group we had most of the players just rolling on our table, and while those at the table could hear over it, the mic in the center of the table would cut out when the dice would hit the able and the player on the other end of the connection would miss anything said while the roll happened. Investing in a few dice trays took care of that issue. Just a heads up.
I also use Discord. Its great because you can set it up with different channels and whatnot. You can post images and even send them to individual players if they happen to find or come across something they might not want to share with the group creating some tension. The advantage of dice roller bots is another great feature. You can also post audio for ambient music. Being able to use different devices is also great. I will say that I have never used Skype so I have no clue what it can do.
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So, I have a dilemma that's currently affecting my D&D game. One of my players cannot be present for a session every week as he moves around a lot. This affects our schedule as we can now only play every other week instead of every week, slowing down the players' progress throughout the game. I'm thinking of setting up something over skype or facetime so that he can play without physically being here.
Any advice on setting this up? I've seen this done on D&D shows such as Critical Role but I'm not sure how this will work in a home game.
Thanks all!
In the group I play with, when we have players who are absent or can only attend every so often we usually have whoever's DMing run their character as an NPC during that time. They'll get XP and loot the party gives them, but they won't take as much an active part in roleplay scenarios as a player character would.
If you want to do something over skype or discord, I would make sure you have a decent webcam and microphone capable of picking up everyone at the table. You may also want to make rolls for the player to ensure they're accurate, unless you trust that player not to cheat. It would work, but it'd be extra logistics on you to get that all set up.
A friend of mine plays in a group where one member regularly participates via Skype. There's some differences vs in-person, obviously, but it works.
My entire group of best friends plays weekly over Discord video chat. Some use their phones at times, most use their laptops. It's most helpful for everyone playing to use a headset of some sort, so their isn't any weird feedback and vocals come through more clear. A somewhat common problem with this option is technical difficulties, i.e. internet dropping, discord errors, etc, but playing is the important thing for us.
We use "Theater of Mind" play style, so I just make sure I, as the DM, am explaining situations and scenarios clearly enough so they can understand what the field is like in their heads to be able to effectively play their characters.
If you're playing using a tabletop, and everyone else in the group is present, I would definitely invest in a movable webcam, along with a desk/table microphone that way the player has better viewing angles of the game field and the microphone picks up on all the attendants better than a regular laptop mic.
As for what app to use, Skype, Google Hangouts, Facetime, Discord, etc, just tinker around with each and read reviews of their video chat services to see which works best for your needs.
I have a group of friends that is separated into two pieces (me and my sister, and my old Dungeon Master and our friend), but we all like playing together, so we play over Discord when we can. When you play on Discord, instead of Skype, you can add a dice rolling bot (usually using the !d20 command typed into the chat to roll 1d20) to make sure nobody lies about their rolls at home if they're using dice physically. Anyway, the setup isn't too hard, just make sure that you can hear him on the computer, and you can roll his dice for him if you think he might not tell the complete truth about the results. If you have a map that everybody else can see, send him a picture.
All great advice above.
Another thing to keep in mind if you have most of the party around a table and one person one a tablet or PC is the dice on the table. By this I mean, in our group we had most of the players just rolling on our table, and while those at the table could hear over it, the mic in the center of the table would cut out when the dice would hit the able and the player on the other end of the connection would miss anything said while the roll happened. Investing in a few dice trays took care of that issue. Just a heads up.
I also use Discord. Its great because you can set it up with different channels and whatnot. You can post images and even send them to individual players if they happen to find or come across something they might not want to share with the group creating some tension. The advantage of dice roller bots is another great feature. You can also post audio for ambient music. Being able to use different devices is also great. I will say that I have never used Skype so I have no clue what it can do.