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Playing the RPG with Social Distance

2 posts · 235 views · started 2020-03-19 23:27 UTC
MI
mistergone
2020-03-19 23:27 UTC
#1

My group decided to stay home this week (we live in a city with several cases, and have two members with suppressed/compromised immune systems), so I came up with some quick solutions, and they worked out well!

First, Discord! We used this to do voice chat. I had planned to use GMNitron, but Discord had issues that night, and GMNitron was down. So I had to come up with some alternate solutions to that in a hurry!

Second, Screenshare! When you're in a voice chat in Discord, you can stream! There's a Go Live button in the lower left (on the desktop app), which allows you to share your desktop, or just windows from your desktop. I went with a single Chrome window (so that I could have my GM notes in another Chrome window that no one could see.)

Third, Google Docs Drawings! As a scratchpad, Google Docs Drawings worked great:

I made some text boxes to track hit points, who acted, bonuses/penalties, a quick reference to the roll chart, and even a scenario tracker (using the built-in symbol drawing). I also pasted in an image of the villain, and I wrote out the Challenge.

By sharing this screen, it really kept everyone on the same page. I also kept http://a.teall.info/dice/ in another tab, and I rolled for everyone in there (which was not ideal, but it was better than people rolling in their own homes, in that it kept everybody engaged in the anxiety of die-rolling).

So, if you find yourself in a similar situation, these are some easy-to-use (and free) tools that can definitely get you through a game. My players had a good time, although it was a new experience for all of us. I think it will get better week-by-week, and it'll mean we don't have a big gap before we get to play together again.

Thanks for reading!

DR
drkrash1969
2020-03-21 13:41 UTC
#2

Thanks! If this goes for another 6-8 weeks (seems likely), I will need these tips!