Why you should try playing RPGs Online!
Channel: Lord Left
Date: 2020-01-13

I've noticed that some folks write off playing games on the internet. I don't know if they've been stung by bad experiences or just find playing in person to be such an awesome experience that losing that face-to-face interaction would negate all of the fun of playing for them. As someone who used to be this way, I wanted to make the case for reconsidering gaming online.

In my case, I was kind of forced to play online. My gaming group split apart; a core member was going to University 7+ hours away and there was no way he could participate in person with any kind of regularity. As someone who has mourned the sad carcass of many a gaming group killed in a similar way, I resolved to overcome my bias and convinced my players to try it.

There was some growing pains -- bad mics, echoing, etc -- but once we ironed those out we had an unbelievable amount of fun. I was playing with people I loved, and the energy that made our in-person sessions a blast carried over to our new medium of play. I suppose that some groups might not have that kind of dynamic, and maybe lose too much if they underwent a similar transition.

I also found that playing online conferred certain advantages that I couldn't get in person. Discord is an awesome tool. I can roll die in chat. There are bots that dispense information related to your favorite rpg. Need a spell look-up? Don't scan a pdf, just ping the appropriate bot. And as I discuss in my video, the discord chat took on an almost Planescape-like quality for my campaign; it persisted, as a kind of hub world, between all our sessions, allowing us to share memes and discuss strategies and so on.


I share some of the misgivings people have for Virtual Table Tops. I'm glad Roll20 exists, but I find the interface kind of ugly and neither enjoyable or intuitive. Still, it's free and I appreciate it being available. What excites me is stuff like Talespire. Virtual 3D terrain and miniatures? Sign me up.

The final point I want to make is that playing one can be an easier sell than playing in person. Your busy friend with 4 kids might not find the prospect of leaving home appealing, or even tenable, but if that same friend can put on a mic and stay in their PJs, they might just be on board.

What are your thoughts?