Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Swoonk 03-10-07, 08:35 PM	Are there any prefered programs for playing D&D online?
Seeker95 03-10-07, 09:32 PM	Depending on what you mean by "play online". ddo.com is the official online D&D MMO game. I play in a play-by-post game on rpol.net I know folks that have played via IM.
mearrin69 03-10-07, 09:41 PM	I have never actually tried any but know of a couple. Screen Monkey is one. Only the DM needs to buy it (I think). Fantasy Grounds looks promising (I just downloaded the demo but barely got into it) but you have to buy multiple licenses (there is a discount though). There's also at least one free app out there. Don't remember the name...OpenRPG maybe? M
Tempest Stormwind 03-10-07, 09:56 PM	If you're looking for D&D over the internet, your best options are as follows, in no particular order. 1) Play By Post. There's several on this forum, but I hear great things about RPOL and other sites as well. Not my personal cup of tea since it's extremely slow and hard to do conversations, but it lends itself quite well to both description and archival purposes. Forum commands allow for graphics to be posted (for things like maps, character portraits, or the like) and links to be easily established. 2) Play By E-Mail. These usually take a LOT longer than PBP and aren't as commonly set-up or easy to find. Think chess by mail here. On the upside over PBP, it requires no technical skill to set up -- just an e-mail client. 3) Instant Messaging. Fastest of the three, least engaging since it's designed, in general, for chatting rather than playing. It also generally lacks any of the advanced abilities the others have. 4) A tabletop simulator program. Personally, this is the best in my opinion, since they're built to do exactly what you're looking for. They integrate a chat program with a dieroller (something the other three don't by default), whisper systems, logging (usually), and typically some form of mapping system. Many also have character logging devices, such as internal nodes that keep track of your character data or your adventure files. The best tabletop simulators depend on your price bracket. Fantasygrounds is a common one that I've heard good things about... but I prefer the free, open-source OpenRPG, which (as near as I can tell) does everything Fantasygrounds does but without a price tag. I game in two weekly games over OpenRPG and we haven't looked back.
heruca 03-11-07, 02:58 PM	There are tons of posts about this in the Digital D&D forum. Battlegrounds (see my sig) can be used online or offline. And all the program mentioned here can be used online: http://www.iconvention.org/vgtcomp.php That's the short list. For a full list of all 33 virtual tabletop apps, go here: http://www.battlegroundsgames.com/links.html#anchor6 You should definitely check out iCon (http://www.iconvention.org), a free online gaming convention that will be held March 24-25. There you'll get the chance to test out many of these programs in actual games, ask questions of the developers, etc. Just for showing up you'll get access to around 35 free virtual miniatures that you can use in your games.