Best way to play D&D online...? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Best way to play D&D online...? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Pallin Rahl
05-22-07, 07:52 PM My close friends and I have played D&D forever now...
Sadly, it seems that I'll be moving out of state in a few months. However, we wish to continue gaming with one another (carry on with our campaigns, etc)... and figure there has to be some solid ways to do so online.

So I ask you...
What have you found to be the "best" way to play D&D online? i.e. carry on a campaign when you can't all be sitting in one room...
(preferably without spending a boat-load of cash in the process heh)

Any suggestions appreciated.
The_Levitator
05-22-07, 07:57 PM Maptools and Skype. Works great for our group when we can't get together in person. I also use DM Genie for managing the game and the 3 work beautifully together!

Maptools is free and can be found here: http://rptools.net/doku.php?id=home (RPTools)

Skype is also free and can be found here: http://www.skype.com/ (Skype)

DM Genie, while not free, was the single greatest addition I ever made to my gaming. It can be found here: http://www.dmgenie.com/ (DM Genie)
Tempest Stormwind
05-22-07, 08:09 PM OpenRPG + Ventrilo.

Free (Open Source) + Free (Personal Use license): it doesn't get much cheaper than that.

OpenRPG is essentially FantasyGrounds but better in most functional ways (although it isn't as pretty, it's also less obnoxious graphically). It includes a miniature map (maps themselves are typically images and can be made in a variety of ways for a variety of scales for square or hex grids), text chat (XML-based, so it can handle a lot of advanced formatting if you want; it includes an alias command so one person can seem as many, which is very useful for the DM), built-in dierollers for a variety of games with advanced commands (and these commands can be extended if you want; note that die rolling is far faster in ORPG than it is by hand since the totalling is done at computer-processor speed), and an XML-based gametree (this stores nodes for notes, macroes, miniatures, or whatever you want, really; you can think of a node as a character sheet and you're fine. Most good nodes include a variety of macroes: press one button and it does your rolling for you. The best character sheet nodes are autocalculating as well; I've written several that act this way.). The more recent version's even enabled music support, so you can set up BGMs or sound effects for your games without too much of a hassle. It's also open source, meaning plugins and nodes and extensions and whatever else you want is easy to grab ahold of or write yourself if you want.

One thing it does NOT do on its own is enable voice chat. Some groups (like mine) prefer the text chat as it can be easy to log (amidst other things). If you want an easy way to handle this, you'd need VOIP software, such as Ventrilo. Ventrilo does require someone to set up a server and abide by their license (the license is pretty standard material for personal use; just keep the party size small and don't charge for it), not to mention requiring a microphone for everyone involved, but it's still probably the best option I'm aware of. (I've heard of others, such as Skype, but haven't used it myself.)

If you decide to work with this, let me know; I can help get it set up and provide some decent starting resources.

EDIT: OpenRPG's map can handle essentially everything MapTools can as well, I might add -- Image maps, miniatures (tokens) that can be hidden/revealed (invisiblity, reinforcements, shapechanging, whatever), elevated (the map isn't 3D but does have a Z-order; it can, however, be made isometric), locked and adjusted (facing and heading, for games that use those rules), fog of war, whiteboard (three different types thereof), and save/load capability for the maps.
And that's BEFORE we get into plugins.

MapTools looks prettier (and admittedly handles some things better, especially fog), but OpenRPG gets pretty damn close and comes with the gametree's incredibly helpful nodes and a more advanced dieroller.

EDIT2:

This (http://openrpg.digitalxero.net/wiki/index.php?page=Online+RPG+Tool+Compariso ns) is a comparison of essentially every online gaming tool available. Find one that works for you.
heardfamily
05-22-07, 08:23 PM I'm about to start a Play By Post (PBP) Eberron game (hopefully, if I get chosen) on Myth-Weavers (google it). If you don't mind the slower nature of PBP, I don't think you can do better. Myth-Weavers have heaps of features, and a really professional setup. Plus, with PBP, you can always be in multiple games at the same time if you want!
pmurray@bigpond.com
05-22-07, 11:33 PM OpenRPG just doesn't work properly on the Mac, and it's a pain in the proverbial to install. jOpenRpg is going nowhere, last time I looked at it.
The Equalizer
05-23-07, 12:11 AM I've never DMed an online game. If you can't find a good site to Role-Play on, try this one:

www.rpol.net

It's pretty good.
Tempest Stormwind
05-23-07, 01:12 AM OpenRPG just doesn't work properly on the Mac, and it's a pain in the proverbial to install. jOpenRpg is going nowhere, last time I looked at it.

One of our players is on a mac. You change ONE icon (html.gif) from a 17x17 image to a 16x16 and it works FINE in all regards (apparently; he can't use fog properly but the developers insist it does work on the mac, which implies that something else is wrong on his computer... and let's face it, he's a mac user - the mac wouldn't tell him what's wrong if its very life depended on it!*).

It involves three install programs, none of which require more than a directory selection, and all of which are finished in mere minutes. I'd hardly call that a pain in the ass to install.

*Pre-emptive against RT: Come on, man, I'm NEVER going to let that go. :)
sigma999
05-23-07, 01:19 AM and let's face it, he's a mac user - the mac wouldn't tell him what's wrong if its very life depended on it!*).

*Pre-emptive against RT: Come on, man, I'm NEVER going to let that go. :)

True that... I suffered MACs through 3 years of my digital design degree only to find that most companies use the same computers, if you can call them that without snickering.
Why, one might ask?
Because the design software, although identical to PC format, has been around on MACs longer. Companies won't switch to PCs cuz of cost.
Shrewdness, pure and simple.
G4s.. *vomit*

I call them "crashboxes", resetting without warning at least 3 times every class session.
Tempest Stormwind
05-23-07, 01:32 AM http://www.pvponline.com/images/2685.gif

But yeah, no problems on OpenRPG at all if you make that one icon change -- which is only needed because the way OSX handles Python is completely stupid and inflexible.
Aeolius
05-23-07, 11:20 AM OpenRPG just doesn't work properly on the Mac, and it's a pain in the proverbial to install. jOpenRpg is going nowhere, last time I looked at it.

Have you taken a look at klooge.werks (http://www.kloogeinc.com/) , yet?
Pallin Rahl
05-23-07, 01:59 PM Will definitely look into those programs mentioned... :)

(and a little additional :bump: for any further suggestions heh)
Pallin Rahl
05-24-07, 01:32 PM Have any of you tried Fantasy Grounds II yet? ...looks pretty nice, but they haven't updated the demo to be "II" yet... (it's still the demo of FGI).
DoomDuck
05-24-07, 09:11 PM I've got FG2 - I'm really pleased with it. I tried OpenRPG first and, frankly, it does a good job for being free but in my opinion it's not very user friendly and has its fair share of bugs. I was teaching new people to play, and the layout and such didn't seem at all enticing (i.e. pretty) and the map had a lot of issues with Fog of War and such.

FGII has a few very minor bugs, but the way it presents everything makes it interesting and easy to manipulate. If you can code, too, then more things open up as it has some sort of built-in scripting language or somesuch (I can only code html and the simplest of C++). Anyways, I'm having a blast with it.

~DD

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Pallin Rahl 05-22-07, 07:52 PM	My close friends and I have played D&D forever now... Sadly, it seems that I'll be moving out of state in a few months. However, we wish to continue gaming with one another (carry on with our campaigns, etc)... and figure there has to be some solid ways to do so online. So I ask you... What have you found to be the "best" way to play D&D online? i.e. carry on a campaign when you can't all be sitting in one room... (preferably without spending a boat-load of cash in the process heh) Any suggestions appreciated.
The_Levitator 05-22-07, 07:57 PM	Maptools and Skype. Works great for our group when we can't get together in person. I also use DM Genie for managing the game and the 3 work beautifully together! Maptools is free and can be found here: http://rptools.net/doku.php?id=home (RPTools) Skype is also free and can be found here: http://www.skype.com/ (Skype) DM Genie, while not free, was the single greatest addition I ever made to my gaming. It can be found here: http://www.dmgenie.com/ (DM Genie)
Tempest Stormwind 05-22-07, 08:09 PM	OpenRPG + Ventrilo. Free (Open Source) + Free (Personal Use license): it doesn't get much cheaper than that. OpenRPG is essentially FantasyGrounds but better in most functional ways (although it isn't as pretty, it's also less obnoxious graphically). It includes a miniature map (maps themselves are typically images and can be made in a variety of ways for a variety of scales for square or hex grids), text chat (XML-based, so it can handle a lot of advanced formatting if you want; it includes an alias command so one person can seem as many, which is very useful for the DM), built-in dierollers for a variety of games with advanced commands (and these commands can be extended if you want; note that die rolling is far faster in ORPG than it is by hand since the totalling is done at computer-processor speed), and an XML-based gametree (this stores nodes for notes, macroes, miniatures, or whatever you want, really; you can think of a node as a character sheet and you're fine. Most good nodes include a variety of macroes: press one button and it does your rolling for you. The best character sheet nodes are autocalculating as well; I've written several that act this way.). The more recent version's even enabled music support, so you can set up BGMs or sound effects for your games without too much of a hassle. It's also open source, meaning plugins and nodes and extensions and whatever else you want is easy to grab ahold of or write yourself if you want. One thing it does NOT do on its own is enable voice chat. Some groups (like mine) prefer the text chat as it can be easy to log (amidst other things). If you want an easy way to handle this, you'd need VOIP software, such as Ventrilo. Ventrilo does require someone to set up a server and abide by their license (the license is pretty standard material for personal use; just keep the party size small and don't charge for it), not to mention requiring a microphone for everyone involved, but it's still probably the best option I'm aware of. (I've heard of others, such as Skype, but haven't used it myself.) If you decide to work with this, let me know; I can help get it set up and provide some decent starting resources. EDIT: OpenRPG's map can handle essentially everything MapTools can as well, I might add -- Image maps, miniatures (tokens) that can be hidden/revealed (invisiblity, reinforcements, shapechanging, whatever), elevated (the map isn't 3D but does have a Z-order; it can, however, be made isometric), locked and adjusted (facing and heading, for games that use those rules), fog of war, whiteboard (three different types thereof), and save/load capability for the maps. And that's BEFORE we get into plugins. MapTools looks prettier (and admittedly handles some things better, especially fog), but OpenRPG gets pretty damn close and comes with the gametree's incredibly helpful nodes and a more advanced dieroller. EDIT2: This (http://openrpg.digitalxero.net/wiki/index.php?page=Online+RPG+Tool+Compariso ns) is a comparison of essentially every online gaming tool available. Find one that works for you.
heardfamily 05-22-07, 08:23 PM	I'm about to start a Play By Post (PBP) Eberron game (hopefully, if I get chosen) on Myth-Weavers (google it). If you don't mind the slower nature of PBP, I don't think you can do better. Myth-Weavers have heaps of features, and a really professional setup. Plus, with PBP, you can always be in multiple games at the same time if you want!
pmurray@bigpond.com 05-22-07, 11:33 PM	OpenRPG just doesn't work properly on the Mac, and it's a pain in the proverbial to install. jOpenRpg is going nowhere, last time I looked at it.
The Equalizer 05-23-07, 12:11 AM	I've never DMed an online game. If you can't find a good site to Role-Play on, try this one: www.rpol.net It's pretty good.
Tempest Stormwind 05-23-07, 01:12 AM	OpenRPG just doesn't work properly on the Mac, and it's a pain in the proverbial to install. jOpenRpg is going nowhere, last time I looked at it. One of our players is on a mac. You change ONE icon (html.gif) from a 17x17 image to a 16x16 and it works FINE in all regards (apparently; he can't use fog properly but the developers insist it does work on the mac, which implies that something else is wrong on his computer... and let's face it, he's a mac user - the mac wouldn't tell him what's wrong if its very life depended on it!). It involves three install programs, none of which require more than a directory selection, and all of which are finished in mere minutes. I'd hardly call that a pain in the ass to install. Pre-emptive against RT: Come on, man, I'm NEVER going to let that go. :)
sigma999 05-23-07, 01:19 AM	and let's face it, he's a mac user - the mac wouldn't tell him what's wrong if its very life depended on it!). Pre-emptive against RT: Come on, man, I'm NEVER going to let that go. :) True that... I suffered MACs through 3 years of my digital design degree only to find that most companies use the same computers, if you can call them that without snickering. Why, one might ask? Because the design software, although identical to PC format, has been around on MACs longer. Companies won't switch to PCs cuz of cost. Shrewdness, pure and simple. G4s.. vomit I call them "crashboxes", resetting without warning at least 3 times every class session.
Tempest Stormwind 05-23-07, 01:32 AM	http://www.pvponline.com/images/2685.gif But yeah, no problems on OpenRPG at all if you make that one icon change -- which is only needed because the way OSX handles Python is completely stupid and inflexible.
Aeolius 05-23-07, 11:20 AM	OpenRPG just doesn't work properly on the Mac, and it's a pain in the proverbial to install. jOpenRpg is going nowhere, last time I looked at it. Have you taken a look at klooge.werks (http://www.kloogeinc.com/) , yet?
Pallin Rahl 05-23-07, 01:59 PM	Will definitely look into those programs mentioned... :) (and a little additional :bump: for any further suggestions heh)
Pallin Rahl 05-24-07, 01:32 PM	Have any of you tried Fantasy Grounds II yet? ...looks pretty nice, but they haven't updated the demo to be "II" yet... (it's still the demo of FGI).
DoomDuck 05-24-07, 09:11 PM	I've got FG2 - I'm really pleased with it. I tried OpenRPG first and, frankly, it does a good job for being free but in my opinion it's not very user friendly and has its fair share of bugs. I was teaching new people to play, and the layout and such didn't seem at all enticing (i.e. pretty) and the map had a lot of issues with Fog of War and such. FGII has a few very minor bugs, but the way it presents everything makes it interesting and easy to manipulate. If you can code, too, then more things open up as it has some sort of built-in scripting language or somesuch (I can only code html and the simplest of C++). Anyways, I'm having a blast with it. ~DD