Well met everyone! Ill start by saying this is my first time posting on these forums, though I have been lurking for quite sometime. So, nice finally talking to you all! With that being said, im looking for some advice regarding online gaming.
I currently play in a Pathfinder game online, using Vent for voice chat and a program called D20Pro for a VTT, complete with built in dice rollers, grids, and all sorts of useful things. I have toyed with Roll20, but to be honest, I just cannot seem to figure it out. I am wanting to start a DnD 5th Edition game online, preferably twice a month, but im looking to use the online format to its fullest. So, let me ask you...
What do you prefer or not prefer about online gaming?
Do you have any suggestions for doing a text based chat game, instead of using Voice Chat? I am considering it, as I have a family and it would be easier to do chat only to avoid screaming children or other such things bleeding through the mic.
Have you used D20Pro for 5th Edition? If not, can you give me a beginners summary to Roll20, in laymans terms? Again I feel like it would be a great program, but I just cannot get the hang of it for some reason.
I have heard of people using Obsidian Portal or other such things to organize a campaign, having a place for players to post, and other such things. Can anyone shed some insight on this? I would like to utilize such a tool, but have never done so before and most of my experience with gaming is face to face, with the exception of play by post and the one online game i am playing in.
Im looking to start the game in a few weeks, once I settle on a program and get settled in, and as such will be posting campaign ideas in the upcoming weeks to get some feedback. I really appreciate any advice or opinions given, as I see alot of great info and ideas shared on these forums. I may not agree with all the ideas of some posters, but I respect all the information I have seen shared. Thanks in advance!
One last quick note, is it acceptable to attempt to recruit from this forum, or should I try elsewhere? Thanks!
TLDR: Please offer any opinions or strong feelings you have about online gaming, and give me your tips and advice to make it work well! And how do I understand Roll20?!
Hi
I used to run campaigns online years ago, we just used chat rooms and a dicebot.
Unfortunately I don't have any knowledge/experience with Roll20 or other new formats.
What I loved most about chat based play was how it pushed the players into roleplaying their characters, Conversations bewteen players would be held entirely in character because it was just easier. Which really added to the immersion, also players wouldn't bother to talk OOC as it involved typing it up, which again stopped distractions and helped everyone focus on the game.
The negative to this would have to be how slow things can get, trying to type up responses to 3 players questions, while looking up a rule and trying to get to the next thread of the adventure could sometimes really bog down and then you get players drifting away (not responding) etc...
I guess the trick is to have a lot of text tryped up ready to cut and paste in as needed.
Anyway, that's the main thing I remember from the experience, good luck with it though, and let us know how it goes.
Well met everyone! Ill start by saying this is my first time posting on these forums, though I have been lurking for quite sometime. So, nice finally talking to you all! With that being said, im looking for some advice regarding online gaming.
Welcome to the community!
I currently play in a Pathfinder game online, using Vent for voice chat and a program called D20Pro for a VTT, complete with built in dice rollers, grids, and all sorts of useful things. I have toyed with Roll20, but to be honest, I just cannot seem to figure it out. I am wanting to start a DnD 5th Edition game online, preferably twice a month, but im looking to use the online format to its fullest. So, let me ask you...
What do you prefer or not prefer about online gaming?
You save on travel time so you can fit a game into a busy schedule, also with macro's you don't have the issues with people that "don't math well" 
I have had particular issues with people with a prefered particular Virtual table will be passive aggressive and complain and pretend like outright difficult to undermine using a different virtual table. That is more a recruitment issue though.
Do you have any suggestions for doing a text based chat game, instead of using Voice Chat? I am considering it, as I have a family and it would be easier to do chat only to avoid screaming children or other such things bleeding through the mic.
Do you mean PBP or just have a session without voice? I have had success with it, but it comes down to ALL the players being okay with it. It has always worked out terribly when I've tried to do a mixed group with half chat half voice.
Have you used D20Pro for 5th Edition? If not, can you give me a beginners summary to Roll20, in laymans terms? Again I feel like it would be a great program, but I just cannot get the hang of it for some reason.
Roll20 and virtual tables in general are simulating a tabletop. This means that anything that you should be able to do sitting at a table you can do in a virtual table. Because many people play differently there are very many features that fit many different styles of play, but it should at the least have the tools that any individual game group might typically have at their game table.
I have heard of people using Obsidian Portal or other such things to organize a campaign, having a place for players to post, and other such things. Can anyone shed some insight on this? I would like to utilize such a tool, but have never done so before and most of my experience with gaming is face to face, with the exception of play by post and the one online game i am playing in.
I would suggest against using Obsidian Portal unless sharing your campaign with people outside of your game group is important (which is for some people.) I would suggest using OneNote for organizing your campaign and most people are familar with Microsoft products it is easier for people to learn it. Evernote is also a great product for organizing things.
Im looking to start the game in a few weeks, once I settle on a program and get settled in, and as such will be posting campaign ideas in the upcoming weeks to get some feedback. I really appreciate any advice or opinions given, as I see alot of great info and ideas shared on these forums. I may not agree with all the ideas of some posters, but I respect all the information I have seen shared. Thanks in advance!
If your using roll20 remeber that the features are inclusive of different ways people play. Don't try to use everything, use only the things that you find useful. I can't emphasize enough that the table can be used for more then just battle maps; For example, I don't always use the table for battle maps, but I do make a collate of the party and use the lighting feature to back light their portraits for dramatic effect. (I also turn the light out when a PC isn't there and turn the light red when a character dies.
One last quick note, is it acceptable to attempt to recruit from this forum, or should I try elsewhere? Thanks!
Yes it is fine, but there are some other forums on the community site for recruiting I think.
TLDR: Please offer any opinions or strong feelings you have about online gaming, and give me your tips and advice to make it work well! And how do I understand Roll20?!
The best advice I can offer is to start small and don't try to do everything your first go. You will start to understand why some of the features that seem immediately useful are there. (Conversely, you will see which features that you want to not bother with.)