I'd like to hear some uses for laptops that players have come up with. Thoughts or practical examples anyone?
I'm not a 4E fan (kind of got bored of it), but i see a lot 4e fans bringing laptops to the table & i personally think it weakens the players understanding of the rules. If you want to learn how to play you read the book, when a question comes up you read the correct section, get an answer & generally come out of it with more knowledge then when you started. If you just use the compendium and get the official answer you may miss a whole heap of stuff you didn't know. Its kind of like writing a book report on a book you didn't read, by adapting a whole heap of amazon.com reviews of the book. You'll still get the answer, but you won't have taken in any of the understanding that goes with the answer.
-M
I'm not a 4E fan (kind of got bored of it), but i see a lot 4e fans bringing laptops to the table & i personally think it weakens the players understanding of the rules.
Because no one ever brought a laptop to other edition games... < rolleyes >
I'm not a 4E fan (kind of got bored of it), but i see a lot 4e fans bringing laptops to the table & i personally think it weakens the players understanding of the rules. If you want to learn how to play you read the book, when a question comes up you read the correct section, get an answer & generally come out of it with more knowledge then when you started. If you just use the compendium and get the official answer you may miss a whole heap of stuff you didn't know. Its kind of like writing a book report on a book you didn't read, by adapting a whole heap of amazon.com reviews of the book. You'll still get the answer, but you won't have taken in any of the understanding that goes with the answer.
-M
I don't know what kind of players you've played with, but if a rules dispute comes up in our group, I pull it up on the compendium, problem solved. I don't instantly forget what I just read. Everything you need to know is right there in the compendium, just like you'd get digging through books.
It does make my DMing a lot better, between ease of finding rules in the Compendium, the combat manager I use, quick notes etc. Its just makes the whole process easier.
I tend to use Notepad a lot as well; it's useful for keeping track of your players' and monsters' HP, as well as any effects and statuses, especially if you have to stop gaming halfway through an encounter. Just save the document and you can refer to it when you resume play. (Oh, as a side note, a camera or any image-capturing device can be used to take a snapshot of the battle grid and the positions of every character involved in battle.) It's also good for taking down any notes for future reference (duh, it's Notepad).
Having a laptop also allows you to play an appropriate piece of music to add on to the mood and atmosphere, or show your players a picture of an important NPC, such as a villian, that's very difficult to describe using words.
If you want to learn how to play you read the book, when a question comes up you read the correct section, get an answer & generally come out of it with more knowledge then when you started. If you just use the compendium and get the official answer you may miss a whole heap of stuff you didn't know. Its kind of like writing a book report on a book you didn't read, by adapting a whole heap of amazon.com reviews of the book. You'll still get the answer, but you won't have taken in any of the understanding that goes with the answer.
Agreed, for the most part. Especially since most of the questions I get asked (and see asked) are sections that aren't covered very well in the glossary due to the piecemeal nature, such as the entire Combat chapter of the PHB. And other things don't get referenced at all. For example try looking up "attack roll" or "line of effect". You should get the at least the attack roll steps for the first, and something for the second instead of nothing.
However, you do have the advantage that the glossary can parse many different pieces of information together, even if it doesn't give you the entire story for each. For example, if you look up cover, you get both the PHB and DMG boxes for it, even if you don't get the LoE aspects of it.
I banned all laptop, iphones, etc. from my table as a preemptive measure. I have seen too many other gamers at the local shop watching youtube, actually watching a movie, cruizin da net, and so on while supposedly playing D&D.
Yep. That's why I generally don't allow laptops if I'm running a game. I get annoyed when I see a player setting one up for an LFR game too. Having one sitting off to the side (not in front of a player) for the DM or Player to occassionally look up a rule in the compendium when it can't be located in a book quickly isn't a terrible idea, but there is no reason for a player to have one distracting them from actually playing the game.
I've been bringing my laptop since midway through 3.5 (coincidentally around the same time I bought a laptop).
In 3.X I used it as a DM, because I played pretty infrequently. To DM it was super handy to have a map up on the screen, notepad docs with monster hit points, and the like floating on it.
With 4e, I use it as both a player and DM. To DM I can use it to pull up "suspect" cheaters character sheets during the session, and make sure it is all legal. (Or at least keep the impossible to double check bluff going). I can do the maps, and notepad docs like in 3.X. Additionally, I can use the encounter builder to have monster stats on screen, cutting down on page flipping in my monster manual. Additionally I made a wiki for my group with the setting information in it. I can pull that up mid session.
As a player for 4e, I use it to print my character sheet, and I use it to type up a journal for my player each session. I still use my books, dice, and my character sheet primarily. If I don't have the book on me the compendium can be an alright substitute.
A DM that has a flat out "NO LAPTOPS" rule is basically one strike against them for keeping me as a player. Serves as a warning sign that the DM will be too controlling for my tastes. Even if I don't plan to use my laptop, if they are upset by the idea of someone having a laptop at the game, I know our play styles are probably not compatible. Again though, 1 strike. I give 3~.
I banned all laptop, iphones, etc. from my table as a preemptive measure. I have seen too many other gamers at the local shop watching youtube, actually watching a movie, cruizin da net, and so on while supposedly playing D&D.
When one of my players gets distracted by anything else I whip out a ridiculously small toy pistol I got from a gachapon and 'threaten' to shoot him (it fires little orange balls and has quite a good range for its size). I actually pull the trigger occasionally, to show that I'm serious about my 'threat' and tell my players to pay attention to what's going on.
But on a more serious note, I learn to take cues from my players by observing their behaviour. If their attention starts to wander, I'll try to grab their attention back by advancing the plot through combat encounters, or plot twists. I don't like to look as though I'm forcing people to pay attention to me, so I try more subtle methods.
Although I use a laptop due to its convenience, I realized that, since I started using my laptop and used it to take down notes during battle (HP, initiative, effects) my players start to get distracted because they aren't the ones keeping track of all the mundane stuff anymore. Haven't really found a way around this problem though.
This was partly my fault, because I got some ambient music to play while I was DMing to bring atmosphere to the game, but then everyone started complaining, wanting to play their music (genres that aren't ambient) and this resulted in a cacaphonous racquet, so the laptops became contraband.
I banned all laptop, iphones, etc. from my table as a preemptive measure. I have seen too many other gamers at the local shop watching youtube, actually watching a movie, cruizin da net, and so on while supposedly playing D&D.
Yep. That's why I generally don't allow laptops if I'm running a game. I get annoyed when I see a player setting one up for an LFR game too. Having one sitting off to the side (not in front of a player) for the DM or Player to occassionally look up a rule in the compendium when it can't be located in a book quickly isn't a terrible idea, but there is no reason for a player to have one distracting them from actually playing the game.
This is the only reason mine goes anywhere near the table. For my players, they are banned. Too many times they've been used as distracions, die shields, or whatever. In one case, I had a player blogging about my DM'ing and the adventure itself during the game.
Then claims he wrote it for me.
Banned both the second I caught him. Yes, I'm an unholy b****. Sue me.
-Sarena
DM laptop is used for most of the same stuff that others have mentioned, plus a bunch of spreadsheets that I've thrown together. DM Battle Screen (or maybe VCC if you prefer) is a must for DM laptops. Also one of our players organized a bunch of music from various sources (mostly PC RPGs soundtracks) into various themes to play as background music where appropriate.
Player laptop uses Excel too, especially for things like 'accounting' for loot and treasure. CB is used to keep character character sheets from becoming out of date, though everyone does have a printed sheet and power cards at the table. Also used as a reference whenever any of the less rules-savvy players at the table have questions about how one of their powers should work, etc.
Also, I use RPtools DiceTool with a lot of pre-programmed dice rolls as well. Many people don't like using virtual dice, and many DMs don't like their players doing so. To each their own, do what works for you.
Using laptops to surf the web during a game is just not cool.
However, I prefer that the players not have their laptops at the table. They clutter the tabletop, they get in the way of seeing players' faces, and (as mentioned) they provide a lot of distractions. Several players generally have theirs with them, and I have no problem with pulling them out to look up a rule or take notes during the interrogation of an NPC or something, but generally they stay closed up and off the table.
I'm not a 4E fan (kind of got bored of it), but i see a lot 4e fans bringing laptops to the table & i personally think it weakens the players understanding of the rules.
Because no one ever brought a laptop to other edition games... < rolleyes >
Because they were too expensive or not availible.
They brought thier comedor 64's instead. Maybe thier abacus.
Something that I have been contemplating lately is using a laptop while playing. I've wrestled with the idea of using it for gaming sessions as a player, but I can't seem to come up with the right combination of benefits it would bring to allow me to ditch the paper character sheet and other mechanical ways of tracking game 'stuffs'.
I'd like to hear some uses for laptops that players have come up with. Thoughts or practical examples anyone?
I've seen it go both ways, useful and distracting. If you have the e-books (or pdfs) or the compendium it can faster to do a find, or a search than leafing through books to find rules or such. it can be good for hitpoints too, with not needing to erase constantly.
It can be distracting because some people tend to stare at their screen instead of the table.
I like paper better, but i've seen others use laptops with great effect. Try it for a session or two and see how you like it.
I DM/GM 4e and a Shadowrun game and we tried the laptop thing in both games... it seemed a perfect fit for SR after all... but after a few sessions I called it off. Players hide behind them, even good players get really distracted and players forced to take notes on paper will jot a little reminder and move on... my players have the urge to put Everything in when they are typing though...
I didn't want to have to ban smart-phones but I am getting to that point... One player is so distracting with theirs that it's at the point of becoming a table rule.
Also, as a player in 4E I've tried to use one at the table, but it gets in the way of me interacting with the rest of the table... I have to look over it at people, and I have to close it or set it aside to reach the battle mat (or stand up and loom) and so, just from a convenience point of view I've given it up.
Out of session though, I do ALL my planning and writing on it. I used to be all paper but now I'm all electric. So, out of session, heck yeah. In session though, we've found it to be a real hassle.
MI
I banned all laptop, iphones, etc. from my table as a preemptive measure. I have seen too many other gamers at the local shop watching youtube, actually watching a movie, cruizin da net, and so on while supposedly playing D&D.
Its even worse when its the DM who does that. I remember in the last campaign I played run by my friend the players would have to tell him to stop playing Nethack and start giving us some plot to work with.
Other than that though, i think laptops are a good idea for both players and DMs. its much easier to keep word documents and PDFs organized that piles of books and character sheets, plus online dice rollers save time that would be otherwise spent chasing a runaway d20 halfway down the hall
As a DM..I use it for campain notes...ease of looking up rules, keeping track of combat...keeping track of, well, about anything. It dosn't hurt I got ahold of the computerized books before the big cutoff. And even without that I have the compendium.
As a player? I have character builder open constantly. The journal option allows me to keep notes on the character, the char sheet on it has an easy place to put in current hp, surges used, temporary hp..as well as keep track of a few other personal info. The power sheet gives me a quick and easy reference to all the stock abilities of the character in question, keeps all info on the char in one place. If I felt like it I can easily get ahold of an auto die roller..though honestly i prefer to use dice. The big thing is I don't have several sheets of paper to keep track with in order to keep up to date with my charactes. The same goes with when I run of course.
Basically far too useful and I waste MUCH less paper.
For the most part, i've got everything pre-done before session on paper / index cards.
As a player, I use it to build my character or look up a new piece of armor or something found for the group, but for the most part it stays shut and I use my printed character sheet.
I've used iplay4e on an iphone and liked it. I see nothing wrong with using it as long as i know how to use it quickly.
While DMing, i try to keep the players engaged in the game so the need to be hiding behind a laptop just isn't there at my tables.
I still prefer to have my players roll dice so we can all cheer when the 20 drops; hiss and boil the d20 alive when a 1 falls.
It depends on the group. If electronics prove to be a distraction, ban them from the table. With a mature group of players who are interested in the game, though, that shouldn't be a problem.
Our 4e group started out using laptops occasionally for rules and the like. Three of us had laptops present most or all of the time, and just kept them closed or off to the side. We had one player who worked during the game sometimes, but we managed to put a stop to that.
When two of our players moved away, we started looking into digital tabletops. Turns out, they're downright fantastic. We use Maptool (rptools.net) and skype conference calls, and it works great. We have FAR higher quality maps than we used to on the old 1" gridded white board. We have our characters' vitals on display on mouseover, with token states like prone, dazed, marked, bloodied, etc. just a right click away.
And while it took a little while for everyone to get macros set up for their powers, combat is now WAY faster. Our group used to take 2+ hours for every single encounter, and some would take up an entire 4 hour session. We've cut that down to less than half.
We even use Maptool when only local players are playing, for the simple reason that it makes life so much easier. If you can hook up one of the laptops to a projector (which is what we use) or to an HDTV, you still have a great battle map and extremely fast-moving encounters.
We've actually found that people get far less distracted than in our pre-laptop era, for one simple reason: you don't have much time before your next turn comes up. It moves FAST. Plus, the system does a good job of keeping everyone honest, since your macros (the "dice rolls") are attached to your character's icon, so anyone can look at the modifiers you put on. For instance, anyone can select my avenger, right click on his Overwhelming Strike w/ PA button, and see that it's taking the higher of 2 d20 rolls and adding 18. They'll see that if the roll is 18-20, it applies max damage and rolls the 2d12 + 3d10; if it's 17 or lower, it simply does normal damage. And so on.
At a minimum, a laptop is a handy tool, as long as it doesn't become a distraction. It can be a really fantastic tool, though.
That being said. I think if you can get your group on the same page, laptops can be much more beneficial than people think. With the use of Maptools or whatever virtual gaming table you want to use, I think it enhances game play 10 fold. Mind you, this is just my opinion, and when I started playing D&D we didn't even have miniatures, and usually homemade character sheets.
This may just be a minor thing, but I have found it extremely useful for the immersion aspect of D&D too. Even if you use secret sticky notes, the other players/DM "know" you've passed information to another. Computers or cell phones can be truly covert way of passing these messages.
And honestly, if you have players that are looking at YouTube, or IMing non-gamers constantly, then one should probably look at the quality of their game they are running.
We even use Maptool when only local players are playing, for the simple reason that it makes life so much easier. If you can hook up one of the laptops to a projector (which is what we use) or to an HDTV, you still have a great battle map and extremely fast-moving encounters.
We've actually found that people get far less distracted than in our pre-laptop era, for one simple reason: you don't have much time before your next turn comes up. It moves FAST. Plus, the system does a good job of keeping everyone honest, since your macros (the "dice rolls") are attached to your character's icon, so anyone can look at the modifiers you put on. For instance, anyone can select my avenger, right click on his Overwhelming Strike w/ PA button, and see that it's taking the higher of 2 d20 rolls and adding 18. They'll see that if the roll is 18-20, it applies max damage and rolls the 2d12 + 3d10; if it's 17 or lower, it simply does normal damage. And so on.
That sounds like a good way to use a centralized laptop in a fashion that really helps game play. I've been meaning to check out Maptool, given the vaporware status of the WotC game table. You've just bumped it up on my priority list.
The rest of them use them for character sheets and quick Compendium reference.
In that regard I think they're damn useful. Having at least one laptop is great. However, it all depends on the player. Said player mentioned above is really grating on my nerves with his tendency to use the laptop, but I can still manage to engage him with a good plot point. He is the type to tune in and out, and I learn to get along with that.
The rest are fairly involved, and I have little desire to ban their laptop-usage. My main issue is that the laptops are not in laps. They're taking up table space. Table space I would LOVE to have for more books, map space, etc...not to mention the annoying issue of having to reach over them, and having player eyes often averted to the screens when they aren't actively doing something.
It's a lose-lose situation here. Do I sacrifice convenience and get my players pissed at me, or do I allow the laptops and lose table space and (arguably) a degree of engagement?
As for now, I'm keeping things as they are. I can't change much without ruining the status quo. I'm ironically enough the one person most in need of the organization of a laptop (as the DM), but I never use one myself, except to occasionally ask a player to check the Compendium. I never became dependent on a laptop because I never owned one.
I like the visceral feel of paper and pencil. I love owning books. As a player, I will always use a sheet. Even as a DM I crack open hardcovers and paperback modules. Something just feels *right* about it. But since the party I'm running almost unanimously believe in the utility of their laptops, compromises must be made.
As a DM, I reccomend the laptop rule be settled by general consensus rather than iron-fisted decisions. In this case, the players largely determined it would be best, and I allowed it. Not my ideal setup, but one we've worked with and still managed to have enjoyable games.
Just my .02
It seems like if the game is decent and engaging that laptops and the like shouldn't really be an issue. There are always going to be tangents and distractions but thats part of the social interaction.
Just my .02
So true. As a lot of us started gaming before laptops were either available or affordable, so it's obvious that they are NOT needed. In the same breath though, miniatures and battlemats are NOT needed either. For some gamers though, I think we look for ways to improve the game. For me, that gravitated from homemade character sheets, to official character sheets, to using miniatures and battlemats, to laptops and electronics. I believe this to just be the natural progression for those type of gamers.
Out of our current group, only a one other person brings a laptop. I currently use one as being the DM and also use a desktop hooked to a big screen TV to display the map to everyone. Ultimately it depends on the play style of your group. I personally love using miniatures, but with Maptools and the way we do it now, makes gaming so much more comfortable. We all sit in couches around the living room with personal trays to roll dice on if desired. We aren't crowded around a table worrying about whether or not we will knock over something if we bump the table.
When running games, I love the D&D Combat Manager app for tracking monsters, and powers, and effects, and saves, and initiatives, and durations, etc. I also like having my notes electronic, searchable, pre-sorted, etc, along with copies of all the character sheets and access to all the book information.
When playing, I have a paper sheet and dice, and I use the laptop to track damage + surges + AP + ongoing effects + reminders to save, etc. Since I have it and I have a handy little spreadsheet to track that for myself, I usually wind up tracking it for the *monsters*, too - I count damage up instead of down, tell the DM the total damage the monster's taken after each hit (and any other time he asks), and he tells the group "bloodied!" or "Dead!". It speeds things up because the DM can describe things rather than spending time recording damage.
As well, because I have this, I can keep track of a running total of all treasure acquired, I can calculate XP in seconds, and I can record the "awesome quotes from the game" file that more games need to keep.
And, my laptop doesn't distract me. I close my email and either close or ignore IMs. I don't surf on it during the game. And I manage all this because I am an adult, and so are my players/DMs.
Lately, a computer has become a complete necessity as most of my players live in another state and we've been playing via MapTools.
That said, I make heavy use of computers between games, whether I am researching folklore or weaponry, or creating character sheets, reviewing characters, making memorable villain, or brainstorming plots, there are something I need a computer for. My players as well do all their character maintenance on their computers. But once the game is on, the only use for a computer is playing music. It's an important distinction for the mood of the game, for the feel of the game.
I realize that the compedium can be a quick resource. But for me, I know my physical books, and I am comfortable with them to know what to look for in a real book when I need it. I can typically find what I am looking for in a hard copy as fast as I could type it in on a computer screen.
And my solution to the problem of too many books has to do with preparation, and DDI has me taken care of there. The character builder generates power cards with a full list of character powers, making the in-game usage of the Player's Handbooks and the Powers series unnecessary (except for periodic rules clarification, which I prefer happen out of game anyway). Using the adventure tools with open office, I can create a listing of all of the monsters characters will be encountering and print out a campaign-specific monster list...meaning I have no need for a physical copy of my monster manuals at the table. And my own treasure management software means I can handle character rewards before a game without consulting the DM guide, which I can copy to a "cheat sheet" containing a list of all of the planned (and potentially unplanned) encounters and rewards, as well as any traps and hazards the party might face. This means as a DM, with the cost of printing between 3-5 sheets of paper a game (which are often reusable for later games), I can run a game without a single rule book at the table. There is simply no longer a great need for me to have a large stack of books with me to play anymore. Or a need to have a laptop accessible during a game.
It can really, really prove helpful because you can play music or add sound effects to the Game, but make sure to keep it under the table and out of the PC's reach.
- I keep all of my campaign information in Masterplan (an awesome tool, if you aren't familiar with it). It has a bunch of campaign planning tools designed just for 4e, and organizes everything into a flow chart so you can quickly find the information you need when your players go off the rails.
- I use Dungeon Master Battle Screen to track combat order and conditions. I love this tool, because it really speeds up combat. I find that the most likely time for players to get distracted is between their combat turns, when they have nothing to do. So whatever you can do to speed this up is going to be a huge advantage.
- I wrote my own Windows desktop app to quickly search the compendium. Very useful if I need to look up a specific rule, or if I decide to give the party a prize that I hadn't already planned for. I find the web interface to be clunky and slow, by comparison.
As a player, I tinkered with using it during a couple play sessions, with mixed results. I'm taking a break from the DM role now, and during our next play session, I'm going to try using iPLay4e to manage my character.
1, changes to my character happen a lot.
2, Hand writing sucks and i don't want to have to write it all down
3, No ink in printer.
Currently i'm working on figuring out how to get a voice changing software to run smoothly so i don' thave to mess with it all the time, but can make my voice sound like something other than a human male. (Works great to make me sound like a female or robot. Just tends to pick up a little too much though.)
In my opinion, I would go with both. That way, if something should happen to your laptop, you still have a hardcopy you can use to rebuild your character.
For 3.5 we all found it much easier to run characters, espescially casters, off of a spreadsheet than to keep it all on paper. For 4E this is less of a problem, but before character builder came out I used an html character sheet someone had posted on this forum and a real time html editing webpage to keep track of what powers I had used and to add up all the bonuses.
But hey, that's just me...
-Cal
I feel that while DM's should have laptops, allowing the players to have thier own allows for too much of a distraction. Also we had an issue with one of the players in the group I play with looking up the monsters in whatever monster manual they were in and adjusting his strategy to their weaknesses while the charecter was unaware of these details. As well as arguing with the DM on what the actual capabilities of the mosters were. I simply think that its easiest to have one laptop in the DM's possession and if a player despretly needs the laptop to look up some class feature the DM passes it over for a couple minutes.
i decide to bring my laptop in and the dm outrite refused, stating that he didn't want any destractions and didn't want to have to deal with "if he can bring his in..."
it really didn't stop them from playing hangman on paper tho. >=[
The only consistent Argument offered in favor of the laptop was "it has my Character sheet on it." That would be no problem to fix-with access to numerous character sheet versions and a printer, he could have any sheet he wished to record his character within moments. And all those rtesources were at our fingertips. He completely disregarded this, insisting that "his was easier", but at the same time slowing down play by losing track of his digital sheet.
Eventually, fed up with this; we gave the player a "no laptop" ultimatum, explaining that it had become far to great a distraction at the table, not only for him but for all the other players, whom he called about to watch youtube videos. We provided him with a character sheet at the beginning of the session and waited while he filled it out.
But I Digress. My opinion on the matter is that Laptops, while extraordinarily useful, must have their use at the table confined to those with sufficient level of maturity to use common sense and courtesy.
Fact 1, you can flip through an actual book many times faster than a laptop with several pages open.
Fact 2, chances are you can't see all of a page on a laptop, but looking at a PC record sheet well you obviously see the entire page.
But, Fact 3, you can update your PC via the PC generator real nice like if you have the laptop.
Fact 4, only stating the obvious of course, a laptop means digital copies of every book. I have digital copies of all my books, because I like to copy paste custom made pages occasionally. I still have not found digital copies better though. Actually surprised at how many books I have bought in a short span of time. I think I need to tone it down
Oh you can bet, if a player started viewing youtube or whatever while I was running the game, I'd reward the rude gesture rather handsomely. The lifespan of their PC would sure be in jeopardy.
It would be handy for me to send covert message input to individual players. I could send them images rather then need to make physical hand outs. Mapping dungeons would be easier. It would be all the fun of online gaming, and all the fun of being together.
And half my group actually have laptops.
But sometimes a good idea, simply just sounds like one.
I think one spare laptop for sudden need to make a new PC via the PC generator would be the limit for me.
As a DM, I have one Laptop setup on the Players table, and I DM from a PC w/ 2 monitors on a different table. I love it, I have the adventure, compendium, Char builder on one screen, and Maptools running on the other. It makes my job as the DM much easier, and I haven't rolled a die in almost a year.
On the laptop my players use it only for the Maps, but I would have no argument against them putting their characters on Maptools, and running them electronically. In fact, I plan on using iplay4e to run my characters when I get a chance to play.
Ramius
My group takes the form of an afterschool highschool club, we go to a high school with a technology focus, they lend us laptops for the duration of each year and so of course, they form a large part of our day-to-day. As a result in my group it was never question of having them out, to be fair most of my group is obliging when i ask them to turn off the wireless internet, as they understand why i say it. If it were to become a major issue, then i may ask them not to take them out during DND, generally we leave them out whiel playign turned to the class/rules pages of the handbooks, which helps considering we're almost all complete DND/4e noobs.
Also, i use Adobe illustrator to make simplistic grid based maps, and the utility of being able to draw on the map where encounters are on one layer, and then hiding the layer during play is rather nice. If only there was some way to simulate miniatures on the map and make it display on their screens... oh well *looking into maptool atm*
On the whole subject, it depends on people themselves, maturity and actual desire to play will make it a non-issue, and a great utility. Remember, password protecting your wifi and forbidding the internet will cut off distraction ratehr well.
I have used a laptop for the last few months as a player. There really is one simple reason- I do not have access to a printer so I simply use my machine to look at all of my powers and modifiers.
I would not mind using pen and paper, but the prospect of having to reprint your character every other level (and the ink it uses) does not currently appeal to me. Perhaps that will change in the future.
TheSeventhStooge...
If we had them with laptops, I earnestly think they'd hardly even be into the game at all. Too much of a distraction.
Not to mention the benefits of having multiple player manuals in pdf format (Don't worry we own the real books too but everytime we reached a town we would have to keep passing the PHB around to check equipment stats/costs or what creatures can be summoned with natures ally spell, so the more PHB we had open the more efficient it went)
A recent addition is an excel sheet our DM made for us, we sort of had a house rule where we didn't really look too deeply into weight. However since we all have laptops we can have this spreadsheet open that calculates all weight related issues for us.
We haven't had any people distracted by it yet since we are all to captivated by the campaign and adventure, if the party splits and one group is dealing with something than ofc the others surf the internet in the meanwhile. However the moment our DM asks the group on what to do they immediately minimise what their doing and get into the swing immediately.
Although our DM did say that he once was in a group that had a member constantly on youtube or playing flash games, and when it was their turn they would just slowly look up and have no idea what they were meant to be doing, so I guess that to some people laptops could affect the game badly (although it seems that is dependant on the Players attitude rather than the laptop itself.