3 ms·

Surely a companion app wouldn’t count, right? I couldn’t DM without it. I would need binders and binders of information or my iPad. I prefer my iPad.

roxolotl 1y ago
To be honest as someone who's built a dozen dice rolling and dming tools for myself I've recently switched mostly back to paper. There's just something really nice about rolling physical dice on a physical table while flipping through physical books and notes. It's super cumbersome and I don't think there's anything wrong with using digital tools. I play most of my games over a digital tabletop since those I play with aren't near by.
- reactordev 1y ago
  Yes on the physical dice rolling, no on the tombs and tombs of dead trees to lug around with me. Even just the handbooks are over 1,000 pretty printed shavings of poplar pulp. Having a cardboard paper screen and a small scratch pad and empty character sheets is the most paper I’ll bring. Physical books feel better because it’s physical. You can touch it, you can smell it, you can read it, and some you can hear (when you open them or turn the pages). This is why we prefer it. However, I reserve those for the shelves at home.
  - galagawinkle489 1y ago
    Referring to books as "dead trees" is such a pathetic thought-terminating cliché. If you don't want to cart books around that's fine but you can easily play the game with only the basic three (and players just need one). If you are using a book just for a spell or an item or two you can just photocopy the page.
    - reactordev 1y ago
      Sir, I’m in the middle of a 20 year campaign…
      - galagawinkle489 1y ago
        [flagged]
        reactordev 1y ago
        Ok, I’ll bite. We have a lot of pages, books, novels, notes, story from the last 10 years or so that would make it physically impossible to bring with me. Bringing just my iPad and a notepad is way better for me.
sirwhinesalot 1y ago
It 100% counts. As a somewhat irregular DM, DnD is a very poorly designed game. Using digital tools as a DM for any sort of TTRPG is justifiable for the same reasons we use computers instead of books. But the real problem is that players need digital tools too as the character sheet for any character with spellcasting is unworkable by hand. Any prepared caster would need to manually copy every spell of the right level from their spell list onto paper every few level ups. If they don't write out the spell exactly as written (i.e, if they summarize) then you're opening the flood gates of rules lawyering and googling/book opening mid session. Many other TTRPGs don't have this problem because they are designed with "playing with paper" in mind.
- galagawinkle489 1y ago
  Book opening is fine. Post-it notes exist. You can easily open the book to the right spell. Just write down the names of the spells you have chosen to memorise for the day on a piece of paper and cross them off when you cast them. As for rules lawyering... That is just playing by the rules. That is how the game is meant to be played: rules as written except as modified by the group by agreement. Rules lawyering just means sticking to what the rules actually are. Maybe you mean something else? As for googling, why would you need to google a spell?
  - sirwhinesalot 1y ago
    It's a horrible experience. I can only suggest you try out TTRPGs that don't need this. I haven't tried it yet but Daggerheart seems to avoid the problem by providing spell cards. You can do the same in DnD and I suggest doing so, but it's not assumed by the game's design. All the old-school OSR inspired stuff doesn't have this problem. You should not need to repeatedly and consistently open the rule-book to play what is essentially a board game. That's ok the first time you play a board game, not ok the 20th time. You google a spell because it is much faster than opening the book. DnD combat is already way too slow as it is.
    - reactordev 1y ago
      Investing in a refillable printer and card stock is great for this. I used to make MTG style cards for spells, quest items, etc. something physical the players can keep with them. This made casting extremely efficient as the caster has the card with the info on it. All they have to do is turn it in, roll the dice, and describe their action.

roxolotl 1y ago

To be honest as someone who's built a dozen dice rolling and dming tools for myself I've recently switched mostly back to paper. There's just something really nice about rolling physical dice on a physical table while flipping through physical books and notes. It's super cumbersome and I don't think there's anything wrong with using digital tools. I play most of my games over a digital tabletop since those I play with aren't near by.

reactordev 1y ago
Yes on the physical dice rolling, no on the tombs and tombs of dead trees to lug around with me. Even just the handbooks are over 1,000 pretty printed shavings of poplar pulp. Having a cardboard paper screen and a small scratch pad and empty character sheets is the most paper I’ll bring. Physical books feel better because it’s physical. You can touch it, you can smell it, you can read it, and some you can hear (when you open them or turn the pages). This is why we prefer it. However, I reserve those for the shelves at home.
- galagawinkle489 1y ago
  Referring to books as "dead trees" is such a pathetic thought-terminating cliché. If you don't want to cart books around that's fine but you can easily play the game with only the basic three (and players just need one). If you are using a book just for a spell or an item or two you can just photocopy the page.
  - reactordev 1y ago
    Sir, I’m in the middle of a 20 year campaign…
    - galagawinkle489 1y ago
      [flagged]
      - reactordev 1y ago
        Ok, I’ll bite. We have a lot of pages, books, novels, notes, story from the last 10 years or so that would make it physically impossible to bring with me. Bringing just my iPad and a notepad is way better for me.

sirwhinesalot 1y ago

It 100% counts. As a somewhat irregular DM, DnD is a very poorly designed game. Using digital tools as a DM for any sort of TTRPG is justifiable for the same reasons we use computers instead of books. But the real problem is that players need digital tools too as the character sheet for any character with spellcasting is unworkable by hand. Any prepared caster would need to manually copy every spell of the right level from their spell list onto paper every few level ups. If they don't write out the spell exactly as written (i.e, if they summarize) then you're opening the flood gates of rules lawyering and googling/book opening mid session. Many other TTRPGs don't have this problem because they are designed with "playing with paper" in mind.

galagawinkle489 1y ago
Book opening is fine. Post-it notes exist. You can easily open the book to the right spell. Just write down the names of the spells you have chosen to memorise for the day on a piece of paper and cross them off when you cast them. As for rules lawyering... That is just playing by the rules. That is how the game is meant to be played: rules as written except as modified by the group by agreement. Rules lawyering just means sticking to what the rules actually are. Maybe you mean something else? As for googling, why would you need to google a spell?
- sirwhinesalot 1y ago
  It's a horrible experience. I can only suggest you try out TTRPGs that don't need this. I haven't tried it yet but Daggerheart seems to avoid the problem by providing spell cards. You can do the same in DnD and I suggest doing so, but it's not assumed by the game's design. All the old-school OSR inspired stuff doesn't have this problem. You should not need to repeatedly and consistently open the rule-book to play what is essentially a board game. That's ok the first time you play a board game, not ok the 20th time. You google a spell because it is much faster than opening the book. DnD combat is already way too slow as it is.
  - reactordev 1y ago
    Investing in a refillable printer and card stock is great for this. I used to make MTG style cards for spells, quest items, etc. something physical the players can keep with them. This made casting extremely efficient as the caster has the card with the info on it. All they have to do is turn it in, roll the dice, and describe their action.