One of the greatest aspects about D&D and other tabletop roleplaying games is the roleplay. From the first steps of building your character, you get to dive deep and determine who the character you are playing, their strengths, flaws, and little quirks that make them unique. When you sit down at the table to play, you assume the identity of your character and for the next few hours become them as they go on adventures throughout the lands. However, with the transition from around the table gaming to virtual ones, roleplay like we know it has also changed. Here are some tips to keep the flavor of roleplay alive while you are playing digitally.
Feeling Out the Space: this can be tricky and awkward at first, as your group becomes more comfortable with the digital platform you are using, they will understand the ebbs and flows of working within it. Unlike playing around a table, where characters can have multiple conversations going on while being respectful of the interactions of other players, playing digitally requires a certain finesse in order to avoid the garbled mess coming from more than one person speaking at a time. One of the biggest hurdles is trying to not speak over your fellow players. Stay aware of not only your Dungeon Master’s visual queues, but your party members as well. Overtime, you will begin to recognize the queues your fellow players give prior to speaking, and conversations begin to happen in a more fluid way than they did when you started off. If you can see they are getting ready to say something while you are talking, pull them into the conversation. Small acts like this are a great way to make sure everyone is connected and involved in what is going on, and ensure everyone feels comfortable in this new digital setting.
Making sure everyone feels apart of the digital table is important to keep in mind when transitioning to online gaming.
Be Inclusive: While this seems to be a no brainer even when you are at the table, it is even more so when you are playing digitally. At the table there is a unified in and out that can take place and the DM can really reset the moment if things get too out of hand. Digitally, where many of us are already pretty distant from each other, it can be difficult to gauge how immersed your party members are. Lack of inclusion can lead to player detachment, which brings along a whole slew of problems for your game. Keep an eye on your fellow players and if your insight checks are high enough, find ways to pull them back into the game and get them involved with what is happening. Dungeon Masters this especially is true for you. Make sure you are scanning your players and pulling them into the story, giving them some time to shine or voice their opinions. The goal is to make sure everyone at the digital table feels like they belong there and are as excited to be there as they would be if they were sitting around your table at home.
Stay True to You: At the end of the day, you are playing a character. Stay true to the strengths and flaws of your character. If that means being loud and boisterous, quiet and to yourself or anywhere in between, so be it. Making sure you play the character as you designed them and want to play them helps keep immersion and will help facilitate activity in your party. Your roleplay or character development shouldn’t suffer because the game is digital.
Test Your Tech: Again, another no brainer, but this one is really important. Making sure all your tech is good to go and testing it out is a great way to ensure the success of your game and limit possible distractions. Another big thing to do is to try to make your space as quiet as possible. Outside noises can distract your fellow players and pull away immersion, especially in a digital game. If it is unavoidable, make sure to share that with your party beforehand. Openness and communication are key.
As a final thought, find what best fits your group. There are plenty of digital platforms for you to choose from and each group has different wants/needs. Talk it out as a group and come to a solution that works best for everyone. Stay safe and happy adventuring.
Meet the Blogger
Logan H. @dm_screening
Coalition Blog Director
Logan is a teacher from the Greater Philadelphia Area. A lifelong seeker of fantasy and adventure he spends his time writing campaigns and homebrews, going on adventures to local breweries, or reading all manner of tomes and scrolls to enhance his knowledge as a Dungeon Master.