Topic: Roleplay with Tech at the Table

[JimiSue]

No wonder people look at me strangely when I'm at work ...

And on the dead tree copy issue - I've just been playing a game of Mutant City Blues in my gaming group (uses the Gumshoe system), where the GM was running from a pdf on a tablet, and it didn't really work. There was an awful lot of flicking backward and forwards and trying to find things. Dead tree for the win every time. I don't mind print on demand to keep the publishing costs down, but I really, really, really don't like using pdfs in play.

[Vyrolakos]

the GM was running from a pdf on a tablet

Bleurgh! 

Laptops, tablets, smartphones, etc, at the gaming 'table' are a pet hate of mine.

[Marc R]

tablet at least lays down, my major objection to laptops is how everyone ends up sitting behind a low wall. Taking cover from roleplay is a bad thing.

[Vyrolakos]

Laptops are a real problem, for the exact reason mentioned. But I hate electronic devices at the 'table' for another reason.

People just can't resist checking email/facebook, tweeting, texting, writing the story down as they go, playing Angry Birds, doing their course work, etc, etc... 

This started to be a problem well over a decade ago as laptops became popular, but since the 3G connected tablet and smartphone took off, it can be a bloody nightmare.

Maybe I'm just getting old. 

Give me a book every time.

[GrumpyOldFart]

People just can't resist checking email/facebook, tweeting, texting, writing the story down as they go, playing Angry Birds, doing their course work, etc, etc... 

This is why I keep a large stock of random monsters on hand. Go ahead, stop paying attention to the game, I dare ya.

[Vyrolakos]

People just can't resist checking email/facebook, tweeting, texting, writing the story down as they go, playing Angry Birds, doing their course work, etc, etc... 

This is why I keep a large stock of random monsters on hand. Go ahead, stop paying attention to the game, I dare ya.

Lead figurines or scenario based monsters?

I quite like the idea of lobbing large lead figurines at annoying players. You can get really good spin on a 'Dwarf with axe'. 

 

[GrumpyOldFart]

Scenario based monsters. What D&D used to call "wandering monsters". Unless you're in The Desolation of Smaug, or Antarctica, or an area recently scoured clean by a volcano or tsunami or something, there's a local ecology that contains dangerous creatures. Most of them are much more dangerous if you're not paying attention.

And after all, the scenario is the part I'm trying to get them to pay attention to. Someone chatting about the cool paint job on the lead figurine is just as much of a distraction as somebody checking his blog.

[GrumpyOldFart]

...writing the story down as they go...

I'm okay with note-takers as long as they can keep up. Especially if it's someone like a typical Bard type, someone that accurate accounts of what happened makes a difference in how well he can play his character.

That said, as someone who has made a living as a stagehand, particularly audio, I'll be happy to help him with mic placement if he'd rather record it. It'll keep the "recorder of history" job not only out of his hair, but out of mine.

[markc]

People just can't resist checking email/facebook, tweeting, texting, writing the story down as they go, playing Angry Birds, doing their course work, etc, etc... 

This is why I keep a large stock of random monsters on hand. Go ahead, stop paying attention to the game, I dare ya.

Lead figurines or scenario based monsters?

I quite like the idea of lobbing large lead figurines at annoying players. You can get really good spin on a 'Dwarf with axe'. 

 

 I think a spray bottle with water inside would work also to help keep the electron addicts at bay.
MDC

[Vyrolakos]

I think a spray bottle with water inside would work also to help keep the electron addicts at bay.
MDC

"Bad Leonard!" 

[Vyrolakos]

...writing the story down as they go...

I'm okay with note-takers as long as they can keep up.

On a pad of paper, sure.

On a tablet, it's nearly impossible due to the level of concentration required to 'type' on a screen, and on a laptop, it hides the player behind the screen of the laptop madly 'tippity tapping' away.

It's like people who go to concerts and spend the entire time holding a mobile phone or cam corder above their heads to video everything.  ... jeez louise, just enjoy being in the moment! 

[GrumpyOldFart]

How ever, as long as it works, doesn't pull them or others out of the scene too much, and they can keep up. If you want to record the history of the adventure by whispering it to your pet parrot or chipping it into stone, fine by me.

The problem with electronics is that they tend to pull you out of the scene much more. I could see a tablet being useful for maps, charts, etc, but even there it has pretty stark limitations. Perhaps less so in SF settings than fantasy, but even there...

In a fantasy setting the only reason I can see for having your phone at the table is to be able to text the GM with private notes. The problem with that is that the players can also text each other with stuff the GM can't see, which quickly descends into chaos.

[Vyrolakos]

Mobile phones at the gaming table used to be bad enough when you could only receive phone calls and text messages on them.

Now that you can receive phone calls, text messages, emails, twitter updates, facebook updates, IM calls/texts, App updates, etc, etc, etc...

I like technology, but there is a time and a place to switch it off. Cinemas, and around the game table being just two of them.

[Elton Robb]

someone had a rule to where if tech was distracting to the player, the player was kicked off the group.

[markc]

I think a spray bottle with water inside would work also to help keep the electron addicts at bay.
MDC

"Bad Leonard!" 

 Yes, I was thinking of something a bit more serious in that the water stream would possibly ruin the electronics of the e-photo-phile or e-screen-phile.
MDC

[Vyrolakos]

someone had a rule to where if tech was distracting to the player, the player was kicked off the group.

I can understand the rule, but I'd prefer to keep the player and just tell everyone to turn off their mobile phones. 

[daemonire]

My whole group(s) use laptops while gaming at this point, and it's generally not a problem.
At this point our privateers party commands six ships (discounting fighters) and close to a hundred crew, so living solely off of dead trees was beginning to become unwieldy.
We store everything online for the most part, so that if someone misses a session we can still access all the particulars on their assets.

As far as angry birds, well... there are times when someone's character isn't present for what's going on, and if they're keeping busy while waiting for the action to return to them, well that's fine I suppose. As long as they're keeping it to themselves- not playing games with the music on, or interrupting others to show everyone 'funny cat picture ###' or worse still... 'funny cat video ###'!

We have long gaming sessions, and we're all friends, so I'm all for socializing- but during dinner breaks, or coffee breaks, or something. Not while the GM is telling me how my pet rabbit was just eaten by a hungry Falar, please. Poor bunny...

[JimiSue]

On the laptop: I have run Space master with laptops on the table, because that's where the master character records were keps - when I called for a Biochemistry roll for example, easier to look it up that way than leaf through the books. That said... My own latop I kept on a table to the side so it did not impede my interaction with the players. Laptops for the players I insisted were notebook size maximum (they were mostly geeky IT workers so were well gadgeted up - not sure what it is about IT that makes people want to roleplay bu there seem to be a lot of 'em) because the screens are smaller and less of a distration.

On the mobile. I hate, hate, hate people who play games on their phone or exchange more than a couple of texts with their wife (it's a little thing but can ease a whole lot of complications). It's disruptive and frankly disrespectful. One habit I had when I was a D&D DM was every time I had an idea for an encounter that could feasibly fit into my game, I would jot it down and either use them whenever the 'DM special' came up on the encounter dice, or when I wanted to stop a player being distracted. These ranged from the mundane up to encounters with gods or famous people in the game world - e.g. one of them had the players travelling along a road, and from around a concealed bend they hear galloping hooves and suddenly a noblewoman gallops at full speed around the corner - the horse starts, rears and throws the rider, who is knocked unconscious... I wait until an opportune time, and then have the bodyguard (slower warhorse) come around the corner... turns out this is the heir to one of the most important thrones in the world, and there is a prophecy that if she is violated by a male before her 30th birthday, the kingdom will fall. Depending on how you read the prophecy that could include just touching her... all sorts of fun to be had a) with the initial very angry, very protective, uber-warrior and b) with the political ramifications later on.

On the note-taking: One of my favourite games where I did that was when I was playing the Galliard in a Werewolf (Apocalypse) game - the galliard being a kind of warrior-bard. I would write down when any of the group did anything particularly heroic (e.g. the occasion where the pack leader tore a vampire apart in a single attack) and made sure when we had a gathering that I sang songs of their glory. I intended (since I have a music degree) to actually compose a song but never had the time unfortunately. But it was a great addition to the atmosphere and it made the players act more heroic than their usual thieving desperado selves

[markc]

My whole group(s) use laptops while gaming at this point, and it's generally not a problem.
At this point our privateers party commands six ships (discounting fighters) and close to a hundred crew, so living solely off of dead trees was beginning to become unwieldy.
We store everything online for the most part, so that if someone misses a session we can still access all the particulars on their assets.

As far as angry birds, well... there are times when someone's character isn't present for what's going on, and if they're keeping busy while waiting for the action to return to them, well that's fine I suppose. As long as they're keeping it to themselves- not playing games with the music on, or interrupting others to show everyone 'funny cat picture ###' or worse still... 'funny cat video ###'!

We have long gaming sessions, and we're all friends, so I'm all for socializing- but during dinner breaks, or coffee breaks, or something. Not while the GM is telling me how my pet rabbit was just eaten by a hungry Falar, please. Poor bunny...

  Welcome to the ICE Forums.


 In the past I have used a PC to run the adventure as I had bought them on PDF's. So Traveler Adventures with the SM:P rule set, it worked well even on an slow old PC.


 I can see it both ways in that there are times when it would be nice to have some players occupied while dealing with other players and there are times when you need everyone's attention for plot specifics.
MDC

[bennis1980]

I use my tablet with copies of the rules on it. I have added hundreds of links to the contents page and every other page has a small link back to the contents. I would challenge anyone to beat this method for a rule or tablet look up, using links or search function .

Now, ordinarily I would not allow any sort of technology at the table, including mobile phones and laptops, but our group is now spread over 3 different timezones. A year ago, we started using skype / teamspeak to bring us together. The chat function is the only in game whisper we can use.

Even more recently I began using Fantasy Grounds virtual table top. Not only does this massively speed up play (and combat resolution), but our biggest technophobe has reported, to my satisfaction, that he finds himself being pulled into an even more immersive roleplaying experience.

I think if technology can improve your game, use it. If it creates barriers to playing, ban it.