Integrating Digital Tools as a Dungeon Master in D&D
Playing Dungeons and Dragons is a balance of freedom and structure. You want your players to be able to “do anything they want,” but you also want and need them to conform to the story you are trying to tell. Some groups get presented a fanciful introduction to an adventure — perhaps some baron had some high-priced magical item stolen from them and tasks the players with finding it — and they go “mmm… nah, we don’t want to do that, let’s head to the tavern and cause some trouble!” If you are that type of player, then power to you. Some groups can survive with that total freedom where they just show up into random towns and have random things happen to them, and everyone manages to have a good time. Since there’s no wrong way to play D&D, that is just fine. But it’s not how I like to do things.
I view myself as something of a director or showrunner of a miniseries, and my players are the main cast. I want to immerse them in their world with every trick I can think of. Some of that involves simple things, like making sure their personal histories are integrated into the story, or giving them heroic moments when the flaws or attributes of their characters can really take the spotlight and make their next decision that much more interesting.
But things have changed since I began DMing in the year 2000 as a pimply teenager. My acne has (mostly) cleared up, but more importantly, multimedia tools now allow me to try different techniques to convince my players that they are truly playing in an epic fantasy world.
Roll20
Roll20 is goddamn amazing and there’s no other way to say it. I have become such an unabashed evangelist for them, that friends sometimes ask if I work for them.
For those not in the know, Roll20 is a virtual tabletop where players can log in and use digital tools to enhance their pen-and-paper experience. DMs can upload maps and create character tokens so you can get a visual representation of the world you are inhabiting. Players can keep handy notes in their digital character sheet where their important information is just a click away.
Roll20 allows people from all over the world to play in a game together, but I don’t use it for that. My players and I bring our laptops, maybe connect one with a widescreen TV, and use the maps and token to better visualize our world. But all interactions are still done face-to-face.
To me, we get the best of both worlds that way. My players can move their tokens from a dark corridor into a bright new room and discover a new enemy, and I can instantly start speaking as that character and see the real reactions on my players faces.
It has some extra digital tools that I really love as well, though. Dynamic lighting is amazing. I’ve input the sight rules for each character, so the human sees something different than the half-elf who has darkvision, who doesn’t see quite as well as the elf with low-light vision. Instead of relying on my descriptions and just having a part of their brain remind them that they actually can’t see the new shadowy room very well, they have to adjust. Suddenly, the players with human characters literally see a very good reason for holding a torch, and those subtle choices help immerse them in the world.
I also love the new spell effects tool they’ve added. It can be a little silly, but when your cleric casts Sacred Flame and you make a radiant explosion descend from the heavens, and then your warlock casts Eldritch Blast and you make a magic beam sprout from his fingers, the fact that you as a DM can make those spells appear differently are just one of the little touches make each character feel special. It helps build a stronger, more lived-in world, that each character can put their own stamp on.
Tabletop Audio
Tabletop Audio provides original ambiences and music, and when it just did that it was great. But recently it has added the SoundPad, which gives DMs a few settings of very appropriate sound effects, some constant (like pouring rain), some one-offs (like a snake’s hiss). Are your players delving deep into the mines of a long forgotten duergar colony? Head to The Dungeon, and click on some effects that will engross your players in a way that mere description never could. That duergar dungeon could use a low wind, some dripping water, and a low rumble. The player characters walk into a room with an underground lake, and you can easily and quickly add some running water, and suspicious bubbling sounds too make your player’s imaginations run wild. Suddenly one the characters falls into a pit trap, and some wargs run in and attack the party. Clicking all those effects, sure it takes a little extra time and effort, but from my experience, the payoff is more than worth it.
It’s even better when you use sound effects for actions the player characters actually do. The Roll20 effects are nice for big showy combat spells, like Fireball, but when your bard casts Charm Person, it’s nice to punctuate that with… perhaps the Conjuring sound effect in the Combat tab? Sounds about right. As you play and use Tabletop Audio more and more, you start to find the effects you really like. A personal favourite — when the tension is high and the party opens a door, I hit the Door Open effect for that little bit of drama. Underlines the moment nicely.
Videos
I’ll expand on this in another post, but basically, I like to edit together small “cutscenes” to break up the action, and give the players a chance to breath. They work well as act breaks that remind players of what the most urgent goal or motivation in the adventure is. If you like taking a minute or two to focus your group on what you think is most imperative and you want an intensely creative way to do it, you will love making these videos as much as I do. You get to control the message, pair it with amazing art and a killer soundtrack, and it really transports your players into your world. Then it’s over, and your players get to take the reigns again.
Now with the announcement of D&D Beyond, it looks like more digital tools are on the horizon, and as long as they are making your games better, then keep them coming.
