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View Full Version : Roleplaying RPGs that work well over skype/voicechat????



HunterOfJello
2014-06-15, 08:34 PM
I have some friends online that I would like to play an RPG with, but I don't think a game like D&D 3.5 is a good idea for that sort of medium. I know some people play games like d&d 3.5 online, but all my experiences thus far at converting the game to an online medium have been disasters.

What roleplaying games do you know of that would work well through a medium like Skype and are also accessible to players new to tabletop rpgs?

SethoMarkus
2014-06-15, 09:33 PM
It's funny, because I am currently DMing a 3.5 D&D game over a website called roll20.net. It is a free to use app that runs through Google Hangouts, has voice and video chat, an interactive, digital table top, dice roller, etc. It is fairly new and is still being developed, but it seems promising.

Other than that, I would suggest games that rely more on roleplaying and less on rollplaying. The "World of Darkness" series and its variants might convert to an online format well, though I have never tried it online. We rarely use dice when we play at the table, though, and a forum might allow for a bit more depth in a slower paced game.

"7th Sea" is a suggestion from one of my players. He said he's used that in online games several times successfully.

There is a Final Fantasy homebrew that was posted in the forums here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?173958-Final-Fantasy-d6-(Complete-System)) on GiantITP. I'm sure there are others out there as well. Though it does use dice a bit, it is a more "scenery" based RPG and not too "map" heavy. Bonus points for being a fairly rules-lite game.

DragonkingUs20
2014-06-15, 09:54 PM
It can be done with a 3.5 system. I'm currently playing a Star Wars D20 game with 3 other players over google hangouts. Miniatures are obviously not going to work, so the playing style will have to be strong on other aspects of the game. As mentioned above, there is a dicestream app for google that allows you to see the rolls of the players to help with tendencies to "fudge" the dice.

Knaight
2014-06-16, 01:09 AM
Lots of systems work, though you might want something like Maptools on top of them. That said, I personally favor systems which don't need maps, and which are relatively light. Granted, I favor these anyways, but going over Skype or similar tends to exacerbate it (if only because it makes it harder to do everyone's math, which is usually what happens).

Garimeth
2014-06-16, 07:33 AM
Lots of systems work, though you might want something like Maptools on top of them. That said, I personally favor systems which don't need maps, and which are relatively light. Granted, I favor these anyways, but going over Skype or similar tends to exacerbate it (if only because it makes it harder to do everyone's math, which is usually what happens).

I agree, urrently am using 13th Age over roll20, and its been great.

I have also used however in the past 3.5e and Next, next worked better than 3.5 imo. When i was running 3.5 I kept my maps to a minimum, as they would double or triple my prep time.

HunterOfJello
2014-06-17, 12:17 AM
That said, I personally favor systems which don't need maps, and which are relatively light.

Which of the games like this that you've tried did you like the most?

NichG
2014-06-17, 02:16 AM
I've been doing this exclusively for my gaming for the last couple of years. There are some things to be aware of:

- Map-based stuff may actually work better because it gives the players something visual to focus on when its not their turn (otherwise they may wander off into browsing the internet, playing little games as a distraction, etc).
- If you don't use video, you lose facial expression cues and the like which can interfere with RP. If you do use video it can get laggy and inconsistent (not everyone wants to use a webcam).
- Headphones are mandatory! With a large group, there's always someone with an ambulance going by outside or noisy relatives or feedback problems or whatever.
- Joining a conversation is much harder in voice chats than in real life, because of micro-lag and a lack of cues to tell you when someone is done talking or just pausing to think. In general, expect a lot of awkward interruptions and also expect the shy players to have even more trouble joining the discussion than normal.

As far as a particular RPG to do this with, I'd say it actually doesn't matter too much (unless it has lots of physical props like Dread I guess).

Airk
2014-06-17, 09:02 AM
Yeah, I second all of NichG's stuff; Roll20 actually has a TON of functionality for handling maps, and...not a lot of functionality for doing anything else with the screen, so if you want to hold people's attention, a map and tokens may well be the best way to do it, unless you're prepared with a lot of pictures and 'handouts'.

Yora
2014-06-17, 09:23 AM
I'm quite happy with running AS&SH, but any OSR game should work just as fine.

Knaight
2014-06-18, 09:06 PM
Which of the games like this that you've tried did you like the most?

Fudge. I play a number of games, but Fudge is the undisputed main game and I've sunk more time into it than the rest of them put together.

TandemChelipeds
2014-06-18, 09:24 PM
I'm currently playing a Pathfinder game over Skype and it's going pretty well. A few sessions in, we decided to turn off our mics and that arguably improved things; now it's just all over text. Any IM client could do just as well, I think. I also recommend Roll20.

Knaight
2014-06-18, 10:57 PM
I'm currently playing a Pathfinder game over Skype and it's going pretty well. A few sessions in, we decided to turn off our mics and that arguably improved things; now it's just all over text. Any IM client could do just as well, I think. I also recommend Roll20.

I use Skype for the voice (though I don't really care about video). Otherwise, I find that IRC is generally better than IM clients.