Need some help solo playing out some D&D modules

[acctingman]

I've acquired a ton of D&D modules over the last couple months (5thEd) and I was wondering if someone could suggest a platform where I could "act" out the modules. I was thinking something along the lines of Fantasy Grounds, but it's way too expensive and complicated. Thought about using D&D mini's and printed maps, but storage is an issue (as is cost...D&D mini's aren't cheap).

Is there another less costly and less complicated program out there that I could use to play out all the encounters in all these modules?

Appreciate any advice.

[MaxWilson]

I found all the existing offerings unsatisfactory (too heavyweight, too much setup required) and am writing my own. Send me an email at [email protected] if you like and I'll add you to the alpha test.

[Man_Over_Game]

Roll20 is a possible solution, usable due to the fact that you can create your own monster statblocks and save them for later.

The catch is that you pretty much have to do most of the work yourself. It doesn't have a built in list of Sorcerer spells, for instance. Once you put the work in once, and properly, it's really easy to access.

[acctingman]

Never thought about Roll20. Figured it was as complex as Fantasy Grounds.

[Man_Over_Game]

Never thought about Roll20. Figured it was as complex as Fantasy Grounds.

It can be, if you're trying to do things like keeping certain information hidden from players, or keeping track of special information for the players to review, etc. As just a DM, though, you can just copy-paste maps, tokens, whatever, and make macros to quickly simulate attacks/spells and just mark important stuff on the map with markers and such.

[Grod_The_Giant]

Do you need battle maps? Their main function is to make sure everyone has the same image of the area, which shouldn't be so important in solo play. If you do need something, I'm always a big advocate of the "whiteboard and nickles" strategy-- get a cheap folding blank battlemap (Pazio sells a nice one for like ten bucks), a roll of nickles to use for tokens, and dry erase markers to label both.

[acctingman]

While I appreciate the map/tokens approach I really want to do this without as many "props" as possible.

Roll20 might be my only option

[MaxWilson]

Roll20 is a possible solution, usable due to the fact that you can create your own monster statblocks and save them for later.

The catch is that you pretty much have to do most of the work yourself. It doesn't have a built in list of Sorcerer spells, for instance. Once you put the work in once, and properly, it's really easy to access.

It really needs to be possible to enter stats lazily, on-demand. E.g. ideally you should be able to say, "There's a new monster here, a Trolloc, with 40 HP, AC 16, doing the same damage as an ogre" and have it not bug you for its Wisdom save unless/until something occurs which makes Wisdom saves matter.


Do you need battle maps? Their main function is to make sure everyone has the same image of the area, which shouldn't be so important in solo play. If you do need something, I'm always a big advocate of the "whiteboard and nickles" strategy-- get a cheap folding blank battlemap (Pazio sells a nice one for like ten bucks), a roll of nickles to use for tokens, and dry erase markers to label both.

I see the main function of battlemaps as resolving ambiguity about position/AoE effects. In group play it can feel okay to handwave it and say, "Let's just say you managed to Fireball 5 of the 7 orcs", but in solo play that can feel a little too much like giving yourself an easy break. So battlemaps are more important in solo play than group play.

Whiteboards work okay, but it can be a pain to manage enemy squads past a certain size and I find myself wanting the monsters to just move themselves without making me erase things. Also HP tracking, condition tracking (re-rolling saves at the beginning of each round), and other housekeeping chores benefit from automation too.

You can run small battles (e.g. 4 on 3) just fine with pencil-and-paper, but 4 on 12 is more of a pain, and 7 on 21 moreso.

[Man_Over_Game]

It really needs to be possible to enter stats lazily, on-demand. E.g. ideally you should be able to say, "There's a new monster here, a Trolloc, with 40 HP, AC 16, doing the same damage as an ogre" and have it not bug you for its Wisdom save unless/until something occurs which makes Wisdom saves matter.

Could just copy the Ogre and overwrite the life/damage to be what you want. The Wisdom won't be that much different than an Ogre (neither are that bright), so if you forget, it just defaults to a somewhat similar answer.

Also, Trolloc? Wheel of Time fan? Good choice.

[MaxWilson]

Could just copy the Ogre and overwrite the life/damage to be what you want. The Wisdom won't be that much different, so if you forget, it just defaults to a somewhat similar answer.

Also, Trolloc? Wheel of Time fan? Good choice.

Probably, but

(1) how easy does Roll20 make that kind of copying? Can you do it in the mental equivalent of one sentence, without taking your mind off the players you're trying to pay attention to?

(2) what if the monster you're creating isn't based on another monster, or one you don't have the stats for? If I make up an Elder Elemental Phoenix, maybe I don't want to stop and think about its Charisma right now, but that doesn't mean I want to commit to it having the same Charisma as a Ki-rin either. I should be able to just say, "Dunno, ask me later when I'm not so busy," and have that be the default answer for most stats.

[Mellack]

If you are doing it solo, how about just old pen and paper? Print your some paper tokens of creatures and run it on a whiteboard. How our group still does stuff when we do in-person gaming.

[Amano666]

Excel.

Seriously.

=randbetween(1,20) or 4,6,8,10,12

set the option to only recalculate when you want it to

ctrl+c
ctrl+v

column A is something like "Name"
B = rolls

C = dmg rolls

[acctingman]

If you are doing it solo, how about just old pen and paper? Print your some paper tokens of creatures and run it on a whiteboard. How our group still does stuff when we do in-person gaming.

This might be the easiest route. Looking over Roll20 and it looks like Greek to me.

I guess it's easy enough to print out maps that look similar to the ones in these modules and some standees for PC/monsters.

Anyone know of a good and easy to use map maker?

Thanks everyone

[acctingman]

For a simple "combat" only game playing through modules would you chose 5th ED over 3.5?

I only remember 3.5 rules

[Man_Over_Game]

For a simple "combat" only game playing through modules would you chose 5th ED over 3.5?

I only remember 3.5 rules

3.5 had a lot of options, true, but 5e is definitely a lot simpler.

The major difference between the two is that 5e is a bit more broad in DM decision making, and 3.5 is a lot more precise.

If you want to create a trap for someone to fall into in 5e, the DM would just make up a DC on the fly (with 10 being really easy and 30 being impossible), where 3.5 would have a lot of information to gather about the mechanics of it all.

Additionally, 5e is about making the small fry count. Enough level 1 characters can take down a level 20. Each combat action, no matter how weak, helps decide a battle. Numbers matter more.

Where in 3.5, a level 20 is near god-like, and nothing a level 1 could do, no matter how many, could do anything about that. Know that making an encounter in 5e will favor those with numbers.

If you have double the number of creatures than players in 5e, then you need to make sure those creatures are very weak, and singular bosses have a hard time surviving against 5 players.



So as long as you understand those guidelines (recognizing that quantity makes a major balance difference), 5e will be a lot easier and fluid to use.

[Laserlight]

It used to be possible to use an image (such as a map) as the background for an Excel sheet, set the row and column sizes to make a grid, and maneuver my units A B C against baddies X Y Z using the grid. Have a second page with unit stats and die rolls.

[Musthelog]

I gotta say that ive found roll20 super easy to use. As for entering in stats, you can just put the HP, AC and one other stat you need (i use att bonus) in the 3 litte bubbles that pop up when you click on the monsters token. Makes it easy to have these at hand when someone asks