what is the best way to conduct a game without being there

[slaydemons]

you see I cannot make it to a session but I know if I am not there in some form or manner they won't play, I don't know why I think its like if everyone isn't there there is no point in playing. do you guys think the best way to do things is get on skype and play that way?

[TroubleBrewing]

First, punctuation.

Second, why worry if they don't play without you? So you miss a week. Meh.

[slaydemons]

First, punctuation.

Second, why worry if they don't play without you? So you miss a week. Meh.

Sorry, grammar is like the skill I don't put points into. I think they will stop playing if they miss some weeks, and then I feel like I am not having as much fun anymore if I don't have D&D.

[gbprime]

You can PLAY over Skype. What you cannot do is DM a game over SKype. A videoconference (unless you have a 54 inch monitor or some such) is not much of a medium to roleplay over, and while a PC can survive doing it every so often, I think too much of what a DM needs to do would be lost.

[Cartigan]

You can PLAY over Skype. What you cannot do is DM a game over SKype. A videoconference (unless you have a 54 inch monitor or some such) is not much of a medium to roleplay over, and while a PC can survive doing it every so often, I think too much of what a DM needs to do would be lost.

This. I've seen games played where some of the players skyped in, but I don't see how you could DM one. Maybe if it was a game that wasn't played with miniatures or a map.

[Gnoman]

I've dmed farily well over IRC, and there's many virtual tabletops available.

[Tyndmyr]

If you video conference, have everyone test their stuff in advance. Technical problems happen.

That said, I usually skip over doing skype.

[slaydemons]

I am not the dm so skype works. Best tell my friends to get their butt upstairs so he doesn't dc every three seconds in the basement. Thanks very much plus i get to pull out creepy stalker jokes that don't apply to me.

[gbprime]

Well if you're over 30, work on your Max Headroom impressions.

[Knaight]

You can PLAY over Skype. What you cannot do is DM a game over SKype. A videoconference (unless you have a 54 inch monitor or some such) is not much of a medium to roleplay over, and while a PC can survive doing it every so often, I think too much of what a DM needs to do would be lost.

You can GM over Skype just fine. Anything needing maps and minis will also require Maptool or similar, and won't work as well, plus GMing over Skype won't be as good as a face to face game with the same people, but functionality is achieved.

[Toofey]

I don't think you can Dm combat or anything but you can DM a plot oriented session acceptably over the phone (clearly this works best if it's a conference call or if everyone else is in one place on a speaker phone) I've had to do it a few times for various reasons and they actually go well, espescially if I still have my materials in front of me

[Knaight]

I don't think you can Dm combat or anything but you can DM a plot oriented session acceptably over the phone (clearly this works best if it's a conference call or if everyone else is in one place on a speaker phone) I've had to do it a few times for various reasons and they actually go well, espescially if I still have my materials in front of me

Combat is doable via Skype-Maptools-Dropbox if you need a map, or just Skype-Dropbox if you don't. Dropbox is there for public availability of character sheets, Google Docs works just as well if not better.