Player joining over internet

[Inkpencil]

I've got a player who recently moved but still would like to play in the new campaign. I'm currently thinking using Skype and OpenRPG, maybe putting both up on a TV as a secondary monitor to replace a physical grid. Thoughts? Experiences? Random thread derailments?

[JeenLeen]

For a Mage: Ascension game, one of our players moved. He's joined via a webcam attached to either Yahoo Messenger or AIM (I forget which.) It has worked pretty good.

I imagine it'd be a little harder for D&D or another game where combat strictly involves grids and move speeds, but I'm guessing OpenRPG is one of the programs that substitutes for that.


It's worked well for us, at least. Sometimes it's a little hard to hear one another, and I reckon he misses out on a bit (like not seeing the look of horror on our faces when another PC does something stupid), but if he's happy with it, we are.

The guys at Penny Arcade have also talked about how online communication works well for their group.

[shadow_archmagi]

I've found that having one internet player is a trainwreck. Games entirely on or off the internet can be fun, but having a single player be confined to a laptop is difficult to work with.

[EccentricOwl]

I recommend Google Hangouts.

[TheCountAlucard]

One of my players lives a couple of hundred miles away. Every once in a while, he comes down to play with us, but most of the rest of the time, he just plays via Skype. He's a fun, creative player, and we're glad to have him.