Running Hybrid Games Online + In-Person

[Lalato]

In the before times, my group met at my house every week for our gaming sessions. I had a centrally located place and the space to host.

Over the course of the last few years, one of our group moved out of state. And I moved to another part of town. We also moved to online play during that time to accommodate these changes. Lately, we've started down the path of meeting in-person again (at least for those of us who leave somewhat near each other). We tested a few different setups, but finally settled on this...

Flatscreen TV on the table as a virtual battlemap.

One in-person player logs into Roll20 and displays that on the TV. The other in-person players can choose to bring a device and login... or they can choose traditional pen and paper. If they choose pen and paper, one of the players logged into roll20 moves their token.

The remote players are logged into roll20 and can move their tokens and play as normal. The DM is also logged in to reveal the map as needed.

We use Discord for voice communication. The player connected to the TV has an omnidirectional microphone (Blue Yeti) to collect all of the local player's chatter. The remote players are piped into the TV for output.

Do any of you have a similar use case? How did you solve the hybrid gaming problem?

[Vahnavoi]

We did it the other way around: play pieces and maps were physical and manipulated by people present at the table, with this communicated to absent players via video and photographs. Discord, Skype and AIM (yes, I'm old) used for text and voice communication.

[Lalato]

We did it the other way around: play pieces and maps were physical and manipulated by people present at the table, with this communicated to absent players via video and photographs. Discord, Skype and AIM (yes, I'm old) used for text and voice communication.

We tried this method too. We had a two cameras setup. One with a side view of the battlemap and miniatures. Another with a top-down view. It worked out mostly well. I think if we had stuck with it we would have gotten better at it.

During the first part of the pandemic, we also tried just the DM broadcasting the battlemap. This was before we switched to Roll20. That worked out OK, but required a lot more effort from the DM... which is why we switched to Roll20. We were playing Dungeon of the Mad Mage so it was easy to just buy the module on Roll20 and run with it.

[HeraldOfExius]

I've been part of a group where everyone else was in person while I joined via a video call. The group has been running since around 2018 or 2019, although we've had a few long breaks during that time. As a player, it seems to work out well enough. I did run a one shot over the call once, but I wouldn't want to run a whole campaign as the only remote player, which means the other player willing to GM has been mostly stuck with that role (at least until I'm able to move back to where everyone else is again). I do occasionally need somebody to explain something if I can't see or hear it clearly. It probably wouldn't work as well if there was more than one online player, but overall I find it works well enough, even if I would prefer in person.

It does offer the advantage (to me) that I'm always at a computer, which is useful for being able to quickly take notes or play as a spellcaster with several dozen spell slots that I may want to occasionally swap out using a spreadsheet I designed. I would not recommend playing remotely for the type of player who shouldn't be allowed to have a phone at the table.

[Lalato]

It does offer the advantage (to me) that I'm always at a computer, which is useful for being able to quickly take notes or play as a spellcaster with several dozen spell slots that I may want to occasionally swap out using a spreadsheet I designed. I would not recommend playing remotely for the type of player who shouldn't be allowed to have a phone at the table.

100%. We have one player who doesn't pay attention until it's their turn. Having access to a phone or computer just makes it worse.

[J-H]

We've done battlemap + streaming video once. DM + 2 players in person, 3rd player remote on her phone. It was okay.

I have a player who stays home when his back is bothering him. He attends via Discord audio and someone takes a photo of the battlemap to post in the chat channel. It works okay, but audio quality issues and lag means he's a bit off on conversations and can't follow things as well. It's definitely slower than if he was in person.

[Lalato]

We've done battlemap + streaming video once. DM + 2 players in person, 3rd player remote on her phone. It was okay.

I have a player who stays home when his back is bothering him. He attends via Discord audio and someone takes a photo of the battlemap to post in the chat channel. It works okay, but audio quality issues and lag means he's a bit off on conversations and can't follow things as well. It's definitely slower than if he was in person.

I think having the virtual battlemap on Roll20 has helped with some of this. Not perfect, of course, but it helps.

[J-H]

Yeah, but then I (DM) have to have a computer taking up space on the table. A complicated battle already requires the monster manual, a map, my dice and dice tower, and 4 or 5 printouts of stats for the different enemies (high level, casters common). I don't really have space for anything else unless I add a second side table.

In my next campaign, I'll be using a computer for reference because I'll be pulling from Baldur's Gate II and won't have 250 pages of printed out material in 9 file folders. I still wouldn't want to also have to manage a VTT.

With a physical battle mat, I can outsource the labor by having my players move their tokens and enemy tokens around, draw in effects, do the mapping for me as they explore, etc. As the DM, I already have more going on than any 3 other players. Anything they can do instead of me, I prefer that they do.

[Lalato]

With a physical battle mat, I can outsource the labor by having my players move their tokens and enemy tokens around, draw in effects, do the mapping for me as they explore, etc. As the DM, I already have more going on than any 3 other players. Anything they can do instead of me, I prefer that they do.

In our game the players still move the tokens for the players. If a player can't move their own token for some reason another player does it for them. The DM only handles the monsters. But definitely agree that if everyone is in-person having a physical map and minis is just way easier... and more satisfying.