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Roll20 on new new google hangouts12/14/2023 The VTT has a whiteboard type feature, so the GM could draw the rooms and doors we encountered. We have tokens with the names of each player to show marching order, etc. uploaded to Roll20, so we just used a grid over a graphic of a stone floor. ![]() For this week, he had not had time to get maps, etc. ![]() The GM had been sick last week and cancelled last week’s session. The actual game session started about ten minutes late. Roll20 can simulate a deck of cards for situations that require use of cards. I signed in to Roll20 early and there were only two other players. so I had as close to an AD&D dwarven fighter as imaginable. I did not have time to read and understand what choices to make for feats, etc. 3.0 and later, have all the feats, skills, and abilities that are not part of D&D or AD&D. As I understand it, the later versions of D&D, i.e. I have no exposure to D&D 3.0, 3.5, or 4.0. I have played D&D Basic and 1st Edition, and had minor exposure to 2nd edition. D&D Next can be played that way, but it has been influence by all version s of D&D. I am old school, so I know how to roll up a character and get started in short order. I started about 6:30 PM and was “done” with my character about 8:30. I rolled up a character using real dice, then I had to read through a PDF on character creations, then classes, then races, then equipment. This was the more challenging part of the whole thing. D&D Next is D&D 5.0 and is slated for release this summer. I had signed up to the D&D Next beta at Wizards of the Coast, so I had the latest rules. To play, you roll up a 10th level character using the D&D Next beta play test rules. The game I participated was Vault of Time hosted by the founder of the Friday Night D&D: Next Google+ Community. There are multiple layers that can be displayed and the GM can see things on the GM only layer As a GM, you can have multiple Roll20 campaigns/games, and as a player, you can participate in multiple games. To roll, you either have to type a command in the chat window, or set up a macro with frequently used rolls. It has an option to show 3-D dice that roll across the VTT, but it is slow and slows down the game. It also features a dice roller that just says what dice was rolled, pus any modifiers and gives the result. For a fee, you can get specialized tokens and maps that give you more options. There is a library of free tokens and maps, and you can upload your own. You can use tokens for players, monsters, and items. You can display different maps, with a grid. I have gone through the Roll20 tutorial about how to do things. Those are not necessary to run or join a game. I have a Roll20 account, it is free to use, but for a fee, you can get some more bells and whistles. If you have two monitors, it would work better to have it on one screen and the VTT on the other. That made it more like a face-to-face session. It is not required for it to be open, but I found it helpful to have a window just big enough open to see who was speaking. Having the hangout window open covers part of the screen. ![]() The nice things about using G+ Hangouts is that it showed who was speaking, either by the video of the speaker going to the center of the screen, or showing the picture displayed by those not using video. A headset with a microphone would work, as it appears some other players were using. If you don’t have a webcam or don’t want to be on video, you just need a microphone so others can hear you, and decent speakers so you can hear them. That it only useful if you want to see the other players. I have seen YouTube videos of past Google+ Hangouts, and have had invitations to them before, but never had the time to get involved in one. I signed into Roll20 early, so I don’t know if joining the hangout would take me to Roll20 or not. You also sign into Roll20 when it is time. You accept the invitation to the G+ Hangout and sign in when it starts. Roll20 has integration with Google+ Hangouts. It can hold fancy maps of terrain, buildings, dungeons, etc, or just a grid to keep track of marching order or positions of objects, players, and monsters. The display has an area that is the “table-top”. From my experience, I prefer a larger screen. It works in your web browser, so it can work on a computer, laptop, tablet, or even a phone. They can be just voice, or mix the use of video and voice. Google+ Hangouts are a way to do group conference calls online. ![]() I had my first session of playing an RPG using Google+ Hangouts and Roll20.
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