VTT and the Original Dark Magic

I have been hosting games on startplaying.games  for month now, and it has cemented my opinion on using VTT to run a TTRPG online. "Using VTT to run a TTRPG online". I mean this literally. If you commit to using a VTT for your game, the VTT is in charge. You are only going to be doing things in the game which translate to the digital screen. I imagine for some players they only know how to play VTT game and not really know how to play TTRPGs. I never had these tools when I was caught up in the hobbies first days. What we did have, like today, was robust discussions on how to play these games, what these games actually were, and whether or not other mediums have a place in these games. I don't recall important discussions around the use or not of DM/GM screens like there is today, but I loved them as a Dungeon Master, Gamma Master, Star Master, etc. One, they usually came with a decent adventure inside, and would have great art. But they were invaluable because they saved me time looking up, and re-looking up rules and modifiers. Mostly the modifiers. I do remember the screen was up on the table or laying flat, depending on my current needs. 

What I did not have to do was micro-manage tokens, scenes, graphics, lists, character sheets which crunch the numbers for you, tell you what you can and can't do, and the set up of all this takes time. And it is technical. I like ttrpgs because it takes me away from the technical, the managed, and (relatively) controlled aspects of my life. And everyone turns off their camera so they will have the necessary band-width to hang. This is what sunk the whole prospect for me. Call me strange, but I believe this is the greatest gift ttrpgs offer which many games cannot even touch; players invested in their group, dedicated to trying to have their best game possible. This means talking, like a lot. 

Obviously I am in the minority. Not providing an interactive tabletop software program is seen as a negative, a deal-breaker for many players, regardless how promising the campaign. The good news is this market is well served. On my side of the table I see room for an interactive game between the players. Roleplaying comes alive with face-to-face interaction. What player does not enjoy the twists and fits of facial expressions from a flabbergasted, stunned GM by your cockamamie action topped with a critical success roll!?!

The VTT feels like a video game to me. Probably because, like ttrpgs, in the seventies consul and arcade video games were in their infancy. And contrary to popular opinion, most gamers knew ttrpgs were what they had been looking for all this time, but just didn't know it. The game, the concept of the game was dead simple and easily understood. I do remember as a wee child being bored with Monopoly, Clue, Candyland (makes a great drinking game though), Stratego, and Risk. I had been exposed to tactical wargames before I was double digits, and if was going to move counters around the board they better be able to blow hell out of the countryside. But before all this, I only had paperback fiction delivering the imaginative excitement I craved. When Arneson and Gygax put the chocolate with the peanut butter what I needed had been just born. I cannot be the only one the first time someone told you about this game Dungeons & Dragons you got it. The lightbulb didn't just turn on, it exploded. I didn't have any of these game books and boxed sets until '81. What I did have was enticing rumors of this game, what it looked like, where you could find it and who was playing it near you. These trails, these breadcrumbs were everything like a classic Call of Cthulhu game. I was searching secrets many did not know. Picture a seven-year old hanging around the roller skating rink investigating the whereabouts of some person I never met who might know a little something about DnD. 

Trying to get a game group together is much like dating, for me. And can feel as awkward as asking someone on a date, hoping not to get rejected. And many, like me, got over these hang-ups quickly because we were driven to get into this game. Eventually getting the Moldvay Basic set in 1981 was like receiving ancient, magical tomes of wonder. It was easy to see a DM was nothing short of a wizard conjuring magic out of thin air. Almost. You did need pencil, dice, paper, and other people. Who could get along and carry a satisfying narrative with them as they explored the unknown, in game and adventure. That was appealing to me. I did not have any cash, and limited means of earning some. My friends like me who could not afford the game books, this was nice. There was no barrier to entry. 

I lose all this with a VTT.