With theDungeons & Dragons2024 Dungeon Master’s Guidecoming out in November, many new players and DMs may be looking to start games. 5th Edition is generally beginner-friendly, and the new 2024 rules aim to make it even more so, but they may not address all the problemsD&Dgroups deal with today. Particularly,difficulties with communication and presentation when playing the game online.
Dungeons & Dragonsis a social game, and playing it in person is a very different experience than doing so in an online setting. Many groups have had to make the transition online in recent years, andit’s likely that onlineD&Dwill only get more prevalent as time goes on. These ten tips should help players and DMs new to the online version of the game get accustomed to it, and avoid some of the common pitfalls of playing in this environment.
10Be Patient With Technical Difficulties
Tech Problems Are Inevitable - Don’t Let Them Get You Down
Playing online poses all sorts of potential problems with technology, internet connection, and more. More often than not, especially in a big group, there will be at least one technical difficulty per session. Going into the game, players should be aware of this potentiality, andprepare themselves to be patient.
Dungeons & Dragonscan already move slowly at times, and technical difficulties slow it down even more. It feels bad to wait for your turn in combat only for someone else’s connection to go out or their mic to die, disrupting the flow of the fight. But constantly getting aggravated over this andtaking it out on the person experiencing the issue will only make things worse. It may sound obvious, but a bit of sympathy and patience can go a long way towards making those moments more tolerable.
9Establish Clear Channels Of Communication
Make Planning As Easy As Possible
When a group never engages face-to-face, communication will inherently be more difficult. Talking over text or through the phone means things like body language and facial expressions can’t do the work they do in a physical space, soparty members need to work even harder to clearly communicate. It will largely come down to theDM to plan out and createthis channel of communication, but the entire group must be willing to engage in it.
Some of the biggestsources of frustration inD&Dgroups come from inconsistent or unreliable scheduling, which can often lead to group collapse. The best way to avoid this is to have solid channels set up from the beginning for people to share schedules and communicate about any concerns. If the group remains committed to using these tools, many problems will be solved before they even arise.
8Be Ready For Awkward Silences
Get Comfortable With Pauses, And Build A Conversational Rhythm
Another issue that comes from a lack of face-to-face communication is awkward pauses and people talking over one another. This can even be a problem for groups using face cams, since they have a delay on their display. In person, we can generally tell when someone else is going to start speaking, or when they are waiting for us to do so; online, it’s different. The DM may pose a question to the party, andno one responds since they are all trying to leave room for the others. Or, they all respond at the same time.
Repeated over time, these kinds of incidents can cause some players to stop speaking entirely, since they feel their opinions are not wanted by the group.
Table talk can get chaotic even in person, so this isn’t strictly an online issue, but it’s definitely made worse in that setting. There are a couple of things players and DMs can do to cut down on this issue, such as having a set rhythm for when party members chime in, havingsome kind of visual indicator that someone is about to speak, or just referring to each other by name more often to indicate you are waiting for a specific person to respond.
7Make Use Of Map And Token Tools
Making The Best Of An Online Setting
Theater-of-the-mindD&Doften does not work as well in an online setting. We all like having some kind of visual or interactive element to games we play, and in person, being able to look around at and talk to one another can fulfill that want. But online, where audio is the only connective tissue between players, something else needs to fill that role. Luckily,an online setting is quite good at providing visual and interactive elements,provided everyone has access to a computer.
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Sites like Roll20, World Anvil, or even just D&DBeyond can all allow DMs to share visual elements with their players and share information on character sheets.DMs should make use of these tools to whatever degree they and their players enjoydoing so, especially since many of them are free. They help keep people engaged and can fill in the gaps of setting descriptions with something concrete.
6Get Started Right With A Session Zero
Even Online, This Step Is Important
Online or not,a session zerois important in any game. This sort of preliminary session serves many purposes:it gives players an idea of what kind of game to expect, lets them work together to figure out characters, and can be used to establish a tone among members of the group. It’s also a good time for DMs to figure out what, if anything, their players want them to keep out of their game.
Playing online and with strangers, it can be hard to find times during games that feel natural for sharing this information. A session zero establishes a time set aside specifically for that kind of sharing and allows introductions to happen outside the fiction of the game itself.
5Don’t Be Afraid To Modify Stat Blocks
DMs Have The Freedom To Alter Encounters To Keep Things Balanced
This is another tip that works both online and offline, and applies to new DMs worried about how to abide by all the rules of the game.D&Dis a game, and rules are important, but nothing is set in stone. As long as the group is in agreement about changing a rule or making an exception to one, there’s nothing stopping you. Andmonster stat blocks are even more adaptable.
Want to include a high-level beast in a low-level campaign? Feel free to tweak its health and damage to match the strength of your players, or add some unique weakness.
Many players will be quite familiar with the stat blocks for classic monsters, like a displacer beast or a mimic, butDMs are well within their rights to change aspects about their monsters.Want to include a high-level beast in a low-level campaign? Feel free to tweak its health and damage to match the strength of your players, or add some unique weakness. Doing this in a way that maintains balance takes practice and experience, but experimenting with encounter design is part of being a DM, so don’t be afraid to try new stuff.
4Prompt Fellow Characters By Name
Being Direct With Inviting People Into Scenes
This was mentioned earlier, sincereferring to player by their name and character name helps to clarify who one is talking to. And it is important for that reason, assisting in communication and inviting players into a scene. But it also helps in the way that it makes players, especially new players, feel wanted within the group.
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It is intimidating to join aD&Dgroup, and doing so online makes it more difficult to gauge how others are reacting to your presence. But referring to others in the game using their character name can make it clear that you want to interact and be a part of the group.Experienced players can help new ones get used to interacting in character like this, andnewD&Dplayerscan do it to show that they are engaged.
3Pick A Character Voice That Comes Through Clearly
Don’t Make It More Difficult To Understand Each Other
This point is important to remember for players that love getting in character with a modified or goofy voice. Character voices will always be a part ofD&D, but online,players need to remember how they will sound coming through a mic. Even the best of mics cause some distortion, and often, a live call between multiple people will have a lot. This problem gets even worse with spotty internet that causes people to cut out.
Even with a clear voice and good mic, odds are that sometimes you won’t come through clearly to others. Just like with technical difficulties, remain patient if you need to restate something due to faulty audio.
When picking a character’s voice,make sure it is something that will still be easy for others to understand and for you to stick withover the course of a campaign. This applies to DMs picking voices for NPCs, since they want their players to be able to understand their story, but mainly to players who will be speaking as the same character for much more time. Communication is key, and it’s hard if you purposefully pick a voice that makes your words unclear.
2Stay Focused On The Game At Hand
Avoid Distractions As Much As Possible
One bit of behavior that is more common than some people might think is multitasking with another game duringD&D. This is pretty uncommon in person, but online,it’s easy for those not directly interacting in a scene to get distracted by their phoneor start playing another game on their computer. And while it’s widely agreed that this is bad form, it’s easy to understand why it happens sometimes. If one player is doing a scene by themselves for ten minutes or more, other players may be antsy and just want to be doing something.
D&Dis a long game, with sessions that often go for two to three hours on average. Still, players should do their best to avoid doing this kind of thing unless the group is fine with people doing other stuff mid-session. It can be hurtful to the DM and other players, who feel like you are checking out of a group activity or don’t care about the work they’ve done. Andfor DMs, remember to try and keep your players engaged, either encouraging them to participate in scenes or introducing information they will want to know and care about.\
1Set Clear Start And End Times
Boundaries Are Key In The Absence Of Body Language
Speaking ofDungeons & Dragonsbeing a long game, games running over time can be a big problem for some people, which is completely understandable. Anyone who has played the game knowshow difficult it is to find the time for an over three-hour session, and often it is scheduled around work, sleep, food, and all sorts of other commitments. Respecting one another’s time is key, and so is being able to tellwhen a game needs to end.
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But that’s harder online, where a person’s expression or body language can’t convey that they need to leave. One solution for this is for everyone to communicate more directly when they need to be done, butthat can be difficult for those anxious about ruining or stopping the game for everyone else. Most of the time, the best solution is just to schedule clearly and to have set beginning and end times for aDungeons & Dragonssession. That way, everyone knows exactly what to expect, and the DM has a clear point where they need to cut the game off.
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Dungeons and Dragons
Dungeons and Dragons is a popular tabletop game originally invented in 1974 by Ernest Gary Gygax and David Arneson. The fantasy role-playing game brings together players for a campaign with various components, including abilities, races, character classes, monsters, and treasures. The game has drastically expanded since the ’70s, with numerous updated box sets and expansions.
