Welcome to the Lair of Secrets podcast! On this episode, we talk coffee, bullet journaling with the Leuchtturm1917 (for games) and Paperage A5 (for daily use), new backpacks, and the Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion board game. For the main topic, we discuss the relative merits and challenges of playing role-playing games in the real world, vs. the virtual one.

Want some more bullet journal inspiration? Check out our "Virtual Bullet Journals" post.

Coffee snobberyKen got an Aeropress.

Plunger-powered coffee press.

Quickly makes strong coffee.

Faster clean-up, fewer loose grounds than french press.

Super easy, light, and durable; might need to get one for camping and backpacking.

Also got an electric kettle. Which seems like cheating.

Day Pack of Holding

Ken's Osprey Stratos 24 pack came. Took it on a 5-mile shakedown hike last weekend. Worked great! Might not be ideal for conventions … or I just need to carry less books.

Big Huge Board Game ... now somewhat Less Huge ... but still Big

Ken played Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion with his son. Very approachable game; comes with its own ziploc bags and instructions on how to sort components. First few adventures are tutorials (of which we did one) that spell out how combat, spells, and movement work.

Bullet Journal TimeDavid started Bullet Journaling - jumped on the bandwagon, several years late

Paperage A5 - for daily/regular bullet journal - enjoying it so far

Yellow

Leuchtturm1917 for a game bullet journal - inspired by Ken’s use

Wine

Bullet journaling and gaming

Dune Mentat-like statement on the paper band of the cover

Terraforming the Garage

David is working on garage upgrade to make it more habitable in the winter months.

Murder, She Gamed

David geeks out about Brindlewood Bay.

From the DriveThru RPG blurb: "A roleplaying game about a group of elderly women—members of the local Murder Mavens mystery book club—who frequently find themselves investigating (and solving!) real-life murder mysteries."

Playing Role-Playing Games Virtually vs. the Real World

How is gaming remotely different than in person?

Opportunities to play shift.

Makes it easier for some people to join the game. Others (understandably) don’t want Yet Another Online meeting or lack gear/internet connection to make it work.

Overall, feels like there’s a small benefit, scheduling-wise

What extra considerations do you need when gaming remotely?

Battle Map Prep

If playing with maps, more time is needed to find and/or make the maps. Stockpiling maps (and pre-loading them into your tabletop) can be helpful.

Same goes for tokens. Investing time up front to have player tokens, common NPC tokens, and monster tokens is worthwhile.

Mapping sites:

https://watabou.itch.io/one-page-dungeon

https://donjon.bin.sh/5e/dungeon/

https://dungen.app/dungen/

Visuals

Even with theatre-of-the-mind style play, it’s helpful to pull together photos/videos/etc that show off campaign elements and then load them into the virtual tabletop. Pinterest is also good for this.

Mechanics

Mainstream games are easier to run because virtual table tops do a better job of supporting their mechanics. Theatre of the mind works well too.

Even simple mechanics, like Savage Worlds’ initiative card deck, can trip you up.

There’s a learning curve with whatever platform you use. Sometimes it feels like a learning ciff that you run smack into (or fall off of)

Technology

Finding a video conferencing platform everyone likes is hard. A little easier now though.

Uneven skill levels and technology among players (e.g. some people have headsets, some don’t).

Phones can be a great equalizer here, and avoid the software/driver upgrade cycle of heck.

How does virtual play affect personal interactions?

Difficult to “read the room” as a GM, especially if no one is using cameras.

No side conversations

Do you need more breaks?