I've read quite a few questions and answers on here about having one or two remote members as well as a few about having the entire game remote. I have a related, but slightly different question.
We have a group of 7 people who have never played D&D (or any other tabletop RPGs) before and who would like to start playing D&D 5e. I'm planning on being DM, and I'm really looking forward to it (as are the rest of the members in the group), but we have a slight location problem: I'm going to be in a different state for the next couple of months, and we wanted to start now instead of waiting a few months to start. (A quick note: after I return, two of our other members will be remote (one full-time and one about every other session), so waiting won't entirely fix the issue anyway.)
I understand that people who are experienced and have played together in the past are having success with one or two remote players, and that it is possible to play the entire game online. We do want the social feeling of a physical, in-person tabletop RPG, so we're not looking for an all-online answer, but I'm essentially wondering two separate things:
First, how possible is it to run a partially-remote game when none of us have played D&D before? Are there any tips you'd recommend above and beyond those that experienced players would use to play partially-remote games?
Second, how well does a partially-remote game work when the DM is the one remote, rather than the players? Does anyone have experience with this? How did you deal with it and how well did it work out?
Any recommendations are appreciated. Thanks in advance for any answers, advice, or tips!
Best Answer
My group uses a private Google+ community to organise the games, and G+ alongside Roll20 to play the games. We play entirely online on a weekly basis, mainly because we're all about the same age and have small children and families, so it's difficult to get together for a face to face game.
For D&D 5th Ed you're pretty spoiled for choice, but when it all boils down the best two options are this:
Roll20, either in conjunction with G+ or on it's own. You can create an account and run your campaign through it for free, and the biggest pro (in my opinion) was the ease of use when it integrates with G+. Most everyone has a google account these days, so they also have a G+ account whether they know it or not. Once you've created your game in Roll20, you can choose to launch it in a g+ hangout.
Once you've done that for the first time, whenever you launch a G+ hangout the Roll20 app will be present, and you can launch it and select your campaign from within the hangout. Running the game each week becomes as simple as scheduling a G+ hangout event and showing up - the players don't even need Roll20 accounts, they just click the hangout invite link and game on. The D&D 5e character sheet for Roll20 seems pretty excellent too, with some dice rolling automation built into it. We're taking it for a test run soon hopefully.
The other main option right now, though it can get pricy, is Fantasy Grounds. It's not as simple for the players as Roll20 (which is, as i've said, just a link click), but if they're willing to install the program (available on Steam now as well), Fantasy Grounds is now the official online tool for D&D 5th, in partnership with Wizards of the Coast. It has excellent integration with the rules system and character sheets, as well as supporting hero lab. Some friends of mine swear by it, though it is a bit more complicated to get set up and running.
Both solutions support full voice, and I know Roll20 supports full video both in the app itself and through hangouts, as well as an online tabletop for maps, images, handouts and whatever else you like. This made it a lot easier for us to retain that "social tabletop" feeling, despite playing entirely remote. Using a large enough screen and a good set of speakers and microphone, you could play partial remote (with only a few players remote) or even with everyone in the room and disabling the voice and video altogether if you wanted.
Either way, if you do plan on getting in to running your games online through virtual tabletops, Google+ is your friend! There is a massive community of people there who will be more than happy to lend any assistance required.
Personally, I run a community geared at assisting people to set up, run or find games in the asia-pacific time zones. You can find it here: https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/100566740249118526694
For other timezones, such as the American zones, a great place to start is here: https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/107422815813208456454 It's an excellent community filled with friendly people.