Purpose of this Document

The goal of this document is to create a shared space to lay out consistent processes to…..

  • Standardize and optimize the SGC online gaming process.
  • Offer an educational resource to people inexperienced with playing tabletop role playing games (TTRPGs) online.
  • Provide a repeatable template for other groups.

Standardize the SGC online gaming process

We believe in the power of process. With strong processes, we make it SUPER easy for new facilitators to jump in and focus on gaming without worrying about missing an important step.

We take group-ownership to ensure that we all look out for each other and our pre-game checklist ensures we’re all on the same page about what’s expected every time you’re in an SGC game.

This document aims to extend that process to our online play.

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A resource for people inexperienced with online TTRPGs

We’ll offer tools, tips, and general guidelines for people new to online Tabletop Role Playing Games.

Quick Links:

Provide a repeatable template for other groups

We are a part of a global community of gamers. There are groups just like Story Games Columbus all over the world. Let’s make it easy for them to get online and support them in this small way!

Quick Links:

Resources for People new to Online TTRPGs

There are several key factors when playing online:

  • Principles unique to online play that keep games running smoothly
  • Tools for communication (Text, Audio, or Video)
  • Tools for rolling dice and/or drawing cards
  • A shared tabletop for character sheets, notes, visuals, images, miniatures, and similar

Principles for online play

  1. Keep it simple. Don’t overcomplicate things. Stick to tools you’re already comfortable with where possible. Stick to simpler games if possible to minimize confusion.
  2. Limit distraction. Just as with any SGC game, the game is a shared space that we are all responsible for. We’re never asked to keep playing if we don’t want to, but if we choose to sit down at the metaphorical table we need to take ownership over that experience and do our part to make sure we are focused and not distracted.
  3. Aim for the richest form of communication you can. Generally speaking video is better than audio, and audio is better than pure text. This ties into limiting distractions, but it also ties into getting the richest possible experience. That said, some people simply don’t have cameras. That’s of course OK, but there’s something lost there.
  4. Use headphones for video and audio. To limit audio feedback, if you’re using a computer mic, it’s generally much better to use headphones for audio to limit the feedback noise going back into the mic.
  5. Spotlight is key. It can be much more of a challenge to chime in or have your voice heard online. Regularly check in to make sure that everyone is able to participate. Consider sticking to games with a structured turn order to make sure everyone gets their time to set their own scenes.
  6. Communication and boundaries are even more important online. Online it’s very easy for someone’s discomfort to go unnoticed. It’s crucial to have easy ways for people to X-Card or chime in when they feel uncomfortable. (Make an X with your arms to X-Card on video, type in the chat, or speak up if you’re able).

Tools for communication

As mentioned above, keep it simple and stick to what you know! If you’ve used Skype extensively for work, then go ahead and use Skype as your tool of communication! Keep it simple. Stick to what you know. That said, here are some recommended tools:

Text

  • Discord is a chatroom tool that we have available for all SGC members. We have channels for people who want to simply chat over text. One advantage of Discord is that it can be used in your web browser without downloading anything.  Discord is also nice for outside of game communication such as talking about games and finding groups to play with. Here’s a link to the Story Games Columbus Discord channel!

Audio

  • Discord has built-in audio channels. We currently have 3 separate voice channels for people who want to do audio-only communication.

Video

  • Discord - Discord has video conferencing as well! Since we will be using Discord for our meetup, it is very likely that this will be our recommended video platform. NOTE: You will need to become “friends” on Discord to be able to do Discord video. Discord video can only be done in DMs (including Group DMs).
  • Google Hangouts - Google Hangouts is a straightforward video calling tool that can be used in your browser window. It is well supported on all platforms (phone, tablet, computer), and it’s just generally pretty accessible since most people already have a Google account.
  • Note: Google Hangouts can be used for Audio-only and mixed groups as well!

Rolling dice and drawing cards

Keep it simple! If your group is comfortable, there’s nothing wrong with everyone just rolling their own physical dice at home. That said, there’s something fun and concrete about everyone getting to see a roll at the same time.

  • The Simple Option -  Roll for Your Party is a minimalist and streamlined way to get your rolls on in a shared room.
  • When you visit Roll for Your Party it creates a unique link just for you. You then share that link with your group and everyone can roll dice, use tokens, create clocks, and you will all see what happens there.
  • Be careful of the "clear" button. It will remove everything that anyone has added.
  • Make sure that everyone uses a different color for their dice!
  • The Complex Option - Roll20 - Roll20 is a complete virtual tabletop platform. You can use it for miniatures, maps, rolling dice, character sheets, all kinds of stuff! It’s a great tool if you’re going to be playing something a little more complex like Dungeons and Dragons or Burning Wheel. It has character sheets for all kinds of games, and they’re pretty neat because they’ve got macros built into the sheets that make rolling pretty easy once your character is set up.

Shared character sheets, visuals, etc.

What you need is going to be largely dependent upon what game you're playing. The easiest thing is to stick with a shared tool that everyone is already familiar with. What you want here is an easy way for everyone to see any images people might want to share as well as have access to everyones’ character sheets in a shared space.

What we generally need at SGC:

  • A shared space for “notecards” and other things we lay out as we play.
  • A way to share play sheets
  • A shared space to write out character traits
  • A shared space to doodle and/or draw

Some options:

  • The Easiest Option (character sheets only) - Gauntlet Character Keepers using Google Sheets - The Gauntlet is an online RPG community that plays primarily indie games. They’re a lot like us but online. The great thing is throughout their years, their members have created a TON of character sheets for many many different indie games. So, they’re pre-made, they’re great.
  • Another Simple Option - Google Slides - I know! Weird idea, right? But when you think about it, this is a great tool to drop images and text boxes and be able to move them around freely.
  • My advice: Don’t get too carried away. Your sheet doesn’t need to be even close to this beautiful. All you need is a shared space to jot things down, drop images, doodle, etc.
  • The Complex Option - Roll20 - This is a more complex and feature rich option. As mentioned above in the dice rolling section, it has built in character sheets with macros, the paid version has this really cool thing called dynamic lighting, it’s got a built in rules reference for Dungeons and Dragons (which isn’t relevant to SGC, but is relevant to others). If you are playing a complex game, I’d say this is worth your time.
  • If you are using Roll20 be sure to set the Roll20 to broadcast no audio. The effect of both being enabled will be an echo and feedback.
  • Use API scripts in Roll20 such as
  • Welcome Party - This simple script gives players a way of adding characters to the game when you are not there.
  • Raise your Hand - This gives quiet players a chance to be noticed when others are taking the spotlight.

Facilitator and GM Procedures

What to do before the game

Selecting the right game for online play

  • Keep it simple.
  • More structured games with strong turn order seem to flow a little better.
  • Consider the difficulty of creating tools for online play. Is there already a Character Keeper or online Playset available? Do you feel up to the challenge of creating one for this game?

Prep your play-area

  • Make sure you have the appropriate tools
  • Do a dry run with your communication tool if you haven’t before.
  • Will Roll For Your Party work for you?
  • Be sure that your character sheet/character keeper includes name and pronouns for player and name and pronouns for characters.
  • Do prep work on a Google Slide or Character Keeper in order to make it work for your game
  • Make sure you have any reference sheets available in a Google Drive folder.
  • Do you need a place to doodle? Google Slides are good. Google Draw is also good!
  • Consider doing a dry run or having someone from the SGC community do a quick once-over to look at your planned setup to see if it’s missing anything.

What to do at the start of the game

  • Aim to show up a little early and spend the first 15 minutes troubleshooting video and audio, getting everyone set up, and similar.

Story Games Columbus Facilitator checklist.

  • Introduce yourself (include your pronouns)
  • Invite players to do a quick introduction along with their pronouns.
  • Share needed materials
  • Google Drive Folder with...
  • Character Sheets
  • Game-specific Reference Materials
  • Play-sets/play areas (Google Draw? Google Slides? Roll20?)
  • RollForYour.Party Room Link
  • Briefly explain the high concept of the game.
  • Content Warning - If this happens to be a horror game or a game that is likely to include triggering content, as a facilitator please mention that now and make sure people feel comfortable to switch groups if they need to.
  • Remind everyone of our safety tools in place:
  • X-Card - All you have to do is make an X with your arm, type X in the chat, say “X-Card” or “Pause” and we will immediately stop and undo whatever just happened. If you are using Roll For Your Party, that also has an anonymous X-Card button, which is very nice!
  • Lines & Veils (Note: A google doc, with a "shared to anyone with the link" is a great way to do these anonymously and it can be created ahead of time and added to your game resources Google Drive folder that you will send to your players.)
  • Lines are things we simply will not have in our game. To start those lines are:
  • Sexual violence
  • Violence against children
  • Veils are things that may exist as content in the game world, but we will never directly show. When they do come up, they can be implied or can be faded to black. Starting veils:
  • Sex
  • Torture
  • Does anyone want to add any other Lines or Veils?
  • Open Table  - This is an open table. If you need to leave at any time for any reason whatsoever, feel free to do so. If you can tell me or let me know if you are coming back I would appreciate it, but if not, I can manage.
  • Remind the group that you are just a facilitator, you are helping to teach the game, but this is a shared experience that we all take ownership of.
  • Online play amplifies that responsibility. It is very easy to get distracted, we are asking that you please refrain from using Facebook, Reddit or other online distractions at this time. Make every effort to be as present and focused as you would be during an in-person session.
  • Spotlight is key. If you feel that someone is not getting the spotlight or that you are not able to communicate, please feel very comfortable speaking up and interrupting. If you feel uncomfortable interrupting, feel free to type in the chat or raise your hand to let us know you have something to add!

What to do during your game

  • Aim for a ~5 minute break once per hour.
  • When people get back, be sure to ask them how things are going. Regular checkins are super important. Make sure everyone is heard.
  • Be very mindful of spotlight.
  • Make notes of “stars” or high-moments in the game. Celebrate the cool moments. Aim to play up and give the other players their time to shine.
  • Ask if you can take a screenshot to share on social media! :)

Wrapping up your game

  • Ask if the group would like to do Stars and Wishes.
  • Stars - Things you enjoyed, moments you thought went well, things players did great
  • Wishes - Things you wished you’d done, wished others had done, think could have been better.
  • Thank the group.
  • Invite the group to follow us and post about the game at the SGC Facebook Group, Meetup Group, #StoryGamesCbus, etc.! - https://linktr.ee/storygamescbus 
  • Mention the next Meetup Date - Tuesday (6/2/20, 7/7/20, 8/4/20, 9/1/20)

Online Meetup Open Gaming Procedures

Note: A big thank you to Yoshi Creelman from the Gauntlet community for creating the bulk of the Gauntlet Games Now framework that we will be basing our online-specific meetup procedures on.

Prior to the meetup

As early as you’d like

  • Reach out to all facilitators, what games are on offer?
  • Ask members to please RSVP on either the FB event or on Meetup to ensure we have enough GMs

2 Weeks Prior

  • Begin compiling game pitches

1 Week Prior

  • Share on Social Media
  • Send to Meetup RSVPs

Several Days Prior

  • Remind people of how to join. Create dedicated Discord Text Channels AND a dedicated Discord Voice Channel specifically for the meetup.

Beginning the meetup

30 Minutes Before the Meetup

  • Get online & join the “meetup-muster” channels (Audio and Text) early so if people have questions or want to test equipment and do sound tests beforehand they can.
  • Post a link to the latest game menu (it may have changed in the week since when you sent it out) to the Mustering text channel.
  • Set-up the mustering/boarding groups. If this is a busy time, you might want to do this ahead of time. Evenly distribute the signed up people into different groups, try not to have more than 4 people in each group. Make new groups as needed if people who did not pre-register ahead of time show up.
  • Ask if anyone would like to be grouped together in a boarding group.

Beginning Meetup

  • If needed, post/link membership of the mustering groups again (this will be the same Google Slide as the Menu). - Or maybe just quote your original time posting it?)
  • Ask, “If you are not in a group, let me know so I can put you in a group/make a new group”
  • Also, let me know if you are not in a group with someone you wanted to be with.
  • type in mustering chat that if you can’t hear me, let me know cause you’ll need to hear what is going on.
  • Move into normal intro
  • Welcome to Story Games Columbus!
  • Who we are.
  • Inclusive group. Open to all. All experience levels.
  • Meet once a month
  • New group
  • Modeled after Story Games Seattle but nothing is set in stone
  • Please give recommendations
  • What we do.
  • Play one-shot role-playing games
  • Story Games -
  • Halfway between D&D and improv
  • Can be picked up and played with zero prep
  • Occasional Indie RPGs
  • Please find us online. Also invite your friends.
  • Rules - open games, shared narrative, so we need to be very conscious of helping people feel comfortable - we use the following tools - your facilitators will go over each of them specifically
  • Online Game - Online Games offer some unique considerations. Just as with any SGC game, the game is a shared space that we are all responsible for. We’re never asked to keep playing if we don’t want to, but if we choose to sit down at the metaphorical table we need to take ownership over that experience and do our part to make sure we are focused and not distracted.
  • Spotlight is key. Make sure you’re including everyone. It’s all of our jobs - not just the facilitator. And if you’re feeling shy and unable to speak up and force your way in, please feel safe communicating that - perhaps type it into the text chat or raise your hand if you’re on camera! We want you to have fun too, and we’ll really appreciate you letting us know when somethings going wrong.
  • Public Games - we will be operating under a PG-13 - light R spectrum. I’m a little reluctant to even suggest R, but I also want to leave some wiggle room for each group - especially since we want to leave the door open for horror.
  • X-Card
  • Lines & Veils
  • Open Door Policy
  • We will go until about 10-1030pm, please feel free to leave once you wrap up!
  • Introduce facilitators, and facilitators pitch their games

Online Meetup Steps:

  • Ask everyone to refer to their groups in the shared Google sheet. “If you are not in a group, let me know so I can put you in a group/make a new group”.
  • We will use the “Boarding Group” method to select games.
  • People are split into groups. People with friends can be in the same group. (Group A, Group B, Group C, etc.) Then, we will randomly select a Group. Members of that group then choose which game they want to be in.
  • “I will be announcing one mustering group at a time. 
  • Each member of that group will TYPE into the mustering channel which game they want to join.
  • Each person makes their own choice on what game to play, so you may all be in different games or the same game depending on your own individual choices.
  • It’s not a competition or a race, but if for any reason we need to break ties, we will go with the response order in the text channel. 
  • Once every person in that group has chosen a game, I’ll announce the next group.
  • Repeat until all groups have gone.
  • I might ask for some adjustments at the end of all assignments as we might want to re-arrange to make sure more people can play, such as having someone move to get a minimum number of players for a game that doesn’t meet it’s minimum player count yet or having someone move from a nearly empty game to a partially full game.”
  • “Once game assignment/mustering is done.
  • Each facilitator will send you a friend request and invite you to a group DM or post the link to their video call in their dedicated text channel. This can be a zoom link, a hangouts link or some other link. This is also a space where you can post links to character sheets, randomizers, roll20, etc. Just be clear for which game you are posting this links.
  • Now let’s get started.”
  • “Enjoy your games, and remember to thank each other for playing and facilitating. I’ll be available in the general text chat or via direct messages if needed. have fun!”
  • Stick around and be accessible in case anyone needs anything.