Advice for local users.

Hey roll20ers, I have a campaign where my users are local (sitting in my living room) and I DM from my tablet. I was wondering how I should handle things. Since each token can have its own Identity, I am not worried about them not having characters, but more a long the lines of how I should set it up. Do you think it would be better to have them (3 players at the moment) All have accounts and use browser tabbing for them to take their turns. Make a global account and use Token Actions rather then a global bar. Another suggestion. Ideally I would like them to all use their own accounts, but only 1 of the 3 has a laptop to use. What do you think would be the best way to handle this arrangement, and what would you suggest in the event that we also have remote players join us (though I guess in that case it would default to 1.) Thanks.

If you're passing around one system, you may just want to give "All Players" access to tokens and player sheets, so it doesn't matter who's logged in. If you keep macros generic and/or use queries to let folks input their skill values on demand, you can put more character-specific actions as Token Actions on their player sheet. That will let you pass the laptop around, give your players access to general shared macros, and still have character-specific abilities available whenever they click their token.

"Best" solution is to all have their own accounts and laptops (easier to continue the game if someone is out of town) this would also allow for faster turns. Mark G's solution works as well.

Unfortunately, not all of my players have access to a laptop, and two of the local group do not even own computers, just xbox and phones. We use a facebook group to plan games and meetings.

It is general recommended to use 2 laptops and a tv if the laptops can be connected to it (most modern tv are hdmi compatible) for face to face gaming. The Gm uses his laptop separate while the other laptop is used by the group while it is connected to the tv. Mark G's suggestion about macros work with this easily. You use an omni-directional mic also if you have any remote players so that they can hear everyone at the table. <a href="https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/194328/suggestio" rel="nofollow">https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/194328/suggestio</a>... <a href="https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/243979/advice-on" rel="nofollow">https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/243979/advice-on</a>... Those links take you to old threads that discuss what you are going to attempt. There are more of the threads in the off-topic archives. You can surf through it or search.

I believe I have it figured out. I have a 55" HDTV in the livingroom, as well as this PC (which is in what would be the Dining nook) as well as my Tablet I plan to DM from. Sometime in the future I plan on building a multitouch table, but not until I move out of these upstairs apartments. No room for that sort of thing at the moment. I am going to go with use the one account for the locals and my GM tablet, and just mother hen my players. I still need to train em on using the app and getting them to work on one account smoothly should translate into taking on their own accounts with ease. Also working on refining my automation scripts, and opted for global common macros and then token actions for their special moves. I think its going to be a blast. I haven't heard from my remote players yet, but I have my Kinect setup for video conferencing.

Pat S. said: It is general recommended to use 2 laptops and a tv if the laptops can be connected to it (most modern tv are hdmi compatible) for face to face gaming. We've used ChromeCast to nice effect before. The HDMI dongle only costs ~$30, and Chrome is the best-supported browser for Roll20 anyway. The one caveat is that when casting tabs directly (rather than using an integrated application like Netflix or Youtube), it works better if the computer is on a hard-line rather than on wifi.

Brian said: Pat S. said: It is general recommended to use 2 laptops and a tv if the laptops can be connected to it (most modern tv are hdmi compatible) for face to face gaming. We've used ChromeCast to nice effect before. I have never used ChromeCast so I didn't think of mentioning it as I have no hands on XP with it.

@Brian regarding ChromeCast... So the chromecast device itself is always WiFi, never hard-wired, is this correct? Is it equal, better, or worse, to have Computer Hardwired to router, Chromecast getting WiFi on the TV --- or would it be better to have Computer HDMI to TV? I'm gathering they would be the same effect, just with the chromecast you have an ethernet cable going across one part of the room to make your computer hardwired, instead of an HDMI cable going across to your Tv.

Depends on the device from what I see. It is basically projecting your phone/tablet to your TV. In my case, having a wireless mouse and keyboard with the PC hooked up on the HDMI is much better since there are 3-4 people in my living room. AFAIK roll20 isn't ideal for phones, but like I said I don't know I don't even own a smart phone, just an acer Iconia A500.

Gold said: @Brian regarding ChromeCast... So the chromecast device itself is always WiFi, never hard-wired, is this correct? Is it equal, better, or worse, to have Computer Hardwired to router, Chromecast getting WiFi on the TV --- or would it be better to have Computer HDMI to TV? I'm gathering they would be the same effect, just with the chromecast you have an ethernet cable going across one part of the room to make your computer hardwired, instead of an HDMI cable going across to your Tv. Connecting your computer directly to your TV would essentially be turning your TV into a second monitor, so it should be the most responsive option. That said, I've experienced near-zero lag for casting a tab from a computer connected via ethernet to the home network, piping into the ChromeCast dongle. Casting a tab from a wireless device presents noticeable lag. (Casting apps with built-in support, such as Youtube or Netflix, works lag-free, because ChromeCast isn't actually trying to capture your screen, just a command queue. But casting a Chrome tab is the only way to use it with Roll20.)

Thanks for the feedback guys. Brian, that is helpful.