Streaming platforms (such as Discord) are popular for allowing more players to join roleplaying games across inconvenient distances, or at least to compromise with tight schedules or other lifetime commitments and obligations. These are good reasons to use this technology solution in bringing more players "to the table."
I have recurring frustrations using this technology so far, and it seems that the lack of a common agreement for courtesy among friends when roleplaying our games on these platforms is the next required solution.
The motivation of my efforts is the chaos resulting when players talk over each other--or the GM--throughout total online sessions; and though this may also pose a similar problem for fully in-person sessions, at least we as social-creatures are more able to judge each other's body language and eye contact to quell such a mess offline.
Knowing this, online gaming is likely derailed more often than it would be during in-person gaming, despite the use of webcams and mics for each person, so a kind of social contract written in the interests of courtesy and smooth gameplay seems to be necessary.
My candidate for such an agreement follows, which includes the understanding to be flexible with hybrid play.
For the interests of smooth gameplay during strictly online sessions, on platforms such as Discord:
Primary Rule
- Only the GM's mic may be set on "Voice Activity" by default.
- Everyone else fit to do so must set their own mics on "Push to Talk."
Jeopardy Rules When the GM offers an open call to the players for in-game actions:
- The player who beeps their Push-to-Talk button first, speaks first.
- The GM decides who wins in a tie or close call (e.g. highest DEX score, newest/youngest/guest player, current mood et.c.).
- Only when you are granted permission by the GM can you begin to speak for the purposes of regular play.
Additional consideration:
For all players: each player
may be limited to asking up to 1, 3, or 5 questions of the GM before making a final decision as to that character's desired action.
- Pending on individual player manners, this additional consideration may be instated or dismissed at the GM's discretion at any time.
- This additional consideration could instead be used to increase the tension of any scene for the purposes of play, instead of for individual player discipline.
In-Game Courtesy Out-of-game questions should be
typed-by-hand by inquiring players into a personal chatroom with the session's GM.
Note: This provision concerns matters which are
not urgent points of order concerning the game's rules or plot consistency.
Record Keeping Each player
should briefly type-by-hand into the server chat how your character's actions or choices were resolved for your turn, with as much flavour as desired by the player.
- This creates a set of minutes for the session (including "bookmarks" as typed headers by the GM announcing new scenes, events, or encounters) from which everyone can discretely reference what has already happened in-game, and may later be saved and archived into a word document for everyone's benefit.
- NO out-of-game chatter may be allowed into server-chat minutes--however, emoji reactions are fine, and other quips or short interjections made by your character in-game as free actions are not merely permissible, but welcomed for these records.
Hybrid Play Whenever some players are in-person whilst others are online, or as the circumstances of individual players may dictate, this agreement will require adjustments suitable for the fairness of all player participation, that may vary across all player groups.
Such needs may include, but are not limited to:
- Permitting online players to set their mics on the "Voice Activity" setting.
- Modifying the provision for In-Game Courtesy, as it is not applicable to hybrid sessions as written above.
- Discarding the provision for Record Keeping outright, especially if this would place an undue burden on a single player.
Note:
It is at the GM's discretion to modify this agreement for the purposes of ensuring that every session runs smoothly for all players in that group.
I believe you're not kidding that VTT gaming needs this kind of rigmarole to make it work, which translates into "do whatever it takes to have an in-person face-to-face gaming group instead"
Aye carumba! I'm verklempt just thinking about it!
In all fairness, I'm not expecting a huge response to this beyond some retort like "you want me to wear diapers?"
I don't think it's entirely implausible a thing to have to impose for some groups though.