VTTs have been around since at least the 90s and probably earlier in text format. MUDs and MUCKs. Quite a few MUCKs have a dice roller function.

I own Foundry and Fantasy Grounds and play a mix of VTT and in-person games.  I prefer in-person, there's no substitute to the people actually being in the room with you, but VTTs are indispensable for being able to play with distant people and offer a lot of QoL benefits on the side with easy access to references, auto-calculating rolls, etc.  Also, when running a game in VTT, I can just snag pictures off the internet and throw together maps and tokens from them in minutes, no need to sweat finding a mini for whatever person or monster before the weekend's game.  Being a VR nerd, I've thrown money at a couple VR VTT projects even though they're being done by small teams and I think are unlikely to succeed, because the potential of that would be insanely cool if someone actually pulls it off.

I run face-to-face almost exclusively. When I have to pipe player(s) in, I do so via cameras with Discord. I don't use VTT's. I do use a battlemat and minis for important fights and certain adventure segments. But I use a lot of theater of the mind mostly.

I could never see myself or my players using a VTT. I find it unnecessary. I don't really have a problem finding players, rather than finding players that are mature enough to play in my games. My preference is always face-to-face. I think virtual loses a lot of fidelity and depth to which I like to play.

Given my options - if I had to go full virtual, I'd just stop GMing TTRPGS (which is weird to even think about, but I'd do it) and continue playing MMO's with friends and family.

To me, VTT just seems like a bad MMO. Why not just play an MMO or team video game and get that whole vidya gamer experience?

I've tried online play via video chats, but it doesn't hold my attention as a GM or players. I need that face to face / theater of the mind interaction.

Quote from: Spinachcat on March 16, 2024, 01:47:36 AM
To me, VTT just seems like a bad MMO. Why not just play an MMO or team video game and get that whole vidya gamer experience?

I've tried online play via video chats, but it doesn't hold my attention as a GM or players. I need that face to face / theater of the mind interaction.

Have you seen the ping on a US server for someone playing from China? VTT lag you don't even notice.

And seriously, that's the only reason I have a VTT game I'm in. Really good group, but they're presently spread across half-the-globe.

You know the adage "No table is better than a bad table?" its sorta the opposite for VTT "a great table is worth the hassles of VTT to hold onto."

My group is on the west coast. I'm on the east coast. We use Owlbear Rodeo for the dice roller. Google Meet for the video link. Theater of the mind  for the game. And it rocks!!

Adapt, Improvise, and Overcome.

Do what you need to do.

Not gaming sucks.

Playing TTRPG even over remote software rocks!!!

Caveat: With the right people.

If you're in some shitsplat town with no ttrpg activity, online is your only option. Online can also connect you to old gaming friends who live far away. It aint a "divide" it's a new medium to play ttrpgs and it's a good thing. Anything that connects gamers so we can kill more monsters and get rich is GOOD.

I play both (not VTT but Roll20 with discord), but I prefer ftf. As do a lot of players, but some groups just can't meet ftf. VTT fills a need, but even with a decent set-up it's not a patch on ftf. The issue with ftf is getting a place to play that all the players can turn up to. So most of my games are online for this reason. I'd prefer them to be ftf, but it's just not possible.
 

I do a lot of RPG sessions online through things like skype. I have been in games using VTT stuff but it isn't my cup of tea. It feels like a very different experience to me than keeping things theater of the mind. The only software I rely on occasionally are things like character generators (which can be an easy way to make NPCs or PCs on the fly)

I had a pretty good run with the Sunday Skypers and that was all online through several campaigns.  But, we automated nothing except for some shared dice rolls or maps.

Quote from: Jaeger on March 13, 2024, 09:55:46 PM
In my opinion; You can get very different perspectives on a RPG system depending on whether a group plays live, vs. through a VTT that automates the game mechanics.

Definitely! I went from table to discord during COVID and it completely changed a few aspects. For example, rolling a d27 is very easy, and you could easily introduce 1d7 and 1d9 weapons if you wanted. OTOH mapping was a little hard until I got the hang of it.

Another thing is that some VTTs (I imagine) will not have fudging tools, so the GM has to roll fairly... which many 5e fans do not like. I'm curious to see how this will turn out.

I prefer playing live. However, due to scheduling etc. I think online play will be my reality 99% of the time now.

I think the OP asks a very interesting question.

I've been lurking on this board for at least a year before I started posting.  One impression I got was that there was a divide between the VTT and Table crowd.  But that just my impression.

I'm in that group of people that if I want to play, I have no choice but to play with a VTT.  I live  in a very small community, very far north, and really it's the only chance I have.  I know one other person who plays RPG's (and I've looked and asked around).  And it's only 5e, and it's a closed group, and 3 of the 6 people who play are playing by VTT.

Playing by VTT raises, as others have said, some good oppurtunities to automate some of the crunch.  But I got to thinking: "Fine, I can automate stuff, so why would I 'handcuff' myself playing a game meant for tables, pen and paper and dice?  Let's see what this VTT can do.  How can I really use all this automation, craft some rules that still mean something playing your character, without the players worrying about tracking each and every sling bullet."

More than that; How can I use the VTT as a GM to augment what I'm presenting to the players, make that encounter come alive.  Raise the tension.  Make the hair stand up on the back of their necks.  Get the blood pumping.

Don't get me wrong.  I'd love to join a table group of good people, regular game night sort of thing.  Have a couple of beers, roll some dice, kill things.  But, the possibilities of a VTT, they make a guy think.

Ag.

Quote from: aganauton on March 24, 2024, 10:46:52 AM
But, the possibilities of a VTT, they make a guy think.

Like most new technologies, VTT creates new possibilities but there is always a corresponding cost.  It may be hard to envision right now for some but I expect AI to advance so much that the need for GMs and even other players will become optional (solo RPGs have already proven that).  Technology is accelerating our isolation and because it is so convenient and easy, it's hard to resist.

For me VTT takes away the "soul" of the game.  I can't replace or replicate the face to face interaction.

I think that the defining difference between a tabletop game in general--but RPGs especially--and a video game is that you are actually doing the operations to run the game with your own brain. This means that VTTs and in-person pen and paper RPGs have radically different game feels, and it's basically only a matter of time before the VTT end of the equation loops back around and becomes video games because VTTs provide the game feel of a video game.

And let's be real; game design structures like Minecraft can give first order approximations to RPG freedom.

Quote from: Silverblade on March 24, 2024, 07:07:41 PM
I expect AI to advance so much that the need for GMs and even other players will become optional (solo RPGs have already proven that).

I've dabbled with the solo RPG thing with AI chat bots.  I had a great time.  But, and it's a big but, current AI is nowhere near ready for GM duties. 

In the case of solo play, I've had years of experience across a dozen systems and it worked for me because I used the AI like an oracle.  An oracle, in solo RPG parlance, is a random procedural tool for answering questions.  Some folks call it a GM emulator, but I think that's not wise since the player really needs to wear the PC and the GM hat.  They need to interpret results and ask targeted questions to get the system to perform as anticipated.  It's a skill and one the AI does not have.  There are a number of things that AI currently fails hard at like memory limits (tokens), forgetfulness of story threads and NPCs, breaking scene emersion, outright hallucinating (in non-constructive ways), failing at rules or switching systems, etc.  They can work as oracles when you give them limited, context specific questions, and rein in their non-productive flights of fancy.

So, I think there is a future, but not as a miracle GM replacement.  It can be fine addition for a no-prep GM, a GM-less group (they still do their own interpretations when needed), or as an oracle for solo play.