Roll20 and the Inexorable March of Technology

Inspirobot won't ever annoy you.

So, here's the deal.

We started Storm King's Thunder on a table...albeit a small one.  It wasn't long after we had moved into the new house and space was a premium.  At some point, we got the idea to use the TV on the wall to show some data using some camera and VOIP.  This allowed folks at home to join in, but eventually we moved the game to Roll20.

Everyone eventually decided to show up at the actual game to engage in camaraderie and intelligible conversation.  It was decided that we would be using Roll20 only if folks couldn't make it to the physical game location, and it was better.  At some point, I got the official stuff on Roll20 and subscribe monthly to get those cool light effects.

We have kept on using Roll20 up until this point.  Everyone comes to the spot, but they bring their laptops.  We have very little use for most of the analog items in my lair.

The main reason for continuing to use Roll20 is (I believe) I paid for it on Roll20 already.

Now I like some Roll20.  I think it's really neat.  I liked playing around with it, and it's a very useful tool for long distance gaming.  I think it would have been nice to have that when I was a kid.

I enjoyed building adventures in Roll20, but it's very time consuming...more so even than normal DM work.  Graphic design skills are really a necessity, or at least basic manipulation skills.  If you want it to look really nice that is.

I think I might like to run a full campaign online, where everyone has nice quiet lairs to retreat and enjoy the game.  However, I think I will enjoy having folks at my table better.  An ACTUAL table.  I think it's just a way cooler experience and is pretty much the entire point of the hobby.

Unless I can get all my out of state buddies nailed down for a game on Roll20, I'm definitely heading back to the table after Storm King's Thunder.  Until then, it's usefulness has really run it's course for me.  Frankly, I'll be happy to get back to my terrain collection and all those ridiculous figures I've managed to hoard over the years.