Playing Online Without a Virtual Tabletop

My name is Eric Lamoureux and I've been playing tabletop RPGs online for over 12 years with a variety of tools.

The novel Covid-19 pandemic and social distancing have forced many tabletop RPG enthusiasts to migrate their game online. For many, playing virtually is something totally foreign. Choosing a solution among an abundance of options is daunting.

While I believe using a Virtual Tabletop (VTT) is a preferable option in the long run, they also come with a learning curve. If playing online is a temporary solution for you and your group, I believe there are more simple alternatives.

This article intends to explain to you how I've managed to run a game online without the use of a VTT; more specifically Savage Worlds.

I see a lot of people looking for complicated solutions to play online but when you really stop to think about it, most of the features that VTTs offer, although useful, are not absolutely necessary. Ask yourself this? Would I need that feature to run a game face to face? If the answer is no, you probably can do without it along with the learning curve and technical problems associated with them. Running Savage Worlds requires a few essentials.

• A group of people
• A way to communicate with the group
• A copy of the rulebook
• Props (dice, character sheets, a deck of cards, and Bennies)

Chances are you already have a group to play with so I'll save recruiting for another article.

A good way to communicate with other people through the internet is with audio and video conference software. Your cellphone is loaded with such apps. However, I believe that a desktop computer or laptop is better suited for this—at least for the Game Master. Skype and Discord are free and popular options. They are also easy to use. Not only do they allow you to communicate verbally but they also allow video if you have a webcam. They also enable you to share handouts (images and files.)

As for the rule books, your shelf and harddrive are most likely full of them. While certain VTTs (Fantasy Grounds) enable you to give access to an encrypted version of the rule books with your group without violating copyright, it is a luxury, not an essential. I'm sure that if you need to look something up, someone with a copy of the book can help you out. There is also the option of purchasing your own digital or physical copy.

You also have more dice than you need. Character sheets can be filled out digitally or printed out. Point is if you're playing Savage Worlds, you already own all of these props, including a deck of cards and Bennies. Each player can roll their dice at home and declare what they rolled. This is called the honor system. And to be honest, when I play face to face, I rarely pay attention to what others are rolling and just wait for them to tell me what they rolled.  There are also several dice rollers apps out there in case you're one of the few who doesn't own a set of dice.

So how do I manage all of these props as the GM? When it's time to deal initiative, I draw a card, show it to the cam and lay it in front of me (the space between my keyboard and monitors) in the order of the avatars or camera feeds. So if on my screen I see Tim, Karla, Bruno, and Nancy in that order, this is the same as if they were sitting in front of me. I draw their initiative cards in the same order. This is also the same order I lay down their stack of Bennies in the row above the cards. For the bad guys, I use minis or any other tokens to represent them by my mouse. I also try to keep minis to represent the PCs as well. If one is shaken, I can lay the mini down just as I would if playing face to face. I have tokens to represent the various conditions in Savage Worlds such as Distracted, Wounds, Fatigue, etc. If need be, I place those tokens down next to their mini or I write it down on the notepad. Whatever method you use in your in-person game can be replicated on your desk or dedicated space. That way, I can keep track of all the props. I also keep a notepad and a pen by me to take notes if necessary. 

One of my friends even had a set up with multiple cameras. One camera was pointed at his dice tray and another one to another tray where you could look at how many Bennies you had left. It's also perfectly acceptable for each player to keep track of their own Bennies if that's easier for you.

This works very well for theater of the mind type of play. But what about with a more tactical playstyle with maps and minis? This is indeed where VTTs shine because they allow you to track the position and movement of characters in real-time. But let's look at 2 free and easy methods.

Miro offers a free interactive whiteboard that refreshes in real-time. You can upload a map image to it, add labels, sticky notes and draw shapes or freehand on it.

With an image editing app, you can add letters and numbers to the X and Y axis of a map to track movement. With this method, you would need to write down everybody's position on your notepad or in the chat part of Skype or Discord.

The idea here is to keep it simple and reduce the likelihood of technical difficulties, the learning curve, and frustrations so that you can focus on playing a game instead of learning tools. If you only intend to run games online while you're in lockdown and you've never played that way before, I believe it's the easiest way.

How do you run virtual games without a VTT?

Wiseguys on Kickstarter March 26th!

The Wiseguys: Guide to Organized Crime Kickstarter campaign is launching on Tuesday, March 26th at noon Eastern Time.

We're using crowdfunding to pay for more illustrations such as the one in this gorgeous trunk shot illustration by Anna Jarmolowska.

We have the Comp Package with goodies like One Sheet crossover adventures, NPC cards, and a mega-casino gambling floor map! This Comp Package will grow if we reach stretch goals.

Check out a preview of the Kickstarter here.

As you can see, some rewards are limited, so make sure you're there to claim them first!

Why Savage Worlds?

Why Savage Worlds? Why is Wiseguys a good fit for it?

To answer that question I must first begin by talking about Just Insert Imagination. Just Insert Imagination came into existence in 2015 with the release of Winter Eternal for Savage Worlds. Founded by Morne Schaap, it has primarily been a publisher of Savage Worlds products ever since.

I, Eric Lamoureux, have been playing Savage Worlds for over 10 years and it's still my go-to system. I've been freelancing for about 6 years now, writing and designing products for Savage Worlds licensees, and joined the Just Insert Imagination crew late in 2015.

You can be confident that Just Insert Imagination knows Savage Worlds. So that's one reason why we chose Savage Worlds for Wiseguys.

The arrival of the Adventure Edition has made Savage Worlds more versatile than ever. The expansion of the Interludes, update to the Dramatic Task, the addition of the core skills,  new Edges, and Quick Encounters make it an excellent fit for Wiseguys.

Lastly, while this more a serendipitous than anything else, Wiseguys is the most natural setting to theme for your game. Think about it; Las Vegas, gambling? That's right! Your regular deck of card and poker chips are already perfectly themed for Wiseguys!

For today's art preview, we have an illustration by Mike Tenebrae. This character is Manny Sambino, a young but upcoming capo of La Cosa Nostra.

Equal Opportunity Evil

For this designer diary entry, I wanted to talk to you about how we included characters of any gender, sexual orientation, and ethnicity in Wiseguys.

The Italian-American Mafia is a secretive brotherhood of thieves whose membership is restricted to males of Italian heritage. During my research, I discovered that the Mafia employs and works with individuals called associates who aren't members. They perform the same tasks as made men of the lowest ranks but aren't privy of the Mafia secrets, aren't included in decision-making process, and don't get the same share of the profits. Furthermore, they aren't subject to the same rules and membership requirements. This was important because it opened the game up to more than just Joe Pesci clones as was the case in the adventure that started it all: Fuhgeddaboudit!

Associates made it possible to include circus acrobats, Las Vegas showgirls, roller derby or glow girls, wedding officiants and any character part of the Las Vegas landscape that you wouldn't typically expect to see in the Mafia while still respecting the integrity of this romantic and iconic crime syndicate.

Now I know what you might be thinking. But playing a real made guy is much cooler! Perhaps so. This is a decision you'll have to make when you make your Wiseguys character. However, I just wanted to share with you some of the precedents in history that may make you rethink that. Two men instrumental to the expansion of the Mafia in Las Vegas, Meyer Lansky, and Bugsy Siegel weren't Italian; they were Jewish. Frank Rosenthal, the man who ran 5 casinos for the Outfit in the 70s, and whose life is depicted by the character of Ace Rothstein in Scorcese's Casino by Robert DeNiro was also Jewish. What about Scorcese's other iconic mafia movie Goodfellas? The three main characters in that movie played by Ray Liota, Joe Pesci, and Robert DeNiro were based on real-life Henry Hill, Tommy DeVito and James "Jimmy the Gent" Burke. Two of these men were Irish, none of them were made men. Despite all this, the mafia experience felt quite authentic, wouldn't you say?

As you can see, the Mafia doesn't discriminate against gender or ethnicity. If you can make money for them, they want you! They are an equal opportunity employer.

The Wiseguys JumpStart is out and in there you can find prime examples of how exotic, unique, and fun your character can be in Wiseguys.

What do you want to play when you play Wiseguys?

I leave you with an illustration by Chaim Garcia. Chaim is on the roster to illustrate Wiseguys. Here is a safecracker!

Gambling

When is the last time you used the Gambling skill in your Savage Worlds game?

Chances are that unless you're playing Deadlands, opportunities to use that skill never come up.

In Wiseguys, America's gambling capital; Las Vegas is front and center. The temptation to test your luck and beat the house is everywhere. However, it isn't all you can do with the Gambling skill.

Want to run your own casino or bookmaking business? That's Gambling. You can look at it as a knowledge skill. You know how to set the odds of a wager, how comping works, and what measures are set in place to stop cheating and how to defeat them. Which casino has the best winning odds in town?

In most cases, this would be a use of Common Knowledge but when it involves gambling, the Gambling skill is a valid choice.

Is that gambler over there cheating? Where is the accomplice? Which scam are they working on? Notice can definitely be used in those circumstances but Gambling is also a perfect fit.

Take Care of Your Friends

I've played a lot of Shadowrun over the years. To some, it was about the gear, to others it was to stick it to the Man, or various other reasons. To me, it was about the Contacts. In Shadowrun, every Contacts has ratings that indicated how loyal and helpful they are, along with a short bio. I was fascinated by the effects these relationships my character had on the campaign.

I wanted Wiseguys to give the players one more reason to interact with the colorful nonplayer characters and cultivate relationships with them so I designed the Friends of Ours Setting Rule that you could use in any setting.

Contacts aren't sitting by the phone waiting for you to call them and do you a favor. They are as much a part of the Underworld as you are and have their own agendas.

In Savage Worlds, Contacts are handled through the Connections Edge. Wiseguys builds upon that by making the interaction between the player characters and their Contacts more dynamic. In Savage Worlds, the Persuasion skill provides guidelines to the Reaction Level of nonplayer characters. This a nonplayer character's attitude toward your character. Each Contact is given a Reaction Level by the Don. This attitude is subject to change through the course of the campaign. Let the attitude fall down to Hostile and this Contact may turn on you. Improve it to Helpful and new services open up to you. You learn that the drive-thru clerk at your favorite local fast food joint is also a biochemistry student and she can provide you with venom or anti-venom doses. The labor union leader you've been in business with likes you enough to declare a strike the day you want to rob the joint. Your personal tailor who always makes you look your best now has access to a bulletproof fabric and can make you a nice suit. Wiseguys contains over 50 such Contacts that you can use out of the box along with guidelines for the Don and the players to create their own.

At the beginning of each session, the Don may ask a player whose character has a contact to draw a card from the Action Deck. Certain cards trigger an event that the wise guy must deal with. The outcome of this event is going to change the relationship between the wise guy and his Contact for better or worse. Wiseguys is a world full with betrayal and unlikely alliances!

We Don’t Need Another Setting

I own enough Savage Worlds settings for a lifetime of weekly campaigns.

When I started designing Wiseguys I set myself two goals. First, I wanted a compelling and original setting with interesting and colorful characters at the core of it. Second, I wanted this book to be THE resource for organized crime for Savage Worlds.

I’m a big fan of Codex Infernus: The infernal guide to hell and Agents of Oblivion because of the practical applications beyond the default settings they were created for. In the former, you found a hellish bestiary, rules for possession, and a plethora of Edges and Hindrances among other things. In the latter, a framework for agency-based campaigns was set in place, again with several edges to support it.

In my previous article, I discussed how you can use Wiseguys to spice up your campaign by using the extensive information on the Mafia, 1% Motorcycle Clubs, Drug Cartels or Chinese Triads to create memorable adversaries.

I’d like to share with you some of the character abilities you can find in Wiseguys that can be used by both the player characters and the antagonists.

EDGES

Hostage Taker

Requirements: Novice, Intimidation d8+

When the lead starts flying and you must make your way out of a tough spot, it’s good to have someone else take a bullet for you. Even if they are unwilling.

You need one hand free to hold the hostage. Anyone attempting to shoot you while you're holding a hostage must use the Innocent Bystander rule (if they miss and roll 1 on the trait die, they hit your hostage). Furthermore, if you suffer one or more wounds, you can spend a Benny to redirect all the damage to your hostage. Most hostages won't try to fight back or escape; you can just grab them and drag them around.

STREET ABILITIES

Monstrous abilities are for monsters. Gangsters and the denizens of the Underworld use Street Abilities instead. Yes, some of them are also monsters, but that’s beside the point. Don’t get smart with me!

Lackey: This Extra possesses a unique skill set that makes him valuable. They roll a Wild Die with every Trait roll.

In the following articles, I want to talk to you about the Friends Of Ours Setting Rules that builds on the Connections Edge to establish a dynamic network of contacts for your character.