Can Digital TTRPG Platforms Replace In-Person Play?

Traditionally, D&D and other TTRPGs have been played in person. It’s right there in the name, after all: table-top role-playing game. You play with your friends sitting around a table. However, as technology has evolved, the way people play has also shifted. Now, players can connect digitally from anywhere in the world, using platforms like Discord, Roll20, Foundry, or even Zoom for voice and video chat. But can a digital platform really take the place of getting together and sharing the same table with your friends?

Benefits of Playing TTRPGs Online

Back in the early days of playing TTRPGs, you had no real choice but to play in person. Advancements in technology have changed all of that, though, giving us the option of how we want to play. I could go on about the ways D&D Beyond and Roll20 provide a more immersive game with maps and make combat easier because of the automation, but those are easily found elsewhere.

Instead, I want to focus more on the benefits that you can’t Google. The ones that someone who’s played both ways can tell you about. I have two tables: a table where I’m a player who meets exclusively in person and a table that I GM and meets exclusively digitally.

It Doesn’t Matter Where You Live, You Can Still Play

I’m extremely fortunate to have a fantastic group of friends who make up my table. We get together in person as often as we can to play D&D, share food, and just have fun together. But not everyone is so fortunate. Some people live in very small towns where they’re the only ones who want to play. Others live far away from their friends. Digital platforms for TTRPGs mean that you can still play, no matter where you live.

You Don’t Have To Travel

My friends don’t live far away, but if the weather’s terrible or someone’s sick, getting together in person can be a no-go. For some people, they can’t travel at all, even short distances, and hosting is too much. Digital TTRPG games can mean the difference between playing and not getting to play at all. No one in my group is unable to travel in general, so we just reschedule if something stops us from playing on a particular weekend. But that’s not the case for everyone; digital platforms offer a solution.

It Can Be Easier To Schedule

By eliminating the travel, digital games may be easier to schedule. They don’t get rid of scheduling issues entirely, of course, but instead of having to plan for five hours to include driving to and from, you only have to plan for four. Or, because you’re not leaving your house, maybe later in the evening becomes open, even if you have work or school the next day since you don’t then have to spend more time after the game driving back home.

Which Is Better? In Person or a Digital TTRPG Platform?

It’s hard to tell. I do both, and I enjoy both. I love how easy D&D Beyond’s Maps feature makes keeping track of monster hit points and where everyone is on the map. And with the table I GM, there is no other option. I’m Game Master for my sister and her friends’ table–they wanted to play but didn’t have a GM, and I wanted to try being a GM but didn’t want to take that role away from my own table’s GM, so we were able to help each other out. But my sister and her friends live in another state, so we can’t meet in person unless one or more of us is up for a sixteen-hour drive. With Zoom, it’s almost like being in person.

Digital Can’t Quite Recreate in Person

The operative word there is “almost.” Even with all of the benefits of the technology, I still do prefer meeting in person when possible. It’s just not the same to see my friends but not be able to hug them. Plus, our game sessions always involve the sharing of food, which isn’t possible digitally. I consider digital games to be a pretty good second-best option and will do it if in-person isn’t feasible.

You Can Hug Your Friends

But there’s something magical about being able to get together in one place with your people, your nakama, to borrow a word from Japanese (it technically just means ‘friend’, but it’s used more like found family–people who are like family, regardless of actual blood ties). I would hate to miss out on that just because of the convenience of the digital tools. Even if the maps are a lot better online and the app auto-calculates my attack modifiers so I don’t have to do the math if I don’t feel like it.

Mainly, I can’t give my friends hugs through a screen. Although we have a great time with our digital game, I’d probably want to meet with my sister and her table in person if I could.

Digital Can Replace the GM Screen

Even if I could GM in person, I would still use my computer instead of having a GM screen. The manual calculations, keeping track of combat and hit points on a piece of paper, and that kind of thing I’m happy to use an app for. It’s a lot more convenient. So, there are some advantages to digital.

I Prefer in Person, but Digital Is Not a Bad Alternative

And really, despite preferring meeting in person, if the only option I had was digital, I’d happily take it. Seeing my friends' faces through a screen is absolutely better than not seeing them at all. I love being able to GM a campaign for my sister even though we live in different states. I don’t get to see her that often in person, but I get to see her every few weeks through our D&D game, which is fantastic. My opinion is that any D&D is better than no D&D (or your TTRPG of choice, for that matter), so however you have to make that happen, whether that’s digital or you have the privilege of being able to meet up with your people in person, do what you need to do to gather at your table and enjoy time with your people.