D&D via VOIP?

June 2, 2009 2:05 PM

Tips for D&D via Skype (especially audio tips?)

A couple of months ago, my good friend had never rolled a twenty-sided die. Now, she has a fourth-level gnomish mage!

She's traveling out of the country for two-and-a-half months, but I suggested that we play via Skype! I was inspired by Gabe, of Penny-Arcade fame, but I don't understand how he got it to work with just a laptop microphone.

We've tried talking to her via Skype before, and for one-on-one it's fine, but when six people all yell into the laptop it becomes incomprehensible noise. Does anyone have any suggestions? Should we all wear lapel mics? And how would that even work with Skype?

Worst case scenario, I presume that you can video conference call via Skype, so I guess everyone could have an individual laptop? That sounds pretty cumbersome, though...

posted by Squid Voltaire to technology (12 comments total)

USB Speakerphone, I use one from Polycom, works great.
posted by iamabot at 2:10 PM on June 2

If you have analog mics: Get an analog mixer (that one is $41, you may be able to find cheaper ones) and run everyone's mics into it. Then, plug the output into the laptop. Skype will only see one input and you can adjust volume levels on the mixer.

You will probably need 1/8" to 1/4" adapters if you go the mixer route.
posted by jedicus at 2:15 PM on June 2

Here's an analog mic with clip that isn't too expensive ($14).
posted by jedicus at 2:19 PM on June 2

You all need headsets. I've played MMORPG games with 8 people chatting. As long as there are headsets and some sort of protocol as to who gets to talk, it all works out.
posted by chairface at 2:59 PM on June 2

It's funny, we just played some Shadowrun with one player who was Skyped in. A good mic is a good idea for hearing other players. The other thing that's useful is having her hooked up to speakers so everyone can hear her over all the yelling too.
posted by Mercaptan at 5:25 PM on June 2

In my experience, multi-party Skype calls don't allow video. Whenever I brought in a third person to a call, video would disappear. There's been a new version since then, however.
posted by msbrauer at 7:42 PM on June 2

Skype isnt a good solution for this kind of thing. You should look towards teamspeak or ventrilo.
posted by damn dirty ape at 9:53 PM on June 2

Use Mumble instead of Skype. It is VASTLY better for handling more than one person talking.

Use headsets, for sure.

Use FantasyGrounds as your virtual tabletop.
posted by kaseijin at 10:19 PM on June 2

Hah, fantastic! I knew there'd be enough crazy geeks on here to help me out! I use ventrilo pretty frequently, but haven't used Skype at all. I only mentioned it because video is pretty important.

It sounds like the idea is to use a bunch of mics and a mixer, and have a single source video on our end--does that seem about right, or is there a Better Way?
posted by Squid Voltaire at 8:05 AM on June 3

I think it's only the way to go if you're already invested in analog mics. Otherwise, it's probably simpler to use a USB speakerphone like the Polycom. For one thing you'd have fewer cords lying around.

That said, there are reasonably inexpensive analog lapel mics. Griffin makes/made one for its iPod recorder, for example. You'd need the aforementioned adapters to plug them into a mixer, but those are cheap.
posted by jedicus at 8:41 AM on June 3

If video is a requirement then try one of the popular instant messaging applications like MSN messenger. I find that skype audio quality is the worst of all the free services and may explain why she cant understand what is being said.

I also think a lapel mic for each participant is a bit overkill. A decent omnidirectional mic placed in the middle of the table should be work fine. You could just place a laptop & cam in the spot she would normally be sitting, place the mic in the middle of the table, and be done with it. If VOIP audio quality is still a problem then try using a regular POTS line with a decent speakerphone and have her call in.

Its also worth mentioning that the players need to be mindful that they are playing with a remote person. If they are always talking over each other and yelling then even the best setup will still be confusing for the other person.
posted by damn dirty ape at 9:34 AM on June 3

If there's going to be all virtual and want multi-party (more than 2) video, try Tiny Chat http://tinychat.com/

Otherwise, get a USB microphone pod. There's at least one listed on Skype's store.
posted by reddot at 7:35 PM on June 3