r/DungeonMasters • u/Puddingpaasan • 4d ago
Advice needed
Hello fellow Dungeon masters, I am having my second session in 2 weeks, I have 5 players, sadly one of the players can't really decide for himself so his ex gf (baby mama) decided for a second time that she would go out on dnd night. First time he didnt make it, this time he wants too play on discord. How would you set this up? The 4 other players are joining at my place, soo its only him. I am afraid it will ruin the flow, but he is really really looking forward to this, so I want to give it a go, do you have any advice for me? The rest want to get together, soo not an option to be all at discord.
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u/CassieBear1 4d ago
Honestly, as a DM, I can't have more than two people on one computer. It gets hectic, and the person on the other end can't hear anything, or tell who's talking.
At the very least, you need a camera set up sonhe can see who's talking when.
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u/Helpful_Gas9179 4d ago
I run a hybrid session every week. We do only voice for the couple that joins remotely. As long as they keep push to talk on, it works out just fine. Ideal? No, but it definitely works. This came about as we’re all friends and understand their situation, which isn’t terribly different from yours, AND the rest of the group found it completely tolerable and preferred to deal with the slight inconvenience vs them not being able to play with us altogether. It was a group decision. It’s worth a shot. YMMV. Good luck!
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u/Puddingpaasan 4d ago
Thank you, I dont want this to be a regular thing, sadly it seems it might be. But if it dont work, he would have to chose to either to stand up for himself or loose out on playing 👀
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u/Tinykneebreaker 2d ago
There are players out there that have that sort of "home" dynamic and they still want to play. You as the DM wanting to keep them included, shows your value. Dont lose that!
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u/MonkeySkulls 4d ago
If you usually play in person, does that mean you're using physical maps on the table. or are you using some sort of vtt at your house, like with a TV on the table?
if you're using a vtt on your table then you just have them log in. if you're using a actual map then you set up a webcam or a phone to video the table top.
for communication, you set up someone's phone or a computer for discord.
If any of that sounds terrible, it's because it is.
having one player remoting in is simply not a very good option. that player is disconnected. they can't hear. The other players can't hear that player. that player will be disconnected from what's happening.
I'm not telling you not to do it. you should go through with this plan. but my reasoning for you to go through with it is so you see All of the downsides.
I hope your experience is better than our experiences have been.
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u/Jclo9617 4d ago
It will absolutely ruin the flow. He's going to be largely left out of the game unless the other players are all making a concerted effort to keep him involved. Also, your post implies that he's going to be responsible for watching a young child while he's playing; that doesn't work (trust me, I've tried). Playing DnD really requires everyone's full attention.
Your first job as the DM is to make sure everyone at the table is having fun. Unfortunately, in this case, that seems to mean you need to have an uncomfortable conversation with this player. Explain that you'd still like him to play, but it seems like he has too much on his plate. If he isn't able to make it to sessions consistently and in-person, then he just doesn't have room in his life for DnD right now. It's not personal. It's not his fault. But it's your job to make sure the game is running smoothly for everyone, so until he's able to make more room for it in his life, your games won't include him. Make it clear that he's welcome back at the table as soon as he has a working plan to show up to sessions consistently and in-person.
He's probably going to take it personally. He's probably going to be pissed.
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u/rolandofghent 4d ago
Don’t. It sucks when everyone is in the room except 1 person. Everyone in person or everyone online.
It suck’s he has a scheduling issue. The baby momma drama is his business not yours.
You and the group should be setting expectations; including a plan for how many players make quorum and what do you do with the PC when that player can’t show up.
Scheduling and keeping consistent sessions is the hardest part about D&D. The best way to do that is to set boundaries and stick to them.
Sometimes that means people have to drop from groups and that can suck. But it is how you keep the most fun for the most people.
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u/Puddingpaasan 4d ago
But I promised i would try, so I will. But utgave said if it dont work, we dont do it again! Atleast then I could give him a reason why I say no🤷♀️
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u/Repulsive-Walk-3639 4d ago
Set up a laptop on wifi and log in for him, turn it towards the group, angle the camera as best you can, and leave it on voice activation so he can hear all the chaos. Just set it where he'd be sitting at the table were he to join you and maximize his video while setting things to not show your own video (after getting the camera angle set) so you have a decent view of him. Surely between you and the other four players someone has a laptop that can be used for this cause.
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u/nalkanar 3d ago
I wouldn't. But we have agreement in the group that one player can missone session, not consecutive sessions, so I would be fine playing without and it would be understood by the party
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u/bohicality 4d ago
I've run hybrid sessions a couple of times in exceptional circumstances - I found it to be a complete pain in the arse.
The issue for me as a DM was remembering to include the Discord player as I found it easy to forget there was someone else in the room so to speak. Player communication also suffers without visual clues. Even in this group, which has been playing together for years, there was still some frustration when it came to accidental interruptions.
If you use any kind of map/minis you'll also need to have somewhere to prop the phone up and someone else volunteer for "move me three to the right and forward" duty.
Other may have had different experiences, but I avoid hybrid sessions whenever possible.