The Digital Tabletop

D&D and other TTRPGs (tabletop roleplaying games) have had an immense popularity resurgence this past decade, and because of this the genre is melding with modern technology for the first time in its history. But is this change good for the game? Or does it take away from the gameplay and companionship the creators originally intended?

To many people, D&D was created to bring people together at a table and "play pretend with some math involved" as I like to summarize it. With the advent of the Internet and other modern technologies, D&D has taken to the web. No longer do you need to sit around a table together to play a campaign, and you can play with people from across the globe.

The most popular site for D&D is Roll20, which provides all of the tools needed to run a campaign for any TTRPG. The DM is presented with a blank grid and is able to use countless free and paid assets to put together scenes for their game. Players control their token and the DM controls everything else. The site even supports specific rulesets for dozens of TTRPGs, including D&D5e, Pathfiner, and 13th Age.

However, some people argue that despite how many people across the globe these services have opened up the game to, it will do more harm than good. They argue that the soul of the game is sitting at a table, snacks in hand, pencil and paper in front of you, and physical dice to roll. 

These people also don't understand how busy life gets. I know that I, as a college student, find it immensely difficult to keep a standard time to get my group together every week. I've been recently considering making the switch to Roll20 and using Discord to speak with my friends online so that we don't have to travel from all across town to play. It would also save me precious money, as with one monthly payment I can have more assets on Roll20 than I'll ever have in physical game paraphernalia.

Are Roll20 and other similar services good or bad for the genre? I'll leave it up to you to find out.