u/arc0112358

Two of my favorite things about SD is the simplicity of the rules and the OSR feel of it. As a new SD GM, I am struggling with do I verbally describe the scene and let the players map out the dungeon by hand or do I use something like Owlbear or VTT to create a map and use fog of war.

I see an upside and downside to each.

The hand mapping, they have to be engaged the whole time, ask questions, and maybe get the mapping wrong, get lost\confused, which adds anxiety to the campaign (I like that). Downside is, it could slow down combat and light management (where’s the torch?).

VTT type mapping makes fog of war easy and character placement easy, but now I feel like we’re playing a video game, and there are characters to add to the platform, all kinds of settings, training the players, looking things up that aren’t working right, etc…. This I feel would really diminish what the whole point of SD is…

So - what is your group doing and why does it work for you?

Thanks!

Just had my first GM experience with some long time ADD-5e players and rolled out characters and world/opening scenario. Lots of over talking and issues with pacing and ball hogging, lots of goofing off…. Want to nip it in the bud for session 1…. Any pointers on dealing with pacing and managing banter and turns overland and crawling? Want to encourage fun laughs and role playing, but want to make sure everyone is contributing at the right time. I know there are structured rules for some of this, but real world vs. the printed page is always different. Thanks!