As a DM, how should I use TaleSpire?

[NeoAwesomeon]

So this program is pretty cool, but thinking about, how exactly should I be using this for my games?

Mechanical:
It's a little unrealistic to get everyone who wants to play with me to buy this. I play with people who don't play video games all that much, and couldn't justify the purchase. I could share my screen with them, but then they all get the DM view of the map.

Play:
Obviously, making every part of the campaign in this would be a bad idea. When's the right time to bust this program out and make a map? Just for combat? Combat & Dungeons? Usually me and my group does "theater of the mind" stuff, but it can lead to awkwardness when describing the size and available space of an area (I have big parties so there are always big hallways for example).

[gazza-911]

I would suggest having one player purchase it and they stream to the others.

As for play, that might depend on how much you want to do yourself. You can paste in other people's slabs (section of board) or import a full board.

You can get them from sites like https://talesbazaar.com and https://talestavern.com

With that, it will be much quicker to create larger areas.

If you plan on doing stuff mostly yourself, just combat might be better.

[Pleby]

If you want to avoid showing GM stuff, run two instances of the game, and have one of those instances in Player mode then stream/show that instance to the players.

I'm using my boards for everything but that's just because its a personal goal of mine to manage that. If I weren't being stubborn, I'd likely leave boards for combat and/or representation of scale/design without intention for being played on

[Tlaloc]

Just a thought about "I don't want to suggest that my players buy something so we can play" : why is it ok for the GM to do most of the work AND pay for all the books, and it isn't adequate to ask the players to participate financially from time to time ?

My RPG library is worth hundreds of dollars. And right now, just taking my car to go see my pals and GM something for them cost me about 15$ each time.

I guess some players can't afford it, but this reluctancy to ask money from players comes from somewhere else.

[Haloreef]

25$ to massively enhance their game is dirt cheap. Each person can buy the game and they will love you for it. Just push it.

[dublicious]

I totally agree with the above posters that support having players chip in for the cost of the game. I expect my players to help out. Not one of my players comes close to what I spend in time and money for our games. But they do help out and are generally happy to do it. If they don't have money to put toward the game I encourage them to find other ways to help.
For one player that was printing minis as a he had a 3d printer.

[Feldspar]

If you are an established GM with an established, reliable, stable group of players I could justify asking them to invest in their game. I personally am a new GM, with the same players but they are unreliable and non-reciprocal in terms of time and effort. I've fronted the idea of using TaleSpire to them and it was a non-starter. I really think you guys may be shooting yourselves in the foot by making both the GM and Player sides of your utility at cost. I would rethink that entirely OR make a Player version that is dirt cheap, like $5.

Hey, how do you open two instances of [TaleSpire] in Steam. I like that idea of streaming a 'player' instance of it while running your own GM instance. Though, that does mean you do twice as much moving of models and hiding/unhiding volumes right? Ugh.

[Clover Creepy Girl™]

I just LOVE the answer of 'just have one player buy it and stream' so that one player has to pay the full price for the game, and then be responsible to stream it s well. Your ♥♥♥♥♥♥ implementation and refusal to include any kind of player copy makes this bit of software really doomed to fail. I really wish yall had of spent your money better, and made this function so that a Dm and 4 players didnt require a 125$ price tag, instead of throwing money at youtube channels to plug your software.

[IndyLohan]

Players should be okay buying something like this to enhance their game. If they are unwilling, that's also fine. Even if half of your players agree to buy it, they can move the characters for those who won't/can't.

To all those saying that it is unreasonable to pay 25$ for such a powerful tool, okay. In my experience as a DM if you start using Talespire, it sells itself very quickly. I started with 2 players having bought it and buy the end of the session all 7 had bought and installed it. We are broke AF college students.

As to the OP's question, use it as much as you care to, but don't force the implementation. Like with all prep, be prepared to have it go unused. Typically I build most all my dungeons knowing there could be combat, but not necessarily that there must be combat.

Outside of combat, anytime you feel like a huge set piece could add to the magic.

[NeoAwesomeon]

Yo, forgot about this thread for a bit. Here's basically where I ended up on the matter:

I never should have brought up money. Everyone basically just fought over this in the replies and it wasn't really much of a concern as much as not wanting the players to have the DM's view. Look, some people are cheap and refuse to buy stuff. That's what I was referring to. YES, PLAYERS SHOULD HELP PAY FOR STUFF. WE'RE PLAYING ONLINE NOW SO BRINGING SNACKS ISN'T AN OPTION. HELP ME GET THINGS TO MAKE THE GAME BETTER, PEOPLE. It ain't fair, but it's what's happening. In my case I've got someone who doesn't even have Steam in my campaign. I love this program, but the moment you tell people there is a pricetag you can see their mind turn off. I solved this with the help of a friend and fellow DM I play with. My friend bought it and he's going to show his screen over a discord call. He's going to help operate stuff. There's the solution for dealing with cheapskates. (Also, WTF is with people being willing to buy the group stuff like pizza delivery or dice, but not being willing to buy stuff like a core rulebook?)

I've decided to use this program for either set pieces or making maps for dungeon layouts where combat will be frequent. Nothing too fancy. Even just making areas for RP takes way too long. I've boiled it down to, "Use it only if you need it and the players may struggle without it -OR- I need it to make sense of the terrain". If you're making a maze, for example, the players will probably only need a board for combat and not an entire labyrinth drawn out.

One technique I'm using is making a giant 20x20 chess board style map I call "The Space Between" which acts as an impromptu combat board. I added a couple additional details to make it look nicer (like fog covering the base, themed pillars for the players to rest their figures on, occational structures in the background when milestones have been reached, ect.)

[Sinistrum]

None of my other Players have bought Talespire (Except the ones who DM Themself)
I use it as showcase tool with build-in dices.

I dont overuse it for mechanics, Its just for show and some decent Combat-Boards.

[CULT|icycalm]

I want game developers to work for me for free.

[CULT|icycalm]

P.S. Cheap players are bad players. I wouldn't play with them if they begged me to.