System Requirements
I use a number of different tools to facilitate an online game, the most important of which are Discord and Foundry VTT.
Discord:
Discord is a Voice Chat application with a handful of features that traditional Virtual Meeting services (ala Zoom; Teams) don’t have. Most notably, Discord has “Servers” which are persistent text chats that allow for more consistent and direct communication between players.
We use Discord to:
– Share audio (my voice as well as background music)
– Share images relevant to the game (ex. art of monsters or environments that haven’t been loaded onto the VTT)
– Share last minute updates (ex. “I’m running 5 minutes late!”; “I’ve been mauled by an owlbear and will, regrettably, need to cancel this week’s game”)
It’s also an easy way for people to update me about last-minute changes to their schedule. Discord requires an account but can otherwise be used via app or web page.
Foundry VTT:
Foundry VTT is a Virtual TableTop, a software that does a number of things to facilitate the game. Among its many features:
– Foundry stores the kid’s character sheets, automating certain functions to make complex game systems like D&D and Pathfinder a little easier for them to manage.
– I use Foundry to display maps relevant to the kid’s adventure. Maps allow for more tactical, immersive decisions when the players must do battle with beasts and villains; they provide meaningful geographic, political, and historical context to the lands their characters travel.
Foundry requires a desktop or laptop computer.
It will not work with a phone or tablet!
It’s accessed via a link that I’ll provide via the Discord. Though it doesn’t work with Safari, most web browsers will do. I’d recommend Chrome or Firefox.
Payment Details:
Standard sessions are typically $35, calculated hourly at 17.5/hour (this means that if the session runs short for any reason, I’ll charge you less). I send out invoices at the end of every month using a service called Wave. I accept payment through PayPal and Venmo. Both accounts are associated with my email address, and my Venmo username is @JacobTraumStorytelling.
Though 2-hour games are typical, I’m open to shorter or longer games. It’s my pleasure to cater to the needs of each specific group. I’m also more than willing to negotiate different pricing schemes, to accommodate low-income families.
I need an accurate idea of how many players will be at a session in order to prepare for it properly. Consequently, I ask that I have 24 hours notice before a kid misses a session. If I don’t have enough notice to prepare adequately, I typically charge for the missed session. If something comes up last minute, just let me know, via Email or via Discord, as soon as you’re able! I’m very understanding that life is chaotic, and not everything can be anticipated.
Scheduling Details:
I’m open to run games every day of the week, during whatever time works for that group! Part of my service is scheduling, I have over a decade of experience finding the overlap between 4 or more people’s differing schedules.
In the event that I have to cancel a session, I’ll endeavor to communicate the cancellation 24 hours beforehand! I have a sensory disorder that causes the occasional, but debilitating, migraine. That’s the most common cause of the rare last-minute cancellation. The other circumstance that typically causes last-minute cancellations is when I have too many members of the group cancel last-minute, such that I don’t have enough players to run the game as I’ve prepared to.
No AI!
I have a strict no-Gen AI policy! No Midjourney-generated art, no using ChatGPT during the game, nothing of the sort. The ultimate goal is for the kids to get to tell stories with each other, practicing their creative and rhetorical skills, and I’m of the firm belief that Generative AI is poison to a creative and logical mind. These games are made by humans for humans!