Stream on

Over the past several years, streaming has become the de facto way to learn and master new games. Whether you are beginner or a master of your chosen game, there is always something new to learn and someone is streaming or recording video to help. This is especially true in tabletop roleplaying games.

Streamers and video podcasters not only help people learn the rules, they also demystify the game and make it more accessible. Before investing $50 or more on starter set or a set of books, new players can tune in and get the feel of the game by watching others. Even experienced players enjoying watching the game when they aren’t playing.

In partnership with several live streamers and video podcasters, we developed and deployed a new Watch Mode screen for Shard (shown below).

This screen shows the player view of the map (including fog), a summary card for each character and monster, and all the die rolls. The summary cards are sorted in turn order during combat encounters. They also expand and collapse based on who’s turn it is to show the maximum amount of useful information without scrolling.

Watch Mode can be used in two ways. The first is simply a screen to record that includes a lot of useful context about the state of the game at any given moment. That alone should make following along as viewer interesting.

In addition, for live viewing, you can send or post a watch invitation, that allows the audience to login and interact with this screen live. In that mode, they can click on characters to see the full character sheet or on a monster to see the full stat block (shown below) and even drill down from there to look up spells, conditions, and other abilities the characters or monsters have.

Watch Mode is accessible from the Campaign Settings menu. In the Adventure Mode window for any campaign, the Gamemaster can either launch a second browser directly or generate a watch link to share.

As with everything Shard, we love your feedback. Give Watch Mode a try and tell us what you think by joining us on Discord or Facebook. If you want to see it in action, check out the Cryptic Six, Monday evenings on twitch.tv/dessicanuvell. The interactive link will be available in the chat.