8 ways to create more atmosphere for your online TTRPG sessions
This post originally appeared in gothHoblin’s Grimoire, Issue 1: Gothic.
While playing TTRPGs online is a fantastic way to bring friends together from afar, I think we can all agree that it can sometimes be slightly lacking in terms of atmosphere when compared to an in-person game replete with physical props, handouts, lighting, decorations, three dimensional battlemaps, and whatever else your DM brings to the table in order to maximise immersion.
This kind of setup is more difficult to achieve online, but luckily not impossible. Read on to find a few tips as to how to create more atmosphere within your online TTRPG sessions as October rolls around, bringing with it copious one-shots and games of a more spooky nature.
Music/Ambience
Themed music is a great way to evoke emotions and atmosphere - whether you need something eerie or dramatic, music for combat or just ambient environmental sounds. However, you need to be aware that not everyone is able to concentrate or even enjoy themselves with music or sounds on in the background, so please be sensitive to your players needs in this regard and make it super easy for them to turn it down or off completely if they need to.
There are a number of ways to achieve this - many VTT's offer their own way to include background music for scenes which is sent through the players browser. Some are easier to control than others. For example, AlchemyRPG has a volume control on the main screen for each player, whereas both Roll20 and Foundry have their controls less prominently featured. If you use Discord for your voice chat, then you might prefer to use a bot. My favourite is KenkuFM, which joins the voice chat as a user, meaning every player has the ability to adjust the volume how they see fit.
Use a soundboard (Discord)
A well timed sound effect can have fantastic impact, whether it's the howling of wolves, a distant scream, or some other interruption that your players need to take notice of. If you use Discord, Soundboards are a relatively new feature that have been recently added to all servers that enable short sound clips (up to 5 seconds) to be played in voice chat.
Each server comes with 8 slots which can be increased with server boosting, and as a server admin, you can control the permissions for use, making sure that they're reserved especially for the DM if need be. (If you want to be really sneaky about it, Nitro users can use sounds from other servers, so if you are subscribed you can go ahead and make a private server to upload to where your players can't see.)
Video backgrounds
Most video chat providers these days offer the ability to replace your background and often come preloaded with a selection. These are invaluable for those times when you want to hide your messy bedroom from your friends, but you can also use them to help add atmosphere to your game. If your voice chat provider allows a custom background to be uploaded, you could absolutely use this to show a glimpse of the area your characters are currently adventuring in, or add some gravitas to a boss.
Voice changing software
Not sure you can summon the right voice for that really spooky big bad, or the ethereal moaning coming from the walls? Voice changing software could be your answer. There are plenty of options around that work in real time and are compatible with other software programs like Discord or Skype, and also work for streaming. This is a really neat and unexpected way to add an element of surprise to your games!
Cosplay
Dressing up as characters is something the whole group can have fun with, and when it's online you only need to do your top half! Leave your comfy pants and slippers on while you go ham with your hair and makeup, or just ask everyone to wear an accessory to suit the occasion. You can go as hard as you like with this one!
Lighting
Fun lighting can be achieved with cheap coloured LEDs, UV lighting or candles (but please observe good fire safety) placed in front or behind you. Experiment with your camera beforehand to learn how it picks up light from various sources. If your lighting is too harsh, you can try and diffuse it by wrapping tissue paper or light fabric over the source.
VTT Scenes
If you use a VTT for your game, I have found that there is great value in using it to communicate atmosphere via the use of scenes. These are really just static or animated images that show the players what their characters are looking at as if they were standing in front of or within the location, rather than from a top-down or isometric map view. Using these kinds of images is a great way to have something on screen for your players to absorb while you describe their current environment. Check out CzePeku Scenes on Patreon for some gorgeous examples.
Handouts
In my experience, handouts for online games come in one of two forms - a nicely designed, themed image or PDF, or quoted text pasted into whatever chat client you use. To increase engagement and awe with your players I would definitely recommend having a go creating the former. If you aren't a dab hand at graphics then don't worry! You can use online tools like Canva which has loads of templates, or even Google Slides will let you add a background image for that paper texture.
If you're super extra like me and a couple of other GMs I know, you could even create physical handouts and post them to your players ahead of time, with strict instructions not to open or read them until they are told to. This creates anticipation for the game itself and extra excitement in the moment.
