Zoom Basics
All Young Heroes games are run via Zoom. You might be more familiar with other video call programs, so we've compiled some best practices for using Zoom below.
Zoom FAQ's - Zoom's official FAQ's, where you can learn the very basics in operation and troubleshooting
Zoom Troubleshooting Steps - This article may be helpful to bookmark and share with players if they run into issues during your sessions.
How Young Hero Videos are Recorded & Stored - Info on how Zoom sessions are recorded and stored
Getting Your Zoom Link
All Young Heroes Zoom links are sent via email 15 minutes prior to session start time, for Dungeon Masters and Guardians.
Starting Your Young Heroes Session
On Zoom each session will be a called a "meeting," so we'll use the terms "session" and "meeting" interchangeably here.
When you first start your session, your display name on Zoom will be "StartPlaying Games." This is because the Zoom account running these meetings belongs to the company. However, you should update your display name before letting in your players:
How to Change Your Display Name in the Call
Join the Zoom meeting
In the meeting controls toolbar, click
Participants
Hover your mouse over your name, then click
the ellipsis icon (three dots)
Click Rename
A pop-up box will appearIn the pop-up box, enter your display name
Click Change
Once you've updated your display name, you'll be able to start verifying players' identities to let them into the Zoom meeting. This must be done one at a time. Players will wait in the Waiting Room until you are finished verifying everyone's identity and start the meeting.
How to Verify Players Joining Your Zoom Meeting
As the host, click
Participants
In the Waiting Room section, click Admit next to a participant's name to allow them to join the meeting.
Compare the name of the person you admitted against your list of player names on the Adventure's page on your GM Dashboard. You'll be on a video call with just this player at this point, so you can welcome them to the game and handle any troubleshooting needed.
If everything matches and the person on the video is a child, you've confirmed their identity and can send them back to the Waiting Room while you review the rest of the players.
Once you have reviewed and verified all of your players are present, you'll need to update the chat settings before starting the meeting proper.
At this time, there is not a filter that can be applied to chats in Zoom calls. To prevent unsafe language from entering the chat, we are asking our DMs to disable the group chat feature before starting their sessions.
How to Change Chat Access
In the meeting controls toolbar, click the
Chat icon
In the chat panel, click the
More icon (three dots)
Under Participant can chat with, select Host and co-hosts. This makes it so players can message you privately, and only you can message the group as a whole. This is intended to prevent spamming or inappropriate messages in the group chat.
You'll want to change chat access only after you have verified all your players. This allows them the opportunity to message you while being verified if they have any troubleshooting issues.
Running your Young Heroes Session
Now that you and your players are all in the meeting, it's time for the real fun to begin! Here are some more tips and tricks for navigating Zoom as you run your game:
Sharing your screen - We strongly recommend using D&D Beyond Maps for any maps you're sharing. Since players have access to your map on D&D Beyond, you can avoid having to screen-share. This prevents players from leaving unwanted annotations, as well as making it easier for you to manage your game overall.
Annotations while screen-sharing - Zoom has an annotation feature that allows users to draw and write on any shared material. Any annotations made while the screen is shared will also show on your own screen when you stop sharing. You'll have to use the Clear button in order to remove them all. This is why we recommend using D&D Beyond to share maps directly with players.
Zoom Backgrounds - Players may join with their own personal Zoom backgrounds, as long as the image is appropriate. If a player's chosen background is inappropriate, you can message them with instructions on how to change their background.
How to Mute Participants - Ideally you won't have to use this feature, but we know that cross-talk happens. You have tools to mute a specific participant, or all participants as needed. Muting should only be used as a management tool to allow everyone a chance to speak, or if someone is saying things that are inappropriate for the platform.
How to Manage a Participant - You may need to adjust a player's access in the Zoom meeting for troubleshooting or safety purposes. Use your best discretion with these tools, keeping player comfort, safety, and fun in mind.