Vorpal Board - Covering More Square Footage With The Camera

When deciding to get a Virtual Tabletop to play remotely with my friends from other states, the choice was narrowed almost by default to Vorpal Board. As I use many sets of Dwarven Forge terrain and really love to show them off, a live visual stream was a no-brainer.

There are some great reviews and tutorials for using VB with terrain, but most of them seem to have the same thing in common, the small display area coverage of the camera on the arm. Reviews and how-tos seemed to indicate that the most likely display area was about 2 feet by 2 feet or 4 square feet. After playing around with the space I had available for use, a solution occurred that has led to an increased display area, well within the reach of the 49 inch camera boom VB offers.

My computer desk happens to be the only reasonable option to run sessions from since others would require negotiating for dining room table use for a few hours, and constantly tearing down and resetting the terrain. The lower deck of the desk is 46 inches wide by 23 inches deep, with half of that taken up by my computer gear. The upper shelf is 46 inches wide by 11 inches deep. So far it sounds like there's not much display space, but stick with me.

The available half of the lower deck allows me to comfortably use about 20 inches by 16 inches, and room to build two or three levels high (maybe more with limitations). The upper shelf narrowness is solved by using Gator foam core boards in thicknesses from 1/4 inch to 2 inches depending on build plan. The foam core boards are 12 inches by 8 inches, or 6 inches by 4 inches. The boards make it possible to increase the shelf width to a supported 16 inches. 

I also have available for occasional use for space a small folding snack tray that can sit beside me to the right, in line with the available desk space. The tray adds over another foot and a half square of horizontal space and some vertical levels.

Most of the reviews and how-to videos showed the placement of the camera boom to the side of the build area, but in this situation that was far too limiting. It is situated almost in the center front of the desk which allows it to span the entire length and height of the currently described display base with range for more.

So far this area has proven to be quite nice and allowed for multiple small vignettes to share it. I however have bigger plans that require new wall shelves above and to the side of the desk. 

In come two 36 inch by 12 inch wall mounted shelves with heavy duty brackets to feel safe loading up the terrain above everything else. This proved to be a bit of an investment, around $90, but will give at least another 6 square feet (more with foam core boards involved) to play with. 

Altogether the display area is approximately 15 square feet compared to the estimated 2 foot by 2 foot shown and discussed in videos. It will be a lot easier to have various scenes prepared for my Ptolus campaign with all of this space. If your situation permits, you could further surround yourself with shelves adding even more playable space.

It is now possible to have the city and sewers on the top level, dungeons on the desk shelf and below, plus still have room for some smaller special environments.

The key to giving yourself more terrain coverage is entirely down to where you situate the camera arm.

So how am I liking Vorpal Board? It's proving to be an excellent choice for my remote gaming purposes.

A quick note on lighting issues with multiple levels above lower ones. Before the new shelves I could turn on the overhead light, a lamp across the room, and pull aside the curtains to let in daylight (I play early where I live). Now there is the issue of some light being blocked from above. No problem, the powerful LED multi-colored lighting (tealight sized) pods I have can be Blu-tacked under the top shelf and set to whatever color mood lighting I want in the dungeon. The actual amount of blocked light turns out to be minimal once the shelves were in place.