12 for 12 #10

Mobile phones and the internet in an RPG setting in the modern day world (perhaps with fantastic elements): discuss. What possibilities do they open up? What, if any, issues come with them when it comes to RPG scenarios?

The most obvious possibility is keeping the party in touch when they split up to do things, though to be honest, I've tended to use something like the magic earpieces from "Leverage" in order to keep people in touch anyway, so that really isn't much of a change-up. While it might seem counter-intuitive, the ability to stay constantly in communication can actually create tension under the right circumstances, particularly when it's suddenly cut off.

Facetime and other video chat programs are great for researchers, because the person who can actually read that weird inscription doesn't have to be present, so long as you can connect to them. Ditto copying obscure texts, etc., with your camera phone. Not to mention the amount one can look up with a smartphone and an internet connection.

Imagine a modern wizard, who keeps all of his grimoires on his iPad, accessing them through Good Reader.

Of course, the challenge to the GM is to make sure this technology doesn't turn into an "We Win!" button for the PCs. Any old hack can come up with ways to stymie technology. The trick is to do it so it seems logical and works with the story, rather than just being a petty "Rocks fall, everybody dies" moment. And this means that the GM is going to have to let the PCs have some wins with their tech, even times when it would be convenient to drop an EMP on them and fry their devices or have the 911 switchboard down.

I think the best way to handle it is to plan your adventures with the expectation that the heroes will have phones, etc. Either that, or set up some ground rules from the outset that make it difficult (like how in the Dresden Files, wizards fry any electronics more advanced than light switch. Make it so they lean into their tech so much that they have to scramble when it fails on them. Let the bad guys rely on it just as much as the heroes. Then, when they come up with ways to circumvent the bad guys' tech, take notes and use the same trick against them at a later stage.