AR Tools That Improve Immersion in Online D&D and TTRPG Sessions

Online D&D has evolved dramatically in the last decade. Maps are richer, soundscapes deeper, and VTTs more powerful than ever. Yet one part of the experience has stubbornly remained stuck in the “Zoom era”: the webcam. It’s flat, it’s mundane, and it breaks the fantasy the moment you look at it.

Augmented Reality is finally changing that.

This guide covers the best AR tools - including Faes AR - that enhance immersion, increase player embodiment, and make online sessions feel more like collaborative theatre and less like a weekly status call.

If you’ve ever wished your D&D sessions looked like the story you were telling, this is the guide you’ve been waiting for.

1. Why AR Matters for Online D&D

Most digital tools enhance the world of the game. AR enhances the people in the world and the experience of being actually in the world itself.

Instead of relying solely on maps and tokens, AR upgrades:

• The faces players see

• The moment-to-moment storytelling

• The intimacy of NPC interactions

• The visual continuity of the session

• The emotional weight of character choices

That’s the transformational power AR brings to tabletop.

2. The Limitations of Traditional Webcam Roleplay

Let’s be honest - no matter how good your session is, webcams do this:

• Expose your real room

• Show your real clothes

• Highlight fatigue

• Kill immersion during emotional scenes

• Flatten expressions

• Make players feel self-conscious

None of this matches a fantasy world.

You can run a dramatic confrontation between a cleric and a fallen paladin, but if both appear as tired humans in gaming chairs… the moment never fully lands.

AR fixes that by making webcams part of the fiction, not the obstacle.

3. Faes AR - The First AR Tool Built Specifically for D&D & Roleplay

Most AR products come from social media or influencer tools.Faes AR is built for roleplayers, by roleplayers.

What Faes AR Does

• Lets players “wear” their character: armor, cloaks, horns, glowing eyes, magical overlays

• Gives GMs instant visual NPC transformations

• Syncs across Discord, OBS, Roll20, Foundry, and every major VTT

• Preserves facial movement and expression

• Lets you mix-and-match custom outfit pieces

• Makes embodiment accessible, fast, and narratively powerful

Why It Works So Well for D&D and TTRPG

Roleplay thrives on emotional expression.When the character appears on screen, not the player, immersion skyrockets.

NPC scenes become clearer.Players stop feeling self-conscious.And online sessions start feeling like collaborative theatre with live character acting.

If you want your group to “become their characters,” Faes AR is the most direct way to do it.

4. Snap Camera Alternatives (Now Discontinued)

Snap Camera used to be the biggest AR entry point. It allowed:

• Fantasy face filters

• Character skins

• Background replacements

But Snap Camera shut down - permanently.

What People Used Snap For

• Elf ears

• Glowing tattoos

• Orc skin

• Anime-style faces

• Cosplay-like transformations

What Snap Never Did Well

• Custom character looks

• Consistent fantasy style

• Non-cartoonish AR

• Embodied roleplay designed for storytelling

Snap was built for social media, not D&D.And its shutdown left a huge vacuum - the one Faes AR is now filling, intentionally.

5. VTuber Software (Honorable Mention)

VTuber tools like:

• VSeeFace

• Animaze

• Luppet

• PrprLive

…allow full animated avatars mapped to your face.

Strengths

• Full-body characters

• Highly stylized looks

• Good for streaming

Weaknesses

• You disappear completely - your real facial nuances vanish

• Difficult to integrate with a grounded fantasy aesthetic

• Most styles clash with medieval settings

• Hard to customize for specific D&D characters

• Requires more setup and powerful hardware

VTubing is great for entertainment, but it replaces the player rather than enhancing them.For D&D, this means losing subtle acting, eye movement, and emotional nuance - the exact things roleplay depends on.

6. Virtual Backdrops & Atmospheric AR

These aren’t full embodiment tools, but they contribute to immersion.

Tools Include:

• NVIDIA Broadcast

• Zoom virtual backgrounds

• OBS background replacements

• Green-screen chroma-key effects

What They Add

• Forests, dungeons, taverns, starships

• Spell effects or animated environments

• Darkness, fog, or magical atmospheres

Where They Fall Short

These tools enhance the space, not the character.Great for mood. Useless for actual embodiment.

Pairing them with Faes AR, however, creates a consistent layered experience:

• AR character

• AR or VFX background

• VTT map and combat layer

That’s where the magic happens.

7. AI-Powered Character Presentation Tools (Experimental Space)

There’s a growing field of tools that animate static character art:

• Live2D models

• AI lip-syncing apps

• AI-driven portrait generators

• 3D face puppetry tools

They excel at:

• Creating animated NPC portraits

• Bringing character art to life

• Side-panel interactions

But they fail at:

• Live roleplay

• Real emotional expression

• Embodying the human player

• Face-to-face storytelling

These tools are great supplements but can’t replace AR embodiment.

8. Combining AR Tools for Maximum Immersion

Online D&D immersion isn’t about a single tool - it’s the stack.

The Most Effective Setup Looks Like This:

1. Faes AR - For character embodiment

Your webcam becomes your character’s window: armor, horns, cloaks, glows.

2. VTT (Roll20 / Foundry / Alchemy) - For world mechanics

Maps, tokens, battle systems.

3. Sound & Music Engines (Syrinscape, Spotify, MyNoise) - For emotion

Your world gets a heartbeat.

4. OBS / Virtual Camera Layers - For stream or advanced composition

Optional, but powerful.

5. Discord - For voice, reaction, connection

Your party becomes a real cast.

This is the modern TTRPG “immersion stack.”

9. The AR Future of Online D&D

We’re heading into a new era of digital tabletop play where:

• Characters are visually embodied

• NPCs have distinct looks

• Emotional scenes look like theatre

• Streamed games are cinematic

• Webcam feeds match the fantasy world

• AR and AI tools merge

• Players perform their characters, not just describe them

Faes AR is at the forefront because it doesn’t try to replace roleplay.It enhances it.

AR isn’t about special effects. It’s about identity, expression, and presence.

When your character looks back at you from the webcam, the story stops being something you imagine - and becomes something you inhabit.

AR Is the Missing Layer of Immersion

Every advancement in digital tabletop tools has pushed the world closer to the story… except the webcam. Until now.

AR tools - especially tools designed for D&D and TTRPGs - bring the final missing layer:- character identity- emotional acting- NPC distinction- visual continuity- psychological immersion

If you want your players to:

• feel braver,

• act more in-character,

• respond emotionally,

• and live in the moment…

AR is the path forward.

And Faes AR is the first tool built specifically to make that future accessible.