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Use VoLog on Discord without interrupting your TTRPG game

Alexandre Blond 3 min read
The Discord logo surrounded by voice waves on a background in VoLog colors

A game on Discord already happens inside a voice channel. Starting another recorder, watching a file, and checking levels while everyone is playing adds chores I would rather avoid.

The VoLog bot stays where the conversation is happening. One person starts it at the beginning and stops it at the end. Between those two moments, the group can simply play.

Start without preparing a VoLog account

Someone who can add an application to the server first invites the bot. If you do not have that permission, send the invitation link to the person who manages the server.

When it is time to play, join the voice channel and use /volog start. You do not need to create a VoLog account before starting it.

The bot offers a place to add a few useful details, such as the campaign, game system and spoken language. You can fill them in or skip this step. The bot starts without waiting.

Everyone present can see that recording is active and can choose not to take part. That choice should remain both clear and easy to use.

Two commands for the whole game

Once recording has started, there is no file to handle or recorder to watch. The bot keeps voices separate as people speak in the channel.

That separation helps preserve who said what, even when someone joins late or leaves before the game ends. It cannot repair a distorted microphone or an unstable connection, but it avoids mixing every voice together at the start.

At the end, use /volog stop. The bot immediately confirms that recording has stopped and prepares the transcript.

The bot can record for up to 6 hours. It also stops after 15 minutes without recorded speech, so it does not remain active in a silent channel.

The transcript you receive after the game

When the transcript is ready, the person who started VoLog receives the short recap of the game and a transcript link by direct message. The game is also available in the Workshop with the same Discord account.

The transcript and short recap of the game are free. The page lets you:

  • read the conversation in order;
  • see who spoke on Discord;
  • search for a specific passage;
  • copy anything you want to keep.

The bot also posts a button in the last voice channel. Other participants can use it to request the short recap of the game.

You can keep the transcript as it is. You do not have to decide before play whether you want to go further.

Decide from the transcript

From the game page, you can name the characters linked to each voice. You then decide whether this game should become a Session.

Creating that Session is optional, and its cost appears before you confirm. Your first Session created from Discord or an audio file is free. You can read the transcript first instead of making the decision before the game begins.

That is the part I find most useful: VoLog starts when play starts, while the choice to prepare a Session comes later, once you know what you want to keep.

To prepare your server and review the less common cases, follow the guide to using VoLog with Discord.

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