[LFP][D&D5E][PAID][Yawning Portal][Wednesday Night][6pm cst]

When the shadows grow long in Waterdeep and the fireplace in the taproom of the Yawning Portal dims to a deep crimson glow, adventurers from across the Forgotten Realms, and even from other worlds, spin tales and spread rumors of dark dungeons and lost treasures. Some of the yarns overheard by Durnan, the barkeep of the Yawning Portal, are inspired by places and events in far-flung lands from across the D&D multiverse. This will be a weekly game of D&D 5E. We will use Discord for voice chat and between game communication. We will use roll20 for maps, character sheets and record keeping. You are free to use D&D Beyond with the Beyond20 app if you like. I will keep a copy of your character in roll20 so that the tokens will work with all of the in game macros. Knowledge of Roll20 and Discord are not required to join and I can help you get accustomed to the interface during session zero. Previous experience with D&D is likewise not necessary as we will be starting at 1st level, so this would be a perfect time to learn the game. Regular attendance is required. Everyone misses a session occasionally but that should be the exception, not the norm. We must have a minimum of three players present to play a session and I will limit the number of players to a maximum of five. This is a pay to play game. A $10 fee from each player is due before each session via PayPal. Roll20 is not responsible for any payment transactions and cannot enforce any private arrangements.

We have finished the first session. Everyone is still level 1. We have three players and room for two more. 

Hi. I have a few questions. Since it will be a dungeon crawl kind of game. What steps do you take to make combat smoother and faster or more efficient? What API on roll20 do you have to help with combat/visual? Do you modify any rules for combat? and for stats do you use standard arrays, point by or rolling? 

I have 30+ years of running D&D combat. Keeping combat running smooth is second nature now. I don't use many APIs but I have started looking at them. The only house rules I use regard potions and Inspiration. Drinking a potion is a bonus action. Inspiration is awarded for rolling a critical on an attack roll, saving throw, or skill check. Ability scores are standard array plus a free ABI at level 1. That ABI may not be swapped for a feat. If you are looking for an automated combat experience that plays more like a video game then this may not be the game you are looking for. I like being descriptive with the combat results making it part of the story.