What do you do to prep for sessions?

New(ish) roll20 DM. About to start Dragon Heist. Wondering what kinds of things people do to prep for sessions when running a module. 

Fortunately, Dragonheist has pretty much done all the prepwork for you. All of your notes are laid out and cross-indexed. Make sure you have read through at least the first few chapters of the adventure, if not the whole module. You'll need to have an idea of what and who are important and need to be emphasized, as well as what your options are when the players inevitably do the unexpected. From a pragmatic point of view, I would suggest restarting your computer slightly before the game, and not running any unnecessary apps. If you are new to online roll play in general, give your first session an hour or so of padding to cover getting people familiar with the interface and working out whatever communication method you are going to use: Text, Voice, Voice and Video, built-in Roll20 or third party. Get that all out of the way and be prepared to patiently work through problems. Mod Note: I'd like to preemptively remind everyone responding to this, that the Roll20 forums are for discussing Roll20. Please confine all advice to that specifically focussed on running a module on Roll20, and avoid generic RPG advice.

Regarding this module specifically, the first chapter will probably take 4-6 hours to complete, and is likely to stay fairly close as written. So, you won't likely be thrown into the deep end right off. Some of the best things to prepare are to make sure you know the dungeon layouts/monster abilities and make sure you are comfortable with the interface to run them (for instance, removing dynamic lighting to open doors, or how fog of war works if you aren't using dynamic lighting, or switching players between maps, and moving monsters from/to the GM layer), truly understand the order of events of the crime being investigated (it can be confusing as to why certain characters were separated for instance, and which guild is after what), and make sure you know enough about the city itself to answer questions for your players. The other thing is to get comfortable with the layout of the handouts themselves. Information can be spread out over multiple handouts, so knowing where to find the info is maybe more important than knowing the info. For Roll20 itself, it depends on your comfort level (and that of your players with the platform). I'd echo Keith in suggesting to set aside game time to go over the interface with everyone. Test out things like rolling initiative, how to add and subtract health during a battle, long rest mechanics, skill checks, advantage/disadvantage. You might also need to help out your players fill out/set up their character sheets (especially if there are advanced functions, like Global Modifiers that you want to use). This is something potentially you can get done ahead of the game, depending on how you handle communication with your players. As a last connected thing, consider watching Roll20 Presents version of Dragon Heist on Twitch/Youtube. Adam Koebel does a great job of presenting the module, so you can get a feel for how things might flow in the game, and get both ideas for what you might want to do or spot things to avoid.

Just a couple general things you might want to think about.  Are there any secret rolls you may be making repeatedly? If so, you should make some macros for yourself.  Same goes for players.  If there are certain rolls that they will make repeatedly (that aren't already covered by whatever sheet you are using), then make some macros for that as well.  If you are going to use darkness, be sure you know how to set up light/sight on tokens.  Not only for static lights or people with light spells, but also how to set up any nightvision or low light vision. You also might want to see if there is anything that interests you in the tricks thread.

Also, any API scripts that you want to use should probably get set up before hand. For instance, this is my list that I make sure I configure before every new game: 5th Edition OGL by Roll20 Companion (set of utilities, such as ammo tracking, and easy long rests) EasyExperience (if you track XP, this is a good script to help semi-automate XP for monsters etc.) GroupInitiative (quick initiative roller for multiple tokens) Welcome Package (automatically create character sheets when new players join your game) TokenMod (my number one used script, useful for modifying anything and everything about a token) TokenNameNumber (easily number your monsters, Goblin 1, Goblin 2, Goblin 3, etc.) Search (full text search of all your journals, helpful for finding where that obscure thing is on a handout) Bump (easily switch tokens between GM and Token layer) Resizer (easily resize images to fill a page - great for maps, with options to keep dimensions etc.) Bloodied Dead ( <a href="https://github.com/Roll20/roll20-api-scripts/tree/master/Bloodied%20and%20Dead%20Status%20Markers" rel="nofollow">https://github.com/Roll20/roll20-api-scripts/tree/master/Bloodied%20and%20Dead%20Status%20Markers</a> ) (adds a red dot to a token when they fall below half health) Turn Marker ( <a href="https://github.com/shdwjk/Roll20API/blob/master/TurnMarker1" rel="nofollow">https://github.com/shdwjk/Roll20API/blob/master/TurnMarker1</a> ) (script to help announce turn order, rounds, etc.) MonsterHitDice (auto rolls hit dice for monsters when they get placed on the table) Torch (script to easily adjust lighting for tokens) GroupCheck (Easily roll checks for multiple tokens) Alter Bars ( <a href="https://gist.github.com/Sky-Captain-13/a503c35914644e6f885f170eaeedc705" rel="nofollow">https://gist.github.com/Sky-Captain-13/a503c35914644e6f885f170eaeedc705</a> ) (I use this to set up healing potion macros to make that easier for my players) HazInspiration ( <a href="https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/5579750/help-5e-script-inspiration-tracking/?pageforid=5583293#post-5583293" rel="nofollow">https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/5579750/help-5e-script-inspiration-tracking/?pageforid=5583293#post-5583293</a> ) (adds an icon to tokens to show they have inspiration) TokenAction ( <a href="https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/5608775/script-update-tokenaction-creator-for-5e-ogl-sheet-version-2-dot-0" rel="nofollow">https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/5608775/script-update-tokenaction-creator-for-5e-ogl-sheet-version-2-dot-0</a> ) (easily add token buttons to the token macro menu for attacks and abilities) Recursive Tables ( <a href="https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/2845333/script-recursivetables-expands-inline-rolls-in-rollable-table-results/?pageforid=2845333#post-2845333" rel="nofollow">https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/2845333/script-recursivetables-expands-inline-rolls-in-rollable-table-results/?pageforid=2845333#post-2845333</a> ) (lets you nest tables in macros, letting you do some really cool rolls within rolls within rolls) Status Track ( <a href="https://app.roll20.net/forum/permalink/3346527/" rel="nofollow">https://app.roll20.net/forum/permalink/3346527/</a> ) (add status elements to the turn tracker, such as barbarian rage counting down) StatusInfo ( <a href="https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/6252784/script-statusinfo" rel="nofollow">https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/6252784/script-statusinfo</a> ) (easily assign status icons like poisoned, prone, etc., and print the condition info out to the chat window) Damage Autoroller&nbsp; <a href="https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/5685463/scriptlet-5e-ogl-npc-action-damage-autoroller" rel="nofollow">https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/5685463/scriptlet-5e-ogl-npc-action-damage-autoroller</a> (anytime a roll shows up in a description that gets sent to chat, it auto rolls those numbers. For instance, if it says 2d6 in a description of a spell, it will roll that damage below the spell output automatically) Hit Dice Helper&nbsp; <a href="https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/5581501/slug%7D" rel="nofollow">https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/5581501/slug%7D</a> &nbsp;(allows you to automatically apply hit dice healing when they are rolled from the OGL sheet).

Excellent suggestion, wish I had thought of it. The big advantage here is that Adam runs the game showing the GM view, and uses little to no automation (which is impressive in itself, given how well he keeps the game flowing). You can actually see every step the GM makes. Also, since you do have the module, you can open the encounter handouts as you follow along. I did this for the first couple episodes, as a side activity while I was working on some freelance artwork. It really gives a good feel as for how the adventured can be handled given player choices that don't follow the "intended" narrative, and how to use the Roll20 tools to do so. Loren the GM said: As a last connected thing, consider watching Roll20 Presents version of Dragon Heist on Twitch/Youtube. Adam Koebel does a great job of presenting the module, so you can get a feel for how things might flow in the game, and get both ideas for what you might want to do or spot things to avoid.

Thanks all, great suggestions. Haven't ventured into API scripts, yet, maybe it's time. Considering putting some tokens that are simply numbers onto the GM layer and adding info onto them, so I can just open up the necessary information right from the map. Did start watching Adam run the game. Impressed with how quickly he moves between handouts and sheets without having 9 things open all the time.

David E. said: Thanks all, great suggestions. Haven't ventured into API scripts, yet, maybe it's time. Considering putting some tokens that are simply numbers onto the GM layer and adding info onto them, so I can just open up the necessary information right from the map.&nbsp; Here are two Stupid Tricks for you: Easy Area Markers / Room Numbering Invisible Tokens - The Notes Token &nbsp;(plus the trick immediately following.)