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New to Roll20 or RPGs? Need Guidance? Click Here. (Read the OP First)

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Gid
Roll20 Team
NEW EDIT: 9/9/2014 First, Welcome to Roll20! We hope you enjoy your stay here. We have two video series that are at your disposal for help getting started. 1) If you're absolutely brand new to RPGs and want to know the general idea of how they are played, which game to choose and then find a group of fellow gamers: Check out our Introduction to Tabletop RPGs series . 2) If you've played tabletop RPGs before and just want to get a understanding of how Roll20 can be used: Check out our Roll20 Crash Course . This is a step-by-step overview for creating your very first Roll20 campaign. This tutorial uses the Pathfinder RPG to frame itself, but it's not a system specific tutorial and you should be able to follow along without knowing one single thing about Pathfinder. Hopefully this will make acclimating to RPGs and Roll20 a lot easier. Happy Gaming!
I'm completely new and want to give DnD a try, 3.5. If anyone could help me out, I would appreciate it a lot.
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Gid
Roll20 Team
Zach, I'd recommend using the Looking For Group tool and searching for newbie or beginner level games.
Thanks for the Crash Course series. I thought it was great Kristin. Any idea why I'm not getting video feed into my test site? Do I have to have another player logged in before chat/video activates?
Ryan M. said: Any idea why I'm not getting video feed into my test site? Do I have to have another player logged in before chat/video activates? Yep. Unless there's someone else to 'talk' to, it doesn't try to 'talk' at all. And yes, very nice intro videos Kristin! Comprehensive and clear, just what people need to get started. -Phnord
Phnord Prephect said: Yep. Unless there's someone else to 'talk' to, it doesn't try to 'talk' at all. Thanks Phnord, makes sense. Again, Kristin, great job on the tutorials. I can't wait to share them with my friends that I am trying to attract to the site. Keep up the good work.
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Gid
Roll20 Team
Welcome. I'm glad they help.
Tutorials are very helpful Kristin. Thank you.
H-Hello. Um... I;m new to this whole thing. Not as in the online roleplay, I've made various stories and roleplays as such. What I'm new to is the concept of Tabletop gameplay. I have... no idea what I'm doing. I tried making a D&D character and felt like it was a form of bureaucracy. But, I was also hoping to meet some nice people who could ease me into this whole thing.
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Gid
Roll20 Team
Mr. Critical said: H-Hello. Um... I;m new to this whole thing. Not as in the online roleplay, I've made various stories and roleplays as such. What I'm new to is the concept of Tabletop gameplay. I have... no idea what I'm doing. I tried making a D&D character and felt like it was a form of bureaucracy. But, I was also hoping to meet some nice people who could ease me into this whole thing. Next on my list of videos to create is a series that explains what a tabletop RPG is and what type of variants exist. You're definitely not the first one to show up to the forums completely new to the hobby and asking these types of questions, Mr. Critical. Welcome, by the way. Dungeons & Dragons is just one tabletop RPG out of literally hundreds of other games available. D&D and games like it are what we call simulationist RPGs. They have very extensive rules because part of the fun of this gametype is combining skills and abilities that mesh together when building characters. Kind of like building an optimal deck of Magic cards or figuring out counter strategies to other Champions in League of Legends. Popular titles of this genre are Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder(fantasy), Shadowrun(cyberpunk), 13th Age(fantasy). That being said, if skill building isn't your cup of tea (it's not mine, so I can relate), there are other RPG game types that don't have that. The rules in these games are much simpler and just ratify who wins narrative control. We call these narrativist RPGs. If D&D character creation feels overly crunchy and heavy to you, you might want to give some narrativist titles a try: Dungeon World (fantasy), FATE (genreless), Savage Worlds (genreless), Fiasco (single session games).
how do I create a character sheet in roll 20?
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Gid
Roll20 Team
Stephen R. said: how do I create a character sheet in roll 20? That depends entirely on what game you're playing, Stephan, and what the GM of your campaign requires of you. Some GMs are going to use the ingame character sheet templates. Some might use an outside application like Google Drive or Herolab. Ask your GM what they would like you to do.
Hi There, I just joined up and I am thoroughly confused. What do I do now? The tutorials start at the point of interface and building campaigns, but surely I need to download and/or setup connection stuff first. How do I download and play with the software? Do you have any way I can test the audio/video and other functions before I actually try to join my first game? Thanks for any and all help
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Gid
Roll20 Team
There's nothing to download or install. Roll20 is run entirely from your browser. It's straight up HTML and Javascript. You literally click on the Virtual Tabletop link at the very upper left part of the website and create a campaign from there. To test out video/voice within Roll20, you'll need another player to hop in with you. If you launch a Roll20 campaign in Google Hangouts , you can test our your webcam and mic with just yourself about.
Hello, I am trying to get into roleplaying but I have no idea what I'm doing. I've been checking the forums all day and been looking at tutorials but I am still struggling on a few things. I want to speak with someone personally who has the patience to teach a new playing who is demoted to learn and really get into Roll20. For weeks I have been watching videos and being amazed by the fantasy of RPG's and D&D and would really like to start making my own story, my own character. So if their is anyone who understands my passion and is willing to help me personally, I would really be happy. I'm willing to share information like Skype or anyways of communication for quicker and more easier access of learning. Please and thank you for anyone who can help.
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Gid
Roll20 Team
Michael, I think a great place for a newbie player looking to GM would be to hop into the GM Academy - <a href="https://app.roll20.net/join/234079/mWjvWw" rel="nofollow">https://app.roll20.net/join/234079/mWjvWw</a> This goes for anyone who'd like to GM, but have questions about how to go about it.
Well I don't want to be a GM, I just need help on getting started on (as a player) getting into roleplaying. All I know is Pathfinder and DnD 3.5 but I don't have the books or anything or any knowledge on it
But I am thankful for you're help Kristin.
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Gid
Roll20 Team
Ah. My apologies. I'd recommend going to the LFG Tool and/or forums and seeking out games that are designed to train newcomers.
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Its alright and I have been LFG for awhile. [Removed by Moderator] Again, thank you for the help. I will be LFG after I made my character.
How do i roll up a character??
Depends on what you're wanting to play. Generally you'd use the game's handbook/manual to do so. There are online resources, but it's probably best to do it manually.
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Gid
Roll20 Team
And it also depends on what your GM expects from you too. It's better to join a gaming group via the LFG tool first (one meant for new players) and then have the GM direct you to how they'd expect you to roll up a character.
how do I set my timezone? I put a game up for people to join and the timezone is supposed to be EST but when I logged out and searched for my game it wasn't there.
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Gid
Roll20 Team
I think that might be one of the kinks we still need to shake out of the LFG system. It might be best for right now to put your timezone down in the details column of your LFG entry.
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Melanie P.
Marketplace Creator
Hi, I am a new GM and excited to use Roll20 with my own artwork, and on my tablet (Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1). I just subscribed to unlock tablet support, and uploaded one png asset, but now I can't get it into my map. I dragged & dropped others easily on the desktop version, so I must be missing a step, or something... help! Thanks in advance!
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Gid
Roll20 Team
By the way you make it sound, you already uploaded the desired image onto Roll20 earlier. Is that right? If so, you should be able to bring up the image name up in the art search on the side bar and be able to drag that to the tabletop.
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Melanie P.
Marketplace Creator
Oooooh I was trying to drag from my library! This way worked. Thanks so much, Kristin!
Hey, I am brand new! I stumbled upon this site with the intentions to make new friends! I have never played any of these games, but I am more than willing to learn. Where should I start?
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The Aaron
Roll20 Production Team
API Scripter
Sounds like Looking for group to me. =D
um i'm new to roleplaying and would like to try it our.i need help and guidance.
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Gid
Roll20 Team
I'd recommend looking up thread to where I briefly outline the different RPG types that are out there. Pick a setting genre that interests you and then find a RPG system that caters to that genre. Fantasy is the most popular among Roll20 users who are playing Dungeons Dragons 4th and 3.5 editions (Each edition uses a different ruleset) or Pathfinder. There's A LOT of other games being played on Roll20, but if you're brand new, you might want to pick one of the more popular titles so it's easier to jump into a group and feel your way around the hobby. One shots (single session games) are also a great way to experience role playing without needing to do much prep work in advance. Then you should head over to the Looking For Group system and see what's available for the times that you're available to play. A lot of game listings welcome new players and are willing to help teach you the ropes. You'll need to read up on the rules depending on what game system you want to play, but this is a bit easier to do this as a player than a GM. Don't worry about making a character sheet until you've found a group to play with. Often the GM of a game will have a specific way they want their players to create their character sheets, so you should let them dictate how they want it done.
why can I only see a black screen when going into a game?
Pinky, that might depend on a few things. Are you the GM of the campaign or a player? If you are a player, it's possible that the GM might currently have Fog of War or Dynamic Lighting active. Both of those have the ability to restrict what the players can see.
How do I even accept the campaign invitation? like I know the gm has said I can. but idk how to join
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Matthew, did you receive an email or a private message from your GM inviting you to the campaign? The GM needs to send you a join link in order for you to join the campaign. All you would need to do is click that link. You can also click either the "Virtual Tabletop" link in the black bar along the top of the site, or the "My Campaigns" link in the blue bar at the top of the forums to view what campaigns you've created or joined.
That did it. Thank you very much :)
Great! Glad it worked out, Matthew. :)
HI there, Brand new and just played through my first game session a a player. I was very impressed overall. HOWEVER, the dynamic lighting was really annoying in areas with lot of corners and small objects, casting crazy shadows like a disco light even though my character would still have known what he saw while walking by a bunch of pillar (for example) just a moment earlier. Also, it was tough to remember shapes and location of previous rooms, although in real life my character would have had a good idea on those things as well. Finally, it was really hard to tell when things were walls or object like buildings and rocks or tall fountains. This would have been much easier to understand if my character could have still "seen" the previous wall of the building as he went around it, for example. What I'm getting at is that there really needs to be an option where the DM as allow a fog-of-war reveal of the map in conjunction with dynamic lighting. This would cause WAY less confusion on that part of the characters and also allow some perceptive on the current situation and give them some sense of achievement in having actually mapped and explored the given area. Anyhow, that's my 2-cents as a long term player and DM. Does such an option exist? Do you plan on implementing such an option in the future? Overall, my experience so far has been great. Thanks for creating such a wonderful system! -Chris
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Gid
Roll20 Team
Christopher, I'd recommend making a suggestion thread in the Suggestion Forum.
Hi! I'm in no way new was just wondering what the dynamic lighting can used for... also about the fog of war i was just pondering if i should start a campaign like that since i'm planning on running a Pathfinder campaign with friends. and Thx :)
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Gid
Roll20 Team
Dynamic Lighting allows the GM to set up walls and lights on the tabletop so the PC's line of sight is obstructed and can only see the room or location their token is currently at. See: <a href="https://wiki.roll20.net/Dynamic_Lighting" rel="nofollow">https://wiki.roll20.net/Dynamic_Lighting</a>
Ah... Sweet thank you Kristin :)
Alright sorry to bother yet again but when i used dynamic lighting with the fog of war my players are invisible to me and now i cant edit them or well much of anything for that matter plz help?
again im sorry just nedded to refresh it seems
How do you make it so players can't pass through walls in a downloaded map? I mean, is there a way to set boundaries around the map kind of like in Dynamic Lightning that doesn't let light pass through?
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The Aaron
Roll20 Production Team
API Scripter
There isn't a way to do that. Update on drop prevents players from hovering to view obscured locations. You could use the API to write a system that would move players back if they get moved to a position you don't want them in, but defining those positions gets a bit complicated... If those areas are not valid at all, you could black them out with fog of war (FoW). You could even use FoW in concert with dynamic lighting to prevent players from seeing valid areas until they are revealed, but that is a bit tedious. You could also just draw a shape to obscure the area on the token layer and remove it as the players get closer. That might be easier than dealing with FoW.
Hey there. New to Roll20, LOVE the idea, loved the crash course. I wanted to open a new FATE campaign, but I want to tweak the character sheet a bit to better fit my intended game. I opened a new campaign and selected "FATE Core" character sheet, but I couldn't figure out how to edit it in my campaign... Thanks.
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Gid
Roll20 Team
Only Mentors are able to edit and create custom character sheets.
hi im new and was wondering how I am suppose to actually upload a campaign any suggestion...and appologies if this has already been awnsered
It depends on what you mean by 'upload a campaign'. If you mean, take a pdf or something you found somewhere and transfer it directly into Roll20 somehow, yeah, you can't do that. What you do, in a nutshell, is this: Create a new campaign, you'll be the GM for this but you can also assign others GM privilege if you want. From here, you'll find options to import various bits of art, for example encounter maps or token icons. Make a new page for each encounter area, and upload the background art (map etc.) Insert tokens to represent people, places, critters, and other assorted things of interest, as needed. You have the option to connect those tokens (assuming you're even going to use them) to character sheets, which can help automate much of the action in the game. However, this is not strictly needed, as you can just work off printed character sheets or whatever you, as the GM, decide to use. You can also create handouts, such as images or textual information, or whatever you like, that can be placed in the journal and shown or hidden from the players as appropriate. Then, find players, invite them to your game, and play. Obviously it's a little more complex actually doing it, and there's always more to learn about being a GM, but Roll20's greatest strength is its learning curve. You don't NEED to do any of the above, but if it helps your game, you have the ability to do so. At the minimum, it's a die-roller and a chat room, with voice chat and somewhere to draw pictures at each other.. At the maximum.... well, we don't know what it is, nobody's unlocked ALL of Roll20's capability yet but we get a little closer every update! Keep up the good work, Roll20 Team! Hope that helps. PS: Watch the videos and above all, READ THE INSTRUCTIONS! And the Roll20 Wiki, there's some good tips and tricks in there (hint hint!) If you've got a problem, odds are someone else has had it too and has posted the answer somewhere for you! -Phnord