Modern setting with roll20

Hello, I'm fairly new here and I'm not sure if this is the best place for this, but I didn't see anywhere else that fit it better. A lot of games I run use modern settings - VTM, Scion, call of cthulhu, etc. and when I found roll20 I was absolutely ecstatic as it seems to be absolutely amazing. The problem is, it seems to fall into many of the same pitfalls most roleplaying things do, an utter lack of anything for modern settings. Usually, I fix this myself. I make paper-minis for players and NPCs(Or invite the players to bring their own),I don't use pre-made map tiles or anything and just draw them myself. With roll20, however. seems like it would be beyond my capability for making minis, and I see no one for me to make my own map assets. So, I'm hoping someone more familiar can help me out, how do people manage to run modern settings around here?

Moved to On-Topic - Gauss

Cameron, I've run one long term modern day campaign on Roll20 already and I'm considering another one in the near future as a break from my current game. I can confirm its possible to do so here, it's as rewarding as a fantasy campaign and there are things you can do to make life easy on yourself. Minis - I tend to make my own for all my games. A big advantage for modern day games is that any photo, screengrab or drawing can be turned into a token, so you have a lot of material out there to be converted. As an example, I've attached what I've used in the past for a modern day game and a near future shadowrun game. These were made in just a few minutes with Paint.net - a freeware paint program - and there are other programs that can assist with making tokens for Roll20 (Tokentool is one but I haven't used it). Maps - there are starting to be some assets available through the marketplace such as the Modern Day Room Builder here and some others. I've found that a screen grab from the Sims 3 works for buildings well for me. High resolution aerial photos could work, although I don't have access to any that would be useful for gaming, but they are out there. Plenty of floorplans, maps or other layouts that wouldn't have been feasible to print out are easily grabbed and imported into Roll20 try Googling what you want. RPG Map Share is another great resource to use. Let me know if you have any other or more specific questions and I'll pitch in. It's hard to turn a year's worth of lessons learned into a coherent message board post.

cameron b. said: With roll20, however. seems like it would be beyond my capability for making minis, and I see no one for me to make my own map assets. As a GM in a campaign click on the second tab in the right-hand pane ("Art Library"). You can use the search box there, and assets from your library, the Roll20 marketplace, and the rest of the internet will show up in the results, which you can then drag to the tabletop. In order to add items to your library, click on the black star on the same page. You'll see "Your Library", "Your Purchases", and "Upload" at the top of the popup window. Click Upload, and you will be able to upload images to your library*, which will then show up when you search in the Art Library tab. As of today's update, you should also be able to drag items directly from the Art Library manager popup to the table. * The size of each image and the total upload space available is dependent on your account type (Base/Supporter/Mentor).

Hi Cameron, Which particular locations are most important to you within Modern settings? I have on my list an intention (albeit with no strict dates) to provide sequel sets to the DIY Modern Room Builder focused more on modular tiles and premade maps (so that those that don't like building maps completely from scratch can do so). Knowing which locations are the most popular to focus on would be helpful.