I can't figure out how to Run with roll20

So I've been planning a game with some friends and family, and we thought it might be good to try roll20 since we aren't all near each other. My Problem is that, even after going through the tutorial and a couple other videos, I can not figure out how I'm supposed to be a gm in this.  I can't make maps because I have other time commitments and can't draw them, can't use free ones because they're not going to be what I actually need, and can't buy any because I do NOT have the money to spend on buying assets.  How am I supposed to make cool atmospheric dungeons without any backgrounds?  Even worse, my main dungeon right now has a lot of very specific routes, rooms, and traps, so how am I supposed to be able to make it with generic art that has predetermined corridors?! I can't have hidden characters that only I can see and use(as far as I can tell) because every token is automatically visible to the players.  If I get around that by putting everything while playing like the tutorial encourages, it will slow down the game immensely while I set everything up for the umpteenth time.  We only have a few hours every week to play this game! I can not figure out how combat is supposed to work.  It was not gone over in the tutorial, or in any videos I watched, they were all about using the many many tools. Despite how it says you can link character sheets to tokens, I can't figure out how I'm supposed to make character sheets at all.  Did I miss something? Did I just expect too much?  It was hyped up as the gold standard for online rpg'ing, but I can't figure out how anyone can actually use this to play. The system we're going to be playing in is D&D 3.5

Don't feel alone! Any system that is new for you is even more a challenge when you are the DM and have to run stuff. But we all go thru it and it just takes some time and work. &nbsp;When you can't buy assets, you HAVE to make them yourself and improvise... or just use the quick draw on the screen thing, like we used to do in to ole days and it was just fine. &nbsp;You're players will appreciate you having fun, not the map making it fun type thing. &nbsp;I would say to start here..&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qb-d3Zcznj4&list=PLJGKJMlzabImiNQMQDXyIMq_NxSx0i5Zg" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qb-d3Zcznj4&list=PLJGKJMlzabImiNQMQDXyIMq_NxSx0i5Zg</a> &nbsp; &nbsp;The info touches on 5e but the guy is really good and the info can work for other editions. &nbsp;But it'll help answer much of your questions.&nbsp;

First, take a deep breath, resources are available for free online. I just found this cool site for free map tiles, here . I like the look, but you would have to build the dungeon square by square. I have heard a lot of good things about Pyromancers it's a free online mapping tool that you can output your finished dungeons and upload them into your roll20 game. For you second point you can drag tokens on to the GM layer, be sure to hit the 'k' key first,&nbsp; and the players will not be able to see them unit you move them to the objects layer. Select token and right click menu option to move to Objects layer or simply hit ctr-shift 'o' to move the selected token to the Objects layer. FYI tokens on the GM layer will not be visible in initiative tracker for the players until they are moved to the Object layer Third to your combat questions, you can check out some live play videos on YouTube like this one here for examples of how people run encounters. The 4th question has to do with using the character sheets, be sure you have selected one for your game. Check out Choosing a character sheet in the wiki. There is a very robust sheet for 3.5ed. Roll20 is just a tabletop with some added functionality you can use as much or as little of the built in features as you wish. It takes time to learn them so just tackle one thing at a time. Nobody expects a perfect game, there is not such thing.

I can see how it can be a bit daunting starting out. &nbsp;Let me go through your points: 1. Maps -- This is likely the hardest one for anyone to help you solve. &nbsp;It basically comes down to a balance of time/money/expectations. &nbsp; If you want a pristine, beautiful, artfully drawn dungeon, you have a few options: Be a really great artist and draw up exactly what you want in Gimp or similar (Requires: some Time, lots of Talent) Find the perfect map to use in the marketplace (Requires: Time, some Money) Find a tile set that meets your needs and assemble the map (Requires: some Time, some Talent, some Money) Draw with the freehand tools what you want (Requires: Time, some Talent or low Expectations) Get someone to make your map for you (Requires: Money or great contacts)&nbsp; There really isn't going to be a community solution to this, other than if you get help finding the perfect map or perfect map tiles. 2. Hidden Characters -- Any tokens you place on the GM Layer are only visible to you. &nbsp;You can move tokens between layers by right clicking them and selecting the appropriate option. &nbsp;There are also shortcut keys for switching your layer focus and switching a token between various layers. See:&nbsp; <a href="https://wiki.roll20.net/Layers" rel="nofollow">https://wiki.roll20.net/Layers</a> See:&nbsp; <a href="https://wiki.roll20.net/Keyboard_Shortcuts" rel="nofollow">https://wiki.roll20.net/Keyboard_Shortcuts</a> See:&nbsp; <a href="https://wiki.roll20.net/Advanced_Shortcuts" rel="nofollow">https://wiki.roll20.net/Advanced_Shortcuts</a> 3. Combat -- This is a pretty deep topic, but I'll hit some highlights: Tokens can be added to the Turn Order with various methods (See:&nbsp; <a href="https://wiki.roll20.net/Turn_Tracker" rel="nofollow">https://wiki.roll20.net/Turn_Tracker</a>): Right click and select Give Turn With them selected, roll an expression that puts them there: /roll 1d20+3 &{tracker} With a character sheet and them selected, click the initiative button, if one exists (see 4 below) Tokens' bars can be used to track vital statistics, like hit points.&nbsp; The bars can be set to represent the attribute of a character (like hit points) The bars can just store a minimum/maximum value, say for monster hit points See:&nbsp; <a href="https://wiki.roll20.net/Linking_Tokens_to_Journals" rel="nofollow">https://wiki.roll20.net/Linking_Tokens_to_Journals</a> Beyond that, it should just work the way it would in person. 4. Character Sheets -- By default, each character (Add those in the&nbsp; Journal Tab ) has a Bio tab and an Attributes and Abilities tab. &nbsp;You can definitely type up details about a character in the bio area, and add attributes to represent the important things, and abilities to simplify doing the same rolls over and over. &nbsp;(That's the way it used to be, actually.) &nbsp;You can also select a character sheet for your particular game system if one is available. You do that on the Game Settings page: &nbsp; <a href="https://wiki.roll20.net/Game_Management#Settings" rel="nofollow">https://wiki.roll20.net/Game_Management#Settings</a> If a character sheet for your game doesn't exist, or you don't like the one that is there, you can post in the Character Sheets and Compendium forum to see about getting a community member to make one (almost all sheets are community contributed), or you can create one (but using a custom one requires a Pro Subscription). Hopefully that can help get you going. &nbsp;Definitely ask more questions if you have them. &nbsp;The wiki is also full of great information.

Hello! We've all been there, getting started. In a recent Roll20 Quarterly Report, there were 4108 games of D&D 3.5 happening on Roll20 in that time period.&nbsp; Industry Report, <a href="http://blog.roll20.net/post/148840854540/the-orr-g" rel="nofollow">http://blog.roll20.net/post/148840854540/the-orr-g</a>... For your specific questions, I'll try to help. 1. I recommend what Jamie suggested, use the Roll20 quick draw tool to sketch the map in less time, either in advance GM prep time, or as you're playing, as they go along. Wiki docs, <a href="https://wiki.roll20.net/Drawing_Tools" rel="nofollow">https://wiki.roll20.net/Drawing_Tools</a> However there is another option you didn't mention or rule-out: Upload maps. &nbsp;The free account allows uploading up to 5MB at a time, up to a certain quota. You can fit a lot of maps. So where-ever you get the maps, maybe your friend draws them, maybe you photograph a hand-drawn map, or perhaps free resources from the internet, you can upload art that you like and use as maps on your personal Roll20 Tabletop. Wiki, <a href="https://wiki.roll20.net/Art_Library#Uploading_Art" rel="nofollow">https://wiki.roll20.net/Art_Library#Uploading_Art</a> 2. The GM can hide tokens in several ways. You can put them on the GM Layer, everything there is invisible to players. Or you can use Fog Of War to blacken areas of the map and gradually reveal the areas. Wiki, <a href="https://wiki.roll20.net/Layers" rel="nofollow">https://wiki.roll20.net/Layers</a> Wiki, <a href="https://wiki.roll20.net/Fog_of_War" rel="nofollow">https://wiki.roll20.net/Fog_of_War</a> 3. How to run combat is dependent upon your game system of choice (3.5 you said) and is covered in the rulebooks of the game system. Most of the methods that a GM can use for running games face-to-face, there are equivalent tools in Roll20. The principle ones are voice talking, and text chat, and the dice roller, and the aforementioned map and drawing area. Those tools cover the usual social activity of roleplaying games including combat. For example at a home table running 3.5 face to face, a group would talk, draw or look at a map, and roll the dice. &nbsp;For more advanced game-running with more automation, there are Character Sheets, and Macros (These topics can be found in the Wiki too). These can make it faster to run, and somewhat more computerized. 4. After creating a game as GM, go into your Game Details Page, and the drop-down menu for Game Settings. Here you can choose which Character Sheet will be used for your game (for 3.5 you have a choice of character sheet layouts). Once it is set, go back inside the game tabletop, and now any new Character that the GM creates will have the proper Character Sheet that you selected. Wiki, <a href="https://wiki.roll20.net/Character_Sheets#Choosing_" rel="nofollow">https://wiki.roll20.net/Character_Sheets#Choosing_</a>... Wiki, <a href="https://wiki.roll20.net/Game_Management#Settings" rel="nofollow">https://wiki.roll20.net/Game_Management#Settings</a>

( Also, we have a very active community! )

On a personal recommendation, you can save a massive amount of prep-time and get a very beautiful 3.5 game that is already pre-set-up in Roll20, if you become ready to start a fresh new campaign and use a module from the Marketplace, rather than just wanting to replicate your existing maps/adventure. The ones I recommend are not free, but very good values considering how many maps, tokens, plot-line, monsters, story that you get, plus the prep time saved. These 2 are brilliant, should be compatible with 3.5, and very-much worth the price in my opinion: The Chosen One <a href="https://marketplace.roll20.net/browse/module/31/ne" rel="nofollow">https://marketplace.roll20.net/browse/module/31/ne</a>... Lands Of Belfum <a href="https://marketplace.roll20.net/browse/module/21/la" rel="nofollow">https://marketplace.roll20.net/browse/module/21/la</a>...

Hello all, I just started using ROLL20. &nbsp;I played in a game for a few runs with another DM. &nbsp;Now a group of my friends and I want to try. &nbsp;I figured out how to load a map, but with a player in my game was not able to present it to him. &nbsp;I also would like to learn more DM options. Can't find how to make a assistant DM. &nbsp;&nbsp; I would like to jump into a game and work through all my questions. &nbsp;Maybe somebody could jump into my game and help me. Please help. &nbsp; advise when can be online and a way to contact each other. &nbsp;&nbsp;

To present a map to your players, drag the player ribbon in the Pages Toolbar to the page you want them to see:&nbsp; <a href="https://wiki.roll20.net/Page_Toolbar" rel="nofollow">https://wiki.roll20.net/Page_Toolbar</a> To promote a player to a GM, you go to the Game Management page for the Game (click the name or picture of the game, not the Join Game link in your game list):&nbsp; <a href="https://wiki.roll20.net/Game_Management#Players" rel="nofollow">https://wiki.roll20.net/Game_Management#Players</a>

I can recommend using the maps that come with 13th Age Organized Play adventures. They are available for free for anyone who registers for a Pelgrane Press Bookshelf account.

Thank you Aaron, &nbsp;I figured out how make my assistant GM

Thanks for all the helpful answers! I'll definitely take a look at some of the things mentioned, and see how they work out!&nbsp; I'm starting to feel less over whelmed about this too, so thanks again to everyone who answered!