Totally confused with this platform

I am trying to join a d&d 5e game and I am having trouble finding games to join. The games are listed under 'accepting new players' and say they are accepting so many players yet no one answers my requests to join. Some say to have a character sheet all ready but I can't find a way on roll20 to make a character sheet. Further studying the subject I found some kind of code that I am supposed to put into the campaign mode (which I can't find) and somehow I will be able to make a character sheet but this method leads to different problems also in which it says the character may not be available until certain days and can't be used without a pro account anyways. All I want to do is play d&d 5e yet getting into a game seems impossible and so does creating a character. The app for android even has a bottom of the bucket review making this even more of a hassle. Can anyone explain how to play for free on this platform in an easy to follow way without spending hours looking through how to methods which are also hard to follow. I just want to play and if it's this hard to play I am getting worried about the play itself. Any help would be appreciated.

* The platform First of all, the platform is good, but it takes some work to find a regular game. With that I mean a weekly/ bi-weekly/ monthly game. And let this be clear: you do not have to pay a penny to play a game. there are some paid functionalities, but players do not need it. The android app is weak to be honest and is not meant to be a stand-alone app; so just use your PC. and no need for input of codes as a complete newbie - no need to go down that path, I can guarantee that. * Finding a game (a good game!) You might want to consider getting into one-off games. Don't know how much experience you have, so might as well explain that a one-off game is a game that is not going to be regular, it is just one session long, maybe 2. That is why it can be a great choice for a beginner, no pressure to feel like you need fit well into the team, and you have a few games to get used to this community. Keep looking for a regular game too. Fair warning, many games only last a few sessions, because many new GMs and players are unreliable. This means that it does take a few weeks at least until you find a good group. in the mean time you can have a lot of fun, just dont expect things to go smoothly from the get go, and enjoy each session without expecting a huge campaign. And btw, you might need to apply to a game with some good time in advance. at least for regular campaigns, GMs might want to chat with potential players a bit: because a good GM filters out the players that seem very unreliable or rude or childish etc. Good GMs also are looking to see if their campaign and GM style actually would be a good fit for you, as a good GM really wants you to have fun. And in general, if you apply the day of the game you will be competing with many other players. Apply 2-3 days before the actual game at the very least. * About being a complete beginner Dont worry about not knowing how to do things: if a game is listed as "welcomes new players" and people want a character sheet, you can teu and ask one of the people in the campaign to help you out creating one; ask at least a day or two before the session's starting time though, so that someone has time to answer and help you out. doing it when the game starts would mean others are waiting just for you to get your char set up. and in general if you feel kinda confused about the platform, people will help you out during the session too! Do the tutorial and that should be enough :) of course the more you learn about roll20, the easier it is for a GM to accept you. Have more questions? Happy to help!

if you want I can show you my game for a bit, so you see the platform in action! My game is not DnD btw, but at least you will see what this platform is capable of.

I think the reason people haven't answered your requests is because you are so unfamiliar with how things work on roll20. So it's good that you are looking for help in that respect. Most GMs wont want to spend a lot of time teaching people the very basics of how to use roll20, it's a time sink that spoils the game for the other players. So, some suggestions: Firstly, you ownt be able to use the android app to play the game. This is strictly a desktop program. The android app does provide some features, but it's not a full-fledged application. The way you create characters on your own is first, create a new Campaign. Anyone can do this, and it gives you access to the character sheets. At the very top of this page, one of the menus is Games. Under that is Start a new Campaign. Use that and on the page that appears, near the botton, look for a dropdown to select your character sheet. If you're playing D&D 5e, pick the 5e OGL sheet, it's very near the top of the list. Now you can join the campaign you created, and explore the interface. If needed, check out the roll20 tutorials and wiki pages to figure out what youre doing. From here, you can create a character (look for the Journal Tab, click Add --> Character), and you have a new blank character. Here you can create your character (or at least, input a rules-legal character youve designed elsewhere). You can also explore how a character sheet works. You should  do this even if you have no plans to do anything with it. You need to know how to use roll20. When you are happy, you can leave the campaign. Now the important step: look at the very top of this page , and the Tools menu. In there is the Character Vault. Once you have created a character, go there and click Import Existing Character. pick your character, and you now have a character in your vault. Other GMs can let you import that into their game. Now, some GMs won't use that feature, and/or will require you to design a character in a specific way. Follow their instructions perfectly, or they'll probably reject your application without replying. If you don't understand their instructions, you can ask for help what they mean, either asking the GM directly or asking on the forums for advice. Hope some of this helps. Good luck!

Hi, I'm new to Roll20, which tutorials should we watch? I can only find one and it seems to be for a GM?  Thanks! 

Al S. said: I'm new to Roll20, which tutorials should we watch? I can only find one and it seems to be for a GM?  Have you done the tutorial to get familiar with some of the basics for Roll20? It does show things relevant to players too. On youtube there seem to be a few shorter videos for  roll20 player basics or similar, which could help. If you want to get familiar with some specific system/sheet, you'd have to take a look at them specifically, and the roll20 wiki have articles for a few of the more popular sheets/systems.

Welcome to Roll20 first and foremost. As you've likely gathered, the community here is awesome and there is some great advice here already... I'd always recommend checking out  this thread for some great 'getting started' tips however :)

Oh, and it appears we have a nice article on our wiki that is perfect for this : Introduction To Tabletop RPGs (and a crash-course on Roll20) I wonder why it isn't on the stickied New to Roll20 or RPGs, or Just Need Guidance? Click Here! thread?

Andreas J. said: I wonder why it isn't on the stickied New to Roll20 or RPGs, or Just Need Guidance? Click Here! thread? I don't know what you're talking about it's right there at the bottom...   =D

The Aaron said: Andreas J. said: I wonder why it isn't on the stickied New to Roll20 or RPGs, or Just Need Guidance? Click Here! thread? I don't know what you're talking about it's right there at the bottom...   =D Sure it was there the whole time :Wink 

=D