Question: Roll20 Starting Investment

Hello! Caveats: I have never used Roll20, and am interested in using it for PF2e games. I have typically used Maptools. I also have Paizo subscriptions. Experience should be more than simply sharing desktop. In other words, dynamic lighting, and other features of a modern VTT. Question1: What is the investment to start GMing PF2e games in Roll20? This seems to be the Basic entry investment:  $49.99 PF2e core book + $4.99 ($49.99 yr) Plus Account (in order to have access to dynamic lighting), so basically $100 investment. This also means I will need to create my own tokens and maps, which I am fine with, though it becomes less palatable after a $100 investment. Note, I am fine paying money for a quality product. Question2:  Can you try out the pF2e ruleset in a demo mode, or something like that, before making the initial investment? Thank you for any replies!!

If you do not mind entering a lot of data by yourself, your investment can be $0. PF2 is available for free if you hold yourself to the SRD information. Many people do this already with D&D 5e, using SRD data for common things, and manually adding the other stuff. So if you want a taste, yes there is a "demo version". Dynamic Lighting does require a Plus or better membership. Otherwise you are constrained to regular fog of war (manually hiding and revealing areas). Still, this can give you a taste for the rest of the Roll20 experience, and you can decide whether to upgrade as you go.

keithcurtis said: If you do not mind entering a lot of data by yourself, your investment can be $0. PF2 is available for free if you hold yourself to the SRD information. Many people do this already with D&D 5e, using SRD data for common things, and manually adding the other stuff. So if you want a taste, yes there is a "demo version". Dynamic Lighting does require a Plus or better membership. Otherwise you are constrained to regular fog of war (manually hiding and revealing areas). Still, this can give you a taste for the rest of the Roll20 experience, and you can decide whether to upgrade as you go. Thanks Keith! Just so I am sure I understand what you are saying ... "PF2 is available for free if you hold yourself to the SRD information." Do you mean, basically everything would be manual in the "demo version"?

Eep! Sorry, I seem to be totally wrong here. I had assumed there was a PF2 SRD equivalent in place as there is with PF. This does not seem to be the case. Sorry for the misinformation. So yes, you can use the PF2 sheets and whatever automation might be built in, but would need to input your own monsters and character information manually. I'll see if I can find more info or page someone more PF2-savvy.

Hi Elorebean, I'll see if I can shed some additional light on this topic. The Roll20 Compendium for Pathfinder 2e is a purchasable product; you get a discount for owning the pdf through paizo's site if you link your account. The Roll20 character sheet for Pathfinder 2e is free for all to use, and it supports a majority of the rules with some notable exceptions like multiple attack penalties not yet being automated. As additional content is rolled out, it will be compatible with the Pathfinder 2e by Roll20. Based on how other compendiums have worked, you can expect monsters to be drag and droppable in the future. You can also probably expect items to be drag and droppable at some point in the future. The Roll20 team has stated that the current iteration of the Pathfinder 2e sheet is the early release to get A  sheet up and running at the same time as the system's release. More advanced features and compendium integration have been mentioned as being on their way.

Thanks Scott.

Thank you Scott and Keith! Much appreciated!

You're welcome elorebaen. I'll also note that buying the Roll20 version of the products is in no way required; it simply saves you time. You can use Roll20 and manually enter anything you need; I've set up and run entire APs this way.

I ran games on Roll20 for a long time without paying a dime, and only using content and maps I created.

Hello elorebaen, I have moved your post to the Specific Use Questions & Macros forums. Thanks!

keithcurtis said: Eep! Sorry, I seem to be totally wrong here. I had assumed there was a PF2 SRD equivalent in place as there is with PF. This does not seem to be the case. Sorry for the misinformation. So yes, you can use the PF2 sheets and whatever automation might be built in, but would need to input your own monsters and character information manually. I'll see if I can find more info or page someone more PF2-savvy. There is no Compendium in roll20 with the PRD data. There still is an official PRD for 2e over at the Archives of Nethys - Paizos partners for hosting the reference material. But of course Keith is right - you have to basically set up everything by hand.