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With our adventure set up and our players in tow, we are ready to go! Just in case, below outlines some tips and advice on how it all comes together and how to actually play.
Placing player tokens
Since our players will need their tokens to navigate the map, we will want to make sure that they are available on the map as well. To do this, simply drag the journal entry for the character from the journal to the map in roughly the location you want to place it.
Once it is on the map, you and your players can use the select tool to move it around or use the arrow keys while it is selected as well. Keep in mind, players can only move tokens for which they have control/edit access.
Mask/Reveal Tool
This tool is completely optional, but it is very handy to ensure players don't see the entire map all at once. This can help maintain tension and suspense in your game and prevent potential spoilers. Controls for the Hide/Reveal Mask are located in the left side toolbar as well as the ability to turn it on.
Once you click "Hide Full Page" you should notice that the map area will look dimmer -- this means it is on!
Once active, you can use the tools and options under the "Draw Mask" section in order to selectively reveal portions of the map to your players. If you need to re-hide an area, you can swap to the "Hide Area" mode as well.
Page Toolbar
Next up is getting your players to the right spot! When you open the page toolbar at the very top, you will see a yellow ribbon on the pages - this tells you what page your party is currently looking at. You'll notice that the ribbon is still on the starting page. When we are ready to get started and play the session, we'll just need to drag that ribbon to our "Crypt of Silence" page so they can see the map properly.
Making rolls
So we've moved our players to the map, and they've just walked into their first combat encounter. On Roll20, most rolls you will make can be done directly from the sheets. While the GM and Player sheets may look a bit different visually, the same functionality and principles apply.
Player perspective
When making rolls from the player sheet, this will take place from primarily three areas.
1. This is the ability scores section. This is where you will be able to make saving throws for spells or effects that may call for them. So if a spell calls for a player to make a "Wisdom Save" the player just needs to click the "Save" button under "Wisdom."
2. This is the skills section. If you as the GM call for the player to make an "Athletics Check" for a jump or any other kind of check, the player just needs to click the word within this section and a roll will be done automatically.
3. This is an attack within the center section. There are a few buttons that appear here which are for the Attack roll (determines if you hit the target or not) and the Damage (How much damage you inflict if you manage to hit the target).
The center section has multiple other tabs used for managing your character, including spells. However, most of your spells will also appear in the Combat tab as well for easy access!
GM perspective
The GM's view is visually different, but the sections are still the same and operate similarly. The different experiences are due primarily to different information needs between GMs and Players to prioritize what they need in a given encounter.
Editing the sheet
If you need to make a quick edit to a sheet, you can click the "Gear" icon in the top right of the associated section. This will cause a pop up window to appear which allows for you to make those changes and save them.
However, you can also use the Drag and Drop functionality from the compendium to make slight tweaks to a sheet as well. So as mentioned previously, our cultists should have access to some Short Bows for ranged attacks. We simply need to search for a short bow and drag it into the NPC sheet and it will automatically populate and work.
This same functionality can also be used for player sheets as well and works with things such as items, weapons, armor, spells, and so on.
Starting combat
Now with our knowledge of how to roll, we need to be able to "Start" combat. Since we have already set up our NPCs ahead of time on the GM layer, we'll need to move them to the Token Layer.
1. Select the tokens on the GM layer by holding shift and clicking them (You can also drag the marquee over the tokens).
2. Once you have the desired tokens selected, right click on them and click "Change Layer"
3. Click "Tokens" to move them to the token layer.
Once these NPCs have been moved to the token layer, they will be visible to the players immediately.
Next up, is getting our turn order to show. You can click the turn order button in the left side toolbar which will cause the turn order tracker window to appear for everyone in the game. D&D 5e utilizes a system called "Initiative" which is what helps determine and organize the turn order of players and NPCs.
Once this is visible, players will be able to click the "Initiative" button on their sheet, and they will automatically be added to the turn tracker.
As the GM, you have some additional steps you will need to take since you have multiple characters to add at once.
- Open the sheet for the token you wish to add to the turn order (right click > Open Sheet)
- Click the token so it is highlighted on the map
- Click "Initiative" on the sheet
- Click the next token
- Click "Initiative" on the sheet again
You'll repeat this for each instance of the token you wish to add to combat. Be sure to pay attention to the token and the corresponding sheet as different monsters and NPCs may have different bonuses to their initiative result.
Once all combatants have rolled initiative and been added to the tracker, click the "Sort" button on the turn tracker so it goes from High to Low and then you are ready to go!
Tracking and updating tokens
As the GM you need to keep track of multiple characters' health in the course of a battle. To do this, you can actually modify this via the token bars and bubbles.
When you click a token, you will see a few bubble appear. The middle bubble is for Health Points (HP) and the right side bubble is for Armor Class (AC). When attack is rolled, if the number is equal to or greater than the AC, then it hits and damage gets rolled. When you know how much damage can be applied, you can click the bubble and edit the HP accordingly.
The Markers bubble on the bottom allows you to place "Token Markers" on the token. These are small icons that you can use to track the state of a token such as if it is paralyzed, poisoned, or unconscious.
Movement and Measurement
Last up is movement and measurement. You can use the measure tool with a variety of options to help determine things like movement. Many creatures and characters have different speeds at which they can move during a certain round. The measurement tool gives you a visual way to track movement as well as figure out the area that would be affected by certain spells or effects. Below you can see the different measurement types.
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Line |
Square |
Circle |
Cone |
Beam |
Each option has individual settings and selections you can use to modify the behavior for your specific scenario.
As another quick call out, if you press the Q key while using the measure tool, or while moving a token, it will place "Waypoints." This can be incredibly helpful for figuring out distances that are straight lines and for navigating corners.
Want to learn more about D&D 5e?
This was all just a quicker overview of how to utilize Roll20 for playing D&D 5e generally. If you'd like more in-depth explanations and details about D&D 5e specifically, I highly recommend checking out our tutorial video below:
This tutorial is more focused on how D&D 5e as a system works with more focus on rules and character creation. While this is for the 2014 version of 5e, many of the same principles still apply.
The Free Basic Rules also provide a written format which provides a lot of guidance on GMing and how to play D&D 5e as well, including examples of how certain scenarios play out directly.