Game Management

My Games Page

On the My Games page, you can do three things: join games, create games, and manage your games. The page is accessible either by clicking on the Games option on the Site's main navigation bar or clicking on the My Games option from the Games drop-down menu when you hover your mouse there.

1. Game Search

Across the top of the My Games page is a search bar. If you have a large list of games, this search bar will filter your Game List based on either Tags or Keywords that label the games you have created or in which you participate.

Note: if you create a tag in a game that includes an apostrophe ( ' ) you will not be able to create copies of the game.

2. Game List

The bulk of the page is taken up by the Game List, which shows all the games you can access. Each listed game shows several pieces of information:

• Click the Game Title to be taken to the Game Details page.
• The Game Image will also take you to the Game Details page.
• Launch Game will take you straight into the tabletop for the game.
• Player Icons are listed for each game, showing you who else plays that game.
• The Last Played On date tells you when last the game was in session.
  • Games created by you have a Creator badge.
  • Games you are a Co-GM on have a GM badge.
  • Games you are a player in are unadorned.

3. Buttons

At the top right are a collection of buttons for creating, copying, and adding games to your Game List.

• + Create New Game takes you through the game creation process to set up a new game.
• Copy from Dev takes you to a page that lets you copy a game from the Developer Server to the Production Server, a Pro subscription perk.
• Find a Group takes you to the Looking for Group Tool, so you can find more games to join.

4. My Tags

On the right edge, the My Tags box lists all the tags you have defined in decreasing order. The listing is based on the number of games associated with each tag. You can click a tag to instantly filter the list down to the games that include that tag.

Game Details Page

Each game created in Roll20 has its own Details Page, which serves as a hub for managing player invitations, adjusting game settings, and providing information to new players. It is the first page new players see after accepting an invitation to a game. On this page, players can access in-between session content, such as the date of the next game session, ask questions, and start discussions using the game's private forum.

Inviting and Managing Players

On the right hand side of this page is where you can invite and manage the players who will join your game. Within a single game, there are three different roles that a Roll20 user can assume:

Creator

The game’s Creator is the Roll20 user who originally created the game. Only one Creator can exist for a Roll20 game. Creators have complete control over all of the game's settings and any subscription perks (Dynamic Lighting, F/X Tool, API Scripts, etc..) that the game can benefit from. The number of perks is based on the subscription level of the creator's account. Likewise, content such as Game Add-ons must be bought on the Creator’s account in order to be added to the game.

The Creator’s profile image and name are highlighted in purple in the upper right corner of this page. General use stats such as the account creation date and collective hours played are also listed. Clicking on either their name or their profile image will navigate to their Profile Page.

Player

Anyone else who joins the game will be listed as a Player. This section is listed right underneath the Creator in light grey. Players who join the game will be listed in this section with their profile icon followed by their name underneath. They are listed chronologically by when they first joined the game.

GM or Co-GM

The Creator of the game can promote one or more Players in a game to the role of GM. A GM is granted access to alter, add, and delete most of the game's content within Roll20 as well as access a couple of features from the Game Details Page. For this reason, the Creator should practice discretion when promoting Players to this role so these privileges are not abused. A GM, like the Creator, will load into the game on the VTT in GM Mode rather than Player Mode.

A GM has access to the following:

Within the VTT:

• Full access to all Page Layers
• Create, Modify, and Delete Pages
• Place images and tokens to the Tabletop from their personal image library (not the Creator's library)
• Assign and edit tokens
• Create handouts and characters, assign their view and edit permissions
• Move the Player Ribbon to different Pages
• Add, Remove, and Play music from the Jukebox
• See GM Whispers and Rolls in Chat
• Create Macros and Token Actions
• Modify Dynamic Lighting on a Page if the game's Creator is a paid Roll20 subscriber
• Access to all in-game options on the Settings Tab in the VTT except the Transmogrifier

Outside the VTT

• Invite Players (anyone can share the unique join link to the game)
• View and Edit API Scripts (Creator must be a Pro Subscriber)
• Manage the game's private forum, including sinking and deleting posts

A promoted player will have a blue “GM” tag added to the upper left of their profile icon in the Player List.

Inviting, Promoting, and Removing Players From a Game

Inviting Players

At the top of the light gray Players section is an Invite Players button. When you click this button, a dialog box opens. The dialog box allows you to send invites through email addresses, view pending invitations, and provides the unique join link URL for the game, which you can copy and share with friends to directly join the game.

Promoting and Demoting Players

As the game’s creator, you have two options available to you when you hover your mouse over a player’s icon or name:

• ‘’Promote to GM/Demote to Player’’: This will elevate a player to GM Status or demote a GM back to player status. This option changes depending on the current status of the player.

Removing a Player From the Game

• ‘’Kick from Game’': This will remove the Player from the game and change the unique join link URL of the entire game. This will prevent the Player from attempting to rejoin with the previous join link.

Selecting either of these two options will cause the page to reload to process the new changes.

Managing Your Game

The rest of this page covers information and settings for the game. Most of these options can only be altered by the game’s Creator.

Game Icon

At the top of the Game Details page is the Game Icon, which is an image used to represent your game in the Game List and Looking For Group Listing (if enabled). This image helps convey the game’s theme to your players when they join it. To set the image, either drag the desired image to this section, or click the Choose a File... button to be prompted to find an image file on your computer. This uploaded image will be added to your Art Library. Once an image is added, you can change the image to something else by hovering your mouse over this area and clicking the Change Image link that appears.

Game Name

The Game Name is used to identify your game in the Game List and Looking For Group Listing (if enabled).You can change the Game Name at any time by clicking the name to edit it. Once you are satisfied with the change, you can click the Save button.

Launch Game

Clicking on the pink Launch Game button will launch the Game on the Roll20 Virtual Tabletop.

Content

The Content Button has two menu options available when clicked: Chat Archive and External Journal.  The Chat Archive will open a new window that displays the entire chat history of the game. There is a button in the top right to Hide Whispers in the chat log. Players can only see Whispers that were sent specifically to them. GM Rolls are only visible to the GM.

External Journal Access is available for games where Creators are paid subscribers. This option redirects to a new page where GMs can view all journal entries for un-archived Characters and Handouts within the game. Players who have control permission within the game, can access and view any Characters or Handouts. Only the "Bio & Info" tab of a character is accessible from the External Journal. An individual's "Character Sheet" or "Attributes and Abilities" tabs can only be accessed within the VTT.

Looking for Players

The Looking for Players menu allows a game's Creator to create or manage a Looking for Group listing. Adding a game to Roll20's game directory will allow other Roll20 users to find and apply to join a game. To list your game, provide basic information such as the game type and the date and time of the next session.

Game Settings

The Settings menu provides several options for the game. The game's Creator can access all of these options, while Co-GMs have limited access. Players only have access to the Leave Game option detailed below.

Game Settings

This option displays the Game Settings Page.

API Scripts

This option will give the game’s Creator and GMs access to the API Script Editor. The game's Creator must be a Pro subscriber for this feature to be available.

Copy Game

This option allows the Creator to create a duplicate of the current game on their account. A creator can rename the duplicate, change its tags, and decide which elements are carried over to the copy:

• Players and Player Settings (Including Macros)
• Pages
• Decks and Rollable Tables
• Chat Log
• Journal (Characters & Handouts)
• Jukebox Playlist
• The Game Forums

When making a copy, remember to choose the desired character sheet because the character sheet will default to None. When you have everything designated for the duplicate, click the blue I'm ready, Create Game! button.

Note: Adding tags to a game that include an apostrophe, such as "Xanathar's", will induce a known bug that will disable the ability to copy your game. Be sure to refrain from using apostrophes when tagging your games!

Clear Chat Archive

This option permanently deletes the entire archived chat history from the game.

Delete Game

This option opens up a dialog box to confirm the Creators’ decision to delete the game.

Games that have been deleted or removed for at least six months will have their data permanently deleted.

Roll Back Game

The Creator must have a Pro subscription to have access to this feature. Every game on Roll20 is saved between 4 and 6 AM PST. The system keeps the save states for seven days before overwriting them with new ones. Pro users have the ability to roll back their game to any save state available from the past seven days to correct any mistakes made to their game.

To commit a rollback, click Roll Back Game. This brings up a dialog box that allows you to choose the date of the save state you would like to roll your game back to. Select the date and click on the pink Rollback button to initiate the rollback process. This may take a minute or two. Once finished, the Game Details Page will prompt you when the rollback has successfully completed. This process cannot be undone. However, you can choose to roll back again to a later save state you have available if you discover you’ve rolled back too far.

Leave Game

This option is only visible to Players and GMs invited to the game. Once a player leaves a game, they no longer have access to the game and it will no longer show up on their Games Page. 

Game Information

The next section below the Launch Game and Settings buttons shows specific information about the current game, from what system will be played to when it will be played.

Playing

This field shows what system(s) the Creator has specified are being played in this game. The Creator can edit the Playing list by clicking into the text field and choosing popular systems from the drop-down that appears.

If you don't see your preferred system listed, choose Other Games. This list of available popular games are updated on a quarterly basis. If a game system surges in popularity, the game gets added.

Only the first two systems alphabetically will be shown in a Looking For Group listing, so be sure to only choose two if you'll be using that system to find players.

Next Game Will Be

This field is where the game Creator can set the date and time for the game’s next session. The time is automatically converted to the viewer's local timezone.

Note: The time selector uses a 12-hour clock rather than a 24-hour clock. 12:00 AM is used to indicate Midnight (00:00) while 12:00 PM is used to indicate Noon.

Game Description

Here, the game's creator can include a short description that advertises what the game offers, exciting text that adds adventure, or provide pre-requisites for potential players. This text field allows the creator to share any information they think would be useful for the players.

To edit the description, simply click inside the text field to activate it and change the text to suit your needs. You can use Markdown formatting to customize the look of your description text. When you are satisfied with your changes, click the Save Changes button.

Game Addons

Game Addons, unlike Marketplace modules, are smaller content packages that are meant to enhance your existing games such as: custom card decks, maps, single encounter adventures and more. Once bought, these content packages are available via a dropdown menu in the Game Addons section of the Game Settings Page. Select the one you wish to add and click on the blue Add to Game button beside the drop-down menu. When a Game Addon is appended, it will be listed as a bullet point under the "Addon in [Title of Current Game]" list. This list is shown underneath the addon drop down menu and the blue Add to Game button.

Removing Addons

To remove any Game Addon content you have added, you will need to delete it manually from inside the launched game. If you ever delete a Game Addon unintentionally, remove the Addon from the Addon List on the Game Details Page, then add it back in again.

Game Patching

Occasionally, corrections need to be made to an existing module or game addon. A patch is made to correct the issues discovered. A notification will appear on the Game Details page when a patch is available for a module or addon installed on your game. Typically, a link will be included in the notification to the patch notes that lists all the changes that will be made by the patch.

To preserve as much of your edited content as possible, patches only overwrite the tabletop elements that were directly changed by the patch. It is highly recommended to carefully review the patch notes prior to updating your game. This is particularly important in case you come across a situation where you need to duplicate specific journal entries. The purpose of duplicating these entries is to ensure the preservation of player or GM edited module/addon content. Furthermore, if a patch is modifying a page that you and your players are currently using, it might be advisable to update your game in a non-action phase. That way elements such as tokens, DL, etc aren't reset mid-combat between gaming sessions.

When you click on the Update button, your game will be sent into a queue to begin the update process. You can cancel the update while it's still sitting in queue and hasn't started processing. You will receive new notifications on the Details Page as a patch moves through the queue line to eventually begin processing the patch. This process can take a couple minutes to complete. Once done, you will receive a final notification that the patch has installed successfully.

Game Discussion Forum

Each game has an exclusive mini forum. The mini forum behaves exactly like the public Roll20 forums. Everyone in the game can create their own threads on this forum and make replies. The game's Creator and GMs all have access to the Sink, Sticky, and Delete commands on individual posts within this forum.

The Sink command will keep a thread at the bottom of the forum regardless of activity.

The Sticky Command will pin the thread to the top of the forum.

The Delete command will remove the post's text from view by those who are not the Creator or GMs. Deleting the first post in a thread will remove the entire thread from the Game Discussion Forum.

This section of the Game Details Page only shows the ten most recent posts from the Game Discussion Forum. To see the entire discussion forum, click on the ‘’’View All Posts >’’’ link at the bottom of the Page.

Clicking on the + Post New Topic button redirect you to full Game Discussion Forum so that you can begin drafting a new forum thread.

Game Settings Page

Public Access

Only Plus and Pro subscribers have access to this option. It is a setting called "Allow public access to this game?" which can be toggled between Yes and No. If enabled, anyone who views the game's Game Details Page can view any public journal entries (those with their permissions set to "All Players" in-game) from the Content on the Game Details Page. Any visitor to the Game Details page can read the game's chat archive, as well as read and post on the Game forum. This Setting is disabled at default.

Game Background Image

Only Plus and Pro subscribers have access to this option. Roll20 offers a couple of backgrounds that you can add to your game's Details Page as well as any of your Looking for Group listing. At default, no background is chosen. You can choose between Magic, Matrix, and Field backgrounds by clicking on the radio button under each option.

All of the available background options are animated. If you hover your mouse over the thumbnails of the backgrounds, you can preview the animation. Only Pro subscribers have access to animated backgrounds. Plus subscribers will have a static image display of their chosen background.

Player Character Creation Options

If enabled, this setting will allow players to create characters in the journal on their own without the help of the GM. This will automatically create and assign permissions to the player creating the sheet.

Note: Characters created in this way still belong to the GM. The GM can edit, move, and delete any characters added to a game.

Roll20Characters Options

This setting enables or disables whether a player can export their character(s) from Roll20Characters into your game.

The settings for Roll20Characters, can be found under the Tools site menu. Roll20Characters is a feature where players can store their character journal (including character sheet, if available) from any of the games they are currently in for safekeeping. Importing a character to Roll20Characters is available to all account tiers.

Exporting a character into a game requires:

• The player in question to be a paid subscriber (Plus or Pro tier)
• The game creator is a subscriber.
• The game has enough character exports remaining (games created by Free level users can accept up to 3 exports from Roll20Characters)

The access level for the current game is listed underneath the setting option for clarity.

Game Default Settings

The following options are Page and Token settings that will be pre-set whenever you create new Pages or Tokens in-game.

If you have the game launched in another browser tab, you will need to refresh the tab running the game before any saved Setting Default changes will be seen.

Page Defaults

The way these Page Default Settings are ordered will look nearly identical to how the Page Settings window appears in-game. Every single option is available here with the exception of Play on Load, Delete Page, and Archive Page options.

Token Defaults

The Token Default Settings options are a mix of available settings from both the Basic and Advanced tab from the Token Settings window in-game.

The available Token Default Settings available here are:

• Bar 1 Current and Max values
• Bar 2 Current and Max values
• Bar 3 Current and Max values
• Aura 1 (Radius, Color, Square toggle)
• Aura 2 (Radius, Color, Square toggle)
• Tint Color
• Show Nameplate Toggle
• See & Edit Player Permissions for:
  • Name
  • Bar 1
  • Bar 2
  • Bar 3
  • Aura 1
  • Aura 2
• Light Radius
• Dim Light Radius
• Light Angle
• All Players See Light Toggle
• Has Sight Toggle
• Sight Angle
• Sight Multiplier

Saving Game Default Settings

At the bottom of this section is a blue button labeled Save Defaults. Clicking on this button saves ONLY the changes made in this section.

Access Compendium In-Game

You can integrate one of the Roll20 OGL Compendiums into your game so that you and your players can look up rules while you play or to help with filling out character sheets. "Determined by Character Sheet (Default)" is what is set at default. If your game is using a character sheet template that links to a Compendium, the game will automatically choose that Compendium to include in your game. For instance, the "5th Edition (OGL by Roll20)" character sheet template links to the "5th Edition" OGL Compendium. If you don't have a character sheet and wish to use a Compendium in your game, use the drop-down menu to manually select the desired Compendium.

You can share your purchased compendiums with players in your game. Details can be found in the Compendium Sharing section.

Character Sheet Template

This dropdown menu is the exact same one that is featured on the Game Creation page. You can change the desired character sheet template at any point and time via this option on the Game Settings page. Selecting the character sheet template from the dropdown menu and the sheet's features, author information, and a preview thumbnail image of the sheet displays below the dropdown menu when a sheet is selected.

Character Sheet Default Settings

The following options are sheet settings that will be pre-set whenever you create a new character journal entry in-game. These settings are determined by the sheet's author. Here are the available setting options for the Roll20 D&D 5th Edition Sheet.

Once chosen and saved, the Sheet Styling setting change is automatically applied to every character entry in the game.

Saving your Settings

At the very bottom of this page is a blue button labeled Save Changes. It is very important to click this button before leaving this page in order to apply any changes you made to the Game Settings.

Applying Defaults Settings to Existing Content In-Game 

Character Sheet, Default Page, and Token Default Settings that you changed on the Game Settings page can be applied to existing content within a game. In order to Apply Settings, follow these steps:

1. Launch the game on your browser.
2. Go to the Sidebar and click on the "y" icon to open the My Settings tab.
3. Scroll down to the bottom of the tab and locate the Apply Default Settings button under the Experimental Features section.
4. Click on the Apply Default Settings button to open a dialog box divided into sections for Page, Token, and Sheet settings. Each default setting you have modified on the My Settings Page will have a checkbox under its respective category.
5. Check the options you want to apply throughout the entire game.
6. Once you have made your selections, click on the blue Apply Settings button. A confirmation alert will appear, indicating the number of Pages, Tokens, or Character Sheets that will be affected.
7. Click OK to confirm and initiate the setting conversion process. A progress bar will appear at the top of the Apply Default Settings dialog box as Roll20 converts your existing Tokens, Pages, and Character Sheets according to the desired changes. The time required for the settings conversion depends on the number of items in your game, ranging from a few seconds to a few minutes.
8. You can cancel the process at any time by pressing the ESC key.

Note: Applying Settings will literally alter ALL characters, pages, and tokens you have in your game. Related attributes of these items will be overwritten with the settings you have checked off in this applier. This process can't be undone!

Reverting back to Standard Settings

If you found you've made a mistake or you wish to revert a change you've made with the applier, simply return back to the game's Game Settings Page and change the desired settings back. Relaunch the game and then run the settings applier again.