I want to start playing with my friends, but roll20 and all other TTP sites scared me. This video showed me that there is nothing to be afraid of. Thank you
Earned a SUB for this video! Been going through the tutorials and this video helps wrap it up quickly and give us the confidence to play online. Great Job!
On average people relay horror stories because they stand out. Fortunately not every session of a campaign is a horror story or on average you find rude or inconsiderate people in this hobby. They tend not to last and get found out relatively fast.
Great video as always, DC! Here’s a Roll20 tip for you: if you want to set up an encounter in advance like you showed in this video, you don’t need to store the monster tokens on a separate page and copy-paste them into the map page. Instead, put the monster tokens on the GM layer of the map page where only you can see them, and when the times comes to reveal them to the players just select the tokens and switch them to the Token layer. The GM layer is also good for hiding secret doors, notes, traps, etc.
Victor Navone ooooo never thought about secret notes, that makes thing more efficient for sure!! Great tip man! And thanks again for joining my Patreon! 💜
0:00 Intro 0:30 Needs 1:15 Setting up Discord 3:45 Roll 20 Setup DM 5:30 Roll 20 Player/DM 7:59 Roll 20 DM Dungeon Setup 12:30 Adding Character (DM) 15:35 Adding Character Details (Player) 18:25 Back to DM (probably) 19:15 Deff back to DM 19:15 Adding Monster 21:33 Outro
Coach you just bring a new level to every video so thank you for this exemplary walkthrough. Used Roll20 years ago when it first launched but it rapidly added too much for me in my college life to have time to sort through. This clarified a lot and gave a lot of encouragement to explore again. My one warning with what is presented is not to just grab random images through a google search and to include words such "public use" or "copyright/trademark-free" because many images are not meant to be used by the public without permission or purchase even for personal non-commercial use. As someone who used to work in a print center and design things for people all the time, I know very well people who own an image have magic powers to know when it is not used the way they allow it ;P. Other than that I look forward to the next video as always and can't wait to see the results of the contest!
@@TheDungeonCoach we are all here for you. Google images used to have this easy filter category to only show images that are listed as free to use for commercial or self but for whatever reason they took it off one day. Through these hard times when we are all getting by as best we can, using sources on sites like reddit and Fiverr to find affordable artists willing to make custom images for characters can be a low budget alternative that also promotes the livelihood our fellow gamers in that part of the culture!
@@taeurus - When we officially launch our platform, NeverEnding, in addition to creating animated videos, you'll be able to use the included art assets to create Fully custom character portraits and tokens! (Another reason to join our email list)
Just started using discord and Roll20 with my group about a month or so ago and this guide would have been amazing getting everyone set up. It still had information that I haven’t figured out on my own! Great work on this! First video I’ve seen from you and you’ve got a new subscriber!
albino34 really!? I was hoping so! Thank you for saying that! I did a TON of research and tried putting out only the most useful that everyone could get something from!
WOW! JUST WOW! I have spent nearly a month or so attempting figure out how to be able to use Roll 20. and though i started 2 weeks ago, I have only been using it to house maps and handouts as i had not figured out many things. in one 24 minute video yo provided more information methodology and knowledge than I was able to find in all the videos i have watched over this whole time. Nearly every video to date focus on programming other details that are overly complex and have little to do with converting a game to online until Pandemic restrictions have passed.
Akashambatwa Miller when I read your comment... I literally did a little fist pump! Thank you so much! That’s exactly why I made it... I’ve watched hundreds of videos and have seen nothing that made me feel confident to go play! Thanks again!
Nice and Clear Video Coach!! I've been playing online just like this for about 3 years. I will share this vid to my family members so i can get their kids to play during the lockdown!!!! Align to Grid and Token Stamp are some of my favorite things I've ever discovered online
Logan Schwiderski haha that’s what I was going for! Originally wanted it to be 5 min... but I crammed in SO much... I didn’t feel too bad that it was longer than intended
I feel vaguely vindicated that this video uses everything I was already doing (including the token maker). One thing I'm doing differently is that I don't make full use of roll 20. It is almost entirely a battlemap presentation tool for us, so I screen share it using discord during battle and otherwise use. (This way my players only need to wrap their head around discord, rather than learning roll20 as well.)
i just had my first online session this thursday evening, none of us done it before. we've gamed together at the table since 1996. But we spent a few days just fiddling around with macros etc and game night we used discord for voice, i also did a "gm note" or two there in pm's as well as loot text in a general campaign text channel. Roll20 we used for battlemap, i created tokens for people and assigned them via the "controlled by" i didnt create any characters, simply uploaded tokens, dragged them on, assigned control. found out tho that this way, i had to copy the tokens between pages n maps if i wanted to keep stats etc from the tokens.
Bro This is the kind of channel I want to do in SPANISH I've learned a LOT from you and all the DnD RUclipsrs but there are almost nothing good on my native language. Thank you so much for inspiring me
Lemon Station wow that means so much to me! Thank you! I wish I could get it translated into other langurs (subscripts) that would be huge! Glad I could be a source of inspiration for you!
finally someone that goes into "depth" of roll20. after a while i found out how to do initiativ but not how to add that sheets thanks a lot and yes that generator is awesome already used it.
@@TheDungeonCoach you could for sure. There are some "free" resources for the monster tokens but I think if someone really wants them they can find it. Gotta say you make compact but stuffed informative videos! Keep going
MaurerGaming1 thanks man, thats the goal, to learn what I did in the video it took me about 8 hours of pure research to get it all learned up lol so I am glad to help make it more efficient!
A topic I'd love you to cover is Lost Mine of Phlandelver. As it's in the starter set a lot of new DMs will run it as their first game. There is surprisingly little good content about it online. There are plenty of areas the book leaves overly ambiguous for new dms. And the plot I think has a lot of room for expanding upon.
Dom Minniti then let me direct you over to Matthew Perkins... he is literally a damn genius on this exact topic! I’ve never ran it and wouldn’t be able to do a video that I’d be proud of over it (since I Homebrew everything). I’ve ran the first cave, but even then I added in new NPCs / plots and made them Dragonborn and kobolds lol
The Dungeon Coach The Dungeon Coach How are there so many popular DM’s named Matt and Matthew? Matt Mercer, Matt Colville, Matthew Perkins... This has to be a conspiracy or something!
Dan Fullick yea!? That makes me feel good! Glad I could help! I did a TON of research to find as much as I could then chop it down into the most efficient video possible!
May actually try this, played on fantasy grounds for awhile when I was just getting back into dnd but preferred in person games, got about a year into my homebrewed campaign then coronavirus ended that. Have been doing video chat through Zoom and home-made battlemaps/terrain I created over webcam with minis, seems to work out well but combat has slowed down some...this may be an easy, "free" option for my players, thanks for sharing!
Adam Yazbeck dame thing happened to me! Moving to online has been pretty interesting though! Roll 20 I can also show them pictures to help immerse them into the world and cool digital things I can give them. Learn something new each time I get on there
Thanks for this. My first session zero went great. For my next session I'm debating wether to go theatre of the mind or use something like this. Because of all the homebrew stuff, I think if I do use this they will just be virtual tokens, showing positions and effects on a map, and keep the character sheets and rolls separate. I think I'm going to run my first combat in theatre of the mind so I get the feel of it and them try this for the first real dungeon
@@TheDungeonCoach that's a good idea. Can you, as the dm, view the fog of war from a players perspective. I could also see this being way more lightweight in terms of setup. Just setting up the tokens and the map.
I got my kids playing Magic the Gathering with me recently they are 8 and 10 with the new forgotten realms cards I'm really wanting to pull out my DnD fith edition starter kit which we have before but we don't quite understand the rules, however my kids really want to play. With this I think it would be more interactive for them. I think this will really help open up that world of mystery and magic so thank you very much.
Thanks so much! I finally understand the site, 3d dice is great since my screen reader can still get the numbers from the chat, but there's the satisfying noise and my players can enjoy seeing them roll on the board.
Oh my god, thank you so much for this. Haven't played with my old group in years (they all moved away). We just started talking about doing this and they wanted me to run the game. I was so lost and intimidated by Roll20. This helped so much. Still lots to learn, but this is a great start! Awesome explanation on how to do things. Much better than Roll20s instructional videos lol
Omg I'm a first time DM and this just helped me to continue trying to do it. It's overwhelming that we have so much information to control as a DM but some videos like this one just help us so much! Thank you for this video man!
You're using the exact same tools I am! (I guess great minds do think alike!) I didn't know about the 3D dice on Roll20, though, that would be a great addition to my parties.
A very nice guide on online play and roll20. Not my preferred VTT of choice but will do the job. Personally, like the capabilities and auotmation that Fantasy Grounds offers.
Phillip Bush I’ve seen some SUPER cool stuff on there and once I’m an online D&D pro I might have to check it out!! In my research I saw some awesome stuff on FG!
As I play online, I always feel constraind by the fact that I need to have maps and tokens ready. This means I cant rely as much on player agency and randomness as I feel the game otherwise is at its best with. For example my players were in the mouth of a cave where they were supposed to have an encounter, but as soon as danger showed, they fled as far into the cave as they could. While they were role playing their decent into this cave (that suddenly turned into the former hideout of a cultist organisation) I frantycally constructed a new map for my players. If I were able to just draw out the battlemap with a tusch or a pencil, it wouldnt be a problem because I had it pictured in my head. After this I have made sure that I try to plan for any and all situtions my players will come up with. What if they for example start a fight with some NPCs in an area I had not anticipated, they will have to do with Theatre of Mind - and I have discovered my group does not fight very well in said theatre. This has lead to my partly overpreparing with battle maps "Just in case" and also having to nudge my players too much for my own liking. None of the players seem to have a problem with me railroading them a bit along the exact story lines I had expected them to take, but it still feels wrong. So I think in summary, how can I add more randomness into my game? I have a plan but it is almost more fun when the plan goes abit too much off the rails.
Lauge Christophersen I would try and have an open conversation with your players about this dilemma and try and have each session be “forseeable” and then make sure you know where they are heading next session, so you can do that. Have the randomness be between sessions instead of during OR Get blank tokens of colors or whatever else so you can throw down whatever you want and a set of maps that you can fall back on/ hand draw on if needed OR 1/2 and 1/2 theatre of the mind This was what I did when this happened to me last, give a visual representation to give them an idea of what is happening then run it off theatre of the mind style Hope this helps!!
to help you can use Dungeon doodle to make quick maps, and the pencil tool to help with them, then for tokens just grab PNGs off google images such as "cultist with knife png" or "cthulu man png" or even look for generic maps like "DnD cave map"
Thanks a lot for explaining Roll20, I've been struggling with that for ages. I've just resigned myself to doing theatre of the mind, especially because I couldn't get Dungeonfog maps to share confidently. This changes things a lot. Also Neverending sounds sick! We've just started recording our games and they would be so entertaining with little animations to accompany them. Following them to find out more!
Thank you for that video! I’m starting up my group and campaign here real soon- all because I feel pretty confident to run the game just how you showed it
Ronaan Roy I have encountered far more bugs in other resources AND I just feels like too much having THREE tools to use. Very simple on screen video that interacts with the Roll 20 interphase. Mainly I wouldn’t want to have another screen overlay on my laptop... maybe if I had two screens I’d think about it. Hope that answers your question!
Great guide! I've been using Rol20 since the beginning of March, but I still learned a few tricks. It would have been good to show the GM layer for invisible and hidden monsters, or how to use Fog of War. I'm sure you have other tricks as well. A sequel, perhaps? ;-)
This online topic is exactly what I need TODAY. Thank you! I need your help. And I am so glad that I found your channel. Being a bit garrulous or verbose is something that I am working on as a DM. I have a few flaws as a DM that I need your help on. First, I can be too subtle in presenting hints, clues and hooks. I am starting a new campaign and being too subtle needs to stop. Second, I have too much information to share which compounds the first flaw. I want to be able to present the situation clearly with the fewest words while not overstating or giving away too much information. What are the best methods for portraying the world, adventure, situation, scene to evoke player engagement and PC agency? And then, when to shut up? (footnote: Good DM's are great listeners.)
My two cents on this, to accomplish both tasks at the same time of sharing your lore, and engaging players. Condense down your lore and wrap it around their back stories (I have a video on that) People like to hear things that are relevant to them, so if the lore comes from one of the players not only will they engage that player but that player will have a higher chance of bringing in others, especially if you’re lore ties in multiple PCs at the same time. Other than that I would say to show not tell your world. Let them experience it and live it through combats or environments or small little conversations instead of long expositions or documents found Glad to have you here and I hope that helps! The video that I have is the one on bringing characters backstory into your story I respect your drive to improve! I also do one on one coaching though Patreon if you are interested in one on one talks too Here to help!
@@TheDungeonCoach Thank you! This online topic is the first of you videos that I have watched. I came over from Lunch Break Heroes which I found this morning. I will add a few comments as I get more questions. Continue to suggest posted videos. I appreciate you putting this out into the world for DM's. We need to stick together!
Perkins Dearborn awesome! Yea He is awesome! We’ve done 2 collaboration videos together too! I love sharing and collaborating with others to make ALL of our games better! Glad to have ya here!
We use Roll20 for a while now and, even compared to the non-free options to play online, it's a pretty nice option, especially during Corona-time. :) Creating my first campaign atm!
Käpt'n Blaubär me too! I’m about to live stream the creation process too! These Corona times have definitely forced my hand to make the online move... but I’m SO GLAD I did!
@@TheDungeonCoach Yeah man, I can totally relate! But the positive effect is, that me and some friends (living in Germany) now use that option to play with on of our american friends, so social distancing made us resocialize in some way. :) I may take a look into that livescreen.
Käpt'n Blaubär oooo Cool! Now you can play with people you’d never be able to! A friend of mine from college is playing in our group now and we’ve never been able to play before, now we can! So I’m with ya man!
Our group uses Discord for voice and OOG chatting (memes during session!) and Roll20 with Beyond20 and DnDBeyond for actual gameplay. It works really well and Roll20 gives us the ability to see each other on video for reactions and acting out that desperate Persuasion check....
The first few dozen times playing would just be your friends waiting for you setting up everything cuz your friends keeps doing weird things and messes up the story which either brings them into new map, or encounter now characters that you'd have to customize
00:01 whoa whoa, hold your horses who said I have friends :D ...But in all seriousness is there any discords you guys know that are both active & accepting of ppl with 0 experience. I really want to learn the game and be a part of a campaign.
Nice tutorial, but I think it needs to be stated that Roll 20 supports many different game systems. 5E is just the tip of the iceberg. Pathfinder, Fate Accelerated, Savage Worlds, etc. It's all possible
I’ve been using Roll20 for a year plus at this point and I’ve tried several different combinations of voice and video. Right now we’re using Discord for audio and video. Do you find using both works better? Is there any noticeable lag in Roll20 video? We stopped using Roll20 audio due to lag. I imagine if you only have one monitor this might be the better setup.
Josh Abel blew mine too from spending a while trying to align it but found it in my research and was floored!! I didn’t even know discord could do video besides screen share! But the roll 20 video has been perfect for me so far!
I want to start playing with my friends, but roll20 and all other TTP sites scared me. This video showed me that there is nothing to be afraid of. Thank you
batuhan mutlay your comment is EXACTLY why I made this! Thank you so much! I hope it can find its way to others and help too!
instablaster.
Earned a SUB for this video! Been going through the tutorials and this video helps wrap it up quickly and give us the confidence to play online. Great Job!
Ybngmnmnmmv
On average people relay horror stories because they stand out. Fortunately not every session of a campaign is a horror story or on average you find rude or inconsiderate people in this hobby. They tend not to last and get found out relatively fast.
Great video as always, DC! Here’s a Roll20 tip for you: if you want to set up an encounter in advance like you showed in this video, you don’t need to store the monster tokens on a separate page and copy-paste them into the map page. Instead, put the monster tokens on the GM layer of the map page where only you can see them, and when the times comes to reveal them to the players just select the tokens and switch them to the Token layer. The GM layer is also good for hiding secret doors, notes, traps, etc.
Victor Navone ooooo never thought about secret notes, that makes thing more efficient for sure!! Great tip man! And thanks again for joining my Patreon! 💜
0:00 Intro
0:30 Needs
1:15 Setting up Discord
3:45 Roll 20 Setup DM
5:30 Roll 20 Player/DM
7:59 Roll 20 DM Dungeon Setup
12:30 Adding Character (DM)
15:35 Adding Character Details (Player)
18:25 Back to DM (probably)
19:15 Deff back to DM
19:15 Adding Monster
21:33 Outro
Timely video, and an efficient summary of this tool. I feel like this one is really going to take you far! 👍🏻
Bob World Builder thanks Bob!! I spent probably 30 hours working on this video... whew!
@@TheDungeonCoach It's paying off, but don't stretch yourself too much!
Bob World Builder very true! And I’m trying to get ahead now! I got next weeks cideo ready already, so that feels good!
I've been struggling with Roll20, but this explains it very well, so I'll give it another shot!
Justin Yates got me up of you have any questions! But this is exactly what got me good to go!
Exactly what I was looking for this morning. Thank you for sharing this information.
Yea!? Awesome! It feels so much more exciting when you know what you’re doing!
Wow ok, you're explanation is Super helpful!
I put a lot into this to make sure it was the best I could! Thanks man!! You taking your campaign online too??
i had played only in roll20 online, and this is a good guide for people who never got to play this way
JustSomeone thank you for that! That’s my goal here, because I was a total NUB at this not too long ago! Glad that comes across!
Coach you just bring a new level to every video so thank you for this exemplary walkthrough. Used Roll20 years ago when it first launched but it rapidly added too much for me in my college life to have time to sort through. This clarified a lot and gave a lot of encouragement to explore again.
My one warning with what is presented is not to just grab random images through a google search and to include words such "public use" or "copyright/trademark-free" because many images are not meant to be used by the public without permission or purchase even for personal non-commercial use. As someone who used to work in a print center and design things for people all the time, I know very well people who own an image have magic powers to know when it is not used the way they allow it ;P.
Other than that I look forward to the next video as always and can't wait to see the results of the contest!
taeurus I’ll keep that in mind for next time! I appreciate that!! I’m learning what’s good/ bad, so that really does help!
@@TheDungeonCoach we are all here for you. Google images used to have this easy filter category to only show images that are listed as free to use for commercial or self but for whatever reason they took it off one day. Through these hard times when we are all getting by as best we can, using sources on sites like reddit and Fiverr to find affordable artists willing to make custom images for characters can be a low budget alternative that also promotes the livelihood our fellow gamers in that part of the culture!
taeurus I’m gonna be using fiver here soon for some logos and banners too, so I’ll keep that in mind too!
@@taeurus - When we officially launch our platform, NeverEnding, in addition to creating animated videos, you'll be able to use the included art assets to create Fully custom character portraits and tokens! (Another reason to join our email list)
@@beneverending oh you guys probably about to have a huge fan base just from that haha. Fantastic idea and feature!
Just started using discord and Roll20 with my group about a month or so ago and this guide would have been amazing getting everyone set up. It still had information that I haven’t figured out on my own! Great work on this! First video I’ve seen from you and you’ve got a new subscriber!
I use roll 20 regularly, and still learned a few things. Thank you!
albino34 really!? I was hoping so! Thank you for saying that! I did a TON of research and tried putting out only the most useful that everyone could get something from!
Thanks Coach! I needed this to try to convert my homebrew to online! One of my players asked if we could play online!!
Stephen A with this new crazy world... sadly looks like it’s gonna be a thing! Glad to help ya bro!
WOW! JUST WOW! I have spent nearly a month or so attempting figure out how to be able to use Roll 20. and though i started 2 weeks ago, I have only been using it to house maps and handouts as i had not figured out many things. in one 24 minute video yo provided more information methodology and knowledge than I was able to find in all the videos i have watched over this whole time.
Nearly every video to date focus on programming other details that are overly complex and have little to do with converting a game to online until Pandemic restrictions have passed.
Akashambatwa Miller when I read your comment... I literally did a little fist pump! Thank you so much! That’s exactly why I made it... I’ve watched hundreds of videos and have seen nothing that made me feel confident to go play! Thanks again!
Nice and Clear Video Coach!! I've been playing online just like this for about 3 years. I will share this vid to my family members so i can get their kids to play during the lockdown!!!!
Align to Grid and Token Stamp are some of my favorite things I've ever discovered online
Sesimie StreetFighter Nice! Thank you! Shares are huge!! That was my goal: to make the most efficient beginners roll 20 start up video there is! 👍🏼
As always, great content
Thank you Oliver! I’m trying here haha
What a packed video!!
Logan Schwiderski haha that’s what I was going for! Originally wanted it to be 5 min... but I crammed in SO much... I didn’t feel too bad that it was longer than intended
I feel vaguely vindicated that this video uses everything I was already doing (including the token maker). One thing I'm doing differently is that I don't make full use of roll 20. It is almost entirely a battlemap presentation tool for us, so I screen share it using discord during battle and otherwise use. (This way my players only need to wrap their head around discord, rather than learning roll20 as well.)
Stephen Harris that’s a much simpler option lol! And yea I was actually going to do that but two players really wanted to grab their own tokens! 😆
i just had my first online session this thursday evening, none of us done it before. we've gamed together at the table since 1996. But we spent a few days just fiddling around with macros etc and game night we used discord for voice, i also did a "gm note" or two there in pm's as well as loot text in a general campaign text channel. Roll20 we used for battlemap, i created tokens for people and assigned them via the "controlled by" i didnt create any characters, simply uploaded tokens, dragged them on, assigned control. found out tho that this way, i had to copy the tokens between pages n maps if i wanted to keep stats etc from the tokens.
Michael Christensen that sounds like a smooth system! I love it!
Great video, bud! Summaries roll20 nicely, especially for someone like m who isn't super familiar with it.
Icarus Games did a ton of research and widdled it all down to the best basics I could get!
This is great, I just started DMing for some friends over Roll20 and discord, and this helped with a bunch of issues I had 😁
Chaitanya Murali Yea!? Awesome! Glad I could help! It’s been a blast playing online for the first time!
Bro
This is the kind of channel I want to do in SPANISH I've learned a LOT from you and all the DnD RUclipsrs but there are almost nothing good on my native language.
Thank you so much for inspiring me
Lemon Station wow that means so much to me! Thank you! I wish I could get it translated into other langurs (subscripts) that would be huge! Glad I could be a source of inspiration for you!
Wow, even after a year in roll20 finally some tips for the DM side of things
Manek Madan I curated through the list of what I wanted to put here! I’ve learned even more since then! So many options on there!
Love this video, Thanks!!
I got you covered! Good luck in the giveaway!!’
finally someone that goes into "depth" of roll20. after a while i found out how to do initiativ but not how to add that sheets
thanks a lot and yes that generator is awesome already used it.
MaurerGaming1 so glad I could help make this tool with SO MANY options a little easier to manage!
@@TheDungeonCoach you could for sure. There are some "free" resources for the monster tokens but I think if someone really wants them they can find it. Gotta say you make compact but stuffed informative videos! Keep going
MaurerGaming1 thanks man, thats the goal, to learn what I did in the video it took me about 8 hours of pure research to get it all learned up lol so I am glad to help make it more efficient!
A topic I'd love you to cover is Lost Mine of Phlandelver. As it's in the starter set a lot of new DMs will run it as their first game. There is surprisingly little good content about it online. There are plenty of areas the book leaves overly ambiguous for new dms. And the plot I think has a lot of room for expanding upon.
Dom Minniti then let me direct you over to Matthew Perkins... he is literally a damn genius on this exact topic!
I’ve never ran it and wouldn’t be able to do a video that I’d be proud of over it (since I Homebrew everything). I’ve ran the first cave, but even then I added in new NPCs / plots and made them Dragonborn and kobolds lol
The Dungeon Coach The Dungeon Coach How are there so many popular DM’s named Matt and Matthew? Matt Mercer, Matt Colville, Matthew Perkins... This has to be a conspiracy or something!
Edgar Talan Poe I know right!? And I did a Collab with Matthew Perkins... not the one you’re thinking of... but ANOTHER one lol 😆
Been introducing people to roll20 and this will help a ton
8ozz awesome! That’s why I tried to put a “players” section in there! Thanks man
this was really quick and easy
Jheison Giraldo that makes me happy to hear... because my original intent was 5 min... LOL
This is great! I've been using Roll 20 for years, but I didn't know about half of this stuff. Thanks!
Dan Fullick yea!? That makes me feel good! Glad I could help! I did a TON of research to find as much as I could then chop it down into the most efficient video possible!
May actually try this, played on fantasy grounds for awhile when I was just getting back into dnd but preferred in person games, got about a year into my homebrewed campaign then coronavirus ended that. Have been doing video chat through Zoom and home-made battlemaps/terrain I created over webcam with minis, seems to work out well but combat has slowed down some...this may be an easy, "free" option for my players, thanks for sharing!
Adam Yazbeck dame thing happened to me! Moving to online has been pretty interesting though! Roll 20 I can also show them pictures to help immerse them into the world and cool digital things I can give them. Learn something new each time I get on there
This guide is fantastic and the Dungeon Coach is very personable! Thanks for the help, can’t wait to try it out
tnat459 I tried to be as professional as I could! Thank you!
So cool! We're learning something! I didn't know you could snap the map to the grid!
NeverEnding What’s up man! Thank you again for Sponsoring the video! And Roll 20 has SO many cool things I keep learning more each time!
Thanks for this. My first session zero went great. For my next session I'm debating wether to go theatre of the mind or use something like this. Because of all the homebrew stuff, I think if I do use this they will just be virtual tokens, showing positions and effects on a map, and keep the character sheets and rolls separate. I think I'm going to run my first combat in theatre of the mind so I get the feel of it and them try this for the first real dungeon
Dom Minniti dude I’m doing the same! You can even just scream your screen on discord and they don’t even need to know how it works!
@@TheDungeonCoach that's a good idea. Can you, as the dm, view the fog of war from a players perspective. I could also see this being way more lightweight in terms of setup. Just setting up the tokens and the map.
Dom Minniti in the settings bar in the top right corner it’ll say view as player 👍🏼 I got you!
I'm just getting back into DnD and I'm looking to play at this point, not DM. This was TREMENDOUSLY helpful~!
Brent Rhodes awesome! Thanks for that! I’m not the most tech savvy person, so that was my goal!
I’ve gotta give roll20 a try
It’s super simple and now I can say I’m an online DM too!!
I got my kids playing Magic the Gathering with me recently they are 8 and 10 with the new forgotten realms cards I'm really wanting to pull out my DnD fith edition starter kit which we have before but we don't quite understand the rules, however my kids really want to play. With this I think it would be more interactive for them. I think this will really help open up that world of mystery and magic so thank you very much.
This is by far the most helpful video on the subject.By. Far.
JC CraftMage wow thank you! I’m trying to get this out there because I really do feel like it would help!
Thanks so much! I finally understand the site, 3d dice is great since my screen reader can still get the numbers from the chat, but there's the satisfying noise and my players can enjoy seeing them roll on the board.
Oh my god, thank you so much for this. Haven't played with my old group in years (they all moved away). We just started talking about doing this and they wanted me to run the game. I was so lost and intimidated by Roll20. This helped so much. Still lots to learn, but this is a great start!
Awesome explanation on how to do things. Much better than Roll20s instructional videos lol
Omg I'm a first time DM and this just helped me to continue trying to do it. It's overwhelming that we have so much information to control as a DM but some videos like this one just help us so much! Thank you for this video man!
You're using the exact same tools I am!
(I guess great minds do think alike!)
I didn't know about the 3D dice on Roll20, though, that would be a great addition to my parties.
Yea!? Haha that makes me feel better too!! Woop woop! Yea I was hoping this would have little nuggets here and there for people who have used it too!
Great guide, was having trouble figuring out Roll20 for the first time
Nicholas Urquiaga glad I could try and make it less intimidating!!
A very nice guide on online play and roll20. Not my preferred VTT of choice but will do the job. Personally, like the capabilities and auotmation that Fantasy Grounds offers.
Phillip Bush I’ve seen some SUPER cool stuff on there and once I’m an online D&D pro I might have to check it out!! In my research I saw some awesome stuff on FG!
I've been going through a lot of Roll20 tutorials and this is by far the most concise and immediately useful. Thanks for your hard work!
As I play online, I always feel constraind by the fact that I need to have maps and tokens ready. This means I cant rely as much on player agency and randomness as I feel the game otherwise is at its best with.
For example my players were in the mouth of a cave where they were supposed to have an encounter, but as soon as danger showed, they fled as far into the cave as they could. While they were role playing their decent into this cave (that suddenly turned into the former hideout of a cultist organisation) I frantycally constructed a new map for my players.
If I were able to just draw out the battlemap with a tusch or a pencil, it wouldnt be a problem because I had it pictured in my head.
After this I have made sure that I try to plan for any and all situtions my players will come up with. What if they for example start a fight with some NPCs in an area I had not anticipated, they will have to do with Theatre of Mind - and I have discovered my group does not fight very well in said theatre.
This has lead to my partly overpreparing with battle maps "Just in case" and also having to nudge my players too much for my own liking.
None of the players seem to have a problem with me railroading them a bit along the exact story lines I had expected them to take, but it still feels wrong.
So I think in summary, how can I add more randomness into my game? I have a plan but it is almost more fun when the plan goes abit too much off the rails.
Lauge Christophersen I would try and have an open conversation with your players about this dilemma and try and have each session be “forseeable” and then make sure you know where they are heading next session, so you can do that. Have the randomness be between sessions instead of during
OR
Get blank tokens of colors or whatever else so you can throw down whatever you want and a set of maps that you can fall back on/ hand draw on if needed
OR
1/2 and 1/2 theatre of the mind
This was what I did when this happened to me last, give a visual representation to give them an idea of what is happening then run it off theatre of the mind style
Hope this helps!!
to help you can use Dungeon doodle to make quick maps, and the pencil tool to help with them, then for tokens just grab PNGs off google images such as "cultist with knife png" or "cthulu man png" or even look for generic maps like "DnD cave map"
I learned a little bit having been away from D&D so thanks for that
Awesome! Glad I could help get some of that rust off!
Love ur excitement about this. made me want to try and dm for the 1st time and do it online. So far it's going well.
Thanks a lot for explaining Roll20, I've been struggling with that for ages. I've just resigned myself to doing theatre of the mind, especially because I couldn't get Dungeonfog maps to share confidently. This changes things a lot.
Also Neverending sounds sick! We've just started recording our games and they would be so entertaining with little animations to accompany them. Following them to find out more!
Thank you for that video! I’m starting up my group and campaign here real soon- all because I feel pretty confident to run the game just how you showed it
Nicely done, thanks! I was thrown into my first Roll20 game last night, and this is a good explanation of what the heck I was looking at.
Cheers for this DC, just taking my first steps into this version of gaming.
totsytaylor I was in the same boat! It’s not that bad once you get your feet wet!
Great advice sir thank you
You are welcome sir! Glad to be of service!
I like that d&d adventure system collection on the shelves
Just started playing Roll20 online. This was very helpful.
Ronaan Roy that’s exactly why I made it! I needed this video myself! Haha so once I learned how I went back and made this video!
Why do you choose Video on roll20 rather than zoom or Hangout’s video? Does Discord have an option of video?
I just found that it does. Moving to discord!
Ronaan Roy I have encountered far more bugs in other resources AND I just feels like too much having THREE tools to use. Very simple on screen video that interacts with the Roll 20 interphase. Mainly I wouldn’t want to have another screen overlay on my laptop... maybe if I had two screens I’d think about it. Hope that answers your question!
Ronaan Roy Walt discord has video? I know how to share screen... but not video
This video is so great. You’re awesome for this. I’ve been trying to learn how to play online for so long.
This was the most relevant, and informational video. Extremely helpful
Man I've been wanting to play online for a looong time, this has helped a lot. thank you
I've used Roll20 as a player but these are great tips for the next time I'm the DM!
Lenoh Tyler o awesome! Yea There are SO many tools this platform uses! I’ve been super impressed
Thanks for this guide man, helps a lot
Great guide! I've been using Rol20 since the beginning of March, but I still learned a few tricks. It would have been good to show the GM layer for invisible and hidden monsters, or how to use Fog of War. I'm sure you have other tricks as well. A sequel, perhaps? ;-)
Doug Coughler I could totally do a sequel!! I’ve learned a ton since making it too! Definitely the GM layer stuff is huge!’
This is soo cool. Thank you. I'm ready to play!!
Dang, this video is really helpful I was a bit overwhelmed when I first found the website but this video helps a bunch!
Some nice tips and tricks here that i didn’t know. Will definitely be taking advantage of this.
Jonathan Taylor awesome! Glad I could help!
This online topic is exactly what I need TODAY. Thank you! I need your help. And I am so glad that I found your channel.
Being a bit garrulous or verbose is something that I am working on as a DM. I have a few flaws as a DM that I need your help on. First, I can be too subtle in presenting hints, clues and hooks. I am starting a new campaign and being too subtle needs to stop. Second, I have too much information to share which compounds the first flaw. I want to be able to present the situation clearly with the fewest words while not overstating or giving away too much information. What are the best methods for portraying the world, adventure, situation, scene to evoke player engagement and PC agency? And then, when to shut up? (footnote: Good DM's are great listeners.)
My two cents on this, to accomplish both tasks at the same time of sharing your lore, and engaging players. Condense down your lore and wrap it around their back stories (I have a video on that)
People like to hear things that are relevant to them, so if the lore comes from one of the players not only will they engage that player but that player will have a higher chance of bringing in others, especially if you’re lore ties in multiple PCs at the same time.
Other than that I would say to show not tell your world. Let them experience it and live it through combats or environments or small little conversations instead of long expositions or documents found
Glad to have you here and I hope that helps!
The video that I have is the one on bringing characters backstory into your story
I respect your drive to improve! I also do one on one coaching though Patreon if you are interested in one on one talks too
Here to help!
@@TheDungeonCoach Thank you! This online topic is the first of you videos that I have watched. I came over from Lunch Break Heroes which I found this morning. I will add a few comments as I get more questions. Continue to suggest posted videos. I appreciate you putting this out into the world for DM's. We need to stick together!
Perkins Dearborn awesome! Yea He is awesome! We’ve done 2 collaboration videos together too! I love sharing and collaborating with others to make ALL of our games better! Glad to have ya here!
I never comment on videos but dude you really saved me
This video was excellent!
Even as someone who has been playing online for a while. It really helped.
Awesome video, thx for posting !
Awesome video! Thank you so much!
Well done. Wish I had found this before I tried some things on my own!
mike sixel haha I know right! I go on and poke around trying to find everything. There’s just so much on there!
Not too shabby. I’ll share with those who would need the info.
I really do appreciate that! Shares are the biggest thing that help me grow! You rock dude!
I feel that a guide on how to find a group would be even more helpful
sublimetech I don’t even know the best way for that! So MY video would be rough lol 😆 I really do wish I could help ya there more
this well put together tutorial just got you a subscriber! Looking forward to more content!!
Awesome now i can finally get into dnd
We use Roll20 for a while now and, even compared to the non-free options to play online, it's a pretty nice option, especially during Corona-time. :)
Creating my first campaign atm!
Käpt'n Blaubär me too! I’m about to live stream the creation process too! These Corona times have definitely forced my hand to make the online move... but I’m SO GLAD I did!
@@TheDungeonCoach Yeah man, I can totally relate! But the positive effect is, that me and some friends (living in Germany) now use that option to play with on of our american friends, so social distancing made us resocialize in some way. :)
I may take a look into that livescreen.
Käpt'n Blaubär oooo Cool! Now you can play with people you’d never be able to!
A friend of mine from college is playing in our group now and we’ve never been able to play before, now we can! So I’m with ya man!
Great video, straight to the point!
FANTASTIC TUTORIAL!!! THANK YOU!!!
Very Helpfull, Great video and amazing quality, thanks!
I've only been rolling a custom campaign for my son. One of these days I'll be brave enough to hop online with folks.
Cloyd Royal really!?!? How old and is it one on one!? I’m about to have a son in 5 weeks and I’m SO looking forward to that!
absolutely wonderful, I found all these tips helpful, the only problem is I literally do not have any friends
Super useful! Thank you :)
Pranay Jajodia glad to help! I know I was nervous to start, but now I’m excited!!
Great tips! Thanks so much! 🙌🏼
I'm going to give this a try for my group. I'm just hoping there's lots of stuff for 4e as we have all dropped 5e for 4e. Thanks for the help
I've been trying to work with roll20, but I don't have a computer at home 🙃
Do you have an iPad or phone? (Need subscribtion for phone though)
@@TheDungeonCoach i do have a phone, but currently unable to purchase a subscription, and I don't have an ipad
Poseiden Sheilds idk how the phone experience would be... I imagine difficult! But yea a computer is the best set up 😣
Cool content. Keep up the good work. Subbbbbbeddd
Anthony Gil YEEEEEEA Thanks man! I got you covered! 👍🏼
Thanks, very helpful!
This is awesome it helps me a lot
Hi
deaf strike You got it again! 🎉🎉🎉
@@TheDungeonCoach this video has helped me a lot!
deaf strike awesome man! Tried to make it super clear!
keep up the good work Coach!
deaf strike will do! ✊🏼
this is exactly what I was looking for rn
PTSD NICE! Thanks for that! Glad I could get ya up to speed!
Our group uses Discord for voice and OOG chatting (memes during session!) and Roll20 with Beyond20 and DnDBeyond for actual gameplay. It works really well and Roll20 gives us the ability to see each other on video for reactions and acting out that desperate Persuasion check....
Michele Egan that sounds like such a FUN GROUP!!! Haha
@@TheDungeonCoach We do have a lot of fun, and our DM watches your channel. ;)
Michele Egan awww whos your DM!?
Thank you so much!!!
Anyone else here from phantom promise's mistake in the playlist?
I wish I'd seen this vid sooner. I felt like a dummy my first few times on both platforms.
Very cool
Thanks Roger! Hope ya learned something!
The first 5 second felt like personal attack 💀
The first few dozen times playing would just be your friends waiting for you setting up everything cuz your friends keeps doing weird things and messes up the story which either brings them into new map, or encounter now characters that you'd have to customize
00:01 whoa whoa, hold your horses who said I have friends :D ...But in all seriousness is there any discords you guys know that are both active & accepting of ppl with 0 experience. I really want to learn the game and be a part of a campaign.
Mouha Amin there roll 20 forums for people to get together too! Friends!?! I only have like 6 lol!!
Nice tutorial, but I think it needs to be stated that Roll 20 supports many different game systems. 5E is just the tip of the iceberg.
Pathfinder, Fate Accelerated, Savage Worlds, etc. It's all possible
I’ve been using Roll20 for a year plus at this point and I’ve tried several different combinations of voice and video. Right now we’re using Discord for audio and video. Do you find using both works better? Is there any noticeable lag in Roll20 video? We stopped using Roll20 audio due to lag.
I imagine if you only have one monitor this might be the better setup.
Also, align to grid Blew my mind. A year of my OCD going crazy.
Josh Abel blew mine too from spending a while trying to align it but found it in my research and was floored!!
I didn’t even know discord could do video besides screen share! But the roll 20 video has been perfect for me so far!
"Everything in this video can be done completely free..."
RUclips cuts to an ad for jawzrsize
diogenesbear wait what? There shouldn’t be any adds DURING the video!? Haha what even is Jawzrsize??
@@TheDungeonCoach Some rubber thing you put in your mouth to chew on. It works miracles on your skull muscles and gives you +5 charisma or something.
diogenesbear hahaha! Woah I gotta get me some then! 😆
liked this
DybMouse appreciates this!
On your ten combat rules vid you talked about a homebrew that help customize characters? Can you do that?
Curious George yea! I just leave blank anything that is “homebrewed” and fill it in once the sheet is done being generated!