5 Roll20 Features All Tabletop Gamers Should Be Using
If you’re into tabletop games and have difficulty managing them, especially if you’re playing a long campaign, then you should try Roll20. This website offers an ever-expanding and developing set of tools for managing tabletop games, ensuring you can keep things simple no matter how complex your game becomes.
But with all the things Roll20 can do, it can be easy to miss features that could improve your game. So, here are some of the site’s best features you can incorporate into your next session.
1.The Compendium
Roll20’s Compendium is the site’s digital reference library. The Compendium is not limited to Dungeons&Dragons. The site has material for over forty tabletop and role-playing games, including Marvel’s Multiverse Role-playing Game, Vampire: The Masquerade, and Warhammer Fantasy Role-play.
How you use The Compendium and how much you have access to depends on your relationship with Roll20. For example, the Dungeons&Dragons compendium is freely searchable for basic spells, items, monsters, and more.
However, accessing more specific content requires buying expansions from the site’s digital marketplace. Expansions typically come with at least one playable campaign, as well as exclusive maps, markers, and character and items sheets that you can use across Roll20.
The content management system has vastly improved over the years. In the early days of Roll20, each page from a resource opened in its own little window. Since then, a PDF viewer has made content on the site a lot more user-friendly.
The Compendiumis the top item in theToolsdropdown menu from the banner at the top of the page. The Marketplace is its own dropdown menu. Now, to learn more about this tabletop gaming companion, you should check out our explainer onwhat Roll20 is and how to use it.
2.The Character Vault
The Character Vault allows users to move characters between games they manage on the platform. This tool is handy for users with multiple expansions and who manage numerous games on Roll20, particularly if they like using consistent and pre-built non-playable characters.
The Character Vault (or, at least, the free version) isn’t as robust as other character creators out there, meaning it’s not as useful for creating playable characters. So, if you and your party already useother essential tabletop toolsfor character creation, Roll20 probably won’t completely replace those tools.
The Character Vaultis just under the Compendium in theToolsdropdown menu.
3:The Token Marker Library
Tokens are used to track effects on characters and items on the game map. Roll20’s Token Marker Library comes with over forty markers, as well as an easy system for making your own markers from uploaded images. Most expansions purchased from Roll20 also come with additional markers for NPCs.
If you use Roll20’s digital maps to manage your game sessions, the markers can easily be placed on the maps and interacted with virtually. If you still prefer physical maps, the Marker Library can be used as templates for printed tokens on your actual tabletop. You can even create different marker sets to keep them separate from game to game.
The Token Marker Libraryis also under theToolsdropdown menu.
4.Join a Game
Roll20’s Join a Game feature allows players and game masters to share the platform’s resources. That’s whether you’re playing together around a physical table or playing remotely, relying entirely on the platform.
This is true if you know the game master, the game, and the other players. However, it’s also true if you have the urge to play between meetings of your own party.
The tool also lets you peruse open games from anywhere with a “Pick Up Games” list that refreshes every minute. No matter where you are or what time it is, you can probably find a group of new friends to join in their session, whether it’s a one-shot story or a campaign already in progress.
you’re able to access theJoin a Gametool straight from the homepage, theGamesdropdown menu, or theCommunitydropdown menu.
5. The GM Hub, Blog, and Forums
The GM Hub is another Roll20 feature that’s handy whether your group plays on the platform or not. This page is a collection of tools for making maps and encounters, staying organized with calculators, managing the game’s rules, and just general tips.
Some resources are from within the Roll20 ecosystem, but others are links to outside tools and sites. Spending some time in the GM Hub outside of an actual game can be a great way to discover new tips and tools that it’s possible to use, even in games that don’t revolve around the Roll20 platform itself.
you could also use Roll20 to learn from other passionate gamers. The site maintains a blog that consists of a mix of site updates and gaming tips. There’s also a forum where users interact and answer questions about how they use the site, including troubleshooting and innovative methods.
TheGM Hubis at the bottom of theToolsdropdown menu, while theBlogandForumare both under theCommunitydropdown menu.
Keep Tabletop Games Simple and Easy to Run
The beautiful thing about role-playing games is how complex they are. The beautiful thing about Roll20 is how simple it makes them. The platform is designed for a whole game to be playable using nothing else.
Whether that’s how you play or not, there are bound to be tools and resources on the site to improve your game.
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