Anybody use or familiar with Roll20?

[40hz]

I just became aware of this interesting online gaming resource called Roll20 and was wondering of anybody here has either run or participated in a game that used it?

For those who haven't heard about it, this is what Roll20 is about:

Who's this for?

Roll20 is a virtual tabletop. So it's all about taking any game that you traditionally play on a table (especially pen and paper RPGs and board games), and bringing it online. Play with friends who've moved across the country, or find a completely new gaming group online. Roll20 is easy to use, so dive in and get started!


Is this really free?

Yes! Roll20 is absolutely free to use for both GMs and players. Initial development of Roll20 was funded via Kickstarter, and we do offer totally optional supporter accounts for those who want access to additional perks (like more storage space and direct access to the Dev team) to help fund further improvements. But even if you're on a Base account for free, you'll still have access to everything you need to run your game -- unlimited campaigns and players, with access to all the great features listed on this page.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ekQ3uLLqL8

[wraith808]

Yes, I have... it's pretty good, though there are many offline ones that are better... by nature of not having the limit of the web interface.  I actually backed an original project on Kickstarter that was to integrate with G+, but they ended up merging with Roll20 so I received a kickstarter account there.

Did you have a question?

Alternatives:
Fantasy Grounds - The rolls royce of these services.
Tabletop Connect - The Kickstarted newcomer
Screenmonkey - The upstart

FG and SM work the best... though if you're trying to do something that's not an RPG, Roll20 actually works better.

Other choices for merely the miniatures play part:
Battle map 2
3D Virtual Tabletop

And there are several different cartography ones for just making maps. (Going a bit off the path there, so let me know if you want me to iterate those)

[40hz]

Did you have a question?

Yes. This would be for RPG. Did you have a preference?

[wraith808]

Did you have a question?

Yes. This would be for RPG. Did you have a preference?

Fantasy Grounds is the rolls royce.  But at $40 a seat + the price for the modules, it's pretty pricey.

Screen Monkey works well, but you have to build everything, i.e. the rule sets are not included.

Tabletop Connect is not ready for primetime, and is too concerned with the bells and whistles..

Roll20 you have to build everything for if you're going to use it for free.  You can buy modules and stuff on the marketplace.  It's more limited than any of the desktop offerings, but it integrates with Google Hangouts and is the easiest and most reliable to connect to and get running.

If money is no object, FG is the best.  The only downside at that time becomes you have to have it installed, and licensed, where Roll20 you don't.

If money is an object?  I'd probably go with Roll20 over SM.

[Vurbal]

Another free alternative is MapTools, which is the only virtual tabletop I've really looked at because of both the price and the fact someone has written a Hero System campaign framework. The author of that framework has mentioned, on the official Hero forums, that he doesn't think the Roll20 macro language is sophisticated enough to consider switching; at least not yet.

[wraith808]

I'd forgotten about that one... it falls more into the line with Battle Map 2 and/or 3D Virtual Tabletop, doesn't it?

[40hz]

If money is no object, FG is the best.  The only downside at that time becomes you have to have it installed, and licensed,

Thanks! Money is less an issue than the fact FG has the Call of Cthulhu ruleset - and especially a Masks of Nylarthotep module all set up and ready to go.

The people who are interested in this simply want to play the Masks of Nylarthotep campaign. So having it available for purchase at a reasonable price makes it a no-brainer. Figure $149 for the FG-Ultimate license plus $15 for the CoC ruleset and $25 for the MoN module comes totals $189 - which when divided among 8 players comes out to just under $24 each. That's very doable.

They also want to move quickly since Masks has a very long story arc which will take (roughly) the better part of a year for the average gaming circle to complete. Because of that, it's hard to assemble a group of players who are willing to commit to doing it. So it's best not to keep them waiting too long to start.

[wraith808]

If money is no object, FG is the best.  The only downside at that time becomes you have to have it installed, and licensed,

Thanks! Money is less an issue than the fact FG has the Call of Cthulhu ruleset - and especially a Masks of Nylarthotep module all set up and ready to go.

The people who are interested in this simply want to play the Masks of Nylarthotep campaign. So having it available for purchase at a reasonable price makes it a no-brainer. Figure $149 for the FG-Ultimate license plus $15 for the CoC ruleset and $25 for the MoN module comes out to $189 - which when divided among 8 players comes out to just under $24 each. That's very doable.

They also need to move quickly since Masks has a very long story arc which will take (roughly) the better part of a year for the average gaming circle to complete. Because of that, it's hard to assemble a group of players who are willing to commit to doing it. So it's best not to keep them waiting too long to start.

One thing I will caution you about.  Try the trial first.  It has very specific needs as far as networking is concerned.  I still haven't gotten it flawlessly set up for some of my remote players.

They are very active on the forums and in help, and there's a lot of documentation there, however, as befits a premium product.  It's just premium, and using disparate networks for the transport... so it can be fiddly.