Roll20 DM Beginner Crash Course

I go over setting up maps, making and adding tokens, making character sheets, using layers, and rolling dice. Basics primarily. Please give me feedback in the comments!
Roll20 is a system that is very basic to start out, but allows you to really customize it and fine tune the system if you have the time and know how.
What I use to make tokens - rolladvantage....
Contact me via discord on the Alberta Tabletop Roleplaying Games Server here - / discord

[@SilverDragonAcademy]

I am aware the volume is low. Please stop telling me it is quiet. I recently made a louder, updated version of this video with title cards, and timestamps. Check it out here! kzbin.info/www/bejne/aKTZfminhaZonsk

[@poleythepolarbear9706]

Some people just can't be satisfied. The volume is fine for me.

[@marcuselliott3919]

Thank you for this video. I heard you just fine.

[@tonytony7915]

what is audio?

[@Damnchaosemerald_e.e]

its still quiet

[@SilverDragonAcademy]

My face has always been too far away from the mic.

[@stephenfraser280]

I'm 8 minutes in only and this has saved me HOURS of time monkeying around. Straight to the point and all the info is super useful. Thanks a ton, you made my game waaaay easier.

[@Downtimelegion]

At 11:40 you are dragging Proficiency not the Item that's why it didn't appear at Attack & Spell.

[@Domdex_D_20]

Me screaming in my head.

[@Zegger]

Hey, even 2 years later I tried it myself and got confused. It takes a few seconds to load, or 10 in my case. If you pay close attention, you can see the empty list he created and the possibly 5 or so longswords he gave to the character creeping below!

[@CrankyOldNerd]

Wished I'd seen this a week ago before we tried our first roll20 game. This is very well done. Thanks for going to the trouble of doing this.

[@graysonfox4159]

Thanks for the crash course Mack! When I was going through to roll20 tutorial it felt like I was learning how to build a car and how all the parts fit together. You're teaching us how to drive the car.

[@nikedadoug]

This is a lot more understandable than the tutorials in the site. Or my learning style is different.

[@MrTantrill]

I was so happy to find the Token Stamper. It saved me a lot of time and I was able to make oodles of tokens.

[@integritie82]

My 4 good friends of almost 30 years and I (we live in 3 different states now) are using D&D as a way to catch up and have a guys night once a week. I'm taking on the DM role and this was super helpful with getting me started. Thank you!

[@Rustedhubcap]

That map trick blew my mind man, ive been struggling with roll20 for a year now.

[@KaraKobold]

when your users need to look up tutorials on how to us your website, thats when you know they need a redesign. all the tools are so overly complicated to use, its just sad.

[@lisafoadstock1452]

Been talking to players and they mostly manually create their own character sheets and skills and everything so I think as a complete newb but also a story teller and writer. I might choose to start learning the game as a DM. These videos helping so much !

[@SilverDragonAcademy]

That's great to hear. If you have any questions. Feel free.

[@stijnlont5071]

This helped save so much time and pain. I'm trying to make the switch from irl dnd to Roll20, and I was starting to feel overwhelmed but now I feel like it is manageable.

[@juanfelipegomezbustos2827]

Dude! Amazing job I really appreciate what you do for all of us that like to play D&D and others. Roll20 always has been a bit hard for me to handle but this tutorial helped me A LOT!!! Greetings from Colombia!!!

[@dragonofazkaban7456]

I'm just getting into roll20 because of quarantine, and I was so lost, this helped lessen the confusion, thanks so much!

[@bestpaladinboy]

I have been doing so much of this manual and the hardest possible way ever in comparison, thank you omg

[@robertcox9871]

This so helpful, ive been looking for a while for a video on the basics and so many of them start talking about macros and all sorts. This was perfect for me.

[@baileysymington5753]

This was the BEST crash course I’ve come by. I am a pencil and paper D&D DM and you made it simple and quick. Not only that, you played it cool when things didn’t work out the way you wanted. 😊 Thanks!

[@SilverDragonAcademy]

Glad it has helped you. There's a better version I made as well that has easier navigation.

[@glassartist1726]

its been two years since this posted, but, am I happy to come across it today! Your video just saved me HOURS of not knowing what I'm doing. lol Thanks....great stuff!!

[@TrainingFanatic]

Thanks for posting these videos. Roll20 seemed so confusing when I first looked at it, but you have made much simpler for me to understand.

[@andrewpajak8058]

Samuel is SO PROFICIENT with longswords now! Dude has expertise!!

[@jeffreybarker357]

Good to see a video that isn't years old. I imagine they've made updates here and there over the last five years. Thanks, brother!

[@_bdavie]

Just started using Roll20 2 weeks ago, and this video helped SO much. Best tutorial ever.

[@clearlyrebecca]

Big ups for this vid. Concise, to the point, no long intros or ads for products/shows (not hating on people who do that, but sometimes it can really drag on). Super appreciated.

[@clearlyrebecca]

@@SilverDragonAcademy It's tough to find the sweet spot because it really moves around based on variables you as a content creator can't really do anything about or predict. This helped me because I'm really in a "crunch" mode at this particular moment, but I might be interested in a more long-winded, detailed video next month (who knows??).

[@pierredupont1096]

So good. I'm starting a Pathfinder game in a few months and was so puzzled as to where I was gonna get tokens and such. Thanks a lot! And I can input my NPCs...

[@lieslbryant4549]

This was super useful! I got my players up and running when we had to make the quick switch to online SO much faster than if I had messed around with this alone. Thank you!

[@wtpasc]

This is exactly what I was looking for. Good video, very helpful.

[@TheFourWindBadger]

Great tutorial! Perfect for teaching me and helping me setting up my 3.5 campaign!

[@omernissan686]

fantastic vid, really helpful and you explain everything very simply and fast. thx again

[@SilverDragonAcademy]

Thanks so much. I'll need to do an updated version soon as some features have changed slightly in the newer Roll20 version.

[@JackJester21]

Was super helpful and in nice simple terms without being boring. Thank you SOOO much

[@TakManSan]

Always Rolling with Advantage means you only use the left one if you're not having Advantage, or the better of the two if you do have Advantage, and the lesser of the two if you have Disadvantage. That way you can skip all that Query roll stuff.

[@SilverDragonAcademy]

I think its a personal reference. I just like seeing one number instead of two.

[@Alex-ts9jp]

I can confirm you can drag items from the items section into sheets! Awesome video, incredibly useful as a first time DM :)

[@charly329]

Thank you so much! Preparing my first session as a dm and this saved my life!

[@SilverDragonAcademy]

I hope it goes well for you :)

[@111Lestat]

Hey thanks for helping out. Recently found out about this tool and am trying to get a jump on learning it

[@homesty123]

Ive used roll20 on and off for a few years, but this was still really helpful. Especially the token website!

[@veesacha2923]

man, you're good at making things simple. Good job.

[@alana767]

I got a lot out of this video. Thank you so much!

[@JbizzyG]

Thanks for teaching me how to size the grid to match the image and for showing tokenstamp! Major time saver for the last one!

[@TheKOzality]

I've used Roll20 in the past but I'm gearing up to continue my current campaign virtually and I found this video super helpful. Thanks!

[@bigboystsv5836]

Starting as a dm soon.. Very hepful guide.

[@SilverDragonAcademy]

Happy to help Trash Dad!

[@melissak7630]

Super helpful. Trying to run games for my kids and their friends (at their request). I don't have a table top background, complete noob. It's hard to keep 9-13 year olds engaged for more than 45 minutes without visuals.

[@mat_has_a_hat]

Thank you! I'll for sure be coming back for this when I am ready to build my first campaign!

[@geraldmcneil5201]

Super helpful, I'vee been using roll20 for years and still learned a lot of tricks

[@TheShadowFellan]

This is a good guide but just by the way in case you didn’t notice at 11:35 when you are adding the Long Sword from the SRD, you’ve pulled over the Long Sword ‘proficiency’ not the item thats why it pops up in the bottom left proficiencies box. You have to pull across the item version for it to get added as an item.

[@BittenHand19]

This video saved my ass for tonight because I was having a hard time setting up a map to grid. THANK YOU!!!

[@heddagedda]

WOW! Amazing help. I was able to improive my campaign by a lot through your videos! THANK YOU!

[@SilverDragonAcademy]

Glad it helped!

[@ArtificialSelection]

This is a tremendously useful and succinct guide! I cannot thank you enough! This is EXACTLY what I was looking for.

[@vakalkas]

Thanks for the vid. Super useful and delivered in an easy to follow speed! :) gonna set this up for tmrws 3rd session as a complete rookie dnd and dm

[@FantasticMrFox-kb3xl]

This was really helpful! thank you so much!!

[@deandavidov]

This was great. Exactly what I needed to figure out hoe to remote DM. Thanks.

[@SilverDragonAcademy]

Glad it helped

[@kevinfelton689]

It was until the third time I shouted at the screen "you're dragging the proficiency! You want the item!" before I realized I'd essentially become my father.

[@SilverDragonAcademy]

I'm so sorry! This was done in one take so I just ignored it. It's a mistake I still make sometimes.

[@kevinfelton689]

@@SilverDragonAcademy no it's cool. It's just hard coming to the realization that now I'M the old man who forgets that the people on the screen can't hear me.

[@SilverDragonAcademy]

@@kevinfelton689 "On the internet, no one can hear you scream..."

[@rawkth5996]

2years later & this is still usefull.

[@bryanrichards8687]

Thanks for the video. Super helpful, especially for aligning maps

[@amelialaughlan5904]

This is a great intro video, thanks for putting this together.

[@deadbydavy]

thank you so much for this!

[@storytime7408]

Thank you. Seems simple, but the realigning to grid tool tip was what I was missing. Good video

[@Cthu1hu]

I learned so much from watching this video! Thank you so much for making this and showing the step by step processes!!

[@Bigred42260]

Very well done and very insightful. Good job

[@idontevenlikemoney]

Thankyou so much for this. This is gonna save me so much time.

[@dragoprince7]

I'm glad for this video as I never understood how to use roll20 but funny enough I'm just noticing your name as Mack D. in your roll20 and mine is Mackenzie D. The chances man lol

[@SilverDragonAcademy]

Unreal! Yea I go my Mack generally, but it is just my preferred name, not my real name. I'm glad this has helped. There isn't really much official content from them that shows "Here is how you use our service" it's bits and pieces and very technical at times.

[@aranmacrae3419]

really concise and appreciated.

[@SilverDragonAcademy]

Glad it was helpful!

[@helcaraxe0411]

Honestly thank you so much, my boomer tech brain can finally comprehend

[@mcnichollsdj]

The ice man cometh. Nice name.

[@helcaraxe0411]

Dai Llafyn a man of culture I see

[@mcnichollsdj]

@@helcaraxe0411 Just a pretentious Tolkien obsessive. :)

[@TECMATHEUS99]

You are a life saver. Great and fast video, thanks!!!

[@Sonic32084]

Thank you for a great tutorial. Really helped me get started.

[@ogion539]

Thanks for explaining this, very helpful.

[@Edwin-zk1en]

Clear and concise. Thank you!

[@tims.440]

Thanks man this was perfect, exactly what I was looking for!

[@agee1961]

You are a god send, loved the video thank you!

[@P_chanG]

Thank you! This video was what I needed :D

[@wb8156]

Thank you!

[@ghitapaints91]

Thank you so very much

[@roccobernasconi9690]

man this rly saved me rn. Tnx for the great video

[@Panquernic]

Nice tutorial tho the volume is extremely low

[@DannyThorn2604]

Super soothing though!

[@Ppstarfish]

Turn it up

[@Panquernic]

@@Ppstarfish wow thanks, solved!

[@Ppstarfish]

@@Panquernic 😩

[@fermented-radish]

Thank you for the help!

[@Rednation]

Jesus this video was so helpful guys make sure to like and Subscribe to him.

[@weemcast]

Excellent info, thanks for the help ;)

[@nlee3113]

when he said to add all of the base tokens to the start page my brain went, time for way too many goblins

[@SilverDragonAcademy]

All the GERBLINS!

[@harrisonbodrie9708]

Thanks this will make Game 2 much easier

[@paulbarrett9982]

This was wicked helpful, thanks!

[@_tarrvis758]

Incredibly helpful video, awesome.

[@theGhoulman]

That was super helpful to a beginner, such as myself!

[@zombietommie92]

Wow thank you so much this is so helpful I was following along to get used to it lmao thanks!!

[@sipherys1961]

Thanks for the tutorial! Helped a lot

[@lucymcmmck]

extremely helpful ty

[@lorriedanielle9822]

I owe you my life.

[@SilverDragonAcademy]

Haha this made my night

[@Smashtacular01]

Superb and thorough information. Volume was waaaay low. :(

[@mitchellalorda2282]

Ka Pshhhhhh!! Mind blown!

[@CidGuerreiro1234]

Very good tutorial, thanks.

[@maryanngoodhue4198]

Very helpful video!

[@maryanngoodhue4198]

@@SilverDragonAcademy Thank you for being so helpful and responding so quickly!

[@creepercommande4171]

This is very helpful

[@zosita110]

i love your tutorial!

[@fja3924]

how do you use a map from a PDF on roll 20?

[@ebrahimnaeem757]

Really great tutorial! Thank you.

[@DM_Kat]

Great video. Very helpful!

[@dillonschneider9375]

12:00 he just didn't realize he was doing proficiencies. No errors

[@anguscampbell3020]

nice video but the audio is kinda quiet

[@lisafoadstock1452]

Hey guys uh. When he showed rolling advantage for the player, aren’t the players the one rolling advantage not the gm? Kinda confused me.everything else though was amazing omg I can’t believe how easy roll 20 is that’s awesome

[@SilverDragonAcademy]

Both the players and the DM can roll advantage or disadvantage depending on the situation.

[@draakgast]

man I just lost my shit at 16:33, when that dude showed up I was checking in roll20 to do stuff and hear my name and become so confused XD XD

[@SilverDragonAcademy]

Haha Yea, hence the re-record :)

[@matthewonciul3803]

Nice vid - you're pretty good at teaching eh

[@gregferguson7737]

Thanks :)

[@wreckedchaos1464]

Trying to play Dragon of IceSpire Peak and no matter how I align it the grid in the middle of the map is off

[@SilverDragonAcademy]

Did you mess around with the image size or the grid part sizes? Sometimes I just give up if I can't get it right.

[@almondnagel]

Is this Roll20 Premium, or the basic service? Great video, btw. Thanks for making it!

[@jquickri]

This is basic