Online Play & VTTs
New Player's Guide to Roll20 (Join a Game in 15 Minutes)
As a player, you need about 15 minutes and five skills to be fully functional in Roll20: join through the invite link, find your character sheet, roll dice from it, move your token, and talk in the chat. That's the whole day-one curriculum. The platform has a hundred other features; they're the GM's problem. Here's the player path, in order, including the two settings that fix most first-session tech drama.
Before session one
Make a free account at roll20.net (the free tier is all a player ever needs; ignore the subscription pitches, which are aimed at GMs). Then click the game invite link your GM sent, which drops you into their game's page. That's the entire signup.
Two setup items prevent 90% of first-night problems. First, use Chrome or Firefox on an actual computer if you can; Roll20 runs on tablets reluctantly and on phones as a punishment. Second, sort your audio before game night: most groups talk over Discord, not Roll20's built-in voice, so confirm with your GM which one your table uses and test your mic in it. "Can you hear me now?" is the traditional opening ritual of online D&D, and you can simply skip it.
The five skills
- Find your sheet. In the game, look for the Journal tab (the notebook icon, top right). Your character's name lives there; click it and the sheet opens. If it's empty or missing, that's a GM job, not a you job; say so before session night.
- Roll from the sheet. Nearly everything on a Roll20 sheet is clickable: click your Perception skill and the roll happens, with modifiers, in the chat. This one feature is why nobody does d20 math at online tables anymore. Attack buttons roll to-hit; clicking damage rolls damage.
- Move your token by dragging it. If the map has dynamic lighting, what your character can see updates as you move, which is genuinely cool the first time a corridor reveals itself.
- Type in chat when talking's not enough. Two commands worth knowing:
/roll 1d20+5rolls manually when a sheet button doesn't exist, and/w gmwhispers privately to the GM for scheming purposes. - Zoom and re-center. Mouse wheel zooms; if you ever lose the map entirely (a rite of passage), press shift+K or use the zoom controls to snap back. You didn't break anything. Nobody has ever broken anything by zooming.
Honestly, skills one and two carry the night. The rest arrives by osmosis.
What's the GM's problem, not yours
Maps, tokens, lighting, macros, API scripts, compendium licenses, and every menu you haven't clicked: all GM territory. Roll20's complexity reputation comes almost entirely from the GM side of the screen, which is also where its comparison against other VTTs actually gets decided. As a player you're riding in a car someone else maintains. Enjoy it.
Etiquette on someone else's table: don't move other people's tokens, don't scribble on the map with the drawing tools unless invited, and don't click through the GM's journal handouts before they're shared. The table manners of in-person play translate one-to-one; the drawing tools are just a new way to be the person doodling on the battle map.
When something breaks
The Roll20 troubleshooting liturgy, in order of success rate: refresh the browser tab (fixes most things), leave and rejoin the game, clear cache or try an incognito window, try the other browser. Audio problems are almost always Discord's, not Roll20's. And lag on huge maps is normal on the free tier; closing other tabs helps more than it should.
If your first online game is at a professionally-run table, tech support is part of the seat price: pro GMs budget the first fifteen minutes of a newcomer's night for exactly this, and what you should have ready mirrors the in-person checklist minus the pencil.
Frequently asked questions
Is Roll20 free for players?
Yes, completely. The free account joins any game, uses full character sheets, and rolls everything. Subscriptions add GM-side features and cosmetics; a player never needs one.
How do I join a Roll20 game?
Create a free account, then click the invite link your GM sends; you'll land in the game lobby and appear in the game at the next session. There's no code entry or friend system to navigate, just the link.
How do I roll dice in Roll20?
Click the skill, save, attack, or damage entry on your character sheet and the roll posts to chat with modifiers included. For a bare roll, type /roll 1d20+5 (or any dice expression) into the chat.
Do I need a microphone for Roll20?
You need a microphone for the table, and usually that means Discord running alongside Roll20 rather than Roll20's own voice. Ask your GM which the group uses and test before session night. A $20 headset beats any laptop mic.
Can I play Roll20 on a phone or tablet?
Tablets manage in a pinch; phones are miserable for anything beyond checking a sheet. If a computer isn't an option, tell your GM in advance so they can keep your map duties light, or pick a theater-of-the-mind table where the screen barely matters.