New DM working on homebrew to run later this year.
I'd like to have a digital map, and seems like the necessary elements are pretty reasonable price-wise. So I'm wondering who's running what?
I love the *idea* of using a small projector and display my map onto my battlemat, but I'm not sure if that will work?
Does it make more sense to just buy a small tv?
And if so, should I use a VTT or just patreon a few good digital maps? I don't like the VTT idea if it requires two computers, I would love to be able to run the whole thing off a single laptop if possible?
My personal favorite mapmaking software is Wonderdraft. That said, you'll most likely want to download custom assets (plenty free on cartographyassets.com), especially if you're looking more for battlemaps than world maps. If you're willing to put in the time to hand-make your maps, Dungeonfog.com is also great. Supporting artists on Patron is always fabulous, and there are some absolutely amazing map-makers out there, such as Nova World Battlemaps, Czepeku, Dyson, 2 Minute Tabletop, Go Adventure Maps, and so many more.
I've seen some awesome setups using a small TV and building a simple frame to make it into a table (or just... laying it down), but projector setups work well too. If you already have a projector, just use the projector. If your players like the idea of a TV, price that out and ask everyone to contribute an equal portion. Either way, you shouldn't need two computers for a VTT like Roll20 or Astral as long as you don't want to have stuff hidden from your players.
For my home games, I run two copies of MapTool on a single laptop, and display the player view one on a TV.
You could do the same with Roll20 or another VTT in the same manner, but I like MapTool in particular because it means I don't need to rely on external network connectivity, and upgrades only happen when I want them to.
If you have a map image, you can just load it in as a background, or you could use the built in map editing tools to create a map by drawing with textures and placing objects.
I can help if you have setup questions about MapTool, and they have a Discord server where you could ask questions as well (link is on the rptools.net site).
I have a laptop with a second screen. I place the second screen facing the players. I run 2 instances of Roll20: one in player mode, on the second screen. One in GM mode, on my laptop screen. I bought a $2 app that lets me see the content of the second screen on my laptop screen.
I only use Roll20 for the initiative tracker (you can add conditions and such on the fly) and moving tokens around a map. That's it. Rest is done in D&D Beyond. Roll20 used this way is free, but requires an internet connection.
I tried a pico projector projecting down onto a white sheet on our table so players could point to describe what they wanted. But it was a less than ideal setup. I had a camera tripod up on the table to get the projector in position, which took table real-estate and introduced the risk of knocking the whole setup down with one clumsy movement of my players or myself. Also, the pico projector didn't have the lumens (brightness) to be readily visible in a lit room. Had to turn the lights off, which made some of my players have to strain to read their paper character sheets.
I switched to the 2 monitor setup. It works better, even if it takes a bit more back and forth to understand where players want to move their tokens. You can get a cheap laptop monitor that does the job just fine.
I want to do this for my family. Use a laptop and then project to a different screen. I'm assuming if I buy the map packs for the starter kit here: https://prints.mikeschley.com/p856083253 then I can load those maps into Roll20? Do I just need an instance for myself and then a "player" instance or do I need to set up 3 instances for my 3 players?
Their characters are built in D&D Beyond, I'd like to know how to use it to run the game. Do you know of any video tutorials or any information?
I am going to be creating a VTT setup soon for use in my home game I plan on using Dynamic Dungeons and their Editor.
You can find many of their maps on YouTube and get access to all of their maps and the editor at their Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/dynamicdungeons
I want to do this for my family. Use a laptop and then project to a different screen. I'm assuming if I buy the map packs for the starter kit here: https://prints.mikeschley.com/p856083253 then I can load those maps into Roll20? Do I just need an instance for myself and then a "player" instance or do I need to set up 3 instances for my 3 players?
Their characters are built in D&D Beyond, I'd like to know how to use it to run the game. Do you know of any video tutorials or any information?
Thank you,
Roll20 is web based. You will need 2 browsers open, one on each monitor. You can use the same login for both browsers. The laptop screen is in GM mode so you can see all 3 layers and manage fog of war. The player screen is in Player mode, so they only see what you want them to see, including fog of war.
I don't know what you mean by 'using it to run the game'. Using Roll20 this way is purely a way to display a map and tokens. Your players don't need to do anything more than tell you where they want to move and what they want to do. They manage their HP and effects/statuses on their own, and you manage monster HP on your own (although you can do it in Roll20).
For my face-to-face games I use Roll20 from a chrome browser and have 2 tabs open (one DM view and one player view) then I just cast the player tab to my Chromecast enabled big screen tv. I have a couple of players that use their laptops to log into Roll20 and control their own tokens and I have a couple of other players that access their character sheets from their phones and roll physical dice. For those players either I or one of the other players with a laptop move their tokens for them on Roll20. I have an online game that I run through Roll20 as well and I found a Chrome plugin that we use that allows everyone to use the character sheets on DnD Beyond and when they want to make a roll of any kind they click a button on the character sheet (that the plugin adds to the sheet) and the roll appears in the chat window on Roll20. This has been so helpful as I am still learning how to make all the macros that I need for Roll20. For anyone that's interested, here's the link to the Beyond20 Chrome extension: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/beyond-20/gnblbpbepfbfmoobegdogkglpbhcjofh
I just recently discovered a couple sweet little tools. Above vtt which is a direct chromium extension for dnd beyond. It uses all the beyond tools in your encounters and everything is right there! And owlbear rodeo which is a super simple approach. Both are great in their respective areas but both lack in certain things. Do your own research and for your own opinion, but I’m leaning more towards owlbear rodeo personally . We’re currently running a small 32” tv inside of a poker table, visuals pushed by a laptop and hdmi cable. Easy peezy
Going to throw into the ring Owlbear.app which is a really intuitive system. It also works across browsers and devices. I use it in both online and in person games. Cost wise it's the best solution I've found over the last three years.
Projectors make a lot of sense. They are often smaller and designed to be mounted on a wall anyway, easier to project them onto a physical grid (I prefer hexes, squares suck unless you are plotting artillery targets). You can get one for less than $50 On Amazon.
Projectors only real weakness is you need low light to use - can't do it outside except at night.
New DM working on homebrew to run later this year.
I'd like to have a digital map, and seems like the necessary elements are pretty reasonable price-wise. So I'm wondering who's running what?
I love the *idea* of using a small projector and display my map onto my battlemat, but I'm not sure if that will work?
Does it make more sense to just buy a small tv?
And if so, should I use a VTT or just patreon a few good digital maps? I don't like the VTT idea if it requires two computers, I would love to be able to run the whole thing off a single laptop if possible?
Thanks for any input!
My personal favorite mapmaking software is Wonderdraft. That said, you'll most likely want to download custom assets (plenty free on cartographyassets.com), especially if you're looking more for battlemaps than world maps. If you're willing to put in the time to hand-make your maps, Dungeonfog.com is also great. Supporting artists on Patron is always fabulous, and there are some absolutely amazing map-makers out there, such as Nova World Battlemaps, Czepeku, Dyson, 2 Minute Tabletop, Go Adventure Maps, and so many more.
I've seen some awesome setups using a small TV and building a simple frame to make it into a table (or just... laying it down), but projector setups work well too. If you already have a projector, just use the projector. If your players like the idea of a TV, price that out and ask everyone to contribute an equal portion. Either way, you shouldn't need two computers for a VTT like Roll20 or Astral as long as you don't want to have stuff hidden from your players.
For my home games, I run two copies of MapTool on a single laptop, and display the player view one on a TV.
You could do the same with Roll20 or another VTT in the same manner, but I like MapTool in particular because it means I don't need to rely on external network connectivity, and upgrades only happen when I want them to.
If you have a map image, you can just load it in as a background, or you could use the built in map editing tools to create a map by drawing with textures and placing objects.
I can help if you have setup questions about MapTool, and they have a Discord server where you could ask questions as well (link is on the rptools.net site).
I have a laptop with a second screen. I place the second screen facing the players. I run 2 instances of Roll20: one in player mode, on the second screen. One in GM mode, on my laptop screen. I bought a $2 app that lets me see the content of the second screen on my laptop screen.
I only use Roll20 for the initiative tracker (you can add conditions and such on the fly) and moving tokens around a map. That's it. Rest is done in D&D Beyond. Roll20 used this way is free, but requires an internet connection.
I tried a pico projector projecting down onto a white sheet on our table so players could point to describe what they wanted. But it was a less than ideal setup. I had a camera tripod up on the table to get the projector in position, which took table real-estate and introduced the risk of knocking the whole setup down with one clumsy movement of my players or myself. Also, the pico projector didn't have the lumens (brightness) to be readily visible in a lit room. Had to turn the lights off, which made some of my players have to strain to read their paper character sheets.
I switched to the 2 monitor setup. It works better, even if it takes a bit more back and forth to understand where players want to move their tokens. You can get a cheap laptop monitor that does the job just fine.
I want to do this for my family. Use a laptop and then project to a different screen. I'm assuming if I buy the map packs for the starter kit here: https://prints.mikeschley.com/p856083253 then I can load those maps into Roll20? Do I just need an instance for myself and then a "player" instance or do I need to set up 3 instances for my 3 players?
Their characters are built in D&D Beyond, I'd like to know how to use it to run the game. Do you know of any video tutorials or any information?
Thank you,
I am going to be creating a VTT setup soon for use in my home game I plan on using Dynamic Dungeons and their Editor.
You can find many of their maps on YouTube and get access to all of their maps and the editor at their Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/dynamicdungeons
Check them out and hope it helps.
Roll20 is web based. You will need 2 browsers open, one on each monitor. You can use the same login for both browsers. The laptop screen is in GM mode so you can see all 3 layers and manage fog of war. The player screen is in Player mode, so they only see what you want them to see, including fog of war.
I don't know what you mean by 'using it to run the game'. Using Roll20 this way is purely a way to display a map and tokens. Your players don't need to do anything more than tell you where they want to move and what they want to do. They manage their HP and effects/statuses on their own, and you manage monster HP on your own (although you can do it in Roll20).
For my face-to-face games I use Roll20 from a chrome browser and have 2 tabs open (one DM view and one player view) then I just cast the player tab to my Chromecast enabled big screen tv. I have a couple of players that use their laptops to log into Roll20 and control their own tokens and I have a couple of other players that access their character sheets from their phones and roll physical dice. For those players either I or one of the other players with a laptop move their tokens for them on Roll20. I have an online game that I run through Roll20 as well and I found a Chrome plugin that we use that allows everyone to use the character sheets on DnD Beyond and when they want to make a roll of any kind they click a button on the character sheet (that the plugin adds to the sheet) and the roll appears in the chat window on Roll20. This has been so helpful as I am still learning how to make all the macros that I need for Roll20. For anyone that's interested, here's the link to the Beyond20 Chrome extension: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/beyond-20/gnblbpbepfbfmoobegdogkglpbhcjofh
+1 for that chrome extension. It's amazing and gets rid of 90% of the setup hassles in Roll20.
I just recently discovered a couple sweet little tools. Above vtt which is a direct chromium extension for dnd beyond. It uses all the beyond tools in your encounters and everything is right there! And owlbear rodeo which is a super simple approach. Both are great in their respective areas but both lack in certain things. Do your own research and for your own opinion, but I’m leaning more towards owlbear rodeo personally . We’re currently running a small 32” tv inside of a poker table, visuals pushed by a laptop and hdmi cable. Easy peezy
Going to throw into the ring Owlbear.app which is a really intuitive system. It also works across browsers and devices. I use it in both online and in person games. Cost wise it's the best solution I've found over the last three years.
My free DM session planning template - My version of maps for 'Lost Mine of Phandelver' - Send your party to The Circus - Other DM Resources - Maps, Tokens, Quests
Actor, Writer, Director & Teacher by day - GM/DM in my off hours.
Projectors make a lot of sense. They are often smaller and designed to be mounted on a wall anyway, easier to project them onto a physical grid (I prefer hexes, squares suck unless you are plotting artillery targets). You can get one for less than $50 On Amazon.
Projectors only real weakness is you need low light to use - can't do it outside except at night.