Roll20

Computers and Pen & Paper...The Match Made in Heaven?

Roll20. is a online platform to play RPGs online if you don't have friends or just need the that vidya feeling to your Pen and paper games. This particular combination allows for people to jump into any game that tickles their fancy or make a game they feel like running but lack an FLGS to run from or can't be arsed to drive.

The Pros

• Recorded Dice Rolls. This allows you to avoid roll-fudging with physical die. If you really need the experience, you can even digitally roll them yourself.
• Macros and API so you don't need to do all the math for rolls.
• The ability to join any game you want, or open a game for people to run.
• An integrated forum for communications, which is infinitely easier than IRC, but maybe not compared to Discord or Skype.

The Cons

• It runs like absolute shit on phones and tablets, if at all. Getting a paid subscription might make it a bit more bearable, but you're still hamstrung by the screen dimensions.
• Unless you're running a popular game like Dungeons & Dragons or Pathfinder, expect the list of available games to shrink considerably. You might not even be able to see any games running.
  • To put this in perspective: In last quarter of 2017, there where 49,265 active games of Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition, compared to only 9856 active games of Pathfinder, dwarfing all other systems activity in comparison.[1]
• Some character sheets, especially those for less-played games, are just intolerable. Unless you know API or know someone who knows API, expect to be begging a lot for a better sheet.
• Dynamic Lighting, while cool sounding in purpose, is finicky to work with. This is especially the case when dealing with directed light. Fog Of War suffers similarly.

Other similar

• Tabletop Simulator
• Fantasy Grounds

Links

• Roll20 Homepage
• Roll20 Crash Course
• List of character sheets made for Roll20
• Roll20 forums
• How to Roll20(Youtube)