Roll20: A Beginner's Guide - How To Make A Map and Add Assets?

Good morning everyone! Very often you write to us asking to explain how to use Roll20 or Foundry VTT, add maps, assets, change effects and settings. We decided to prepare a short tutorial - we hope it will help you in playing and using our maps and assets.

Preparing an encounter using Battlemaps

Roll20 allows you to quickly transfer Battlemaps from your disk, directly to your virtual table. The first step is to create and configure a new page on your virtual table.

How to create a new page:

1. Log in to your game on Roll20.

2. At the top right you will find the "Page Toolbar" button, that little protruding square, click it. A new panel should appear with a gray background.

3. Use the "Create New Page" button on the top left. The new page will appear in the list, under the name "Untitled".

4. Use your mouse to hover over the page you created, additional options will appear. Click on the cogwheel, that is "Page Settings".

5. Most of our battlemaps have map size in their name, for example for a file named "D_S_A_night_ghost_2_30x50" the size would be 30 px wide and 50 px high. Enter this value in the page settings, under "Width" and "Height".

If you've come across an older map that doesn't have the sizes listed in its name. A good way to check this value, is to look at the GRID version of the map and determine the height and width by counting the number of "grid squares" for height and width.

You can also rename a page by left-clicking on its current name.

6. Save your settings, then left-click on the newly created page, it should now load and look something like this

How to add battlemaps on a new page:

7. Download the battlemap you are interested in to your computer, open the downloaded folder and select the version you are interested in (preferably the "No Grid" version if available). Files in .png format are what you will need.

8. Go to Roll20 and look at the top left edge, you will find tools there. Use them to switch to the "Map & Background" background layer.

9. Use your mouse to drag the map of your choice (.png file) from your drive directly to the open Roll20 page. You should see a PopUp with the progress of your map's upload. When the upload is complete, the map will appear in place of the white boxes.

As you can see, it is not ready yet. You need to adjust its size and position. There are two ways to do this:

1. Move the map with the mouse, so that its edges meet the edges of the scene on the upper right. You will find blue points on the edges of the graphic that allow you to resize it. Use these to stretch the graphic so that it takes up the whole surface of the scene.

2. Right-click on the uploaded Battlemap and select "Advanced > Set Dimensions. In the window that opens, change from "Pixels" to "Units" and enter the sizes contained in the map name. Analogously to point 5 in the section "How to create a new page". Then use the mouse to adjust the position of the map if necessary.

That's it, your battlemap is ready!

Asset Transfer on Roll20

Our battlemaps come with a number of assets that you can use to enhance your map. Or use them in any way you can think of. If you want to quickly upload an asset and literally put it on your map in Roll20, it's very easy. The process is very similar to uploading a map, below I will explain step by step.

How to properly add asset

1. First you should decide what role the asset will play. Is it going to be a static, undisturbed decorative object or something moving or quickly accessible. Depending on your needs, you have to decide on which layer it should be placed.

- The Map & Background: on this layer the placed objects are always under the grid, this is the best option for objects that you don't plan to move very often or at all (such as buildings, decorations, vegetation).

- The Objects & Tokens: this layer is where you and your players usually spend the most time. By placing your asset here, you always have it at hand and can move its location at any time. However, they can sometimes get in your way, so it's best to reserve this layer for objects that need to move frequently.

- GM info Overlay: On this layer the assets will only be visible to you. By right-clicking on them, then Layer > Map Layer. This is the best layer for objects that you want to remain hidden until you do.

2. Once you have decided on a layer, select it. You will find the selection options at the top left, as shown in the posted graphic.

3. Now select and drag the asset of your choice, from your disk directly to the open scene in Roll20. You should see a pop-up containing information about the upload process. When the upload is complete, your asset will appear on the screen.

4. Now using the mouse, you can edit its size, position and rotation. Simply select the asset and points will appear around it, allowing you to edit it.

5. If you need to duplicate an asset, just select it and then copy and paste as many times as you need. Right click on the object, or use keyboard shortcuts (Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V).

Done, now you can enhance your scenes with additional elements!

And if you need content created for Roll20 we invite you to purchase our maps on Marketplace!