Community Roundtable Round-up!
Did you miss the Roll20 Community Roundtable livestream? No worries! We’ve got you covered.
You can also watch the VOD on our YouTube channel if you’d like the full play-by-play. The Roll20 Rundown covers the latest happenings and releases going on here too, if that’s more your speed.
First and foremost: announcing Roll20Con October 5-6!
Ahem, now that that’s out of the way, here are some of the highlights from the questions that Jeff, Nolan, Soraya, and Trivia answered.
Roadmap updates:
Layer Up has been pushed back to focus on fixing rendering issues and future-proofing that the Advanced Fog of War update back in January uncovered. It will launch with a single layer so all of the interactions can be tested before rolling out more layers.
There is a lot going on behind the scenes to optimize the tabletop data and back-end processes, as well as even more implementations for long-term development.
We wound up discussing accessibility features, such as color coding, dark mode, and a recent update to our text-chat feature to make it more compatible with screen readers.
Production:
At the moment, Pathfinder 2 (which we will be supporting on launch day of August 1!) is the major focus, as well as a very exciting and massive update to Starfinder functionality on Roll20, so more details on that soon. Other Paizo products slated for this year include a Starfinder Adventure Path and the next book in Return of the Runelords.
We also have some updates on D&D projects past and future! We’ve got Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus coming this fall, and received a lot of questions about Out of the Abyss, Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide, and Dungeon Master’s Guide. They’re all on the to-do list, with Out of the Abyss tentatively calendared ahead of Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide. As for the Dungeon Master’s Guide, we want to build some really neat virtual tabletop integration before releasing it, so that’s in a research phase right now.
Marketplace:
We’re currently looking into ways to implement some sort of Marketplace rating system, but want to be mindful of making that a good experience for both sellers and purchasers.
There were also some cool suggestions and questions about various ideas, such as Rollable Table add-ons purchasable in the Marketplace, that have given us more to look into.
A very important question from a nervous first time D&D player asking for tips:
Some of the tips given (because there were a lot) were:
The first time you sit down to play any roleplaying game, be forgiving of yourself!
Try to embrace a “rule of cool”: if it seems cool and it doesn’t break the universe, go with it.
Don’t overthink it, you don’t need to know all the rules.
Play a trope! Pick something, the sneaky rogue, the aloof wizard, and just own it.
Keep the backstory simple. Don’t write out a fifteen page essay, just pick something simple (a demon kidnapped my brother!) and go with it.
The LFG section of Roll20 is incredibly useful for new players. Look through posts and games, or even find a PUG.
Let your interactions with the other people shape your character.
If you don’t mesh perfectly with one group, keep trying until you find your people.
The Charactermancer is really easy to use and create characters… and addictive. Not sure if the last part was a tip or a warning, but it’s so true.
“We’re kind of all nerds...hopefully that alleviates some fear.”- wisdom from Jeff
And most importantly, Soraya’s doggos!
Aren’t they just so cute? Soraya was kind enough to show them off before the crew signed off.
For the full video and dogs in action, check out the YouTube VOD.
Thank you to everyone that participated, whether you submitted a question early, asked in chat, or just hung out!
