Revision as of 22:22, 21 September 2021

Page Updated:   2021-09-21

This is a general guide to playing DnD5E on Roll20 and the available character sheets that is suitable for it. See DnD for info on other editions of Dungeons & Dragons.

Character Sheets

These are the four available 5E sheet, starting from the most popular and use sheets. D&D 5E by Roll20 is by far the most used, but there are still a good number of user for the other sheets, especially the Shaped sheet. The Scrolls-sheet is likely a good option for those who want use a simple sheet.

D&D 5E by Roll20

D&D 5E by Roll20 (previously known as the "5th Edition OGL" sheet), is the Official 5E character sheet, and is by far the most used character sheet on Roll20. It includes the Charactermancer. All game modules and adventures are designed to be compatible with this sheet. There is good user support for working with this sheet on the Roll20 forums and social media. Receives updates almost daily.

API Support (Pro subscription required): The official script offers spell tracking and limited resource tracking (ammo), as well as long rest automation. There are a lot of user-submitted scripts that specifically add functionality to this sheet.

In most cases when people don't mention which sheet (or game system) they use, one can mostly assume this is the one they are using.

Related pages:

• D&D5E by Roll20 NPC Attributes
• D&D 5e by Roll20 Roll Templates
• D&D 5E by Roll20: How to setup Ammunition and Resource tracker

D&D 5E (Shaped)

D&D 5E (Shaped), (AKA. just the "Shaped sheet"), is the second most popular 5E character sheet on Roll20. It has lot of automation, and customization options. Good integration with the 5e Compendium, but lacks Charactermancer support. Supports 5e modules created by Roll20, but may become less compatible over time. Last updated In August 2019.

API Support (Pro subscription required): The robust companion script for this sheet offers a wealth of automation, including clickable statblock macros, spell management, monster import and much more. Spell and monster data is primarily limited to the SRD. There are a handful of user-submitted scripts that specifically augment this sheet.

• Jul 2021 Shaped Discussion^(Forum)

• Documentation
• Issue Tracker
• Sourcecode

D&D 5E (Community Contributed)

D&D 5E (Community Contributed) was created by John Myles and is one of the oldest character sheets on Roll20, and still has its users. Last updated in March 2018.

• Sourcecode

D&D 5E (Scrolls)

A 5E sheet created by Chris Hall. Is designed to be flexible, memorable, and easy to use. Last updated in December 2016.

• Sourcecode & Readme

Other 5E-based sheets

There are a good number of other sheets, for games or homebrew based on the (D&D 5E) rules framework.

• Esper Genesis by Roll20 - sci-fi game
• Stargate RPG by Wyvern Gaming - A 5E-based sheet to play the upcoming Stargate RPG.
• Genefunk 2090 - cyperpunk/biopunk 5e game
• D&D 5E Adventures in Middle Earth - For playing AiME
• Carbon 2185
• El Resurgir del Dragón

Homebrew

• D&D 5E (Darker Dungeons) - A flexible character sheet compatible with D&D 5e and Giffyglyph's Darker Dungeons-ruleset.
• Star Wars 5e - a sheet made for playing the Star Wars 5E homebrew conversion of D&D5E
• Mass Effect - a supposed 5E conversion of a Mass Effect game, but the sheet doesn't seem to work.
• Unofficial Elder Scrolls Tabletop - Compatible for use with the UESTRPG conversion of DnD5E.

Macros

See 5E Macros for various macros and examples.

• Must Have 5E Macros, APIs, Addons etc.^(Forum)
• Macro Guide is great for creating your own macros.

API

This is about a Roll20 feature exclusive to Pro-subscribers (and often to players in a Game created by a Pro-subscriber). If you'd like to use this feature, consider upgrading your account.

There exists a good number of API that are suited for enhancing a 5E game, and 5E is the system that has most API made specifically for it, most intended to be used with the D&D 5E by Roll20 sheet.

• APIs for 5E

Free Content

Compendium

DnD5E Compendium contains free content from the SRD, such as a number of basic monsters, spells, items & character creation options & rules. If you want more content, you can buy the Player's Handbook^(Market) or the other books available on Roll20^(Market).

See i Compendium for how it can be used.

Adventures

There are a number of free adventures for 5E:

• The Master's Vault^(Market)
• Intro Adventure to Wildemount^(Market)

These are available in the sidebar when you create a new campaign.

In 2020, during Roll20's "Play at Home" promotion, LMoP and some other content was also free for a limited time.

Marketplace

5E is the game system with most game content on the marketplace, both with longer campaign modules, shorter adventures, settings books etc., by both Wizards of the Coast^(Market) and third party publishers.

• Category: D&D 5E - all 5E content on marketplace
• Wizards of the Coast^(Market)

There exists a couple of book bundles that can save you money, such as D&D DM Starter Bundle^(Market) that gets you the PHB^(Market), Monster Manual^(Market), and the Essentials Kit: Deluxe Edition^(Market)

Some modules can be used for creating new games but also have a compendium that makes it easier to access content both in that game as well as be used in any other games you run. Older modules, such as Storm King's Thunder^(Market) don't have compendiums(these where created before Compendiums existed on Roll20, and haven't been retroactively reworked to have them).

Tyranny of Dragons Bundle^(Market) is a module that consists of the "Hoard of the Dragon Queen" & "Rise of Tiamat" Modules, along with a unified compendium, token set, and Original Battle Encounter Maps, exclusive to Roll20.

Related Pages

• Running D&D5e on Roll20 - A guide from 2017 by Mick Hands on how to set up a game of DnD5E
• D&D5E without Character Sheet - How to set up a simplified character sheet without the existing templates, and how to use them