In recent years, the internet has made it much easier to set up a game of Dungeons and Dragons with your friends. If the stars don’t align for your party to meet up in person, services like Roll20 make it easy for you to pick up your campaign online.
Now, Dungeons and Dragons publisher Wizards of the Coast is eager to get in on the action. The company has announced plans to start distributing officially licensed modules via the Roll20 marketplace, starting with the fifth edition’s introductory adventure, Lost Mine of Phandelver.
Roll20 users could already play through Dungeons and Dragons modules via the service. The platform simply offers a platform where players can be linked via webcam or VOIP chat, and virtual dice to determine the run of play, but documentation like character sheets and maps doesn’t have to be obtained through the marketplace.
However, it does make things much easier for all players if materials are purchased through the storefront. Everything is right there for you to refer to and work with, but there is a downside in that the content can’t be downloaded and used in an in-person session — it’s limited to use via Roll20.
The Lost Mine of Phandelver is a module for four or five players, intended to ease novices in to the fifth edition of Dungeons and Dragons. The package is available for $20 and includes a digitized version of the entire adventure, five pre-generated characters, digital handouts for the Dungeon Master and players, and virtual maps and game tokens, according to a report from Engadget.
Wizards of the Coast will follow up on this release with Storm King’s Thunder, which will hit the Roll20 marketplace on September 6. That module is aimed at more advanced players, and will retail for $50.
