How to play D&D online: the setup that actually works
You need three things to play D&D over the internet: a voice call, somewhere everyone can see the map, and dice the table trusts. Everything else is optional. Here is a setup that costs nothing, what each piece does, and the mistakes remote groups make in their first month.
Step one: voice, and video if you can
Discord is free and is what most online groups use: one voice channel for the session, one text channel for handouts, initiative and the inevitable "sorry, five minutes late". Cameras are optional but help more than people expect; a table reads faces. Push-to-talk keeps six kitchens out of the call.
Step two: the map
There are two ways to share a battle map online. A multiplayer VTT (Owlbear Rodeo, Roll20, Foundry) gives every player their own window and their own token to move. A single-screen tabletop is run by the DM and shown to the group over a screen share, the way a TV on a physical table is shown to the room.
TerrainTale is the second kind today. The DM opens a 3D scene, shares the tab on Discord, and the players see a lit place with real miniatures on it. A player says "I move behind the cart and shoot", the DM drags the mini and the ruler shows thirty feet; double-click pings a spot so "that one" has a location. Groups who have tried both often prefer it for the DM being in charge of the table, and miss it when five players want to move at once. A native shared player view is the next planned feature.
Step three: sheets and dice
Character sheets: D&D Beyond's free tier, a PDF, or paper on camera all work. Dice: physical dice rolled on camera, a Discord dice bot, or a dice app with the result read out. The only rule that matters is that everyone rolls the same way and nobody minds. TerrainTale does not roll dice or keep sheets; it is the map, the minis, the ruler and the turn order, and it stays out of the rest.
Step four: run shorter and tighter than in person
Online sessions tire people faster. Two and a half to three hours beats four. Start the session with the first scene already on the table rather than building it live. Recap in two sentences, not ten minutes. Call on quiet players by name; the cross-talk that carries an in-person table does not happen on a call. End on a hook.
A first-session checklist
Half an hour before you start:
- Voice channel tested with everyone, push-to-talk on
- The map for the first fight open in a tab, minis placed, initiative list ready
- Screen share tested at a resolution players can read on a laptop
- Sheets and dice agreed: where they live, who rolls what
- A text channel with the session's handouts already posted
What it costs
Nothing. Discord is free, the core rules are free, sheet tools have free tiers, and TerrainTale is free with every feature included and a CC0 library. There is nothing for players to install or sign up for: they join the call and look at the shared screen.
Questions
Is playing D&D online free?
Yes, with this setup: Discord, free core rules, a free sheet tool and TerrainTale, which is free with nothing to install.
Do my players need TerrainTale accounts?
No. Today the DM runs the table on one screen and shares it. Only the DM signs in.
Can players move their own miniatures?
Not yet; the DM moves them on request. A shared player view with player-controlled tokens is the next planned feature.
Is a 2D or a 3D map better for online play?
A 2D multiplayer VTT is better when everyone must move their own token. A 3D table over a screen share is better when you want light, height and cover to be part of the fight and the DM to hold the controls.
Does the screen share lag?
Discord's share is fine for a battle map; movement is a mini sliding a few squares, not a video game. Share the tab rather than the whole screen for the sharpest picture.
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