Importing Battle Maps

Some of my most convenient pieces are battle maps, exciting top-down scenes fit for a combat encounter or skill challenge. Click here to browse my battle maps – you may want to download one for free and follow along.

Setting up a new page

1. Create a new page in Roll20 by opening the Page Toolbar (in the top-right of the map canvas) and clicking Create New Page.
2. Set the Page Settings by hovering over your new page in the Page Toolbar and clicking the blue cog. Change the Width and Height to match the battle map you wish to import.
   • For my newer maps, the map dimensions are declared in their file name, such as
     “Meadow Ruins – Grassy – Day – 22×16.jpg”
   • Older maps are generally 23×16″ but you can check by opening the map’s PDF, enabling a square grid, and counting the grid squares.
   • All this said, feel free to create a large page and simply estimate the size of the map – the exact scale is usually not too important.
3. (Optional) Give your new page a name by clicking the “Untitled” name field in the Page Toolbar.
4. Click your new page to navigate to it.

Uploading a battle map to Roll20

1. Download and unzip (if necessary) your desired battle map to your computer. A battle map is a JPG or PNG file (the PDF files are for printing, not for virtual tabletops).
2. Switch to the Map & Background layer (see image).
   Assets placed on this layer will appear beneath Roll20’s grid overlay, which is exactly what we need for a battle map.
3. Drag-and-drop the battle map from your hard drive into the Roll20 browser window to import it onto your current page and layer. An “Uploading” popup will momentarily appear, and the battle map will appear on the page, but likely at the wrong scale;
4. Set the map dimensions by right clicking the image and navigating to Advanced > Set Dimensions in the menu that appears. Select “Units” instead of “Pixels” and enter the desired width and height. Click “Set” to confirm.
   • Refer to step 2 in Setting up a new page if you are not sure what a map’s dimensions are.
5. Click-and-drag the resized map so that it fits within the confines of the page.

That’s all it takes to import a fresh battle map into Roll20. If you are interested also in importing map assets and tokens, please continue reading…

Importing Assets and Tokens

All of my assets, tokens, and other resources are uploaded and used in much the same way, so I will explain what they have in common and then I will break down their unique differences. I will refer to map assets, tokens, and spell templates simply as “assets” when the type is inconsequential.

Uploading to the Art Library

1. Download and unzip an asset pack to your computer. Assets are PNG files and are usually organized within a folder labelled as such.
2. Navigate to the Art Library (see image) and to My Library therein.
3. Press Upload and, following the prompts, upload as many assets as you desire.
   The assets will upload and appear in your Art Library, ready for use on your page.

Adding Art Library assets to the page

1. Choose your page layer in Roll20;
   • The Map & Background layer is for assets which will appear under Roll20’s grid overlay, and is the better option for static assets which you do not need to move during play, such as trees, buildings, and furniture.
   • The Objects & Tokens layer will place assets on top of the grid, but these will be clickable during play when you have this layer selected (which is most of the time). Assets on this layer may get in the way during play, so reserve it for objects that need to move, such as tokens, spell templates, and interact-able map assets.
2. Drag-and-drop your desired asset from the Art Library onto the page. It may help to utilize the search bar if you have a great many. It will appear where you drop it, though at a hard-coded dimension.
3. Transform the asset; change the position, scale, and rotation using the transform controls that appear when you click the asset. Be sure to hold down Alt to avoid snapping to the grid.
4. (Optional) manipulate the render order. Occasionally you will find that two assets overlap in an nonsensical way. Right click one of them and select either “To Front” or “To Back” to change its position relative to other assets on its layer.

• If you need a duplicate of this asset, it is easier to copy and paste it than to repeat these steps each time. You can do this with the right-click menu or by selecting it and pressing Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V.

Map Assets

Though I don’t recommend creating entire custom maps in Roll20, it is very easy to make significant additions such as adding a few extra trees, a campsite, or ravenous, deadly flames. You can click here to browse all of my map assets.

In general, the scale of these assets is not important. I recommend going with whatever looks right and fits the grid conveniently, and placing them on the Map & Background layer unless they are something that will likely move, such as a wagon or trap.

Player and Monster Tokens

Creature tokens are an integral part of any map, as they represent the all-important heroes and villains doing battle! You can click here to view my pre-made tokens, or your can click here to visit the 2-Minute Token Editor.

In general, these tokens are designed to snap to the grid and should be resized to some number of grid squares, but you may wish to tweak them by holding Alt while resizing them.

Assigning a token to a Character

To save a token’s dimensions, other settings, and (optionally) to give another player control over it, you can assign it to a Character.

1. To create a new character, navigate to your Journal (in the top-right menu) and press “Add” and then “Character.”
2. Edit the Character by clicking its list entry in the Journal and clicking “Edit” in the window that opens.
3. Assign a token to the character by first clicking the desired token on the page and then clicking “Use Selected Token” in the Edit Character window. The token image will appear in place of the button.
4. (Optional) Grant ownership of this token to a player by entering their name in the “Can be edited and controlled by” field.
5. Press the “Save Changes” button.

After you have set up a Character in this way, you can drag-and-drop it from the Journal and onto the page just like any asset from your Art Library. However, a Character will save its dimensions and other settings no matter the page, unlike an Art Library asset. Handy!

Spell Templates

Spell templates are a convenient tool for aiming your area-of-effect spells, and they look super cool to boot! You can click here to browse my spell assets so far.

Since the dimensions of spell templates are so important and you likely want your players to be able to move and position them, I recommend creating a collection of “Characters” in your Journal for them by following the “Assigning a token to a Character” guide above. Your wizard player will then be able to drag-and-drop his Fireball “Character” from his Journal onto the map whenever they please!

Set Pieces

As a final asset type, there is the map/asset hybrid that I call “set pieces” which includes buildings, boats, and other battle maps with a transparent background designed to be placed over another battle map. You can click here to browse my set piece collection.

The dimensions of set pieces are usually important, as they contain walls and obstacles that conform to the grid. The intended dimensions will be listed in the filename of the asset, which includes the transparent padding around the edge.

You can set the map dimensions in the same way we did for the battle map; by right clicking the asset and navigating to Advanced > Set Dimensions in the menu that appears. Select “Units” instead of “Pixels” and enter the desired width and height. Click “Set” to confirm.

Before You Go

If you enjoy my content, you’ll want to be notified when I upload something new. Please come join us on social media, or subscribe to my email newsletter! I aim to make a new map or asset pack once a week. 🙂

For exclusive map variants and even the PSD files, consider joining the amazing community that makes these maps possible:

That’s all for now. I hope this guide has been useful to you! Please leave any feedback or questions in the comments below and, if you are interested in more of our content, please enjoy some of our recent articles below. Farewell!

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