When a user in role 'X' hits the site, i want them going to /YourSection rather than the home page. At the root node, i've denied access to everything for this role, and in the section i want to see and given that role read permissions. This didn't work.
How can i redirect based on their role?
I believe you can use the Random redirection webpart and enter only a single URL in the URLs box. Then set the visibility based on the role. So when the Current User is in role "X" it is visible/active, else it's not.
If that webpart won't work then I'd create one on your own to do this same functionality.