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How to Use Fog of War on Roll20 (Dec 2021)

[edit] Fog of War

The Fog of War(FoW) feature allows you to gradually reveal areas of the map to your players. This is useful if you have a party exploring a dungeon where they shouldn't be able to see the rooms and hallways that have yet to be seen. Fog of War is static and can only be removed or covered up again manually by the GM; the presence or absence of PCs, light sources, lines of sight, etc. will not roll back any Fog of War.

The Fog of War will cover up anything on the tabletop, including all tokens, maps, text, and drawings. The only exception is that a player can see any token that he or she has control over. This prevents players from accidentally moving their tokens into a location beneath the fog where only the GM could recover them.

If you're using (Updated) Dynamic Lighting(UDL), the FoW tool is replaced by the Darkness Tool, which contains the same features as Fow, along with the Dynamic Lighting tools.

Legacy Dynamic Lighting(LDL) features can be used directly alongside FoW.

Toolbox

[edit] Enabling Fog of War

Enabling Fog of War is done on a Page by Page basis via the Page Settings window.

By default, a page has their Fog of War feature disabled. To enable, go to the Page Toolbar, and then click the gear icon for the page you wish to add Fog of War to. The gear icon will open that page's Page Settings window. Check the checkbox next to Fog of War: Enabled to activate the Fog of War. Click on the OK button at the bottom of the Page Settings window to save your changes. If you have the edited page currently loaded on the Tabletop, your view of the Tabletop will now appear slightly darker. This is the Fog of War added to the Page. Once enabled, the entire page will be hidden behind the Fog of War and ready for the GM to start revealing areas of the map for the players.

In the Page Settings window you can also adjust the GM Opacity slider. This controls how dark the Fog of War and Dynamic Lighting appears to the GM. Slide it to the right for greater opacity. At 100%, the Fog of War will be completely opaque, I.e. solid black, to the GM just as it would be for your players. If you are a Plus or Pro subscriber, your GM Opacity slider will be listed after the Dynamic Lighting settings of the Page Settings window.

[edit] Revealing/Hiding Areas

The Fog of War Tools

Clicking on the Eye icon of the Tabletop Toolbar will pull up a submenu of Fog of War tools to reveal or hide areas of the page.

E Reveal Areas Tool
When using Reveal Areas, left click and drag on the Tabletop to draw out a rectangle. You will see a yellow selection area appear under your mouse cursor as you do this. When you release the mouse button, the area you have drawn will be revealed. To reveal further parts of the page, just repeat this process.

c Polygon Reveal Tool
The Polygon Reveal tool functions the same way one would use the Polygon/Line Tool from the Drawing menu of the Tabletop Toolbox. Click on the Tabletop where you want the vertices of the polygon to be drawn and a yellow selection area will start taking shape. Hold down the Shift key while drawing to conform the polygon vertices to the grid.

Pressing CTRL/Option + Z while drawing will undo the last vertex step you made. Either hit the Esc key, right click, or left click close to the starting point of the polygon to finish the shape.

C Hide Areas Tool
If you've made a mistake or need to cover a previously revealed area of the page with fog, choose the Hide Areas subtool. This tool operated exactly like the Reveal Areas subtool. Each rectangular area you click and drag over the Tabletop will cover that area with fog again.

# Reset Fog
If you would like to cover the Tabletop completely up with Fog again, select the Reset Fog subtool. A confirmation window will appear first to ensure that this action isn't made by mistake.

[edit] Previewing Your Work

If you wish to see what your Fog of War masking looks like from the Player's side, go to y My Settings Tab on the Sidebar and at the bottom, click on the Re-Join as Player button. This will reload Roll20 with the Player's user interface.

To jump back to GM Mode, go back to the Settings Tab and click on the Re-Join as GM button.

This can also be achieved by going back to the Page Settings and sliding the GM Opacity to 100%, but you may find the above method faster.

[edit] Related Pages

(Updated) Dynamic Lighting
- Darkness Tool - replaces FoW when using UDL
Legacy Dynamic Lighting(LDL)
- Advanced Fog of War - Upgraded version of FoW used with Legacy DL
Page Toolbar

[edit] Toolbox

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-[[File:FogofWar.jpg|300px|thumb|Fog of War in Action]]
+{{revdate}}{{HCbox| {{hc|articles/360037774513-Fog-of-War Here}} }}
+{{notebox|For the [[Updated Dynamic Lighting]] feature, see '''{{Darkness}}''' }}
+{{notebox|For the [[Legacy Dynamic Lighting]]-feature with similar name, see [[Advanced Fog of War|'''Advanced''' Fog of War]] }}
+{{#evp:youtube|DNXUrp_2RK8|How to Use Fog of War on Roll20 (Dec 2021)|right|700}}
+__TOC__
+=Fog of War=
+The '''Fog of War'''(''FoW'') feature allows you to gradually reveal areas of the map to your [[players]]. This is useful if you have a party exploring a dungeon where they shouldn't be able to see the rooms and hallways that have yet to be seen. Fog of War is static and can only be removed or covered up again manually by the [[GM]]; the presence or absence of PCs, light sources, lines of sight, etc. will not roll back any Fog of War.
-The Fog of War features allows you to gradually reveal areas of the map to your players. This is useful if you have a party that is exploring an area like a dungeon, where they shouldn't be able to see parts of the map that have yet to be explored.
+The Fog of War will cover up anything on the tabletop, including all [[tokens]], maps, text, and [[Drawing Tools|drawings]].  The only exception is that a [[player]] can see any token that he or she has control over. This prevents players from accidentally moving their tokens into a location beneath the fog where only the [[GM]] could recover them.
-The Fog of War will cover up anything on the tabletop, including all tokens, maps, text, and drawings.
+If you're using '''[[Updated Dynamic Lighting|(Updated) Dynamic Lighting(UDL)]]''', the FoW tool is replaced by the {{Darkness}}, which contains the same features as Fow, along with the Dynamic Lighting tools.
+[[Legacy Dynamic Lighting|Legacy Dynamic Lighting(LDL)]] features can be used directly alongside FoW.
+{{ToolboxNav}}
 == Enabling Fog of War ==
+[[File:FoWOnPageSettings.png|thumbnail|left|Enabling Fog of War is done on a Page by Page basis via the Page Settings window.]]
+By default, a page has their Fog of War feature disabled. To enable, go to the '''[[Page Toolbar]]''', and then click the gear icon for the page you wish to add Fog of War to. The gear icon will open that page's '''Page Settings''' window. Check the checkbox next to '''Fog of War: Enabled''' to activate the Fog of War. Click on the '''OK''' button at the bottom of the Page Settings window to save your changes. If you have the edited page currently loaded on the Tabletop, your view of the Tabletop will now appear slightly darker. This is the Fog of War added to the Page. Once enabled, the entire page will be hidden behind the Fog of War and ready for the [[GM]] to start revealing areas of the map for the [[players]].
-First, you need to enable the Fog of War for the current page. Go to the Page Settings toolbar, and click the gear icon for the current page. Then check the box next to &quot;Fog of War: Enabled?&quot; and click save. If done properly, the map should become slightly darker, as by default all areas will be hidden.
+In the '''Page Settings''' window you can also adjust the '''GM Opacity''' slider. This controls how dark the Fog of War and Dynamic Lighting appears to the [[GM]]. Slide it to the right for greater opacity. At 100%, the Fog of War will be completely opaque, I.e. solid black, to the GM just as it would be for your [[players]]. If you are a [[Plus]] or [[Pro]] subscriber, your GM Opacity slider will be listed ''after'' the Dynamic Lighting settings of the Page Settings window.
+{{clear}}
-Note that in the Page Settings dialog you can also adjust the GM Opacity slider, which controls how dark the Fog of War is to you. Slide it to the right to make the opacity darker. If you slide it all the way to the right, the Fog of War will be completely opaque, just as is it is for players.
 == Revealing/Hiding Areas ==
+[[File:FoW_Tool.jpg|thumbnail|right|The Fog of War Tools]]Clicking on the Eye icon of the Tabletop [[Toolbar]] will pull up a submenu of Fog of War tools to reveal or hide areas of the page.<br><br>
+'''<span style="font-family:Pictos;">E</span> Reveal Areas Tool'''<br>
+When using Reveal Areas, left click and drag on the Tabletop to draw out a rectangle. You will see a yellow selection area appear under your mouse cursor as you do this. When you release the mouse button, the area you have drawn will be revealed. To reveal further parts of the page, just repeat this process.
-[[File:FoW_Tool.jpg]]
+'''<span style="font-family:Pictos Three;">c</span> Polygon Reveal Tool'''<br>
+The Polygon Reveal tool functions the same way one would use the '''[[Drawing Tools#Polygon.2FLine_Tool|Polygon/Line Tool]]''' from the Drawing menu of the Tabletop Toolbox. Click on the Tabletop where you want the vertices of the polygon to be drawn and a yellow selection area will start taking shape. Hold down the {{button|Shift}} key while drawing to conform the polygon vertices to the grid.
-To reveal an area of the map, choose either the Reveal Areas or Polygon Reveal option from the Fog of War tool on the Toolbox (shown above). When using Reveal Areas, just click and drag on the tabletop to create a box (you'll see a yellow selection area appear). When you release the mouse button, the area you have designated will be revealed. To reveal further parts of the map, just repeat this process.
+Pressing {{button|CTRL}}/{{button|Option}} + {{button|Z}} while drawing will undo the last vertex step you made. Either hit the {{button|Esc}} key, {{button|right click}}, or {{button|left click}} close to the starting point of the polygon to finish the shape.
-Using the Polygon Reveal tool functions the same way one would use the [[Drawing Tools#Polygon.2FLine_Tool|Polygon/Line Tool]] from the Drawing section of the Toolbox. Click on the Tabletop where you want the vertices of the polygon to be and a yellow selection area will start taking shape. Hold down the Shift key while drawing to conform the polygon vertices to the grid. Either hit the Escape key or click close to the starting point of the polygon to finish the shape.
+'''<span style="font-family:Pictos;">C</span> Hide Areas Tool'''<br>
+If you've made a mistake or need to cover a previously revealed area of the page with fog, choose the '''Hide Areas''' subtool. This tool operated exactly like the Reveal Areas subtool. Each rectangular area you click and drag over the Tabletop will cover that area with fog again.
-If you've made a mistake and you need to re-hide an area of the map, just choose the Hide Areas option from the Fog of War tool on the Toolbox, and then click and drag to select the area to be hidden.
+'''<span style="font-family:Pictos;">#</span> Reset Fog'''<br>
+If you would like to cover the Tabletop completely up with Fog again, select the '''Reset Fog''' subtool. A confirmation window will appear first to ensure that this action isn't made by mistake.
-If you would like to cover the Tabletop completely with Fog again, select the Reset Fog option. A confirmation window will appear first to ensure that this action isn't taken by mistake.
+== Previewing Your Work ==
+If you wish to see what your Fog of War masking looks like from the [[Player]]'s side, go to {{My Settings}} Tab on the [[Sidebar]] and at the bottom, click on the {{button|Re-Join as Player|blue}} button. This will reload Roll20 with the Player's user interface.
-== Previewing Your Work ==
+To jump back to GM Mode, go back to the Settings Tab and click on the {{button|Re-Join as GM|blue}} button.
+{{notebox|'''NOTE:''' Make sure you've set the [[Player Ribbon]] on the page you're currently working on, or else your Tabletop will load you to another page. Or [[Split the Party]], and move only your to the page.}}
+This can also be achieved by going back to the Page Settings and sliding the GM Opacity to 100%, but you may find the above method faster.
-If, at any point in time, you wish to see what you're masking looks like from the Player's side, go to the Settings Tab on the Sidebar and scroll down to the bottom and click on the Re-Join as Player button. This will reload Roll20 with the Player's user interface. (Note: Make sure you've set the Players Bookmark Ribbon on the page you're currently working on or else your Tabletop might load an undesired page) To jump back to GM Mode, go back to the Settings Tab and click on the Re-Join as GM button.
+=Related Pages=
+* [[(Updated) Dynamic Lighting]]
+** {{Darkness}} - replaces FoW when using UDL
+* [[Legacy Dynamic Lighting]](LDL)
+** [[Advanced Fog of War]] - Upgraded version of FoW used with Legacy DL
+* [[Page Toolbar]]
+{{see toolbox}}
 [[Category:Docs]]
+[[Category:Toolbar]]

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