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Compendium Art question

I've noticed for some time now that all of the Red Ringed tokens I used to have that came with the purchases of modules aren't in my art compendium anymore. Specifically speaking, I'm referring to most DND 5e (2014) modules. For example, Eberron: Rising from the Last War, Waterdeep: Dragon Heist, etc. I've been trying to not let it affect gameplay, but when players see that once token is red and another (that I uploaded from the art compendium for a specific enemy/npc) I keep getting asked if the blue rings are noncombatants or important NPCs etc. It slows down the game and furthermore I just kind of prefer the red token ring. Besides, I purchased the content, so why don't I have access to all of it anymore?
1779133657
Gauss
Forum Champion
Hi Michael P.,  To clarify, do you mean Art Library or do you mean Compendium? Also, could you supply the marketplace links to the products with the rings in them? 
 The above images are from Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants and Phandelver and Below
The above show up as expected, the following examples are where things seem off.
These examples are from Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage, Tasha's Cauldron, Lost Mine of Phandelver, and the Sword Coast Adventurers guide. The biggest difference I've noticed between the art packs that still have both red and blue tokens and the ones with just blue is that the Red tokens are labeled as NPC and the Blue as PC, whereas in the in the ones with only blue tokens, there was never any such labeled difference. I've been wondering if the error is due to the Red tokens being overwritten or not displayed because they have the same path address. There is one example in the Dungeon of the Mad Mage art pack where one Red token appears but its Blue variant doesn't.
I've long ago noticed the inconsistency in the border colors of tokens between -  and sometimes even within  - the art packs. Some are multi-hued red, some multi-hued blue, and depending on the publisher some are in a completely different style altogether. My players have learned not to pay attention to the differences. (It still bugs me to no end but that's a personal quirk). If it bothers you a lot, and you're willing to invest the time, you can customize token borders using a tool like Token Stamp, VTT Token Maker or Heroic Token and redefine the NPC character sheet to use the new token artwork. (There are others tools available; those are only the ones that I've used). Note that if you customize an NPC's token, that customization will not "stick" to the NPC's definition outside of the current game, so when you drag that NPC from a compendium into a new game it will still have the original.
1779211975
keithcurtis
Forum Champion
Marketplace Creator
API Scripter
Some background info: Token frames are often negotiated with the publisher. Roll20 cannot use 5e frames on PF2 products, etc. The frames are usually approved by the publisher and treated like branding. Originally, Roll20 used to provide both an NPC and PC color option for each piece of token art. As the practice has evolved, they have dramatically increased the number of tokens in art packs (So long as the original has sufficient resolution, a token is made of it for any product with an art pack.) As modules have increased in complexity over time (better dynamic lighting options, foreground layer, map pins, demiplane integration), Token PC/NPC designation was dropped. This has been an evolving practice, and when you get to older offerings (like SCAG), it may be inconsistent with current standards. TL;DR: The color of a frame is usually negotiated with the publisher, entirely dependent on the game system, and to an extent, edition. PC/NPC distinctions are no longer made.