Dynamic Lighting Question

I assume the DL takes the place of Fog of War, correct? Or do both need to be on, and the DL removes/re-adds as the light source moves through the map? Thanks!

You do not need to have both active, but many people use the Fog of War with Dynamic Lighting as a supplement. &nbsp;The fog can be useful to block out areas that you don't want your players to accidentally explore before you're ready. &nbsp;If you haven't checked it out already, you might find the wiki Dynamic Lighting page a useful reference:&nbsp; <a href="https://wiki.roll20.net/Dynamic_Lighting" rel="nofollow">https://wiki.roll20.net/Dynamic_Lighting</a>

Thanks! That Wiki link was super helpful! So I'd have to trace border, light blocking lines, around every wall in my dungeon, so the light radius doesn't accidentally cast into the adjoining room and reveal any monsters, correct?

That would be correct. &nbsp;However, you should be aware that dynamic lighting is a supporter/mentor feature. &nbsp;If you are using a free account, you won't have access to this since it's an advanced feature.

Right. That's the reason for my Q&amp;A here. Trying to decide if I want to go for Supporter status. I think I just might this weekend. Thanks so much!!

You're very welcome! &nbsp;The wiki is a great place to look for information about different features, but if you have any other questions don't hesitate to ask. :)

Well here's a random one that has nothing to do with the DL topic. On dungeon maps that you can insert, there's existing doors and whatnot scattered throughout. How do I hide a door(s) from players if I want it to be a secret door and not a regular one?

Xanthais said: On dungeon maps that you can insert, there's existing doors and whatnot scattered throughout. How do I hide a door(s) from players if I want it to be a secret door and not a regular one? Keep a graphic of a door on the GM layer. &nbsp;Once your players find the secret door, right click on the door graphic and move it to either the map layer or the token layer depending on how you want your map set up.

But if the door graphic is hidden, won't that show the regular door that was part of the map insert to begin with? For example, on this map of mine, it came pre-designed, with a wooden door (circled in red). I want that to be a secret door.&nbsp;I think inserting a section of wall over the door, as a player-seen tile, would be better. Then deleting that tile if the player(s) make their spot checks, no?

Depending on how you'd like to set things up, that might be a place to add some fog of war. &nbsp;When drawing on the dynamic lighting layer, I leave a gap in the light blocking for walls where there are doors and then draw the light blocking line for the door in a different color. &nbsp;This allows me to easily see where the doors are and to select those lines quickly to either move or delete them when my players have found or opened the door. &nbsp; For secret doors, I just try to keep the light blocking lines really close to the edge of the wall on the map so the players can't see any hint of the door. &nbsp;It might take a few tries and a bit of experimenting, though. &nbsp;This is just how I do things, though. &nbsp;Your idea of using a tile on top sounds like a very good one.

It could - it really depends on how you set up your map to begin with. &nbsp;For instance, I use hand-made map tiles for the dungeon and then am able to switch doors on to layers with relative ease. &nbsp;In your case, sure it would be better to insert a section of wall over the door, then I'd move the section of the wall down a z-layer by right clicking and choosing "To Back." &nbsp;The secret door would magically pop up from the players' point of view.

Here's a quick job. I just used the keyboard's PRINT SCREEN to take a screen shot of the map fully lit. Went into MS Paint, cropped a piece of wall, rotated, stretched it, and slid it into place. It's not the best sham-job in the world since the floor tile shading doesn't match, but hopefully the players will not zoom in to 150%, but it's better than nothing. &nbsp;:D &nbsp;If the Spot Check(s) are made, I delete the tile and remove FoW from that doorframe.

What Xanthais does is what I do for maps that have GM secrets on it. I basically copy nearby 'clean' sections and replace the GM section with it then I try to make it look as seamless as I can.&nbsp; I also copy the original section of map and place it on the GM layer. When the players discover the secret I move it to the map layer so they can see the secret. It is an unfortunate aspect of some premade maps that this has to be done.&nbsp; - Gauss

One of the more important things about using pregen maps and trying to hide things and use DL is to make sure the map is scaled perfectly (takes some effort but TOTALY worth it, as holding shift while clicking the poly line tool will hook it to the grid, and if you're using the finest settings, you can almost always see some of the wall). the other thing is to make sure you Is Drawing the hidden pieces so you don't have to snap it to the grid itself, and have freedom to scale it so it blends, doing so allows you to just delete the graphic off the map layer when your characters locate the door, and *poof* door's there!

Emile, yeah I used Align to Grid a couple times to get it right, and when I inserted the faux wall tile, I held the ALT key so it was going precisely where I wanted it to.

yeah, but with Is, you can slightly rotate and stretch it so that the black outlines touch, makes it alot more convincing (even though gimping is my personal preference XD)

Emile, Xanthais can also do all of that with the Alt key. Different method, same result. :) - Gauss

*hangs head in shame* Guess it's time to read the wiki eh?