Multi-tier Dungeon

Imagine you have a map you want to make. It has a large center room with walkways that overlap each other on each floor connecting different wings. Or you want to make a map of a dwarven city where the buildings are connected by walkways and stairs at various elevations (small sections of cities to keep the load time down). How do you fine folks make these with Roll20? I can make buildings that are multi-floored, no problem, but how do I make roads/paths in the open that are obviously at different levels in elevation?

Typically I'll make these as separate pages or discrete sections of a page depending on how large the space is. This way I can fully utilize DL for each layer.

I thought about that but I'd like players to see what's beneath them. which makes it harder. Also if they want to fly to the third floor for example and just start down that hall way, it would be easier... I have a feeling this is going to be a large project that uses multiple layers of maps... 

I recently had an derelict theater fronting a thieves guild and there were catwalks near the ceiling and balconies and box seats to account for. For some sections I mapped them just outside the main map. For others I just drew outlines on the main map. Even for mapped sections, I outlined them on the map for players to see. In the screenshot below, the top map section is a second-floor hallway and box seats. Below that you can see the main theater with the boxseats outlined in yellow. Gray lines mark the catwalks along the ceiling. It was not perfect, but the players and I could see who was where and account for what could be seen by whom.

That's not a bad idea.. I'll have to see what I can manage. Thanks 

Gaming Operation Director said: I thought about that but I'd like players to see what's beneath them. which makes it harder. Also if they want to fly to the third floor for example and just start down that hall way, it would be easier... I have a feeling this is going to be a large project that uses multiple layers of maps...  How would you do it in a physical tabletop?  Roll20 isnt a 3d graphics program. It does a good job of replicating what you can do at a game table, and can do a bit more, especially with scripting, but there are limits.  There are scripts which sync tokens between different maps, so you could have one map of the gorund level, and another map of an upper level which includes a the exposed parts of the lower level. The players on the top level would be on that map, and as tokens are moved on either map, the changes would be synched between the maps.  So some of what you want is doable, but it would be a bit of a pain to set up, and the potential for something flaking out mid session has to be there.

in a traditional table top I used plexiglass sheets and printed the paths and map sections on contact paper... (I'm a nerd). I know I am asking for a "full dungeon experience for something designed to be a battlemap... but my players love to "explore" the dungeon and see it all. 

Use the drawing tools for the map elements but use different colours for different levels. Or, if using tiles, draw in coloured borders. Also indicate on map the distance between levels.

will do. thanks

What about creating the different levels and storing them on the gm layer. Put the main floor on the map layer and when anyone goes up to say level 2, move the level 2 map from the gm layer to the map layer (or object layer and lock the map). There is a script out there to go from gm layer to object layer already ( bump )

think about it, your working with a 2d space here and if you have DM'd any WOTC module or anything from the marketplace worth the price tag really doe it two ways:  1: Different maps (you can separate players on diff maps, I assume you know this) 2: Divide a map with dynamic lighting or fog of war, one map, multiple levels broken down that you drag the tokens to different places that are really just a few inches away from each other.

I do the second one already, I just really wanted a grand spectacle for the climactic battle that's coming.  

What about using an isometric map?&nbsp; Looks like there's a new set on the marketplace even... <a href="https://marketplace.roll20.net/browse/set/2913/epic-isometric-core-set" rel="nofollow">https://marketplace.roll20.net/browse/set/2913/epic-isometric-core-set</a>

looks like an idea, but it does lack a certain degree of customization I am afforded when I can get a crap-ton of free graphics from various sources. I will take a look at those and see if they would do what I want though.