Repository navigation
Effects Layer
The Effects layer controls per-scene weather, weather masks, and localized animated environmental effects.
Use effects to add atmosphere, motion, hazards, magical energy, environmental detail, or visual emphasis to a scene.
[insert image]
The Effects layer contains visual effects that are tied to the scene.
Effects can include:
- Weather overlays.
- Weather masks.
- Localized animated effects.
- Environmental hazards.
- Magical areas.
- Atmospheric details.
Effects can be shown or hidden from the GM View and Player View depending on layer and item visibility.
Weather effects are scene-wide animated overlays.
Current weather effects include:
- Rain.
- Snow.
- Fog.
- Sand.
Weather effects are useful for adding atmosphere to outdoor scenes, dangerous environments, or dramatic locations.
[insert image]
Weather preset packs apply a prepared mix of weather settings to the active scene.
Use a preset pack when you want a quick starting point for a common mood, such as light rain, heavy snow, drifting fog, or blowing sand. After applying a preset, adjust the active effects and advanced settings to match the map.
Preset packs are starting points, not locked modes. You can still enable or disable individual weather effects, tune their opacity, speed, drift, and masks, then save the scene.
To enable weather on a scene:
- Select the scene.
- Open the Effects layer.
- Choose a weather preset pack or configure active effects manually.
- Enable the effects you want.
- Adjust intensity, opacity, speed, and drift.
- Check the GM View and Player View.
- Save the scene.
Weather settings are stored per scene.
Rain is useful for:
- Storms.
- Coastal scenes.
- Forest encounters.
- Night battles.
- Travel scenes.
- Dramatic outdoor moments.
Use higher speed and opacity for heavy storms. Use lower intensity for light rainfall.
Snow is useful for:
- Winter travel.
- Mountain passes.
- Frozen ruins.
- Arctic encounters.
- Quiet atmospheric scenes.
Use drift and speed settings to make snow feel gentle or harsh.
Fog weather is useful for:
- Swamps.
- Graveyards.
- Haunted locations.
- Misty forests.
- Coastal docks.
- Low-visibility encounters.
Fog weather is different from Fog of War. Weather fog is visual atmosphere. Fog of War controls what players can see.
Sand is useful for:
- Deserts.
- Dust storms.
- Ruins.
- Wastelands.
- Volcanic ash-like scenes.
Adjust opacity and speed carefully so sand adds motion without hiding important map details.
Weather effects can include settings such as:
- Preset pack.
- Active effect type.
- Enabled state.
- Intensity.
- Opacity.
- Speed.
- Drift.
- Advanced pattern tuning.
Use subtle settings for long scenes. Strong effects can be dramatic, but may become distracting if they cover important tactical information.
[insert image]
Weather masks exclude weather from specific areas of the map.
Use weather masks when weather should not appear:
- Inside buildings.
- Under roofs.
- In caves.
- Under bridges.
- Inside magical shelters.
- In protected map regions.
Weather masks are part of the Effects layer, not the Fog of War layer.
[insert image]
To create a weather mask:
- Open the Effects tools.
- Choose the weather mask tool.
- Draw the mask area on the map.
- Adjust visibility or shape settings if needed.
- Check the effect result.
- Save the scene.
Weather masks can be selected from the GM canvas, highlighted in the layer list, and toggled from a context menu.
Animated Effects are localized visual areas placed on the map.
They are useful for:
- Environmental hazards.
- Magical zones.
- Elemental effects.
- Terrain features.
- Scene atmosphere.
- Special encounter moments.
Animated Effects appear as sub-layers under Effects and can be selected, hidden, edited, or deleted.
[insert image]
Local VTT includes preset families for animated effects such as:
- Water.
- Lava.
- Smoke.
- Fire.
- Fog.
- Cold.
- Electric.
- Acid.
- Poison.
- Darkness.
- Arcane.
- Radiant.
- Force fields.
- Shockwaves.
- Chaos.
- Void.
- Nature growth.
Use these presets as starting points and tune them for the scene.
To create an animated effect:
- Open the Effects tools.
- Choose an animated effect type or preset family.
- Draw the effect area on the map.
- Adjust effect settings.
- Confirm GM View and Player View visibility.
- Save the scene.
[insert image]
Animated effects can be edited after placement.
Depending on the effect, you may be able to adjust:
- Effect family or preset.
- Shape.
- Position.
- Size.
- Opacity.
- Speed.
- Color or visual tuning.
- GM visibility.
- Player View visibility.
Use the Effects layer list or canvas selection to select an effect before editing.
Weather masks and localized animated effects appear as sub-layers under the Effects layer.
Effect sub-layers can be used to:
- Select an effect.
- Rename an effect.
- Reorder effects.
- Toggle GM visibility.
- Toggle Player View visibility.
- Duplicate effects.
- Delete effects.
- Open effect settings.
[insert image]
Effects can be visible to the GM, Player View, or both.
Use GM-only effects when:
- Preparing a hidden hazard.
- Testing visuals before revealing them.
- Keeping an effect secret until triggered.
- Marking areas privately.
Use player-visible effects when:
- The effect is part of the visible scene.
- Players need to understand the hazard.
- The visual is atmospheric.
- The effect represents an active spell or environment.
Effects and Fog of War serve different purposes.
Effects are visual overlays and animated areas.
Fog of War controls player visibility.
An effect may still be hidden from players if it is in an unrevealed area, depending on scene visibility and fog behavior.
Use Fog of War for reveal logic. Use Effects for environmental visuals.
Player View can show weather and animated effects when they are player-visible.
Before a session, check Player View to confirm:
- Weather looks good on the player display.
- Effects do not obscure important details.
- Hidden effects remain hidden.
- Effect animation is smooth enough for the display.
- Fog of War visibility behaves as expected.
Effects are designed to be lightweight, but many active effects can still add visual and rendering load.
For smoother sessions:
- Use subtle weather settings for long scenes.
- Avoid placing too many animated effects at once.
- Test video maps plus weather before a live session.
- Reduce effect opacity or intensity if the map feels visually crowded.
- Hide or delete effects that are no longer needed.
If weather does not appear:
- Confirm the weather effect is enabled.
- Check Effects layer visibility.
- Check Player View visibility if testing on the player display.
- Confirm the scene was saved and sent to Player View.
If weather appears where it should not:
- Add or adjust weather masks.
- Check whether the mask is visible and correctly placed.
- Confirm the mask is part of the active scene.
If an animated effect disappears:
- Check the Effects layer list.
- Confirm the effect is not hidden.
- Confirm the correct scene is active.
- Check Player View visibility.
- Save and reload the scene if needed.
If effects feel distracting:
- Lower opacity.
- Lower intensity.
- Reduce speed.
- Use fewer overlapping effects.
- Hide effects during tactical moments.
Before play, confirm:
- Weather is enabled only when needed.
- Weather opacity and speed look good.
- Any preset pack has been adjusted for the current map.
- Weather masks exclude indoor or protected areas.
- Animated effects are placed correctly.
- Hidden effects stay hidden from Player View.
- Player-visible effects do not obscure tokens or grid details.
- Performance is smooth enough for the session.
- The scene has been saved.