Area of Effect, Pointers, and Pings
- Derek Batting
Earlier videos may contain features that have changed either visually or in function since the video was created. This is due to Fantasy Grounds VTT being in active development during filming.
For example: the Sidebar may now look different. More information about that here:
Link: The Fantasy Grounds VTT Sidebar
NOTE: Each character can customize the color of their Pointers and Pings. Please see the Active Character Colors page for more details.
Link: Characters and Pointer Color | Active Character Colors
Area of Effect
Area of Effect is used to denote the area within which an intended action or effect will take place. This is probably most often used to spells and/or to see how many other PCs/NPCs will fall within an area of a certain size.
The Area of Effect tools can be found under the Pointers radial menu item.
Pointers
All shapes (Arrow, Square, Circle and Cone) have two handles. One end is used to resize the shape, and the other is used to move the shape around as a whole.
To remove one or all pointers, right-click, go to the Pointers menu, and choose Remove Pointers, which removed all pointers that you own, or Remove This, which removes the pointer that is currently selected/highlighted.
NOTE: In the ruleset shown above (D&D 5e), each square is five feet (5'), generally speaking. It may look different in other rulesets, and may not have a set grid adherence. You can change how this works by clicking on Options in the Sidebar, then scroll down to the House Rules section and find Map: Diagonal Distance. Options are Default, 1x, 1.5x and Raw.
Pings
Make sure Ping Mode is turned on. It can be enabled from the Image window or the image tools panel on the side.
Once Ping Mode is activated, you can left-click anywhere on the map to drop a ping. A quick shortcut to drop a ping without having to toggle Ping Mode on and off is to hold down spacebar + double-click where you want the ping.
This will appear on both the GM and the PCs screens. In this example, the GM is using black as their character/dice/pointer color as illustrated by the color of the pings below.
Pings will be the same color as your Active Character Color. It also affects basic dice colors, pointers, and area of effect colors.
Pings also work in all three modes: 2D (flat top-down), Free Camera 3D, and Token View 3D.
GMs can direct the attention of their players to a specific point on the map by holding shift + ping anywhere on the map. The map will then center on that location on the active shared map with players on it.
See the Videos below for more information and different use case scenarios.
Videos