Making Tokens Visible to Certain PCs and Not Others

[emeraldincognito]

Hi all,

I'm interested in running The Alexandrian's revised stealth rules (which you can find here: https://thealexandrian.net/wordpress/52099/roleplaying-games/dd-2024-hiding-invisibility) for the 2024 edition of the 5e in Fantasy Grounds.

One of the key features of this system is that whether a creature is visible depends on each PC's Passive Perception versus the Stealth check of the creature. This means an NPC might be visible to some PCs and hidden from others simultaneously.

As far as I know, Fantasy Grounds doesn't natively support making a token visible to only certain players. Has anyone found a workaround for this? I’d love to hear any tips, extensions, or house rules you've used to simulate this kind of asymmetric visibility.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance.

[Moon Wizard]

There is no mechanism to specify token-to-token visibility settings; only global settings per token of visible, invisible or mask-sensitive visibility (i.e. LoS/lighting).

Regards,
JPG

[emeraldincognito]

Thanks.

Visible=can always be seen by PCs, regardless of LoS/Lighting, etc.
Invisible=cannot be seen by PCs.
Mask-sensitive visibility=can be seen by PCs if LoS/Lighting allow it.

Is that right?


Where do you adjust those settings? In the CT, I know that you can make all tokens visible and also make individual tokens visible/hidden, but it sounds like I am missing something based on your reply.

[LordEntrails]

Right click on the token and Set Visibility. More info: https://fantasygroundsunity.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/FGCP/pages/996640745/Using+Tokens#Visibility

[MrDDT]

There is no mechanism to specify token-to-token visibility settings; only global settings per token of visible, invisible or mask-sensitive visibility (i.e. LoS/lighting).

Regards,
JPG

What if you shared the record with just the 1 person? Where the GM drags and drops it on the PC.

[MrDDT]

Right click on the token and Set Visibility. More info: https://fantasygroundsunity.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/FGCP/pages/996640745/Using+Tokens#Visibility

This sets it for everyone to see or not see.

If there are 5 players, either all 5 can see it, or all 5 can't see it. (not counting LOS blocking vision, or darkness etc.)

I think they are wanting an option or how to do an option where if a player can see through Invisibility but the other 4 can't, how can you make it so that player who can see through Invisibility can see the token/creature still on the map but the other 4 can not.

[Moon Wizard]

Maybe, but you would have to have multiple maps to support that link drop scenario; and the CT automatically moves tokens to the last drop position, so you couldn't have CT linked tokens on all the maps.

The basic answer is that it is not supported.

Regards,
JPG

[Ludd_G]

Whilst this doesn't do what you would really like (as would many of us) with regards actual token visibility, it does help keep track of who can see or be seen by whom, by referencing their PP -v- Stealth Roll:

https://forge.fantasygrounds.com/shop/items/165/view

We find it invaluable at our table. I hope this helps.

Cheers

Simon

p.s. B9's Surprise Round extension also utilises the same mechanics and is also very useful:

https://forge.fantasygrounds.com/shop/items/684/view

[LordEntrails]

This sets it for everyone to see or not see.

If there are 5 players, either all 5 can see it, or all 5 can't see it. (not counting LOS blocking vision, or darkness etc.)

I think they are wanting an option or how to do an option where if a player can see through Invisibility but the other 4 can't, how can you make it so that player who can see through Invisibility can see the token/creature still on the map but the other 4 can not.
Correct. I was responding to post #3, not the OP. But my reply certainly wasn't clear about that :)

[emeraldincognito]

Thanks. I was planning on getting the first extension, but I was unaware of the 2nd.

[emeraldincognito]

Doesn't that just give them the ability to see the NPC's sheet. I am not sure how that would work out?

[emeraldincognito]

I’m not sure I understand why multiple maps would be necessary, but either way, it definitely sounds like more trouble than it's worth.

That said, I’ve realized it probably won’t be a major issue. According to The Alexandrian’s rules, a creature needs to roll 15 or higher on Stealth to hide, so this would only come up in fairly specific situations. For example, if a creature rolls above 15 and some PCs have Passive Perception equal to the result while others do not. At the moment, the highest Passive Perception in my party is 15, so this is likely to be a rare occurrence.

Still, it would be nice if Fantasy Grounds had built-in support for this feature.

[MrDDT]

I’m not sure I understand why multiple maps would be necessary, but either way, it definitely sounds like more trouble than it's worth.

That said, I’ve realized it probably won’t be a major issue. According to The Alexandrian’s rules, a creature needs to roll 15 or higher on Stealth to hide, so this would only come up in fairly specific situations. For example, if a creature rolls above 15 and some PCs have Passive Perception equal to the result while others do not. At the moment, the highest Passive Perception in my party is 15, so this is likely to be a rare occurrence.

Still, it would be nice if Fantasy Grounds had built-in support for this feature.

I believe this would be the feature request you are looking for.

https://www.fantasygrounds.com/featurerequests/featurerequests.php?titlesearch=Player%20Invisibil ity%20&%20See%20Invisibility


I think a lot of people having issues though with invisibility and likely should be called something else.

Anyways, pretty much the suggestion of what people want is the option to set tokens revealed or hidden but also set who can or can't see them based on effects or features or skills.

This is a very hard one to manage because how would you denote who can or can't see something. You set something to "hidden" and who would be able to see it? If your answer is no one, then this feature is already in place.
If your answer is some but not all, then you need an effective way to denote how this would be done.

[emeraldincognito]

I believe this would be the feature request you are looking for.

https://www.fantasygrounds.com/featurerequests/featurerequests.php?titlesearch=Player%20Invisibil ity%20&%20See%20Invisibility


I think a lot of people having issues though with invisibility and likely should be called something else.

Anyways, pretty much the suggestion of what people want is the option to set tokens revealed or hidden but also set who can or can't see them based on effects or features or skills.

This is a very hard one to manage because how would you denote who can or can't see something. You set something to "hidden" and who would be able to see it? If your answer is no one, then this feature is already in place.
If your answer is some but not all, then you need an effective way to denote how this would be done.

Yeah, that kind of feature is definitely along the lines of what I’ve been thinking.

Maybe there could be a visibility section for tokens in the combat tracker that lets you toggle visibility manually. Each player could have a button, and the GM could click it to control whether that player sees the token. By default, using the existing visibility tools in Fantasy Grounds would make the token visible to all players. But there would also need to be a clear distinction between "hidden" and "invisible."

I’m not sure what the most efficient way to handle it would be, especially if you want to integrate it with effects or abilities. Like you said, it’s definitely a tricky problem to manage