Update: As of June 18, 2025, the Foreground Layer settings menu has been updated to accommodate another new feature: Reactions! Reactions expand Conditional Fade to every layer of the VTT, and therefore, fade settings can be found:
- From the Reactions option in the right-click menu on a token
- From the “Advanced” tab in Token Settings (double-click a token to access)
… Foreground Object Options have their own heading in each menu to toggle on/off your grid and set interactions with darkness. See full update HERE.
We are incredibly happy to announce that, effective immediately, Roll20’s new Foreground Layer beta is available to Plus and Pro Subscribers in any Jumpgate game. This highly anticipated release unlocks endless new possibilities for enhancing your TTRPG campaigns and is equally as exciting for Game Masters as it is for players.
In this blog, we’ll show you how the new layer works, how to customize the feature to your liking, and how we’ve been using it in our campaigns. We hope you’re as excited as we are to play around with the beta and tell us what you think; your feedback helps us build and refine the features you want for your table, and with a slick new tabletop engine, we’ve got the power to build more than ever before!
Accessing the Beta
First of all, let’s do a quick recap of how layers work. On the tabletop, layers provide Game Masters controlled, organized access to their Tokens, Maps, hidden GM notes and monsters, plus subscriber favorite feature: Dynamic Lighting. The new Foreground Layer is Roll20’s fifth layer addition and is accessible to GMs only. (Learn about the function of all layers here.)
The Foreground Layer renders above the Token Layer, providing GMs the opportunity to add foreground objects that player or GM-controlled tokens can interact with, like treetops that hide the terrain below or rooftops that automatically fade when players enter buildings. (See some of our favorite ways to utilize foreground objects further down.)
Subscribers can access the Foreground Layer via the Layers section of the Roll20 toolbar. From that layer, foreground objects can be customized via easy-to-access options in the right-click menu or individual Token Settings.
Key Features
Here are the options found in the foreground object menu:
- Conditional Fade (Default: ON, Fade to 30% Opacity): Foreground objects will fade when a player or GM-controlled token interacts with them by entering their bounding box.
- Toggle ON to automatically reduce opacity (adjustable via slider).
- Toggle OFF to keep opacity at 100%, completely obscuring tokens. Note: Nameplates and token bars will remain visible to the person controlling the token, and tokens “underneath” foreground objects will remain clickable from the Token Layer.
- Hidden by Darkness (Default: OFF): Controls whether your foreground objects appear above or below your lighting settings.
- When ON, foreground objects will be hidden by darkness (great for decorative elements like cobwebs, rafters, or overhanging vines).
- When OFF, foreground objects stay visible even in darkness (ideal for roofs that disappear when entered).
Customization and Controls
This new feature was designed and refined using multiple rounds of feedback from internal and external testers (see our developer diary for more details). The result is easy-to-use controls and functionality that keeps GMs in mind, allowing them to be as creative as they want without bloating their workload. The Foreground Layer interface is easy to use yet flexible enough to suit even complex workflows.
Some highlights include:
- Grouping: Grouping foreground objects can be a real time-saver and can be used on multiple tokens, drawings, and text elements
- Grouping objects retains individual settings by default
- Adjusting settings after grouping will apply changes to all objects in the group
- Once grouped, any of the grouped objects’ bounding boxes that are interacted with by a player or GM-controlled token will trigger configured settings.
- GM Hamburger Menu Updates: We’ve greatly improved the existing GM controls found in the toolbar. Now, you can use this option to:
- Adjust GM Darkness, Foreground, and GM Layer opacity
- Toggle the Foreground Layer on and off for players
- And as always: quickly preview your map as a selected token, copy your game link, turn Dark Mode on and off, report a bug, access the help center, and exit your game
Unleash your Creativity
We’ve been having a blast experimenting with the Foreground Layer and can’t wait to hear how you use it in your campaigns. Here are some of the ways we’ve played around in our test games so far:
Configure building roofs so they automatically disappear from a player’s view when they step inside. Note: for large buildings, use modular roofs to reveal rooms one by one. This enhances the tension and mystery of entering unknown spaces.
A simple yet effective way to add depth and realism to your scenes is to allow players to explore while moving beneath trees, bridges, awnings, spiderwebs, or other foreground objects that toggle Conditional Fade OFF so they remain fully opaque.
Alternatively, enabling Conditional Fade on trees, carts, or other foreground objects lets players “look under” them. This creates a ton of clever hiding spots for you to stash items, creatures, or even monsters (mwahaha).
The possibility of hidden areas encourages players to explore more than ever. Conceal tunnels behind furniture and secret caverns behind rock formations. Players can find loot in crumbling ruins or even poke their heads beneath the surface of a pond if you let them!
Setting a foreground object’s Base Opacity to 0% and Conditional Fade to 100% will make objects appear out of nowhere when players walk into them. This is perfect for traps, making force fields or ghosts appear, revealing hidden paths, or disguising invisible enemies waiting for the perfect moment to strike! (Pssst, GMs: use nameplates or auras to keep track of your invisible items; just set them so players can’t see.)
Enhance your maps with poison clouds, snowstorms, or even flying creatures by using partial or full-screen foreground overlay effects. Plus, you can adjust the opacity or add colorful tints to experiment with impacting the tone of the environment.
Set the scene, whether cozy or chaotic, using flickering overhead candlelight, emergency beacons, or pulsing neon signs. Lighting is a great way to woo your players: imagine the delight of fireworks at festivals or night markets (or the horror of fire when a dragon flies overhead).
Creep your players out with vanishing ceiling chains and cages or eerie apparitions that disappear when approached. Use shadow animations to create the illusion of ghosts passing overhead.
Enjoy a Free Gift from Roll20 Partners
To celebrate this momentous launch, we’ve curated a free Foreground Sampler, featuring assets from over a dozen talented partners who offer their map packs, tokens sets, and other illustrated content for sale on the Roll20 Marketplace. These tokens are great choices to use as foreground objects and are perfect for experimenting with the new layer.
If you enjoy their work and want to use more of their products in your campaigns, consider supporting them at their respective storefronts. After claiming, you can find these assets in “Marketplace Purchases” in the Image tab of the VTT.
Thank you David Hemenway, Forgotten Adventures, Gabriel Pickard, Illustrated Page Design, Matt.M Animations, Meditating Munky, Modular Dungeon Craft, MrValor, Owlbear Emporium, Redcraft, Shaun Ellis, The MAD Cartographer, and Tiffany Munro for your generous contributions!
Beta Next Steps
Your feedback matters, helping to identify bugs that arise during specific and unique gameplay scenarios and provide feedback about the direction you’d like to see tools continue to develop. After trying the Foreground Layer, let us know what you think by joining the conversation in our Forums.
What isn’t in Beta (and Why)
Elevation & Multi-Level Play: Although a lower-priority request in our polling, players may eventually want to place tokens above foreground objects, requiring support for player-controlled tokens both above and below the Foreground Layer. Enabling this without adding excessive manual work for GMs requires further development, particularly around Z-ordering separate from Dynamic Lighting. Adding layers increases complexity exponentially, so more research and usability testing are needed. Gathering user feedback during our Beta release will be extremely helpful.
For now: GMs can move a foreground object to the map layer if a token is “on top” of it, or place a token to the Foreground Layer… although in that case, only the GM can control it.
Indicating Fully Obscured Tokens: When a token is completely hidden by a foreground object, players might lose track of it or struggle to click it. If we over-design an indicator locating ‘hidden’ tokens, we risk diminishing intended mystery or tension. We need more time and community feedback to ensure any visual effect implemented here is both effective and performant.
For now: you can click on your token even if it looks hidden, left-click drag to select, or use the V keyboard shortcut to locate it if you do lose it. Additionally, token bars and nameplates will always show above foreground objects (if they are visible to the player and the token is not obscured by darkness).
Found a bug? Let us know by reporting it within the VTT or here!
For more information and FAQ, please see our Help Center.
Tell Us What You Need
Our Suggestions & Ideas forum is the best place to request and vote for tools and features that would improve your Roll20 experience. If you have ideas about how to make the tabletop better for your games, let us know by posting, commenting, and voting. Feel free to also join us on Discord, where you can hang out with other community members and connect directly with staff for brainstorming, troubleshooting, and announcements.