Revealing layers?

[Jkaen]

I am currently working through my head an idea for a 3.5e DND campaign I want to DM, and as part of that I want to have various different people knowing different parts of the map depending on stats/background etc.

With 1 person I see it being easy, just add a layer with everything they don't know fogged out. Same with person 2.

But then I want to be able to see the area the group know by turning both layers on, but this will give me the area both know, rather than the area either know.

Is there a way to make it so the clear areas not the shaded areas stack?

(Software is GIMP)

[jfrazierjr]

I am currently working through my head an idea for a 3.5e DND campaign I want to DM, and as part of that I want to have various different people knowing different parts of the map depending on stats/background etc.

With 1 person I see it being easy, just add a layer with everything they don't know fogged out. Same with person 2.

But then I want to be able to see the area the group know by turning both layers on, but this will give me the area both know, rather than the area either know.

Is there a way to make it so the clear areas not the shaded areas stack?

(Software is GIMP)

Not really sure exactly what your trying to get at(words are confusing me) but is there a reason you are not using a product designed for this, for example Maptool? It has excellent vision blocking capabilities and has soft fog of war based on each "token"'s current vision, so the token can only see exactly what they would be able to see at that exact location they are in.

[Jkaen]

I thoguht I may not be clear.

The map in question is not an encounter map (where something like maptools would be best) its a region / world map.

If somebody has strong ties to god X, then I want them to know where the temple of X is located, and will unfog it on their map, but only theirs. Another person may know where the grove of Y is on the region map.

I want then to be able to see at a glance what locations ANY of the party know about.

Does that make things clearer?

[Midgardsormr]

You could use masks instead of a concealing layer. Make several copies of the layer with the map. Give each layer a mask, on which you only reveal the elements that the character in question can see. Since everything that is masked out is transparent, the layers beneath it will show through, assuming there are areas on them that are revealed. This also gives you the ability to turn on any combination of character views.

There is a very useful tutorial on using masks in the Gimp somewhere in the tutorials forum. You'll be using them in a completely different fashion, but the principle is the same.

edit: ahem. For your convenience, jfrazierjr has that masks tutorial linked in his sig. Just click that.

[Jkaen]

Of course!

I thought of masks, but the fog layer was confusing me, until right now I didn't think to put the fog on the bottom layer. Thanks guy.

[jfrazierjr]

I thoguht I may not be clear.

The map in question is not an encounter map (where something like maptools would be best) its a region / world map.

If somebody has strong ties to god X, then I want them to know where the temple of X is located, and will unfog it on their map, but only theirs. Another person may know where the grove of Y is on the region map.

I want then to be able to see at a glance what locations ANY of the party know about.

Does that make things clearer?

Ok, so you want the everyone to see a union of what each individual would see right? If so, then as Mid says, one or more layer masks is exactly what you need. If you do it as multiple layers/layer masks so you can show a single player what they would see, you would want to create a layer where the layer mask is an aggregate of all of the other layer masks.

Of the top of my head, I would create each layer as transparent, and then the layer mask would be the portion that would hide or show what's below if (so the layers with the masks would be highest up in your layer hierarchy.