Polygon regions
Free-form areas at a chosen elevation. The bread-and-butter — towers, balconies, pits, raised platforms.
2.5D height & parallax
The 2.5D height system turns a flat top-down map into something that reads with depth. You draw where the ground rises and falls — towers, balconies, pits, ramps — and as players pan the camera, the basemap subtly shifts to sell the illusion. Tall things look like they’re slightly above the table; depressions read as holes in the floor.
It’s deliberately subtle and visual-only. Tokens, the grid, walls, lights, and rulers all stay at their true positions — distances measure correctly and clicks land where you’d expect.
Who can use it
Section titled “Who can use it”Only GMs can author and edit height shapes. Every player in the room sees the parallax effect by default — but each player can disable it on their own device for performance, without affecting anyone else.
What you can build
Section titled “What you can build”Rectangles & circles
Quick variants of polygon for axis-aligned platforms or round wells. Same data, different gesture.
Ramps
A linear gradient from one height to another. Stairs, slopes, ravines.
Brush
Freehand paint for irregular contours. Carve depressions, raise mounds, edit existing regions by overpainting.
Opening the tool
Section titled “Opening the tool”- On the canvas toolbar, click the Height tool (mountain icon).
- The HEIGHT / 2.5D panel appears (drag the title bar to reposition; tap “Done” on mobile to collapse).
- Pick a tab at the top: Polygon, Ramp, or Brush.
How heights work
Section titled “How heights work”Heights run from −1 to +1:
| Value | Meaning |
|---|---|
| +1 | Maximum elevation. Foreground; pans strongly opposite to the camera (looks “in front”). |
| +0.5 | Half elevation — a moderate platform. |
| 0 | Ground level. No parallax, no displacement — the basemap looks normal here. |
| −0.5 | Half depression. A shallow pit / wading pool. |
| −1 | Maximum depression. A deep hole; the basemap pans with the camera here, like it’s set into the ground. |
Most regions sit between +0.3 and +0.7 — strong enough to read, gentle enough to stay cinematic. Cliffs and big drops can use full ±1.
What the system doesn’t do
Section titled “What the system doesn’t do”- It doesn’t move tokens or change distances. A token “on” a tower is still measured from its world position.
- It doesn’t generate shadows or do real 3D lighting. The 3D preview (see below) is purely an authoring aid.
- It doesn’t enforce line of sight. Walls do that; a tall region doesn’t block vision.
If you want shadows or real elevation-aware vision, you’re past the scope of this feature — but the height field is data the engine can read, and future features may build on it.
Drawing regions
Polygon, rectangle, and circle — the three ways to lay down a height region.
Drawing ramps
Ramps — linear gradients between two heights.
Brush painting
Brush — freehand contours, carving depressions, editing what’s already there.
Parallax & preview
Parallax controls + 3D preview — strength, height curve, per-device toggle, the 3D inspection modal, troubleshooting.