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A while back I asked for advice on using a projector for tabletop Pathfinder RPG. Now, I'm returning to this forum to explain some awesome results:
I installed an inexpensive projector to my gameroom ceiling (Dream land series LCD DG-737/747). On the table, I placed 3x4 foot whiteboard (removable by just lifting it up). I loaded Maptool (freeware from RPTools.net) on my computer. I downloaded hundreds of art bits and image tiles (free on the internet) to my computer. I placed a second 17" monitor next to my laptop to display what the players see, and use Maptool to show me the GM view on my PC. I searched the web for hundreds of great game maps, and found it very easy to create hundreds of my own (for any occasion: swamp, roadside, snow terrain, castles, buildings, towns, temples, massive settings, and dungeons galore)!
The players love it, and I enjoy the freedom to create wondrous maps of any environ, use vision blocking layers to show line of sight for the characters, and it makes battles equally amazing as when using PAIZO's Gamemastery Flipmaps or map tiles. PAIZO's thoughtful inclusion of free .pdfs of their materials upon purchase means I have thousands of maps (from the APs and from modules) that I can use or even repurpose. Additionally the good folks at Cartographer's Guild and other websites such as Dundjinni forums make digital maps and tile bits that are easy to download and use.
So, my fellow Pathfinders, I wanted to share with you how simple it all seems now that it's all up and working. When I reached out to these advice forums I was initially quite intimidated, but Paizonians here made understanding the process very easy. My game table has never looked or played better. I lay down some Steel Squire AOE templates, or rise up Combat Tiers for elevation, or throw down some Paizo Gamemastery cards for treasure, or draw from the Critical Hits or Fumbles Decks. Players use Pathfinder minis (or other brands) including those new cool invisible tokens on top of the digital maps. Sometimes I'll add terrain such as crates, barrels or rocks/crystals, but honestly, the move to digital maps really makes the encounter come to life. Now, please note, when I'm a player I don't really need any of this stuff, but more and more these days I find that most players benefit from the detail shown on digital maps; it helps spark imagination as well as show detail that guides combat, making often overlooked possibilities possible, like jumping on a ledge for higher ground, ducking for cover behind a rocky outcropping, and even hiding out of view of the enemy. Sure this can all be described, and I still do, but the combination of Fog of War effects with vibrant maps, tokens, and other artistic atmosphere makes each combat more compelling.
The diversity of quality maps you can create is unbelievable, and does take up some time. By adding vision-blocking-layers to maps, the players map lights up within their sight range, illuminating corridores, shinging through portculli, and peering through dark dungeon rooms; then, in the shadows hide the beasts who seek to cause their doom.
This testimonial is rare for someone of my years with the game; after 29 years of gaminig, some would expect a guy like me to never go for the technology or the new shiney stuff. I'm just here to say that old schoolers and digital or virtual tabletops are not mutually exclusive. Just like Arneson and Gygax cut floor tiles to make some of their original battle tiles, I'm open minded enough to find the joy of our hobby within cool things that don't "detract" from the game. I'd like to suggest that if you thought "going digital" was akin to selling-out, or like Bob Dylan going electric, just consider that you might not know how much it enhances game play until you try it. And a lot of Dylan's electrical stuff was great too.
Feel free to ask any questions you may have here in this thread!
Thanks again, to those who helped me figure out how to set up my game room, and to those who helped me overcome any inhibitions I had. It's so cool to post the game maps up to our private group on facebook after the game, along with a short synopsis. I couldn't do that without the ease of having gone digital.
Game On, Friends!
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Any chance of a youtube vid of your setup?
I have been thinking of doing something like this and your sounds awesome.
Any chance of a youtube vid of your setup?
I have been thinking of doing something like this and your sounds awesome.
Agreed; it would be nice to see some photos/video of this setup in game-action!
Do you find you your players automatically hit combat mode when a map appears on the table?
Or with this setup are you able to create maps of taverns or castle halls to help with atmosphere?
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@Ahorsewithnoname - great question.
Yes, actually, the ease of going digital allows me to display taverns, fields, roads, market squares, ruins, etc, without necessarily having "combat". Last week, my players said, "wow, this session felt a lot like Game Of Thrones" because I used the projector to show the market square wherein there were protests, proclamations, and scheming spys... they loved it, but there wasn't bloodshed, although a lot of tense rp and political intrigue. Bloodshed would have changed the course of the political factions in the campaign-so a lot was at stake, and the map facilitated the PCs going into private areas to speak privately, yet they could follow the real-time events of the market square. That's just one example.
I had the problem you describe i.e. Players going into "combat mode" even when I used printed maps, or Gamemastery flip maps. lol I've always wanted to have the luxury you're talking about ---which is to display a glorious map for the pure edification and enjoyment of describing the world. And now I can. A lot of stuff can be drawn on the fly in seconds, and I do this from my laptop--and drawings appear on the game table. Very cool. If I want, I can even render a dungeon in real-time as they move along. When outdoors, I can lull the players into thinking there isn't any encounter for a few minutes, then suddenly reveal the monsters further down the road, across the bridge, etc. since the maps aren't limited in size--digital projections can go on seemingly forever, so I can actually show an area prior to the combat area to catch them off-guard a bit.
The thing to keep in mind, is to never let the technology get in the way of the game. I have found it's an incredible enhancement to play, but the GM must never delay game for tech reasons, and should always place rp and gameplay, the characters, and the flow of the game above everything else. When this happens, the players are like, "holy crap, this is awesome."