So I own a bunch if these and to this day I haven't figured out a way to use them.
I need help.
I even bought a clear plastic sheet to cover it so the sides don't pop up each time a mini is moved - of course it does take about 10 minutes to successfully align them so there are no gaps.
Have I wasted money?
Can they be used with flip maps (I know the city buildings one works with the town map)?
How do you guys use them? What can I do with all of these maps?!?!
What I do with the maps, before my players show up for the evening, is go through them and pull the ones I'll need for the evening's adventure. The map packs are a quick way to customize things with the flip mats. For example, one site I needed was the ruins of a saloon in the middle of the desert. I put down the Desert flip map and covered up the oasis in the middle of one side with a portion of one of the bars from Map Pack: Inn. It looked much better and was much faster than scribbling things on a blank map.
These are good suggestions. I was thinking about the tape option as well.
I was trying to do the desert/oasis suggestion to (but I got sidetracked by the latest episode of Dexter).
I want to hear more on what/how people use them. My campaigns lack the visual element to really make it pop, which is the purpose in being a mini/map pack subscriber.
|
The map packs. If any two or three tiles fit together, I just assemble them permanently. I match them up, turn ‘em over and use packing tape to secure them together. Then I fold them and store them in plastic page protectors. I do this if there’s really only one way for them to fit together, (like docks, ships, some buildings, etc.) Otherwise I just collect them before the game and use a tiny piece of scotch tape on the back to hold them together.
Ever see those rubber 'net' mats used to place in drawers. I place one on the table and the rubber surface keeps maps (especially laminated ones) firmly in place, without tape.
I print my own maps rather than using map packs, then I laminate them. The rubber mats hold my maps in place well.
|
I use a spray adhesive or rubber cement and a paintbrush to mount my map packs on heavy art-board stock I buy at Michael's crafts. The final product is durable and the same thickness as the WoTC Map Tiles. Between the map packs, the various WotC map tiles and gamemastery flip maps, I have instant terrain settings for almost any scenario.
Though I do mount larger map pack pieces together, such as ships, into one large map prop.
Poster tack and packing tape.
I use the packing tape--clear--to tape together cards that are supposed to be used as a group. You have to be careful to put a little space between each card so they will fold up properly so you can store them as easily as separate cards. But done carefully, it makes it a lot easier than trying to assemble a map out of a bunch of cards in mid-session.
For sticking cards to the larger battlemap, I use poster tack. Doesn't leave a residue and easy to remove later. Plus the tack is also useful for other battlemap issues -- pinning down condition tags, etc. Or could be used as ooze miniatures in a pinch. ;)
Rubber mats work great and leave no residue at all - nothing to clean up, just remove the maps and lift the mat, easy, peasy.
I use two tiny dots of blu-tack per map pack. Generally I stick them down on a blank flipmat (in case people want to leave the tile).
I think permanently assembling the "obvious" candidates with packing tape is a really good idea.
I use a spray adhesive or rubber cement and a paintbrush to mount my map packs on heavy art-board stock I buy at Michael's crafts. The final product is durable and the same thickness as the WoTC Map Tiles. Between the map packs, the various WotC map tiles and gamemastery flip maps, I have instant terrain settings for almost any scenario.
Though I do mount larger map pack pieces together, such as ships, into one large map prop.
This is how I also set up my Map Packs, though instead of buying bristel board every time I sometimes just use a cereal boxes and it does the exact same thing.
Reduce, Reuse , Recycle
Has anyone used the Terraclips to hold the map packs together? Do they work, or are the map packs too thin?
I just use them out of the package?
I especially like the Mines map-pack and the new Forest Trails map-pack for being flexible in how they're arranged.
Sometimes I put them down on top of a flip-mat to add details, like a house at the intersection in the woods, or a campsite in the forest.
The Crypts map pack also was made in conjunction with the Necropolis Flip-Mat so each crypt coincides with one of the crypts on the Flip-Mat and it's possible to reveal the insides once the players approach the door of the crypt. I had an adventuring party walk across one side of the Necropolis Flip-Mat, then I turned it over and they walked to a crypt, went onto the Crypt tile from a map pack, then down a set of stairs and into the Haunted Dungeon Flip-Mat.
The Ambush Sites map pack was good for inserting random locations like a bridge across a river, or a campsite in the woods, IMO.
I never had a use for the Swallowed Whole map pack. I'd like to use the Extra-dimensional Spaces map pack some time but I don't have a use for it yet.
We use them under a clear sheet of acrylic. Just slide and align under the plexiglass and then you are good to go. Keeps the larger flip maps flat, and prevents the map-pack tiles from moving around. Makes cleaning up wet erase markers easy as well.
The 1 inch grid stays in place all the while of course. The 5mm acrylic sheet covers the entire play area. Works great for the map packs as the acrylic is rigid enough that we can lift a corner, place the map packs, and leave the minis on the acrylic the entire time. I suppose that glass would work as well, but glass would be much more fragile and heavy.