Pathfinder Society Lead Developer
|
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Here are the maps that appear in each scenario. I've also posted these on the respective products' discussion threads.
This adventure has a full-page custom map. It also makes use of the following.
This adventure has a half-page custom map. It also makes use of the following.
Venture-Captain, Netherlands
|
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Here are the maps that appear in each scenario. I've also posted these on the respective products' discussion threads.
** spoiler omitted **
Kinda starting to get fed up with the first one. I dunno, but seems like it's the new Flip Mat: Mountain Pass or indeed Darklands!
I dont mind so much because I actually have that one. :P
Also, reprint darklands plx!
Venture-Lieutenant, Netherlands—Leiden
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I'm real glad I bought the first one. Getting lots of use. Maps with properly-illustrated height differences are a cut above what you can quickly do with a marker.
To put it differently: tactically relevant scenery is hard if you can't draw it in a way players understand. This map broadens the possibilities of encounters. (Yes, some people can draw it themselves, but I'm not that good...)
|
Pathfinder Society Lead Developer
|
| 5 people marked this as a favorite. |
This is in much the same vein as how for a while Flip-Mat: Deep Forest was the only substantial map in print that had trees, so it saw use all over the place in Season 5. So while I do feel we're starting to overuse Hill Country a bit, I still feel it's one of the strongest Flip-Mats—both in terms of design and in terms of common scenario needs.
|
Venture-Captain, Isles—Online
|
i got some out of print flipmats printed onto vinyl from the PDF's by pixart printing for a reasonable price. see my other post here
|
** spoiler omitted **
I get what you're saying! Let me explain my thoughts over fed-uppiness: Like Flip Mat: Darklands can no longer take me to e.g a Galtan vigilante's underground hideaway or to slimy Opparan sewers while escorting Sarenites, Hill Country is starting to look less and less like an Orvian hillock or an Abyss-blasted Menadorian mountainside and instead showing the map is accompanied by a bored "Oh, it's Hill Country again...". It just takes me out of the game and I'm not the only one.
Mind you, once you guys roll out the next ubiquitous Flip Mat, I'll probably turn around on this. I mean, think about Ambush Alley: It has basically turned into a meme!
|
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
For real, I get where Muser is coming from. I've run far fewer scenarios (although more than my records here show), but Hill Country has been a serious theme. I can think of at least three I've run that used it (one of which used both sides), and my scenario will make it four.
That said... it still was the perfect map for Wardens of Sulfur Gulch. ^_^
|
Venture-Lieutenant, Netherlands—Leiden
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Flipmats vary quite a bit in how useful they are. On the one hand you have stuff like Arcane Dungeon that are so hyper-specific that you can only use them if you write the adventure around the map. On the other hand you have the quite generic terrain maps such as the Deep Forest and Hill Country maps; they can feature many many many different encounters.
I think some useful characteristics of maps are:
- Tactically interesting features. A good map makes for a more interesting battlefield than a featureless plain. If there's too much open space on the mat, why even bother.
Rather, we want features that we can play with. Such as trees to provide cover from flying enemies, rivers to cross (and face crocodiles), from which archers can rain down arrows on climbing assailants, shrubbery for ambushers to hide in, boulders to press our back to to stymie would-be flankers and so forth.
- Not too cluttered. We do need some actual space to fight in. 5ft-corridors are awful if you have multiple players who bought a melee character. If there's not an open area anywhere, cavaliers, archers and blasters will be sad.
I think this goes wrong with forest maps as well, due to the way trees are drawn. A bird's-eye view of a tree doesn't tell us where the trunk is. Rather, most tables will run the whole area shaded by the canopy as difficult/impassable terrain. Which means most forest maps become disguised versions of cave systems. Deep Forest is the rare exception which shows tree trunks. That does look a little "dead forest", but tactically it works better.
Likewise, the Red Light District map has been quite useful because it's open enough to have scenes on, while the Slum District map is a maze of tiny rooms and I haven't seen it used anywhere yet.
- Good-looking. If we're gonna shell out money for something on which to place our lovingly-painted minis, we do want it to look nice. The map should aid immersion in the adventure.
- Generic = reusable It's far easier to re-use the Darklands map than the Tech Dungeon map.
|
Contributor
|
Flipmats vary quite a bit in how useful they are. On the one hand you have stuff like Arcane Dungeon that are so hyper-specific that you can only use them if you write the adventure around the map. On the other hand you have the quite generic terrain maps such as the Deep Forest and Hill Country maps; they can feature many many many different encounters.
I think some useful characteristics of maps are:
...
- Tactically interesting features. A good map makes for a more interesting battlefield than a featureless plain. If there's too much open space on the mat, why even bother.
Rather, we want features that we can play with. Such as trees to provide cover from flying enemies, rivers to cross (and face crocodiles), from which archers can rain down arrows on climbing assailants, shrubbery for ambushers to hide in, boulders to press our back to to stymie would-be flankers and so forth.
- Not too cluttered. We do need some actual space to fight in. 5ft-corridors are awful if you have multiple players who bought a melee character. If there's not an open area anywhere, cavaliers, archers and blasters will be sad.
I think this goes wrong with forest maps as well, due to the way trees are drawn. A bird's-eye view of a tree doesn't tell us where the trunk is. Rather, most tables will run the whole area shaded by the canopy as difficult/impassable terrain. Which means most forest maps become disguised versions of cave systems. Deep Forest is the rare exception which shows tree trunks. That does look a little "dead forest", but tactically it works better.
Likewise, the Red Light District map has been quite useful because it's open enough to have scenes on, while the Slum District map is a maze of tiny rooms and I haven't seen it used anywhere yet.
- Good-looking. If we're gonna shell out money for something on which to place our lovingly-painted minis, we do want it to look nice. The map should aid immersion in the adventure.
- Generic = reusable
This looks like good feedback, but it is likely better served in the Flip-Mats and Map Pack product threads.
I'm getting some good suggestions for my random terrain topic. A river or canyon would be good above ground or even deep below.