I plan to start the series soon and have been giving the subject of mapping some thought. I realise now that, realistically I have very little prep time, and what time I have is spent note taking and considering NPC tactics. Maps get pushed down the list. Previously I have used:
1) Dunjinni to create gorgeous maps, printed on A3 paper - but it takes ages to make the maps, and printing is costly and a pain (I get them printed in a print shop)
2) Taking maps from pdfs and printing them onto A4 sheets then sticking the sheets together to make big battle maps - but the resolution of the pdfs is not great and I invariably don't have time to tape the sheets together so it all gets a bit messy on the night.
3) Doodling on scraps of paper and just free forming the combat without miniatures.
The last solution works well for me with other systems (CoC, FengShui etc), except D&D really does benefit from a map. I will be playing in a local games shop, where space is a bit limited. So, does anyone have any insightful ideas to help?
Has anyone used the Flip Mat things? I last used a battle mat about 25 years ago...
And secondly - what about miniatures? I am getting a bit sick of using spare dice - which invariably get knocked or picked up and thrown ("Arrgh, did you just use my hoard of NPCs to roll your damage?"). So far, I was thinking about getting some 1" stickers and some 1" steel washers. Any great suggestions?
Ta
Using battle-maps here ( those from Steel-sqwire are actually pretty durable and easy to erase), currently six in use, which allows preparation of complicated rooms in advance. Also, the work from one session can be preserved for the next session more easily.
I used roll-up battlemaps before, but these were less than sterling in quality and lost usability after about two years each as the markers left increasing stains, especially after prolonged periods.
One of our players has a glass-top table (6 'x 4' by my estimate ) under the surface of which a cardboard sheet with a square pattern can then be fitted - which works fine as well.
For areas seeing repeated use/visits, we do/did a map on 1" square paper (like the "Sea Wyvern" in STAP ), colour that with water colours, stick it to a cardboard back and cover it with adhesive plastic. Works fine. Same goes for pre-printed maps seeing frequent use around the table.
Since most of my players have a history in miniature wargames we have a plethora of miniatures for table-top use and character representation, and a shared collection of monsters. Some few DnD miniatures (heavily re-touched with paint and conversions ) for "specialty" use (like "purple worms" etc. ). And yeah, some wall-pieces (cut from extruded foam and painted up) and pillars if line of sight and obstructions become really important.
|
For maps, I'm using my own self made. I used two 22"x28" cardboards, draw a 1" grid with a sharpie on both cardboards, and then covered them with sticking transparent plastic book covering, so that the two cardboard are now attached together. I can easily fold it in two or roll it for transportation, and I happily found out it barely fits all PF#1 maps. I'm using wet-erase markers to draw on the map.
For minis, I'm a D&D minis player, so I have all I need. Without buying all the very expensive rare ones, maybe your FLGS would be happy to sell you a lot of their extra commons/uncommons for a cheap price (less than 1$ each). They are prepainted (not the best paint job, but still better than having unpainted metal ones if you don't have the time to paint or have no talent for it...).
...any insightful ideas to help?
Ta
I have been using a lot of different things from quick sketch on some graph paper (Attack on Sandpoint), to zoomed in pieces from the PDF maps (Catacombs of Wrath) and for Thistletop I uses 1" grid easel paper since I figured it would take a few sessions to get through (we don't play for to long in one stretch).
I do have a flip mat but I find it a little on the small size sometimes. I also have used Dungeon Tiles quite a lot but so far not for anything I have run in Pathfinder.
As for miniatures well I too have a hoard of D&D Minis and as others have said the after market for commons and uncommons you can get a lot of not so much money.
|
|
Battle maps, minis, and counters...oh my.
I tell you, this is one of the most challenging and exciting parts of being a DM. Storytelling and interaction is the most exciting, but creating a dynamic visual gaming environment is a fun (but slightly distant) second.
First, I use the D&D minis. I own a crateload.
Second, I own all of the "battlemap" suppliments -- like City of Peril -- that Hasbro released. These are great for generic sites.
Third, I use the Paizo GameMastery tile sets. Like the Hasbro/Wotc stuff, they are great for homebrewed and generic sites.
Fourth, I use the dungeon tiles from Skeleton Key games. They are vibrant and, since they are pdfs and I have a color printer at work, they are very customizable to the "weird" rooms that Paizo adventures often contain. Their Ptolus stuff is excellent for a city based game.
Fifth, I extensively use the Wotc Dungeon Tiles. These are a very good product, but the excellent Paizo rooms often don't match.
Sixth, I use the Bendy Walls from Z-Man Games. These are amazingly useful, and help with those weird Paizo room.
Seventh, I use terrain from Heroscape (the trees are awesome as is the fortress), Heroquest, and various pdf providers.
Eighth, [url="http://www.worldworksgames.com/store/"World Works[/url] has some amazing stuff. Time consuming, but amazing.
Ninth, I use a lot of the prepainted terrain from Pegasus Games. The crates, barrels, fountains, etc. are awesome and fairly inexpensive.
Did I mention I have a game room?
On a side note, I have never understood why Paizo couldn't create files with scaled versions of their maps for use as dungeon tiles. They have the cartography, they have the pdf distribution capability, I have the desire for the product, and their own tiles (which sadly have no relation to their adventures) look great.
Christian
I bought a couple of the D&D Minis Started sets along time ago, and took the large paper 1 inch grid mats that came for playing that game and had them laminated at Kinkos (I am not sure that this would still work, I think the minis starter sets sold now-days might have premapped areas as thier mats rather then blank mats that you put premapped cardboard cards on)... now I just draw the encounter area on them with dry-erase markers... black for walls, red for doors, green for features (tables, chairs, etc)and blue for water... For counters/figures I use mostly prepainted plastic figures, but alos anything else that I have that will work (I still have plenty of lead and pewter minis, plus various toys etc. that can represent monsters).
I do not realy worry about having the correct mini for each type of monster or what not (for instance I have been useing grave hounds to represent the goblin dogs in burtn offerings), to me the minis are just to represent the places where the creatures are standing.
|
(I am not sure that this would still work, I think the minis starter sets sold now-days might have premapped areas as thier mats rather then blank mats that you put premapped cardboard cards on)
My mini starter set that I got maybe a year or two ago came with some minis, a bright orange d20 that we call the "death 20" since I use it only while DMing and it has a tendency to kill PCs and a big fold-out map that's white with grids on one side and has a bunch of random rooms that we've never used on the other.
I use Flip Mats for battle maps, which is working just fine. Most rooms are quite fast to draw and more complicated ones I just draw beforehand.
For minis I use counters for my monsters. The counters I manufacture by taking images from the Dungeon online supplements, the galleries on WotC's homepage, and other sources. I then trim them in Gimp so they are square and then paste them into a Word document where I size them to slightly below 1 inch for Medium creatures and then give them a thick black border. I then print the Word document on cardstock paper in a color laser printer and cut the individual counters. Has worked wonders and are a big hit among the players.
For minis I use counters for my monsters.
You can also find some counters here.
I just started running RotRL last weekend. This is my first time as the DM in years.
We play at the home of the guy who has done 90% of the DM'ing over the years. He has a nice big table and a huge collection of minis, so that's not an issue.
He uses battle mats and wet erase 99.9% of the time.
I was getting a bit bored with looking at the same old scribbly tan surface month after month, year after year. I find myself picturing stone caverns or woods or whatever in my head, but it's still just a bunch of smudged marker.
So when I saw all of the various combat map stuff being produced and posted to the boards, I decided to go that route.
The cost wasn't really a factor for me, so I went crazy on the color printouts. I printed in full color on multiple sheets of letter sized paper. I taped the battle map for the first fight before the game. The map for the second fight I taped up at the game, and it wasn't a big deal
But everyone really liked playing on the full color maps. My friend who has been DM'ing for years on battle maps was really surprised by how much he liked it.
For maps of underground areas or building interiors, I figure I'm going to have a lot more prep work. I want to cut out each room and hallway individually, so I don't have to put anything down and give stuff away until the PCs enter the area. But since the rooms splash across multiple sheets of paper, I'll have a lot of cutting and taping to do. And if I don't get to it before the game, I'm kind of screwed.
I suggest you get a part time job at the print shop so you can maybe sneak a few free maps while "calibrating the equipment" ;^)
Hmmm - those flipmats sound handy. How useful are the themed ones (tavern, woodland etc), I had intended on just sticking to the generic one...
Hmmm - those flipmats sound handy. How useful are the themed ones (tavern, woodland etc), I had intended on just sticking to the generic one...
we use two - the tavern, which is handy if you need a tavern handy for a quick brawl (and that will be a lot of drawing), and the pre-done ship, which is not as popular, but the "all-water" side is nice to have (we have some pre-cut islands/hummocks to place on that for swamps etc.)
|
|
I have been going through a lot of transition on this issue.
Minis are no problem. I have been collecting them since day one and I have everything that has been released and then some. Now finding the one I want if I do not do enough prep time in advance can be a problem...
Battlemats are where I have had a lot of changing around.
I have used a Chessex Battlemap for years and have gotten away from it. With all the dry erase options out there I find that the wet erase mats are just a pain. And one day (I am using the combat pad) I used my dry erase pen on it and it has never come off. It was only a couple of lines but...
So, since then I have used several things: WotC Dungeon tiles, the flip maps (which I do like), I recently found some of those Tact-Tiles on Ebay (every conversation I read a year ago mentioned these as one of the best solutions). Of what I have used I like the Flip Maps and the Tact-Tiles the best. The Tact-Tiles have the advantage of being able to start small and any place on the map and then expand as you go along.
This week I received my first serious shipment of the Dwarven Forge pieces. I have not tried them yet but this may be the way I go. If you look back at the Gencon photos Paizo was using them for their Dungeon Delve.
Then the question is do you set the map up in advance or build it as you go... I think this one will take some practice.
I’m lucky enough to have easy access to a nice color printer, so that’s not a deterrent in letting me print out color maps of the encounter rooms beforehand. Like Michael said, the effect you have on your players by just having a room with texture can’t be over estimated. If I can’t lift the map straight from the module itself, I can easily craft one to match with even the small collection of 1” tiles I’ve made (basically wood, gravel, dirt and flagstone – beveled to make a grid when assembled.)
As an added bonus, being able to just slap down the room and roll into the combat is a big boost to the excitement level. Nothing kills the build-up of a battle royale like having to stop and count out the squares and draw the map.
Recently, though, I’ve been questioning myself about when I even need a battlemap. I’ve found some encounters to be simple enough to run without them and am planning on doing just that in hopes of upping the “imagination” involvement of my games. The Tatzelwyrm in D0, fer instance, is one creature in an exterior environment. How would that encounter benefit from my players counting out 5’ increments? The goblin raid in Burnt Offerings could likely even be better for not having everything nailed down to a specific, easily measured location.
Like Evilash, I use the publicly available digital images of the monsters from the WotC website and the character art Paizo includes in their modules and make 1” square tokens for the battles. I gluestick them to a manila folder before cutting them out and they’ve proven pretty sturdy and easy to use. These images also allow me to make full-size printouts to attach to the front side of my DM’s screen so the players can get a good view of what they’re facing.
Mind you, I’m considering doing the same thing for my players’ characters because they seem completely incapable as a group of getting minis of their own characters. All the time I put into making a half-dozen full-color dolgrim counters is completely lost when facing off against a half-painted Space Marine and his mystically summoned 4-sided die.
I usually use the dungeon tiles, modifying the rooms as I need to to fit my collection.
Now THAT's coming at the problem from the other end. Way to think outside the box.
Any problems with your players getting tired of the same ol' settings?
I'm amazed at how many of you seem to have huge stashes of minis. I don't own a single one. I usually just use spare dice and then print out an image on A4 for the players to see (either scanned from the module or snagged from the interweb).
I think, on reflection that a pile of flip mats and a couple of sets of coloured markers will do me. I don't want to give too much detail on the map as I find it restricts imagination. I always allow my players to add details to the environment themselves - so if they are fighting in a market and somebody has an idea for smashing a big ole pumpkin on a bad-guy's head, well wouldn't you just believe it, but there is a stall selling curiously out of season pumpkins. It makes for more entertaining fights.
For maps, here are your two cheapest, and IMO best quality, options:
Choice #1: Laminate Easel Grid Paper. Go to Office Depot, Staples, OfficeMax, etc and get a set of easel pads (or you can click here). You get 50 sheets (27x30, 1' squares) for about $15, or 30 cents per map. Then get them laminated; I was able to get laminating services at Staples for 60 cents per foot. Instead of spending $10 on a Steel Squire, or $30 on a Chessex, you end up spending about $3 and the quality is as good if not better.
Choice #2: MapTool. Click here for more info. You can hook up your laptop to an HDTV in the living room; even a 17" monitor will work at the table. Give everyone a $1 laser pointer (pet shops have these cheap) and use the images from the WotC site (illustrations or the actual D&D minis galleries). Creating a new map is so easy and it's all free.
RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8
|
I usually use the dungeon tiles, modifying the rooms as I need to to fit my collection.Now THAT's coming at the problem from the other end. Way to think outside the box.
Any problems with your players getting tired of the same ol' settings?
Have you seen how many tiles you get in the sets so far? They just find the rooms a litle wider or narrower is the end result.
|
|
I'm amazed at how many of you seem to have huge stashes of minis. I don't own a single one. I usually just use spare dice and then print out an image on A4 for the players to see (either scanned from the module or snagged from the interweb).
I think, on reflection that a pile of flip mats and a couple of sets of coloured markers will do me. I don't want to give too much detail on the map as I find it restricts imagination. I always allow my players to add details to the environment themselves - so if they are fighting in a market and somebody has an idea for smashing a big ole pumpkin on a bad-guy's head, well wouldn't you just believe it, but there is a stall selling curiously out of season pumpkins. It makes for more entertaining fights.
Really if you bought say four boxes of minis then you would have some for your players and probably enough monters to handle things unless the battle is huge. I find that for creatures larger than huge that I use my dragons. An example is next session we are going to do Hook Mountain. When we get to the gargantuan water creature - I will use my gargantuan black dragon. Don't get to use them very often.
I haven't gotten into the minis-craze, but I highly recommend counters from Fiery Dragon Press (?). Good mixes of standard D&D creatures and NPCs; especially if you get the Ptolus one. Beautiful art by Claudio Pozas (spelling?). I also have assorted counters from past issues of Dungeon, but of course, those are hard to find now :(
After starting up the RotRL campaign I bought a whiteboard. So far I think it's worked pretty good. Now I'm thinking of telling my players to buy frige-magnets that will represent their characters. I think it will give us all a few laughs.
For maps, here are your two cheapest, and IMO best quality, options:
Choice #2: MapTool. Click here for more info. You can hook up your laptop to an HDTV in the living room; even a 17" monitor will work at the table. Give everyone a $1 laser pointer (pet shops have these cheap) and use the images from the WotC site (illustrations or the actual D&D minis galleries). Creating a new map is so easy and it's all free.
I cannot reinforce this option strongly enough. MapTool is completely free, gives you SOOOO much flexibility, is really easy to use, has an unbelievable support staff, and you can download all the tokens you want so you'll have a virtually infinite supply of miniatures.
The D&D world is becoming increasingly digital and this is a great opportunity to see how easy it is to change your paradigm and see the positive impact it has on your game.
Shannon
How would you go about hooking your laptop to your HDTV? Also, this pretty much means that we are doing away with the whole "table-top" feel eh?
I've looked into do-it-yourself laminated maps, but have yet to find a good lamination service near me. I'm in the UK and stuff like that just does not seem to be popular - or cheap. I have the same problem with printing large format maps out. We used to have a Kinkos, but it folded and they shut all the branches in the UK.
Hmmm - I like the idea of Maptool, and since I usually use my laptop for rule reference and such like, the computer end is no issue. The problem for me is that we are destined to play in the basement of a games shop, so hauling a second player monitor along with me would be a serious hassle. I am also not sure about power supplies and such like. Worth an investigation though...
And - having just had a look at Maptool, I recall trying to get this to work before and being very confused by it. All the server set up stuff makes my ears bleed. Can it be used with two monitors hooked to one computer to show a player and DM screen?
I'm amazed at how many of you seem to have huge stashes of minis. I don't own a single one. I usually just use spare dice and then print out an image on A4 for the players to see (either scanned from the module or snagged from the interweb).
Admittedly, collecting and painting minatures is a hobby in and of itself (although a very nice one) and having wargamed and roleplayed for two-dozen years certainly helps, but in all honesty I find it one of the more worthwhile aspects, even more important than a nice map.
Looking at you opponent as a scale model will certainly adjust your attitude to it, far more than a (albeit) nice printed counter would. Not to mention cardboard boxes or filecards torn into shape. But yeah, it means an investment, although you can go for the cheap DnD ones which work pretty well
Has anyone seen any RotR-specific tokens? I'm working on some right now, but it's not like their anything special (mainly cut and paste).
Here's what I have going so far: link. That's Erylium top-left and Gresgurt bottom-right.
I mostly used the roll up grid map but it gets boring after a while and so I prefer to go thru a more visual route. I am currently trying worldworks product. They make really good stuff.
http://www.worldworksgames.com/store/
I am using their villagework (Bullywyg Gambit)and Maiden of the sea (SWW) for my Savage Tide Adventure path.
I am also a collector of miniatures and have spent anywhere from 30-80 dollars on Reaper/Rackham figures per adventure. The only problem is that I'm the only figure painter in my group so my work load is pretty heavy in addition to DMing.
|
|
Well primarily I use a Megamat™ from Chessex and wet erase markers. I have made battlemaps before using Photoshop CS. I used D&D miniatures as well as tokens that I've created in Photoshop. I posted a while back about cheap way to make tokens. Click here for the post.
Trent Slabaugh
Co-Host / Design & Marketing
DigitalDungeonCast.Com