I don't think there's a demand for every map in the APs.
I agree, but I'll note that for the future, if a battle location doesn't make a good battlemap, why have a battle there? I adore the oldschool description-only gaming style, but even a mapless style benefits from having locations that make for interesting maps! For the newer APs, Paizo should start making great maps at the beginning, with the writers, and work from there.
I printed Foxglove manor at a 1 inch scale, glued it on cardboard and cut out each room as a jigsaw puzzle to be explored, and the cardboard.
This is a brilliant technique. I've been meaning to note how it applies to some of the staff's concern above about not being able to replicate the scale of some maps with 1"/5' art. With tiles, not only can you handle bigger dungeon venues, but then you have tiles that can be repurposed for other scenes, even in the same AP.
I'd pay $5-10 dollars for a map like Foxglve Manor alone.
I think what started this whole conversation on battlemaps is that Tintagel gave us something we were all wishing for. I actually really like Lazzaretti's misgivings as an "executive summary," but it's just such an evocative location that when we got a map that matched it it made us cry out for more. Best of luck in the new venture, Tintagel, you already have fans!
One major problem with a PDF product, however, is piracy.
You just can't worry about this stuff. Pirates will always win. The best defense is to sell to an audience that is willing to pay. I think Paizo does an excellent job of this, which is why they're willing to do things like open playtests.
I think this issue has quickly moved in the right direction. If a 3rd party mapper can make money doing the locations from Paizo's AP with Paizo's blessing, better for everyone. That's the backbone of Open Gaming, isn't it?
|
Even though I'm a printer guy (my name and all), I'm thinking about creating an adventure module or even a complete campaign arc, that's intended for use with VTT exclusively and try to market it commercially. A provided PDF would be only the text of the game. All maps regional and encounter scale would be for using VTs. Thus I'd even include map objects for the PCs as well as encounters.
Hey, I wrote one like that for d20pro. It's called Kobold's Revenge, and it's free. It includes high-res maps, a PDF, and the d20pro files with monsters and maps already set up for play. Get a 30-day trial of d20pro if you want to test it, or just download the PDF and jpgs and use it with your favorite VT.
|
|
This may seem a bit... well, off topic, but I assure you it's not. I would love to get feedback from you guys on this guy's TED Talk.
Malcolm Gladwell on Spaghetti Sauce
I think this is what some 3rd party developers need to do. See, when I create a map, it's just a few more minutes for me to produce a gridded version, a vanilla (no lighting) version, or a version without objects or doors. It's also easy to export it to a 50dpi, 100dpi, and 200dpi resolution (as long as I start with a 200dpi original).
Digital content gives us that freedom to produce many variations of one product for the consumer. So see, we aren't looking for the perfect map, we're looking for the perfect maps. Watch the video.
Thoughts?
I'm a big fan of maps... it's one of the things I like best about this roleplaying game and Paizo makes some of the best. While the idea of getting maps in PDFs is interesting, I don't think I'd ever buy one, mainly due to three things:
1) Cost: I'd have to buy the PDF and then I'd have to pay to turn it into a useable map for minis.
2) Usefulness: The majority of the maps will probably only be used once by our group, or only a handful of times. Then we're done with it. Sure, you could use a particular map over again, but it would get a little tiresome after the 3rd time... An exception might be town or city style maps, where the PCs frequent.
3) It Shows Everything: as a GM, I don't want the players to know the layout of an entire dungeon beforehand. And it's a bit of a hassle trying to break up a map into pieces and get them just right. I've tried this approach before.
The best solution our group has found is making a gaming table out of melamine (with a 1" grid drawn on it) and clear acrylic glass over it. Andy Collins has an amazing gaming table website (I don't remember the name of the website... it's been a while) which inspired us to make our own. You essentially end up with a 4'x8' surface that you can use over and over again with the use of wet erase markers. The downsides are upfront cost and space to put the table. We've been using it for over a year now, and it's been great. We're fortunate enough that one of the players has the space for it and a real plus is that we can leave it set up between sessions so we don't have to recreate a scene if we've stopped in the middle of an encounter.
This may seem a bit... well, off topic, but I assure you it's not. I would love to get feedback from you guys on this guy's TED Talk.
Malcolm Gladwell on Spaghetti Sauce
I think this is what some 3rd party developers need to do. See, when I create a map, it's just a few more minutes for me to produce a gridded version, a vanilla (no lighting) version, or a version without objects or doors. It's also easy to export it to a 50dpi, 100dpi, and 200dpi resolution (as long as I start with a 200dpi original).
Digital content gives us that freedom to produce many variations of one product for the consumer. So see, we aren't looking for the perfect map, we're looking for the perfect maps. Watch the video.
Thoughts?
That sure brought back memories. When was growing up I remember when there was pretty much 1 type of each product and then it grew...sodas, candy bars, chips, cookies. I noticed the selection grow with most of the unhealthy foods, but then that's the type of food I was interested in buying for myself when I was 10.
Hopefully we can get our light, original, and extra chunky maps too. :)
This may seem a bit... well, off topic, but I assure you it's not. I would love to get feedback from you guys on this guy's TED Talk.
Tintagel - I just started a thread on VTs and how Paizo can encourage them without directly investing. You should get in on that.
As for the different flavors of map and the virtues of digital media: dead on. Keep on preaching the good word