I was sitting at my desk this afternoon, scanning in my hardcopies of CotCT, and saving all the maps and NPC portraits for future use of an online game, and I began to wonder ... surely other GMs are out there that have done this very thing.
Prepping a map out of a book for Maptool is a fair amount of time and effort. You've got to define the Topology ( the eyeball thing for vision), you've got to find token images, and if you're really slick, populate macros for those tokens to make gameplay even easier when running the adventure.
But, I can't be the first person to have done this. Is there any kind of network here on the boards for swapping/sharing this kind of work? My first guess is that there's a copyright issue with doing so. On the other hand, we'd simply be sharing images, not the entire adventure.
Could Paizo perhaps officially sanction this kind of sharing, where we users could upload our galleries of VTT files with permission, somewhere on this site? I know copyright is a valid concern, but at the same time, it's pretty silly for each Maptool using GM to be re-inventing the wheel with each new issue.
Seems like a good idea but the new community use policy would seem to make that impossible. Adding vision to the map doesn't seem like making it a "new" map as the policy requires. Sharing tokens seems out unless they happen to be in the usable images file.
I use Maptool. After a little bit you become familiar with Maptool, and setting up a map only takes a few minutes. Tokens also only take a few minutes, as you only need the essentials on there. Actually, you really do not need to do anything with tokens, just have the books or the srd handy.
I suggest keeping an eye on the following thread:
D&D 3.5 Pathfinder Campaign Macros
Takes a little bit to get used to, but for a GM it makes a number of key things run much smoother.
Best.
I use Maptool. After a little bit you become familiar with Maptool, and setting up a map only takes a few minutes. Tokens also only take a few minutes, as you only need the essentials on there. Actually, you really do not need to do anything with tokens, just have the books or the srd handy.
I suggest keeping an eye on the following thread:
D&D 3.5 Pathfinder Campaign MacrosTakes a little bit to get used to, but for a GM it makes a number of key things run much smoother.
Best.
Pulling the images, getting them organized and creating tokens from them isn't something you can do in a snap. It takes time, and I've been using Maptool for a couple of years now. Plus, I find myself always scavanging for images that I can use for additional tokens not supplied by the module.
Wouldn't it be cool if Paizo got behind Maptool and adopted it as their official VTT, and supplied all the files you'd need to run their adventures right out of the box?
I use Maptool. After a little bit you become familiar with Maptool, and setting up a map only takes a few minutes. Tokens also only take a few minutes, as you only need the essentials on there. Actually, you really do not need to do anything with tokens, just have the books or the srd handy.
I suggest keeping an eye on the following thread:
D&D 3.5 Pathfinder Campaign MacrosTakes a little bit to get used to, but for a GM it makes a number of key things run much smoother.
Best.
Pulling the images, getting them organized and creating tokens from them isn't something you can do in a snap. It takes time, and I've been using Maptool for a couple of years now. Plus, I find myself always scavanging for images that I can use for additional tokens not supplied by the module.
Wouldn't it be cool if Paizo got behind Maptool and adopted it as their official VTT, and supplied all the files you'd need to run their adventures right out of the box?
No overwhelming reason to make tokens out pics you want to do. I think there is only a nominal difference, and I save more time by not making a graphical token. I suggest checking out the Gallery on the Maptool site. Most general NPCs and monster tokens can be found there.
I agree it would be cool to have Paizo or anyone else to package tokens, maps and campaign files.
Best,
J
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Seems like a good idea but the new community use policy would seem to make that impossible. Adding vision to the map doesn't seem like making it a "new" map as the policy requires. Sharing tokens seems out unless they happen to be in the usable images file.
I'm gonna go searching in a minute, but you wouldn't happen to have a link to this "policy" document, would you? I'd like to read it.
The recent Community Use Package is here: http://paizo.com/paizo/about/communityuse