Hey all,
as a player in a Kingmaker campaign my character was tasked with creating the map of the explored area. As we also keep up a wiki about our exploits I'm looking for some kind of tool that would let me easily create a hex based map of the area our party has explored.
Any ideas, suggestions?
Thx!
G-Force
We are using Hexographer which is free.
I actually spent the time to make a Powerpoint slide that I update as we play; but then, all of my character information is on my computer as well, so it's convenient to have it all in one spot.
I'd also agree with the Hexographer comment, at least as a base. You'd still have to play with it for hex markings though.
I use Photoshop for all my mapping; we play with my computer monitor facing the players at the table so that I can reveal hexes as they explore by erasing an obscuring layer, all in real time. I later add markers to denote significant locales. Here's an example.
Our captured the picture of map from pdf without the various markers on it then printed it out for the players to write on. Then a smarter player took it scanned it and them uses it on obsidian portal and has google map tags that links to wiki pages
+1 import the PDF into Paint. You can reveal one hex at a time as well as mark it for various points of interest. No new software to learn or download and is very simple.
Hey all,
as a player in a Kingmaker campaign my character was tasked with creating the map of the explored area. As we also keep up a wiki about our exploits I'm looking for some kind of tool that would let me easily create a hex based map of the area our party has explored.
Any ideas, suggestions?
Thx!
G-Force
I used Hexographer, too, to create an unmarked map of the lands in Stolen Land and Rivers Run Red. I numbered each of the hexes and posted that map on our Obsidian Portal page so that as hexes were explored I could easily update their contents and connect them with other resources on our site. I also provided my players with a paper copy of the (blank) terrain map to use as a reference during play - to give them something to handle and pass around at the table. They've marked that up over time.
I think the combination has worked well. Hexographer took a some time, initially, to get set up, but I never had any intention of updating the map itself once I created it: I only wanted to create a terrain reference and label it so we could easily agree as to what happened in hex 62, or whatever.
We are using Hexographer which is free.
That's awesome! Major thanks for the link!
A pencil?
Kudos to you if you can "easily" draw a hexagon grid with nothing more than a pencil.
For those interested, I am running a Kingmaker game and I took the map from the KM Player's Guide and made it alot more printer friendly and bare bones. Here is the link.
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b308/psychicwraith/Hexmap.jpg
Enjoy
In five feet of snow, without shoes.
-- david
Papa.DRB
Isn't there a blank hex grid in the AP?
Our DM just gave us one, which is clearly Pathfinder branded...If not, I amend my post to:
"A pencil and a ruler?"
Us old guys used to have to walk uphill to school, both ways.
-Kle.
I just bought the full version of Hexographer after toying around with it a bit - this thing is pure gold!
It brings back the feeling of the old days when I had coded a color sprite generator for the C64 in order to program my own fantasy adventure - and then I say Ultima II and played and played and played...
Anyways, this is a nice piece of work and worth every cent, imho and will help immensely with my Kingmaker campaign that starts in a few weeks.
The ability to hide/unhide a specific hex with the click of a mouse button is what made me switch to it for live mapping - plus it gives the player who is manually writing out the map a quick visual reference.I just bought the full version of Hexographer after toying around with it a bit - this thing is pure gold!
It brings back the feeling of the old days when I had coded a color sprite generator for the C64 in order to program my own fantasy adventure - and then I say Ultima II and played and played and played...
Anyways, this is a nice piece of work and worth every cent, imho and will help immensely with my Kingmaker campaign that starts in a few weeks.
Thanks for the mention!
In case anyone doesn't know, that's a new feature added just a few weeks ago. Any hex (the terrain and features--such as a city, ruins, castle, etc) can be toggled to "GM-Only" by just right clicking the hex and selecting the option in the pop-up menu. You can also designate a hex as GM-only or not as you're placing it using the checkbox on the bottom of the terrain toolbox/tab.
Everything (lines, text, individual features, etc.) can be set as GM-only or not. Then you can toggle the GM-only things all on (viewable) or off using a single checkbox in the left sidebar. So you can make your map, turn off the gm only things, save it as a PNG image for your players, then turn them back on for your own use.
All of this is doable from the free version (which is truly usable by me 3-year-old--she loves to "make a map"), so unless you don't want to boot up your computer or you like a different style (which is fine, different tastes and all that) you definitely should try it.
--Joe (Hexographer creator in case it's not obvious.) :)
For those interested, I am running a Kingmaker game and I took the map from the KM Player's Guide and made it alot more printer friendly and bare bones. Here is the link.
Enjoy
Link-ified...
Blank Hex Map (LINK)
our dm printed out the blank hex map, and then the color fully explored map. He then cut the explored map up and hands us the hexes when we explore them to be applied via ye olde gluestick.
Thank you all for the suggestions! Hexographer is looking good!
G-Force
I use Photoshop for all my mapping; we play with my computer monitor facing the players at the table so that I can reveal hexes as they explore by erasing an obscuring layer, all in real time. I later add markers to denote significant locales. Here's an example.
I use MapTool. That might not have an uncloak-a-hex feature, but I usually give them the whole map (without any markings), anyway, since it's an overall map. They have to discover landmarks, resources and the like on their own. MapTool also lets me deal with all the dungeon maps, and there I do use the reveal functions MapTool has.
Maptool also lets you add tokens onto the map, which I use to add resource and cave and whatever markers to the maps, and we build our cities with that as well.
I use my laptop and an extra monitor, as well as two instances of MapTool (you can open a server in one and let the other join), one on my screen with GM access, one on the players' screen with players' access.
I copied the map from the book we're currently on (almost done with 2 and heading to 3!), slid it into a plastic sleeve (found these report cover sleeves that work great), then used dry erase markers to fog of war unexplored territory, as well as mark the borders of their kingdom.
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our dm printed out the blank hex map, and then the color fully explored map. He then cut the explored map up and hands us the hexes when we explore them to be applied via ye olde gluestick.
Taking this 1 step further.
Metal calendar/reminder board.
Glue template to board.
Hand out pre-cut hexes glued to really cheap magnets.
I use MapTool. That might not have an uncloak-a-hex feature
It would be a small matter to set the Fog of War to 1 hex distance.