How do you run the Sandpoint glassworks in Rise of the Runelords?

[Dotou]

Hi and hello everyone :) It's my first post.

My problem is: I'm not experienced with combats via miniatures. At the moment I run my first Pathfinder campaign and the PC soon will enter the Sandpoint Glassworks. I'm not sure how to run this.

I started with the Beginner Box's adventure about Black Fang, which provided a Map. For the first Combat Encounters in "Rise of the Runelords" i got a Combat Map, too. Now I wonder what's the best way to run a dungeon like the Sandpoint glassworks. How do you handle this or (combats in) big dungeons at all? What is the common way?

[Mergy]

Get some large sheets of graph paper with 1 inch squares. You can usually find these at business stores. From there, just trace out your map using pencil, and then add details as you see fit.

Since this is likely going to be only a single night, I wouldn't go crazy on the artwork. Save that for some of the later fights in the book. :)

[uriel222]

There really isn't a good answer to this; it depends on your group, playstyle, artistic/technical abilities and free time. Look for tips and ideas on message boards and the like, and just experiment to find your own "GM sweet spot". You won't get it right immediately, but find out what works for you.

The Chessex Battle Mat, though, is the most traditional.

[Steve Geddes]

We sketch out rooms as we go (using a whiteboard marker on the blank side of the map which came with the BB).

For complicated dungeons, I might draw the dungeon out ahead of time. I think with the glassworks (because its at an angle), I'd draw out the outline of the building, together with external doors, before the session and then sketch in the internal walls and other features as the players moved from room to room.

There's a balance between slowing down the game and providing enough detail to be useful to the players. Also, be careful not to skimp on the descriptions - it can be easy to fall into the trap of just drawing the room dimensions accurately without remembering to set the mood and describe the details of each area as the players enter.

[Jason Rice]

Somebody went through the trouble of creating a battlemap for this. They are awesome and much appreciated.

When I ran this, I cut out each room so that the players had a kind of "fog of war". As they progressed, I placed the next "puzzle piece" on the table. I recommend a large supply of paperclips or tape for this approach. Also, from experience, write the room number on the back of each piece.

[Stumblefish]

I recently started running Pathfinder myself, I used to play for years but have never run games myself. The players were all new. We clubbed together and bought the Chessex Battle Mat mentioned above and the Bestiary Box. It suits us very well so far. In fact the players were pretty delighted with it when we first used it (In the Glassworks). One of the players has really taken great delight in drawing out the settings as I describe them. He's the one who draws the overall maps too, I suspect he's a repressed cartographer. Sorry, wandering off the point.

The mat, some wipe pens and bestiary box are a (relatively) inexpensive way to get started. The players were using what they could find to represent themselves initially, about 6 sessions in and they've started trawling the net for appropriate figures and talk of buying paints between them. There's software you could put up on a decent sized tv screen though it seemed a bit fiddly (Maptools is the name that comes to mind but i could be wrong) so we chose the low tech option.

Best advice would be to ask your players how they would like to approach it, talk about the pros and cons and go from there. As Uriel222 said above, different tools suit different groups so talking to the players is the best way to identify what you collectively see as the best solution.

Good luck