I need some quick advice. I have a session this coming Monday (10/14/19), and in the adventure I have the party about to enter and climb down the massive pit. There will be an encounter inside the pit as they descend. I would like to alter the battle map to be upright and vertical instead of flat and horizontal on the table. Similar to this picture.
I thought of this pretty late, and I have a very small budget to buy all kinds of cool stuff to make something like that (I have the map already).
What can I use (on a limited or no budget) to get a similar effect, rocky platforms and stuff like that? Any ideas?
Thanks in advance!
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What I would probably do is buy a couple of foam boards (like these) and some super glue. One board could be the cliff, and the other cut out to make platforms etc. It wouldn't have a grid on it unless you drew it yourself, but it should be workable.
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Your local dollar store probably has blocks of green planters foam for sticking fake flowers into, or a hobby lobby or similar. This stuff is really easy to cut, takes paint well, and can be glued to posterboard to hang on the wall.
Those are both really great ideas. Thank you!
I've got a similar encounter coming up, and decided to draw the vertical map on a horizontal surface. Not as visually striking, but eaiser to set up and to use.
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Hello everyone! I wanted to submit an update. I was able to make a baller map, and my players were surprised and enjoyed the encounter on it. Because you all helped me with ideas on how to make it for cheap, I wanted to share the final result.
Thanks!
That's inspiring! I'm getting all kinds of ideas now. Glad you and your players had a good time!
Whenever I buy dice I save the plastic cases because they're perfect "out-in-the-open" stands for characters who are flying (or in your case, climbing). I also have some flat little numbered icons ranging from 1-20 that I place on them to denote how many feet they're up. If they're flying at 400ft, I put two 20's on them, if they're flying at 80ft, I put one 8 on it, etc.
In your case, if they're descending into a dark abyss and you don't want them to know their elevation, just don't put a numbered icon on it and write their elevation down on your notepad :)
Whenever I buy dice I save the plastic cases because they're perfect "out-in-the-open" stands for characters who are flying (or in your case, climbing). I also have some flat little numbered icons ranging from 1-20 that I place on them to denote how many feet they're up. If they're flying at 400ft, I put two 20's on them, if they're flying at 80ft, I put one 8 on it, etc.
In your case, if they're descending into a dark abyss and you don't want them to know their elevation, just don't put a numbered icon on it and write their elevation down on your notepad :)
I save those cases too, for the same reason. That's a good idea with the tokens. I'm proud of the vertical map I made (see above), and my players loved it as well. I wanted to do something different.
The PCs knew how deep the pit was, as they have a guide they hired to lead them to and through the Underdark, and she told them roughly how far down it was.
Overall, it was a good time.