People who play at home, how do you use the maps that come in the adventure paths?
I now own Strength of Thousands, Abomination Vaults, and I am 2 books into Stolen Fate. I am trying to get a home game set up and would like to deploy the .pdf interactive maps that came with these adventures, so I can deploy them for my players during combat, but WOW are they inconsistent.
Spoilers are names on maps out of an abundance of caution.
Is there a guide somewhere that breaks down the easiest way to zoom in and screenshot and print out the necessary bits to make the scales (mostly) work?
Thanks in advance.
Navar.
The image quality on these maps generally are not high enough to print on 1" grids. In addition the text is often merged into the image so the only way to remove it is to use a tool like Photoshop.
Look on Reddit for Dungeon draft remakes, people like to share their work, for example SoT maps books 1-2 and Abom 1
I use one of the blank Paizo flip maps and draw them as the players explore. I've also, in the past, when I've had a bigger table, used the above-mentioned 1-inch graph paper, except laminated, so that it can be erased and re-used.
There are lots of ways you can do it.
Wasn't it just an issue with the first APs ( AoA, EC, etc... ) ?
I heard that the new ones can be upscaled as intended.
Lots of the new ones are still too small for VTT and also have secret door signs embedded in the image, etc.
The reason these map remakes exist is that people want to use them on VTT and the Paizo maps are too low-resolution, but you can print them out if you find one with grids.
That said we have a local VC in the Org Play community who owns a large format printer and does OK with the maps on a 1:1 scale; they turn out a little pixellated but get the job done.
I guess it really depends on the quality you want.
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I just use old Chessex mats and a wet-erase marker. Before the session add dots on the grid ahead of time so I don't need to count squares. During the session, I draw as we go by quickly connecting the dots.
This solution keeps you moving quickly while obscuring the dungeon layout from players.
We have a 65" TV laid on its side with a case built around it. And one of the players runs an hdmi cable out of his laptop. And we put the player view of the digital map from our VTT. Then we make sure the squares are 1 inch. And we put our minis down.
I display the maps on a 40" TV in my table (photo of my setup here) at minis-scale. Usually this means the maps are recreated in some other application, like DungeonFog, as I often make changes to them (hiding secrets and such). Obviously maps that don't need any modifying just get used as-is, though I may import them into GIMP and add a layer for fog of war if I feel it necessary.
The TV in the back I use in portrait mode, and on this I display the inititiave window from the Combat Manager application, as well as any images I need to show the party (wide-area/city maps, creatures or NPCs, etc.). This TV is on wheels so Mrs. Fumarole isn't upset about having too many TVs in the dining area (this one and the one in the table are removed when not gaming). Eventually I plan on getting a Frame TV for the wall behind me, as it can look like just a piece of art when not being used as a screen.
We have a 65" TV laid on its side with a case built around it. And one of the players runs an hdmi cable out of his laptop. And we put the player view of the digital map from our VTT. Then we make sure the squares are 1 inch. And we put our minis down.
That is the dream for me.
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We have a 65" TV laid on its side with a case built around it. And one of the players runs an hdmi cable out of his laptop. And we put the player view of the digital map from our VTT. Then we make sure the squares are 1 inch. And we put our minis down.
We do the same. Some maps I have to edith as it reveal to much. Ex. You can hide the hidden doors with player mode, but not the hallway and room behind it.
And I use plane fotos (bird view) of real swamps, lakes, riverbeds for the encounters which doesn’t have a premade Map.We have a plexiglas with squares drawn on it to lay atop the tvscreen. then I just zoom the picture to match sizes. High resolution pictures are required for this.