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Thyatira3902
2007-12-22, 11:38 PM
My group i play with has always used a free form area for battles and dungeons. often using miniatures on felt and estimating movement. What do other people like? Why do people like square and hex grids? it just doesn't make sense.

Armads
2007-12-22, 11:45 PM
It's much simpler to use, as opposed to estimating distance without a measure. It also syncs well with the movespeed of most stuff, since they are all in 5ft intervals.

Xefas
2007-12-22, 11:48 PM
My group and I used the sort of "freeform" type play during 2nd edition. It created a lot of problems, but was still fun.

After a session or two of 3rd, we added in a square-grid battlemap, and have never looked back. It's SO much better. We find it so superior, that we flat out don't play if we can't find some way to have a map (admittedly, it's rather easy).

We don't use miniatures however. Cost too much.

Yami
2007-12-23, 01:38 AM
I admit that the battlemaps don't work as well for running battles (Which we usually end up fighting at one point or another in a session,) But work rather swell for dungeons.

So often enough, it's what we do.

Admiral Squish
2007-12-23, 01:44 AM
My group uses heroscape pieces for it's maps. you know, the plastic hexagons that interlock at the edges? The kind you can stack to make mountains and such? They even come in different colors and patterns for different landforms and terrain. Overall, pretty satisfying.

reorith
2007-12-23, 02:14 AM
i use that grid from the dmg. for a couple of bucks, i had it laminated and it has worked out pretty cool ever since.

i found a sheet of posterboard at walmart with a half inch grid marked on it. i wish i had found it sooner :(

Fhaolan
2007-12-23, 02:25 AM
It really depends on how you run combats.

If your combats are very freeform, you're probably making most of it up as you go along anyway. The battlemap isn't going to help, and will very likely just slow things down. If your combats are very structured, and you use all the AoO and movement rules as written, the battlemap might speed things up.

However, if you've got very good spacial sense and can tell distances in inches between minatures without a visual aid like a grid, the grid isn't going to help. Also, if you have experience with the measure and template methods common to most wargame minature combat systems like Warhammer and the like, the grid *might* help, but not enough to make it worth it. And finally, if you use lots of terrain props, like buildings and whatnot, they're going to obscure the grid anyway, reducing it's utility.

TheOOB
2007-12-23, 03:10 AM
I use a battle grid for D&D, incidentally, D&D is the only PnP RPG I use one for. D&D is at it's heart a war game, and the focal point of the entire game system is deep tactical combat, and I think that by estimating distances and what not you are really selling the system short, not using the tools required to get full enjoyment out of the system.

Most other systems, shadowrun for example, it's simply enough to know what range catagory you are in, if your behind cover, and if you can close the distance in a single action, which doesn't need a tactical map.

shaggz076
2007-12-23, 04:44 AM
In my group we have a white board that had been divided into 1 inch squares with a black marker and then we scored the board along the lines to make them a permanent part ot the board. It allows you to draw out your battle scenarios and add in things that you feel would be pertainent to the battle (Ie a table works great for the higher ground rules).

In all the white board works really well unless you are doing a long range battle because you can get maybe 200 feet on a typical whiteboard. I have recently bought a bigger whiteboard and I plan on building a table with it set in the middle, just for my gaming room.

nerulean
2007-12-23, 07:47 AM
We've got a couple of writeable battle maps, with the plain one seeing the most use. That said, we usually use it a little vaguely, with the squares being more like guidelines, to quote a famous pirate.

If you've got a six square movement and want to move on a diagonal, you don't have to sit there and remember the weird formula, you can just kind of guess it. Likewise, spells don't use square patterns, you draw on the outside points on all four compass points and then join the dots in a vaguely circular manner (for, say, a fireball). Arguing about whether someone is in the area or not is part of the fun.

Thanatos 51-50
2007-12-23, 11:22 AM
I've only ever really used the following three things:

Standard grid paper with little drawings on it denoting things like "door", "monster", and "PC". For the obvious want of not over-erasing, PCs weren't drawn too often, nor were monsters that moved alot.

ASCII
Like the above, only on Notepad on a computer. PCs and monsters typed much more frequently.

The cartoons in my head - possibly with assitance of scratch/note paper -
Becasue thats reflexive.

bignate
2008-01-10, 11:33 AM
in the past when we used maps they have pretty much always been the vinyl roll up kind that you can write on with wet erase markers. we have traditionally use hex battle maps and still do most of the time but it has been slightly annoying on occation since 3/3.5 went to a defined square battle map. we sometime have to make judgements because of the hexes.

now we use a lot of heroscape. it is awesome having 3-d maps with hills, trees, water, swamp, snow, lava, stone roads and castles. the only trouble with it is the amount of work it requires to put together.

setup for flat areas of forest or water and such is pretty easy but if you want detailed maps with hills of buildings it takes a while but it is worth it when you present a really good map to your players and they say WOW...it is all worth it.

my group usually games at my house and i own all of our heroscape stuff so when i run the game it is great since i can prepair stuff before the game. we cant really get the big maps when other people DM though.

we also sometimes us the D&D dungeon tiles. i made a really big map before. covering a 6' by 6' area. here is a pic of it.

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e93/kb4525/Miniatures/catacomb.jpg

i revealed the panels to them one by one as they moved through the dungeon.

valadil
2008-01-10, 11:53 AM
We use standard square grid battlemaps. Once every couple years we try switching to hex, but someone noisy complains and we go back to squares. I prefer hex, but it just doesn't line up right for dungeons and other interior areas.

DrummingDM
2008-01-10, 12:13 PM
I free-formed my combats in 2nd Edition, but after taking on new players who were only familiar with 3.x and upgrading my game, I've moved to a square, wet-erase battlemat. It works so nicely. Someone casts and AoE spell, and I know exactly who/what is within the radius of the spell. Dragon uses his cone-shaped breath weapon, and I know exactly who/what is getting hit. It makes figuring out line-of-sight a snap, and there's never a question about who's threatening which squares.

wormwood
2008-01-10, 12:45 PM
One of the DMs I play with uses Bathroom tiles with a 1" square pattern on them. They work great. Dry erase markers wipe right off of them, so he can draw whatever he like on there. Also, He tapes several of them together so he can fold them up when they aren't needed. I thought it was a brilliant solution.

In another game, we use roll-up vinyl grids. They tend to be a little easier than the tiles but, they are also far more expensive.

Severus
2008-01-10, 12:50 PM
Hex or squares are both a HUGE improvement over freeform.

Everyone can see ranges, know how far they can move, what the area effect of spells are, etc.

I can't imagine going back to freeform and the debates about whether someone is in range or not, who is in and out of the fireball and all that.

RTGoodman
2008-01-10, 12:59 PM
One of my favorite techniques is just to get some of the posterboard that has the 1" or 1/2" squares on it, then use a black marker to make the lines more defined. Take it to Staples (or whatever office supply company is near you), and for like $1.50 you can get the whole thing laminated. That way you can mark on it and then just wipe it off. Coincidentally, I did the same thing for the maps that come with Red Hand of Doom, and being able to mark stuff (for instance, exactly which squares are difficult terrain) sped things up.

Also, some of my groups have actually invested in Crystal Caste brand vinyl mats (the double-sided ones with hexes and squares), and those seem to work really well (as long as you use the correct marker on them).

TheDarkOne
2008-01-10, 04:07 PM
Has anyone ever tried playing with a ruler and some string? There'd be a scale map of the battle area, but no grid. You'd have several increments of string length, one representing a 5 foot move, a 10 foot, etc. It would probably also be good to make extensive use of circular templates. It wouldn't be that hard to figure out, but probably more time consuming then playing on a grid, though not by much once you got used to it.

I think this is like how Warhammer is played.

TheThan
2008-01-10, 04:46 PM
What I’m currently using is the game board from a board game called Decent: journey into the darkness. It sort of a dnd inspired dungeon crawling board game.




Now if I could afford it I’d buy a digital projector and project a grid over some terrain. It would be the best of both worlds; I’d have the coolness of 3d terrain with the ease of use of a grid system.

Its simple you first have to hang the thing from the ceiling (pointing down) and then hook it up to your pc or lappy. Then you draw out a grid using your favorite drawing or mapping program and overlay it on top of your terrain (don’t forget to size it accordingly).

Its great for any sort of battles you’ll be doing, particularly outdoors. Now the really cool thing is that this can double for other sorts of minis games that use grids, like Classic MechWarrior or DnD Minis.

But I don’t have that capacity yet.

Trog
2008-01-10, 05:10 PM
I had been using those wipe off boards and some colored glass bead thingies for a long time but have slowly upgraded over the past year to cobblestone plaster dungeon tiles and walls built using the molds sold by HirstArts (.com) and using painted minis and WotC DnD minis (Thes' latest obsession). I'll have to take a photo once we finish painting the tiles. I have to say it kicks the ass of wipeoff maps and beads. :smallcool:

deadseashoals
2008-01-10, 09:38 PM
I bought a 4'x8' panel of this stuff called AquaTile a while back. I believe it's designed to be paneling for one's shower (I am home improvement-retarded so correct me if I'm wrong), and it cost 10 dollars. It works with dry-erase markers, and you can take a knife to it and score it in 1" squares easily - the only problem is that it doesn't take wear and tear as easily as a standard whiteboard, and it stains more quickly, but it's a small price to pay for an absolutely dirt cheap 32 square feet of whiteboard.

Recently, one of my groups has taken to Dungeon Tiles as well, and they're pretty cool. You can't write on them, so it's harder to keep track of ongoing area effects (Evard's, web, etc), and they're not as customizeable, but it's a lot of fun combining those with D&D Miniatures, of which I have far too many, for super eye-candy.

AslanCross
2008-01-10, 11:52 PM
I use large sheets of architect tracing paper. I have one that currently has a grid on it (traced off one of the battle maps that comes with the D&D miniatures starter set.)

The grid is drawn on one side, and we draw the dungeon map on the other side in pencil. It's tedious and annoying, but since our sessions are each very short a single drawing lasts about a month of play.

I use the D&D miniatures since I spent a lot on them last year. Not all of them are appropriate, but might as well use them since they're here.

That said, I wish I could get one of those dry-erase vinyl mats and cheaper miniatures. The only miniatures available locally are D&D, Warhammer and Dreamblade, all of which are expensive. (It doesn't help that the contents of D&D miniatures boosters are random) There are no cheap miniatures here, let alone ones where I can actually choose the contents. -_-

EDIT:


One of my favorite techniques is just to get some of the posterboard that has the 1" or 1/2" squares on it, then use a black marker to make the lines more defined. Take it to Staples (or whatever office supply company is near you), and for like $1.50 you can get the whole thing laminated.

Now this is a good idea. I didn't think of that before, thanks. :D

Xyk
2008-01-11, 12:06 AM
I usually use the vinyl roll-up with visa-vis. The board is expensive at first but reusable forever. I am curious however, about using freeform and measuring tape, 1 inch being 5 feet.