General RPG DiscussionDiscussion of all RPGs and non-system-specific topics. DM/GM/player issues, settings, etc. Rules discussion belongs in one the forums below.
One suggestion: I'd like to see some 3d terrain features that focus on the types of terrain in the 4e DMG:
Obscured (3D fog boxes?)
I want to definitely say YES! to that. My party currently has a Drow, with the Dragon Magazine article feat for re-active darkness. Meaning, when hit, he can use the Globe of darkness encounter power as an immediate reaction. He does it, "ALOT". (It's now a running gag, "ooh, you made me ink!"). We first started using poker chips to mark out the squares of darkness. We then created a 3x3 tile section to slide under. I took the Fat Dragon Games "gelatinous cube" model from the "Tombs and Horrors" set, brought it into photoshop, painted it black, and increased the size from 2x2 to 3x3. I made sure to cut out the bottom so I can drop it over the minis and map. I kinda screwed it up a bit, so I had to build it in pieces. However, we are now using that. So, I'd like to see more of these types of things. A cloud of daggers 1 square column with empty bottom to drop in place.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Novem5er
dwarves - lots of runes, stone tables, etc
Check out FDG's "Dungeons of the Dwarf Lords" Dragon Tiles set. That has alot of dwarven flavored goodness.
Actually, in the new Deluxe Edition there is a stand-alone guide with color layouts showing how to create a multitude of room designs.
I haven't tried the WorldWorks stuff, but I've been loving Fat Dragons' E-Z Dungeons. The WorldWorks dungeon pieces are just too "busy" for my taste. Some of their nondungeon stuff looks pretty neat, though. I got E-Z Dungeons Deluxe a week or two ago, and I've made several pieces so far. It hasn't been too expensive, mostly because I already had a color printer and a large color ink cartridge, to save on the unit price. The pieces are super easy to put together, and look great. My girlfriend is even getting into it. So, thanks Fat Dragon for putting out E-Z Dungeons Deluxe, it's great. And those new traps make the evil DM inside me smile. And as we all know, if the DM smiles, it's already too late...
My only problem has been finding a decent glue. The gluepens I got from Staples are ok, but I'm sure there is something out there better. With the pen I have now, I have to put down a non trivial amount of glue to get it to stay. Is there a particular brand anyone can recommend?
__________________ "If it doesn't fit, bend it. If it still doesn't fit, break it." -Old Dwarven saying.
"My sword is still in the dire shark? I jump back in and get it out!" -myself playing Balrog, a half-orc barbarian. It was a *really* nice sword.
It's not hard. It's expensive, as I don't have a color printer, and I have to get pages printed at Kinkos, etc., but no, not hard.
While this may or may not be a feasible recommendation, I'd recommend getting a cheap inkjet printer that works well with manually refilling the ink cartridge. It'll really cut down the costs involved compared to spending 50 cents and up per colour page at a print shop.
Quote:
Originally Posted by skinnydwarf
The WorldWorks dungeon pieces are just too "busy" for my taste.
I agree. They're also very stylized for a particular feel. I don't know how to describe it, but they feel like they're specific and non-generic. What I mean is that they give off a certain feel rather than being neutral/generic. And if that feel doesn't match your in-game description, they can counter the vibe/move you're trying to give. I don't know if I'm making any sense. They're really nice though. And if they vibe/feel does match what you're going for then, well, awesome!
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Originally Posted by Zaukrie
For tiles, I recommend mounting them on foamcore for sure. Much easier to use that way.
What I use are cheap vinyl adhesive floor tiles. They are like 4 or 5 for a dollar at home depot or whatever. I print the tile on regular white paper, take off the adhesive backing of the floor tile and stick it on the part of the tile that would normally go down on the sub-floor. Then I carefully cut everything with a pair of utility/kitchen scissors. This is obviously for the tiles and not walls and whatnot-- though I'm sure you could make that work too.
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Originally Posted by Novem5er
Fat Dragon ...I love them.
I am so happy my friend sent me the link to this thread. I had to sign up for Enworld just to post here about it. I've done some WorldWorks stuff, SkeletonKey stuff and a bunch of free online stuff. This is the first time I've seen Fat Dragon's stuff and I'm blown away.
-- Matt
Last edited by nnms; 13th April 2009 at 07:44 AM..
Warping isn't quite right, but certainly flexing. They are vinyl, which means they are semi-flexible. For a while I was transporting my tiles in a cheap plastic bag. The pressure of the bag was enough to flex the tiles. So I had to pull them out and gently bend them back the other way. Since then I've been transporting them in a file folder case and have had no issues.
__________________ Matt
I just found out anemones is not spelled anenomes.
...and there are hundreds of free tiles on the web, if you look around.
That is true enough.
I'm not going to say that they are as good, as flexible, or as detailed as some of the stuff you can buy, but for folks thinking of just testing things out before jumping in with both feet, then they might be good to experiment with before parting with any cash.
Some generic 2D tiles that I have drawn myself are available on this page of my website: PDF Dungeon Tiles
...but there is other stuff out there.
Quote:
Originally Posted by nnms
While this may or may not be a feasible recommendation, I'd recommend getting a cheap inkjet printer that works well with manually refilling the ink cartridge.
Having an ink cartridge that you can refill without much hassle is a definite bonus for these kind of things
Those FDG mechanical traps look exactly like what I was looking for... and at a reasonable price, too. I'll be sure to pick some up soon.
Regarding glue, I've been using just a dab of superglue on each of the tabs. There is actually a few seconds of "give" before it really starts to bond, so I've been able to make last second adjustments. For times that I'm off, I can usually use my hobby knife to just slide in and cut the glued paper and then reglue... since I'm just using a dab, it isn't that bad to cut and fix.
What I use are cheap vinyl adhesive floor tiles. They are like 4 or 5 for a dollar at home depot or whatever. I print the tile on regular white paper, take off the adhesive backing of the floor tile and stick it on the part of the tile that would normally go down on the sub-floor.
I gotta try this- wonderful idea!
As for glues, UHU makes a scrapbooking glue pen that works good you can pick up at Wal Mart. Once of our customers just e-mailed me that Elmers is making a non-wrinkle glue pen too, but I have yet to try this. I actually use Elmers white glue (VERY sparingly) and I like Eileen's Craft Glue (it's white school glue for crafting, but it has about half the water content so it doesn't warp as much.)
They're really nice though. And if they vibe/feel does match what you're going for then, well, awesome!
I think this is the best part of having so many good card model manufacturers out there- we each bring our own unique style to the product which means the customer has a far better chance finding a set that fits their particular needs. More choices for the customer is always a good thing, and there is no reason not to mix and match the available sets out there.
I think this is the best part of having so many good card model manufacturers out there- we each bring our own unique style to the product which means the customer has a far better chance finding a set that fits their particular needs. More choices for the customer is always a good thing, and there is no reason not to mix and match the available sets out there.
Absolutely. Might I ask for a product recommendation? I want to go with a 2D dungeon solution with 3D doors, furniture, etc.,. I don't want to have walls on every room. What would be the best Fat Dragon product to go with?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kris
Having an ink cartridge that you can refill without much hassle is a definite bonus for these kind of things
Definitely. Getting a good quality refill kit (like Image Specialist/MIS/Precision Colors) drives the cost per page down to about a tenth of buying the official cartridges at full retail. Those cartridges with print heads attached right on them will only last 5-10 refills, but it's great refilling them for $1 a shot and only having to buy new replacement ones every 5-10 fills.
__________________ Matt
I just found out anemones is not spelled anenomes.
Absolutely. Might I ask for a product recommendation? I want to go with a 2D dungeon solution with 3D doors, furniture, etc.,. I don't want to have walls on every room. What would be the best Fat Dragon product to go with?
Definitely. Getting a good quality refill kit (like Image Specialist/MIS/Precision Colors) drives the cost per page down to about a tenth of buying the official cartridges at full retail. Those cartridges with print heads attached right on them will only last 5-10 refills, but it's great refilling them for $1 a shot and only having to buy new replacement ones every 5-10 fills.
Dragon Tiles Dungeon Set 1 (and maybe 2) should do it.
I'm thinking of getting into PDF dungeon tiles. Like the ones SkeletonKey makes.
What I'm wondering is what's the best way to print them off? Do you print with a higher end printer settings on photopaper, or do they look fine on copy paper? How many do you get out of an ink cartride?
Anyone recommend any particular PDFs or Publishers?
I know when I had inkjet printers, it killed a cartridge just to run a complete set so in addition to paying $15 for the pdf, it was costing me $48 for the color and black/white ink cartridges. I have a color laser printer, but haven't gotten around to testing it yet. I'm not really sure that even that would be cost-effective as the four catridges for the laser printer are super expensive (almost the cost of the printer itself for all four) so I unless I get several hundred sets, even I find it hard to reallly justify the cost.
I know when I had inkjet printers, it killed a cartridge just to run a complete set so in addition to paying $15 for the pdf, it was costing me $48 for the color and black/white ink cartridges.
I would highly recommend that anyone thinking about getting into printing colour PDFs, to figure out a cost per page beforehand. Then look into aftermark ink cartridges and refill kits. For example, a printer at the office (HP 6-something) has cartridges that sell for $40 a piece. The local wal-mart refills them for $10. The only thing we use that printer for is printing full colour product brochures. We get about 50 8.5x11 pages (colour printing on the whole page) per refill. So that's 20 cents a page.
The local print shops charge about 50 cents a page for colour laser printing. Anything over that and I wouldn't bother with at home printing.
On the other hand, many Canon printers can be easily refilled numerous times. The eBay seller I get my refill kits from comes to $25 shipped for enough ink for 35-40 refills. The refills last about half as long as the new ones, but wow does it save money.
__________________ Matt
I just found out anemones is not spelled anenomes.
The local print shops charge about 50 cents a page for colour laser printing. Anything over that and I wouldn't bother with at home printing.
$.50? One color page on 80lb paper costs me $1.16-$1.25. This is at Kinkos or Office Max. What am I doing wrong here?
~
__________________
Click above to see S7S's FREE Rune Soldier Heroic Tier Playtest
also check out Silent7Seven.com for information on The Lunar Scrolls,
and the Advanced Class line including "Druid Favored Forms"
and "Sorcerer Aberrant Blood"
$.50? One color page on 80lb paper costs me $1.16-$1.25. This is at Kinkos or Office Max. What am I doing wrong here?
Taking your business to a nationwide chain of stores. Locally owned and operated printers (or regional chains) typically have better deals for the consumer than any nationwide chain will.
I patronize a place locally that charges me something like $.24 for a one-sided color print on 65 lb. photo gloss card stock. And roughly $.06 per side for double-sided black and white prints on 20 lb. bond paper.
As you can imagine, I print a lot of the PDFs that I purchase
$.50? One color page on 80lb paper costs me $1.16-$1.25. This is at Kinkos or Office Max. What am I doing wrong here?
I'm in Canada. Usually that means things are more expensive rather than less. So I'm not sure.
Have you shopped around? I've read on forums of people getting colour printing at a UPS Store for 35 cents a page. I think they are independent franchises though, so you'll probably want to give them a call and find out by location.
Perhaps local copy centres have a better rate?
__________________ Matt
I just found out anemones is not spelled anenomes.
I've read on forums of people getting colour printing at a UPS Store for 35 cents a page. I think they are independent franchises though, so you'll probably want to give them a call and find out by location.
Perhaps local copy centres have a better rate?
Both true for me. The local UPS Store has 35 cents a copy and is owned by a guy who also owns the UPS Store in the next twon over, as well. There is a small print shop nearby, too, that has limited hours of operation but does full color for 50 cents a page. I have found that most of the Kinkos services can be found elsewhere for less.
Speaking about tiles, Ĝone Games offer a different approach to the "2D tiles" thing.
Most of our products allow a certain degree of customization before printing. In Ĝone' Black & White line , for example you can choose which elements of the tile should appear in you customized tile (you can alter the wall filling, the type of grid, the furniture, and so on).
here's a link to a Free product n this line: Medusa Hideout
If you feel creative you can even use our Tile Designer line, a series of PDFs allowing you to design your own tiles and print them. These are not programs, and you can't save your work (except by saving your screen). They are designed to make tiles and print them on the fly.
Thanks for the tips, guys! I just found a local print shop and got some stuff for $.30/page! And they had heavier paper than Kinkos/Office Max! Also, since we were talking about it, I asked . . . they can print up to 15x19in pages. In color, one page that size would be $.55! I forgot to ask if they could then laminate that page, but I'm pretty excited about everything after getting gouged at the previous stores I went to.
~
__________________
Click above to see S7S's FREE Rune Soldier Heroic Tier Playtest
also check out Silent7Seven.com for information on The Lunar Scrolls,
and the Advanced Class line including "Druid Favored Forms"
and "Sorcerer Aberrant Blood"
Thanks for the tips, guys! I just found a local print shop and got some stuff for $.30/page! And they had heavier paper than Kinkos/Office Max! Also, since we were talking about it, I asked . . . they can print up to 15x19in pages. In color, one page that size would be $.55! I forgot to ask if they could then laminate that page, but I'm pretty excited about everything after getting gouged at the previous stores I went to.
~
That's great! Glad it worked out for you. I posted this in another thread but your plans for how to use the things have me thinking it is worth posting this info on how I handle poster-sized or battlemaps here, too.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark
I split up maps into standard page sizes, print them out at the least expensive local place that has a color printer (currently the UPS Store does $0.35 per full color page), glue stick the pages to an appropriately size piece of foam board, then cover it all with lamination sheets to preserve and protect and allow me to use wet erase markers on them. The back can be scored in places to allow them to fold up well enough. The overall cost of materials is between $5 and $10 US.
Here's some photos of a couple of these I did for a Free RPG Day with Paizo maps (that I even had to scan and enlarge to make it happen) -
Linear Mode
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