D&D 5E Battlemap Vs. Theater of the Mind

[The Human Target]

As you asked about speed and not my preference, it really depends.

Assuming predrawn maps, I'd say its a wash with most groups.

Now personally, I vastly prefer maps even if it is slower. Rushing through one of the key aspects of the game as fast as can be seems odd to me.

No one ever says "let's roleplay this meeting with the Prince as quickly as possible!"

 

[Mishihari Lord]

ToTM combat seems a bit quicker, but that may be because I only use it for very simple combats. I switched to battlemaps in about 1982 and never looked back. The level of detail presented on the battlemap is greater than what I can easily carry in my head, so battlemaps make for more tactically complex, interesting battles.

 

[FormerlyHemlock]

I'll second those who say that battle maps scale better for large/complex battles. I often do ToTM, but since my party likes to have lots of hirelings and minions, it can be complicated allocating targets and damages. "Wait, how many skeletons do you have attacking Gargoyle #2 vs. #3?" "Are your goblin skeletons on the front line, or are all the frontliners human skeletons?" I'm thinking of switching to Lego maps so I can illustrate terrain features and 3D maps (hills, tunnels, vertical building faces), which would adds enough interest to make it worth doing. 2D battlemaps bore me so I tend to avoid them, but ToTM isn't all that much faster.

 

[Shiroiken]

It really depends on the scale of the fight. A simple fight with only a couple of enemies is usually not worth the effort of the battlemap, but the climatic battle of an exciting adventure almost certainly is.

This is best seen with Roll20 (or any other virtual table top, I imagine), where the maps are pre-drawn and the combat begins quickly. I've found that the time difference isn't that great when doing TotM (usually during wandering encounters or encounters I haven't prepped for) as opposed to battlemap. I usually spend more time making the map between sessions than the combat actually takes

The biggest difference is that the system runs quickly and that people pay attention. Most plan their turn in advance and that makes each turn take less than a minute (usually closer to 30 seconds). If someone suffers from AP (analysis paralysis), the battlemap slows things down more, but those people are going to slow the game no matter what style is used (except possibly play by post/email).

 

[Jeff Albertson]

I've used minis since 1e. I find that the difference in time is negligible, the added realism and tactile immersion is worth the time of using minis.

I don't see how touching an action figure, or what-have-you, would immerse you more and make it more realistic.

I never witnessed minis being used until 3rd Ed, where I started using them religiously, I now like to mix it up, just sometimes minis really make me feel extra dorky (and un-immerse me, the whole bird's-eye-view deal), like a child playing with action figures making laser blasts sounds (which I used to love and was an expert).

 

[Pibby]

Personally I like Theater of the Mind for most combat encounters, especially throw away or random encounters. It gives players a first perspective on the situation without awkwardly covering and uncovering areas of the map for line of sight. It also lets players imagine a more dynamic combat scene where characters don't stand in place when they do their actions (although you could technically move your miniature around the enemy to show your swashbuckler attacks but it's pointless to do so). I'm not saying you can't do that with a battle mat out but when it is out players will focus more on the battle mat as opposed to the actual color of the scene itself.

I only like to use the battle mat when there are obvious terrain features that will matter in the fight by which their positions are a pain to keep track of with Theater of the Mind. The same goes for multiple enemies as well when the battle itself is not focused on one or two local areas. But some exceptions can be made depending on what kind of experience you want for important battles.

I ran the last fight in the D&D Expedition "Shadows over the Moonsea" with a Theater of the Mind in one season and with a battle mat in another season. Without spoiling the fight, I felt that running with Theater of the Mind was better for this fight even though character positioning and minding obstacles were an important part of the fight. The fight was much faster this way and because the fight was supposed to be a chaotic war field it put the PCs in a better mindset for this particular battle.

 

[aramis erak]

Do you find that there's a difference in the time drag of Battlemap combat as opposed to Theater of the Mind combat?

Let's assume pre-drawn maps to eliminate the time it takes the GM to draw.

In my experience, yes, battleats slow things down by about 33%... that is to say, theater of the mind usually takes about 3/4 the time of battlemap, but also is less satisfying for me and many players.

 

[Pickles JG]

I find totm faster, much faster online using google, hangouts. It comes at the expense of nuance though such as all movement speed being about the same, and of the players having a clear idea of whats going on. Fortunately I am a very benign dm who lets them get away with things. Adding all that to the narrative would slow it back down again I think. I have only DMed totm recently all my playing has been battle mat, so I am not sure how involving it is player side.

I am happy with a mixture of styles as the battlemat fights can be much richer when they are not slowed by too much square counting Etc

 

[fjw70]

I find TotM faster than minis for smaller battles but for larger battles minis can really help speed thing up.

 

[iserith]

I find that having a map or not has little impact on the speed of combat. What matters most is how many combatants are involved and the nature of the conflict. I also don't care how long a combat scene takes as long as it's interesting... and we always make interesting combat scenes.

I prefer having a map with a grid that is visually interesting. At a minimum, I provide some kind of visual aid in the form of evocative imagery for the scene plus minis to show relative positioning if I don't use a grid.

Further, grid or no grid, I frame the scene as it stands before every player's turn. "Chuck Dagger just stabbed the orc and he and it are wrapped up in a melee. Two more orcs have just arrived in the doorway 20 feet away and look like they want to charge down Vanciana Feyzalez and Marshal Heeling. In the distance, you hear the baleful call of a war horn. What do you do, Lactos the Intolerant?"

Taking a few seconds to do this in a pithy manner makes things exciting and cuts down on the players asking questions before acting. (That plus a policy at our table that players should never ask questions during play. Playing 20 Questions when the scene is supposed to be exciting and memorable just kills the pacing and tension.)