D&D 5E Battlemats?

[Fion]

Yes I use them. My group splits between playing at a table and over Roll20 (easier when we cant all get together, driving distance is sometimes an issue). I've been playing since Basic Red Box came out in 83 but my group is mostly people who came into the game in late 2nd ed (our fave edition) or early 3rd edition (least fav, but still played a lot) where I first started adopting grid combat.

I particularly enjoy using grid combat in DDN because it provides the tactical feel of 4th edition (we love 4e before it got bloated) without the extra rules that slowed down combat like flanking, more intricate opportunity attack system, etc.

 

[jrowland]

I need an "I got them seared into my mind/process during 3e and 4e, so I'm currently using them, but I'm desperately trying to remember how to run TotM" option.

I got into the habit in 3E/4E as well, but made a point to do TotM exclusively for 5E. It was tough at first. I have adopted my own little "house rules" that might help.


1) Describe distances in 30foot increments, either by saying adjacent, 30, 60, 90 etc or by (my method) saying engaged, close, medium, long, extreme and just ignore numbers. For ranged attacks (dis), just rename the ranges: 30/90 becomes short/medium eg
2) Players expect to be able to do things like Flank to get Adv. If PCs outnumber Creatures in an engagement, you are flanking (same for creatures)
3) Can have multiple engagements: Fighter + 3 kobolds here, Wizard+Cleric+3 Cultists there (For really crazy multiple engagement fights, I use 3X5 cards with names on them to show who is engaged where. If cards touch, they are close, if the gap is about a card in length then medium range, two cards apart then long, anything at extreme doesn't need a card. Creatures engaged provide each other with cover w.r.t. ranged attacks (ie firing into melee) period. They are circling/dancing around each other and make sudden moves. Might as well count as cover (ie penalty rather Dis)
4) When describing the scene/fights I have moved from detailed static descriptions to dynamic descriptions: "You see 3 kobolds at close range preparing to fire their slings from around the corner of the building. In front of them 2 Dargon Cultists, naked but for the blue-paint and hideous bone masks and of course the military picks they carry rushing towards you. Roll Initiative." This way, when the players do something, I can wing a little more: "You move to engage the cultists and stop them halfway between the kobolds and the rest of your party. Your swing disembowels the cultists who screams 'My Life for you my Queen!' before collapsing in steaming mess. The Kobolds launch their sling bullets (at the rest of the party) before darting back behind the building." That sort of thing. I make sure to include info about distance/cover/who is engaged, etc, but stay away from numbers (kobolds are 35' from party, but 10' from fighter and (now) lone cultist who are engaged, after the kobolds attack they have full cover from party, but 1/2 cover from fighter, etc).
5) try not to overwhelm yourself with too much detail. In example above, all kobolds operate as a single unit. At a 4E battlemat table, one kobold may not have the move to get into cover, or if a party member moves perpendicular 10' may have a shot with 3/4 cover, etc...but its not worth bothering with in TotM. Don't overtax yourself.

 

[Giltonio_Santos]

I'm using a battlemat on those fights that feature complex terrain or opponents with mobility as an important trait. I'm going with TotM in other cases.

 

[Scorpio616]

Hex battlemap, Dwarvenforge Gametiles, floot tiles and whatever terrain I cobble together.

I wouldn't mind giving Theater of the mind more use, but that also really benefits from party initiative instead of individual initiative and that's like pulling teeth with the rest of the group who suffer terminal cases of I want to Act now-itis and 'Don't tell me what to do-itis'.

 

[Jester David]

I have a player that doesn't listen well and misses details, so a battlemap is a must.

 

[dd.stevenson]

I have a player that doesn't listen well and misses details, so a battlemap is a must.

Yeah, same. There's some minor learning disabilities involved, and the game just isn't going to go smoothly without a visual aid.

I feel like this poll should distinguish between gridded and ungridded mats, though. And also diagrams vs. scale maps.

 

[Olaf the Stout]

I voted "Yes", but technically my answer should be "No" or "Other" as when we make the switch over to 5E I'll almost certainly have a couple of sets of Tact-Tiles!

I own a couple of thousand pre-painted DDMs and I've been using some sort of battle mat for over a dozen years now, so I don't see that changing any time soon. Slamming a nasty monster down on the table can often get a reaction from players that you can't get just by describing what they're up against.

I can still vividly remember the "Oh crap!" reactions I got from my players in my Shackled City campaign when I put a Beholder on the table when they were Level 1 and a Huge Red Dragon when they were about Level 17.

 

[Tommy Brownell]

So far, I've been using battlemats when I DM. I prefer them.

I do, but we don't stick to strict movement or grids. I just have one player who tracks everything better with a visual element, so it's for his benefit.

 

[fanboy2000]

I feel like this poll should distinguish between gridded and ungridded mats, though. And also diagrams vs. scale maps.

That would be a good poll, I think. Honestly, I don't know enough about the different visual aids out there to make a poll like that. That said, I've used battlemats, various tiles made by WotC, and many, many poster maps from the miniatures game.

I can still vividly remember the "Oh crap!" reactions I got from my players in my Shackled City campaign when I put a Beholder on the table when they were Level 1 and a Huge Red Dragon when they were about Level 17.

I know how you feel. A couple of weeks ago, I put down a rust monster mini.

 

[fanboy2000]

Related question: is anyone switching away from battlemats to theater of the mind for their 5e games? Or from something else to theater of the mind?

IRL, I know someone who's moving to theater of the mind for 5e.