Imagine, no Battlemat...

[Mouseferatu]

I perfer a battlemat. in 3rd ed and 3.5, alot of the feats, ect. assume you are using a mat. The one time I played a game without a mat, the DM kept skipping people in combat and ignoring initive turns. The group said they perfered to play it in they're heads. Since i was skiped over 3 rounds in a row, I left and never went back.

Two entirely seperate points. I don't use mats, but that doesn't mean I don't keep track of initiative order or the like. While I'm sure I've made mistakes in the past--everyone has--I cannot remember any time in conscious memory where I've skipped a player or ignored initiative.

The problem is, you had two experiences--a group that doesn't use the mat, and a bad DM. The fact that they happened to be one and the same group doesn't mean they were one and the same problem.

 

[DarkMaster]

I am a visual kind of guy. Ever since I started playing in the early 80's I used some kind of mat. Without it the combat become much less interesting, especially in 3E

 

[Bront]

First of all, Mouseferatu is right KenM. Don't judge mapless based on that experience. Skipping players in initiative order happens, but shouldn't be that bad. Though, I have had to institute a "If you miss your initiative when I call it, it's your problem." rule, it's been less of a problem with older gamers.

Now, I generaly roll out a map, or at least just figures, but I've done a few in my head. The problem with too fast and loose is that some feats realy do require situations to use their abilities, and if you play too loose, you loose some of those options (Like AoO's, penalties that are removed, actions saved, ect). This however, can apply to either form.

I find miniatures speeds things up and causes less disputes. But buth can be enjoyable.

 

[Darmanicus]

We mainly use a battlemat but sometimes do without. We've got a lot of figures though and a few of us paint very well and I reckon it can really add to the game, (mind you I used to do a lot of WFB/WH40k).

 

[RangerWickett]

As has been stated before, it's possible to keep AoOs without using the battlemat. I personally don't like to use my (very nice) battlemat because 1) I don't own any miniatures, 2) I don't own any dry erase pens, 3) it takes forever to draw up maps as combat is beginning, which kills the tension, and 4) things don't seem better with the map.

I think the one time I used a map and it was a success was way back in 96, when I was playing Night Below. There was a pre-made map for the throne room of a Kuo-Toa king, and I made each of the PCs a painted Battletech miniature, and each of the villains was an unpainted mini. Of course, 2e wasn't nearly as precisely tactical as 3e.

Maps slow things down, and slow combat is not what I want when I play an RPG. I wouldn't mind it in a game that is specifically about combat and tactics, like Battletech, or D&D Minis, but when the narrative suffers in an RPG, that's a problem.

I am, however, trying to compose a ruleset that will handle tactical combat without a map. Something that can be tracked in the head fairly easily (I'm very good with spatial memory, but I know other folks aren't so much), but which still allows the more tactically-minded, number-crunchy folks an opportunity to play to their strengths.

 

[The_Magician]

Not only I do not use the battlemat, but I dont speak either when DMing ot my group. We all do it telepathically sitting in the lottus position.

 

[Mystery Man]

Can we live without the battlemat?

I say this time and again and no one really ever argues with me (so I don't know if it really matters) but the higher in level you go, the less you use the battlemat. Maybe its because there aren't a lot of folks on this board that play high levels but I say most assuredly that yes, you can live without the battlemat.

 

[DungeonmasterCal]

We used one for awhile with 3.0, but space constraints have caused us to just forego it. We got along fine in the past w/out one. If we need a visual representation for anything, we have a small dry erase board.

 

[Henry]

Imagine there's no Tact-Tiles,
It's easy if you try,
No grids below us,
5 foot steps, goodbye,
Imagine all the players
acting without wait..

Imagine there's no minis,
It isnt hard to do,
Nothing to count the squares for,
No measuring-tapes too,
Imagine all the monsters
dying oh, so quick...

Imagine no wet-erase,
I wonder if you can,
No ink stains or wet-wipes,
Nothing but clean hands,
Imagine all the markers
Sitting in the box... un-used

You may say I'm a munchkin,
but I'm not the only one,
I hope some day you'll join us,
And the battlemaps will be undone.

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We will sometimes use no battlemaps for smaller battles in D&D, but for most times we'll do it because we enjoy it, and it doesn't slow us down, because in addition to using initiative cards to keep track of turns, I institute a loose time-requirement rule - if a player can't make up their mind in 15 seconds or so, then I'll count off with my fingers, "5... 4... 3... 2... 1" and they lose their turn in indecision. Having the players go along with this as a group, it makes combats VERY fluid.

 

[Numion]

We've never used battlemats. And yes we do keep AoO's and all the tactical stuff. We game a in a 'de-centralized' environment, everyone sitting around the room on sofas etc. except for the DM who has a small table. It would be hard to use minis.