[Quick review] I want to snuggle my new 4e Battlebox. Is that so wrong?

Sounds great. I've already ordered mine and now just waiting for it to arrive.

If you use the combat tracking pad, let me know how it works. My group is experimenting with different ways to handle initiative, currently using an open whiteboard, but that's not without its issues either, so I'm hoping the stuff included does the trick.
 

log in or register to remove this ad


I think the magnetic markers to which you are referring are from Alea Tools.
For those who despise cutting out counters (myself included), Alea Tools also sells 1" and 2" hole punches
HolePunch1_sm.JPG

that work great for quickly 'cutting out' counters. You can also get them at some hobby shops (I found the same ones at Michael's). They work great for me. I usually punch them out and glue them onto alea tool's 'conversion circles'.
 


There are 2 sheets of transparent overlays to show the size of bursts and blasts (in 3 different colors).
That might be the only part I wouldn't find useful, because 4E makes those completely unneeded because of the reduction to squares and lines for areas of effect.

There's over 100 dungeon dressing tiles to overlay WotC's tiles or a battlemat. And a pad of character sheets. And a pad of blank power sheets. And there are dry-erase versions of player and DM combat tracking sheets.

These however scream "awesome", as does the carstock counters in the battlebox. Haven't seen it yet, but it sounds well worth checking into.... once I get the PHB2 and Arcane Power first, though. :)
 

That might be the only part I wouldn't find useful, because 4E makes those completely unneeded because of the reduction to squares and lines for areas of effect.

I thought so at first, as wel. Then one of my players brought a set of templates to the game one night, and my opinion changed.

Are they as needed as they were in prior editions? No, but they still speed gameplay up (especially late on a Friday night after a beer or two.) Instead of counting squares you just drop a template.

I'm not going to say that EVERYONE will find them useful, but I think a lot of people will end up being suprised.
 

Pics of them in use would be really nice. I can't imagine how the marks and conditions are used, for instance.
 


Damn... That is tempting, when I have the money I may have to go and buy these.

I am still hoping that eventually DDI will have a token-sheet maker. I think it be so immensely useful little program. Each monster as they come out is made into a token in the program you can drag and drop the ones you want onto a "page" and print on cardstock and cut out. Viola! The exact monster tokens you needed there and ready for use.
 

If you use the combat tracking pad, let me know how it works. My group is experimenting with different ways to handle initiative, currently using an open whiteboard, but that's not without its issues either, so I'm hoping the stuff included does the trick.
My group has used Paizo's combat pad and a separate white board from our white board grid. The separate white board has worked best for us.

It's big enough to write conditions on either side of the monster's/character's name. One side is labelled "Save Ends" and the other side is labelled "Until the End of Next Turn" with a line to whose turn it references.

It works very well.

P.S. I need the Battle Box. Piratecat, if I pretend to be Sagiro, can I have his? I can talk with a Boston accent and write game session chronicles. ;)
 

Remove ads

Top