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Message: <blockquote data-quote="kennew142" data-source="post: 4053045" data-attributes="member: 18490">I've been lurking for a while on the threads dealing with this subject because I'm not sure how I feel about the new rule. We're going to give it a try this weekend in our two games, to see how it works out. But I do have a few thoughts:Fire Squares vs. Pixilated CirclesI don't particularly care for either one. The firesquare is less realistic (if that term has any meaning in an FRPG), but it may stop some players (one in our group) from playing around with the template to get it to fit snugly around his fellow adventurers and to cover the maximum number of enemies. My wife has suggested buying some circular macrame hoops and using them for AoE spells. We can just have the GM make a ruling on corner cases. I was already on the verge of taking a move action from players who fiddle with the templates on their turn, or a standard action from any character whose player starts fiddling with it when someone else casts a spell (and probably a standard action from anyone who lets them help out in such a way). If firecubes make this problem go away, I will probably be happy.Squares vs. HexesI hate hexes. I hate the way they look.That said, I like to use preprinted maps and tiles. If DDM (and associated products) started using hexes, I would go with it. I ran GURPS and Champions for years. I can deal with my almost visceral aversion to hex maps.Relevance of the Grids to the Reality of the Campaign WorldI have always used the grid squares (or hexes) as a tactical tool to help out in the game. I never allow them to represent the physical reality of the scene. I don't even guarantee that they are 5 feet in my game. They are just a tool for moving around in a tactical situation. I always tell my players that a square is about 3-5 feet. The squares are there only for making it easier to determine who's in the AoE of a spell, or whom a character can reach and attack in the same round. If that means that a character's move isn't always a full 30 feet, or that spells do not always produce an exact 20 foot radius sphere, We're okay with that.We've been using miniatures from the earliest days of D&D, but we don't treat it as a tactical exercise - not even combat. There are entirely too many ways in which the battlemap can distort the action or impede the story, whether it is a square grid or a hex grid. IMO, the important thing is not to allow it to do so.</blockquote>

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