Are you stuck to a grid?

[Iuz]

I use a dry erase board.

When a fight's about to start I draw a rough aproximation of the area for the players. I redraw it as necceary to fit the situation, but it never is overly accurate.

Quite frankly minis and the like just never seemed worth it to me.

 

[LostSoul]

I draw maps on a sheet of lined paper in an "over the shoulder" perspective. It's more fun that way.

When we get into combat I just throw down some miniatures and walls for whatever seems right.

 

[Pierce]

We started with white boards and a battle mat and have slowly built up our collection of Dwarven Forge and homemade terrain over the years. Now we pretty much just build out the scenario complete with hills, trees, buildings, etc. and use tailor's tape to measure our movement. We feel it really adds a cool factor to the combats, especially when you can physically eyeball how much cover someone has. Here's a link to some examples of our set-ups.

 

[Chimera]

I just bought a "Megamat" because the group I currently play with uses them.

Back when I was GMing, I used a 3'x4' white board, old style (smaller) minis and a ruler. At a scale of 10' per inch. I liked the freer form it allowed.

I also liked the looks on the Wizard player's faces when they tried to be too exacting on their placement of spells, especially over distance. ("Ok, roll a ranged touch attack...")

 

[Luvin Lt. Fingers]

Battle grids are a must....how else will I know exactly when to sneak attack?

 

[AdmundfortGeographer]

I absolutely need the grids. There are too many combat game mechanics that I can't just "pretend" without seeing how they impact the battlefield exactly. Large creature reach for example. I have had way too many DMs change how far creatures can reach out depending on how they want to beat down the party. Sure, it's always 10', but sometimes the monsters "really stretch out" or else "you accidentally slipped inside the reach for a few steps because the wall nearby" I have had DMs cast spells with area effects that get all the enemies (beneficial things like Magic Circles) and when a party member casts a spell with the same area effect, the spell suddenly can't get all the same number of enemies. "Well, you couldn't place it as precisely the same spot as the other guy, so you missed one."

When I've DM'd and not used a grid to place enemies precisely at combat starting, certain players relocate their character all over the place whether the character could get there or not based on their speed. I've got enough things to keep track of as a DM to also have to keep track of players own PCs stats so they don't bend the rules of what they can do.

Without the grid, there seemed to be far too much rampant fudging that I felt we might as just gone out in the yard and played cops and robbers. "I shot you! No you didn't, you were too far away! No I wasn't! Well, I'm the DM and I say you are hit, so there."


Regards,
Eric Anondson (Grids are a great equalizer)

 

[HellHound]

Although I haven't run a combat using minis or a battlemat in months (and we've been playing d20 games at least 3 times a week so far this summer), I still can't take a map without a grid. It is too hard to esitmate scales well on a map for me, the grid makes it easy.

For example, in our current Underdark game, we are using a map that you, psyekl, posted to the other thread, the mushroom caves one. It's great to be able to look at a mushroom on the map and say flat out - it is 20 feet wide. No measuring, no estimating, just look at it on the grid.

 

[psyekl]

I like using a battlemat because it kind of separates the game into two games - the Role-Playing game, and the Tactical game. After a while you get bored with talking to NPCs, planning things, traveling, and dealing with your equipment (buying/selling/crafting). So when an encounter happens, it's like a whole different game starts. We draw up a battlefield, place the minis, and try to remember all the damn rules.

You know, That's the most convincing arument for using grids that I have ever heard. I used to play Warhammer 40k, and I loved the "feel" of the miniatures combat. Funny that I've never even considered it with D20....

 

[LostSoul]

Without the grid, there seemed to be far too much rampant fudging that I felt we might as just gone out in the yard and played cops and robbers. "I shot you! No you didn't, you were too far away! No I wasn't! Well, I'm the DM and I say you are hit, so there."

I think that without the grid, the DM should err on the side of the PCs. If he's not sure if the monster with Reach can reach a PC (for an attack or AoO), then it doesn't. Likewise, if he's not sure that the PCs are Flanking some creature, then they are. Simple. PCs get the benefit of the doubt.

 

[MightIsRight]

Battlemats for me and mine.

I like them because of the tactics reasoning and being able to measure out distances easily.

I tend to draw the map as we go onto the battlemat, though only mapping out as far as they can see. I also tend not to draw out any cities or really any buildings unless there's fighting.