best battlemat?
- Thread starter alsih2o
- Start date
John Crichton
First Post
I use the Staedtler 'M' markers rather than the 'S' thickness ones. They work like a charm on both my CC mat and my friend's larger Chessex mat. I personally prefer to use the Chessex mat as the markers work better on it and the mat itself keeps a much better shape after much use.Mark said:
Last edited:
DaveStebbins
First Post
Reclaim the table space!
In our group one guy cut up an old chalkboard to about 24" by 36" and scored a one inch grid with a knife. With a few pieces of colored chalk and an eraser, this has served us admirably for years.
The most important thing we did, though, was to elevate it by screwing dowels under each corner. The pictures in the thread Kengar linked to showing his battlemat are an excellent example. Even if you have a flexible battlemat, make a table for it to raise it six to eight inches off the tabletop.
The battlemat is still central and, if anything, even more visible to everyone at the table, including the DM who may be behind his screen. Then, all the space underneath is available for books, loose paper, dice, snacks, etc. For mats which take up almost all of the tabletop space, it seems to double what's available. Another benefit is that most spills are kept away from the battlemat.
-Dave
In our group one guy cut up an old chalkboard to about 24" by 36" and scored a one inch grid with a knife. With a few pieces of colored chalk and an eraser, this has served us admirably for years.
The most important thing we did, though, was to elevate it by screwing dowels under each corner. The pictures in the thread Kengar linked to showing his battlemat are an excellent example. Even if you have a flexible battlemat, make a table for it to raise it six to eight inches off the tabletop.
The battlemat is still central and, if anything, even more visible to everyone at the table, including the DM who may be behind his screen. Then, all the space underneath is available for books, loose paper, dice, snacks, etc. For mats which take up almost all of the tabletop space, it seems to double what's available. Another benefit is that most spills are kept away from the battlemat.
-Dave
Stormfalcon
First Post
Re: Re: You've got one in the 3.5 DMG
Ummm...the mat in the 3.5 DMG is a tear-out one. Taking the mat out won't harm the DMG one bit. If anything, taking it out makes flipping through the pages a little easier towards the end since you don't have the bulk of the mat pushing against pages from behind.
At least it wasn't quite as bad as that oddly-placed registration card in the MM...
arcady said:
Ummm...the mat in the 3.5 DMG is a tear-out one. Taking the mat out won't harm the DMG one bit. If anything, taking it out makes flipping through the pages a little easier towards the end since you don't have the bulk of the mat pushing against pages from behind.
At least it wasn't quite as bad as that oddly-placed registration card in the MM...
Stormfalcon
First Post
arcady said:
It's not quite as bad as you make it out to be. All it leaves behind is a thin section at the very end of the book, after the index. It's no different than tearing out the registration cards they stick in their books. If you tear out the cards, tearing out the mat is no different.
I just wish that the pages with the counters and such were treated similarly. That way I wouldn't have to wrestle my DMG (being a hardback) into a scanner or copier to reproduce them for use.
