Dungeon tiles and battle map issues – help?

[AstroCat]

Dungeon tiles and battle map issues – help?

Ok, first off we love using miniatures while gaming, so that leads us to trying to use “cooler” and more fun, yet efficient terrain.

Here are my problems/issues:

1. Using WOTC Dungeon Tiles or other published pre-printed tiles. They only work well in some limited layouts. Adjacent rooms and walls are a big issue, and laying tiles on tiles tend to get very messy and slide around a lot. I want to use the tiles and like the idea but in practical use they are becoming limited and a pain. This is especially true when trying to match a published module, which we almost always use.
Also, if I have time to set them up before hand on these “play boards” I’ve made it helps but setting them up on the fly can be a pain for the players to have to wait through it.

2. Using .pdf style tiles. These are the kind you print out. I have a zillion of them. And they have more variety then the WOTC tiles but are more labor intensive (designing the layout, printing and cutting) and still end up with a lot of the same issues as the WOTC tiles.

3. Using mapping software such as Dundjinni. You can make the best custom matches to the modules for sure. But, the build out time, messy printing, and cut out times make this not a reality for weekly sessions. Sure maybe once and a while for something special but in reality it’s not going to happen weekly.

4. Battlemats. The best kind I have are the Flip-Mats, I have a lot of them, several of each kind. I draw out the areas before hand and just bring them out as needed. I have enough to easily cover 1 or 2 sessions at a time. These are the most efficient, quickest and most versatile solutions I have. The problem is they are not as cool looking as the tiles, printed tiles or printed custom map tiles. Even with all the colored dry erase markers they aren’t as visually pleasing as a real printed scene.

5. Pre-published battle mats included with the modules. Now this is what I’m talking about! Like in the new KoTS module from WOTC. Why oh why could they not have included battle mats for all the encounter areas? This to me is the best solution possible. Cool art for the minis and total convenience and efficiency for game play. I have no problem paying a few extra bucks for the massive amount of time this would save me.

6. Art from modules. Take the art from the module, scan it if needed, resize it and edit in Photoshop and print it out. This is ok, I guess, it can take as long as Dundjinni but at least its already 1 for 1 accurate. I am going to experiment with this some but it really is not the best option.

Well there yeah go. I want 1 for 1 accuracy with the module, cool art and I want it all to take up a little time as possible. This is what I want and I know our group would love.

I am totally open to suggestions. Thanks!

 

[Zaukrie]

The two biggest things I do:

I "ignore" the map in an adventure, and just use tiles/maps that recreate the concepts, if not the exact rooms. I usually build a 3D map out of a bunch of components for the big battles, and these never match the rooms exactly. Wing it is my new philosophy.

I only have part of the dungeon on the table at any time, so overlapping and other issues just aren't that important anymore. since we no longer map out the dungeon, the fact that in the "real world" the rooms over lapping is just ignored.

 

[webrunner]

5. Pre-published battle mats included with the modules. Now this is what I’m talking about! Like in the new KoTS module from WOTC. Why oh why could they not have included battle mats for all the encounter areas? This to me is the best solution possible. Cool art for the minis and total convenience and efficiency for game play. I have no problem paying a few extra bucks for the massive amount of time this would save me.

The problem with full maps is that you can't 'hide' part of them. If there's a secret door in an encounter area, then they can't print that second area, unless they include an overlay map or something, and that would get cumbersome.

 

[Nebulous]

I typically use a combination of all the stuff listed by the OP. One thing i would love dearly to do is have a projector set up one day where the laptop displays part of the map with Fog of War.

 

[AstroCat]

The problem with full maps is that you can't 'hide' part of them. If there's a secret door in an encounter area, then they can't print that second area, unless they include an overlay map or something, and that would get cumbersome.

This is the same situation as if I set up the tiles ahead of time, or use a Dundjinni map, I just cover the sections with colored paper and pull them off as the party goes to the next area.

This covering compared to the labor and quality of all the other options is worth it to me by a gigantic margin. I want the best quality with the least amount of set up work. Preparing for a weekly game is tough enough with a full life of other actives.

 

[Rel]

I use the snap-together dungeon tiles from my Descent boardgame (by Fantasy Flight games) to create the dungeon environment. They stay together very well, can be laid out in a wide variety of configurations and you can just pull off the parts that the PC's aren't in if it starts getting too big.

For areas outside dungeons or caves, I just use a battlemat or sheets of 1" grid paper from tablets.

 

[Holy Bovine]

I use the snap-together dungeon tiles from my Descent boardgame (by Fantasy Flight games) to create the dungeon environment. They stay together very well, can be laid out in a wide variety of configurations and you can just pull off the parts that the PC's aren't in if it starts getting too big.

For areas outside dungeons or caves, I just use a battlemat or sheets of 1" grid paper from tablets.

I have the Descent game but have never used the tiles that came with it. I really don't know why.

Oh yes I do! I have about 1 million Dungeon Tiles - help me!

 

[heruca]

I typically use a combination of all the stuff listed by the OP. One thing i would love dearly to do is have a projector set up one day where the laptop displays part of the map with Fog of War.

Combining a projector with a virtual battlemat (i.e., a virtual tabletop program, like the one in my sig) is the way to go for the ultimate gaming setup, IMO. Given that a serviceable projector can be had for around $500, a 5-person gaming group could each chip in $100 to buy it. Then you project down onto a table and use real minis on the projected map.

• You get nice full-color Dundjinni maps that you can customize to your exact specifications.
• No expensive printing.
• No tiles sliding around.
• No cutting out paper masks for "Fog of War".
• You're not stuck with generic dungeon tiles that can't quite duplicate the exact look or layout you're aiming for.
• No boring, monotone plastic battlemaps hastily-scribbled on with a dry-erase marker.
• You don't need massive amounts of storage like you do with 3D terrain.
• No game time wasted setting up the pieces and putting them away (other than the minis themselves), since you can lay things out prior to the game session.

 

[AstroCat]

Combining a projector with a virtual battlemat (i.e., a virtual tabletop program, like the one in my sig) is the way to go for the ultimate gaming setup, IMO. Given that a serviceable projector can be had for around $500, a 5-person gaming group could each chip in $100 to buy it. Then you project down onto a table and use real minis on the projected map.

• You get nice full-color Dundjinni maps that you can customize to your exact specifications.
• No expensive printing.
• No tiles sliding around.
• No cutting out paper masks for "Fog of War".
• You're not stuck with generic dungeon tiles that can't quite duplicate the exact look or layout you're aiming for.
• No boring, monotone plastic battlemaps hastily-scribbled on with a dry-erase marker.
• You don't need massive amounts of storage like you do with 3D terrain.
• No game time wasted setting up the pieces and putting them away (other than the minis themselves), since you can lay things out prior to the game session.

You still have to make all the maps by hand, and then set up the FOW. This is very time consuming, no?

 

[heruca]

Some maps you'll want to make by hand, but there are plenty of generic encounter maps that are available for free download from the DJ forums or sites like rpgmapshare.com.

Yes, it's time-consuming, but not as much as if you had to print and cut out the maps.

FOW may not require any setup time, per se. Depends on which VTT you use, and on the type of map. Wilderness maps may not require any setup time for Fog of War, if the VTT handles all the light sources automatically. Dungeon maps are a little trickier, if you want to ensure that light doesn't go through walls. But you can still do with a few mouse clicks in a few seconds what would take you minutes to do if you were cutting out paper masks designed to match each room or hallway of a dungeon.