D&D General First time play through help on Cragmaw Castle (and in general)

[vayasen]

Hi. First time post, I hope I have put this in the right place.


I used to play DnD 30 years ago with old friends (loved it) and we finally got playing again with me as DM and a bunch of friends/family (all first time players), starting with LMOP.

We have had fun and I have used a few visual aids at times (play wargames so I have some terrain and generic figures).

My question is, for Crawgmaw Castle (or anywhere tbgh) which we are facing in our next session.....how can I get a map of the place up on a screen, where I can reveal the areas one by one as they enter them. I have seen people playing online, but we play all together in the same room.

My preference- Can we get a map of the Castle up on my main TV somehow and reveal it room by room?

Alternative, what about on a laptop? Bit small but I think it would work....or is there another way?

I think with the complex room shapes etc, the visual aid would be a huge help to me as a (technically...at least for 30 years) new DM.

I am aware of DnD Beyond, have an account, but dont really understand it all.


Thanks for any advice.

 

[Oofta]

There are several tools designed for online play, but that could also be used this way. If you use DndBeyond, they have the Maps tool for this. If you purchase the module (some are free) you get a map for most of the modules. Other than that, there are tools like Roll20, Owlbear Rodeo, Foundry which are some other options. I'm sure others have options, personally I would just use Maps but that's because I already use DndBeyond and it's one of the easier tools to use.

Of course you could also use something like paint.net, import the map and add a layer on top, then slowly erase that layer. Of course, you'd still have to have the map, but if you have the book you can always take a picture of it.

So those are my ideas, I'm sure others have suggestions.

 

[vayasen]

Thanks, yes I have DND beyond and have the LMOP book (free) on there. I can scroll through and see for example a Cragmaw Castle Map, but no clue how to practically use this in displaying it for the players(room by room)

 

[Oofta]

Thanks, yes I have DND beyond and have the LMOP book (free) on there. I can scroll through and see for example a Cragmaw Castle Map, but no clue how to practically use this in displaying it for the players(room by room)

Do you know how to run maps? It's been a bit since I played with it (I play in person and don't bother with maps), but I think you just need to create an encounter and hit "run". For putting on your TV, you have to have the map up on some device and then set up the TV as a display. That gets more technical, I have done it with my TV with my laptop connected to the same wi-fi. But that gets into what device you're using and your TV.

Once you get maps working I'd suggest googling for using TV as a monitor or similar, although others may have more expertise here.

 

[Nikosandros]

Maps on D&D Beyond requires a Master level subscription, I don't know if the OP has one. An easy alternative can be, as mentioned, Owlbear Rodeo. You need to upload the image of the map and the activate the fog of war. You can then clear one room at a time and the players can see the map with any device that can ran a browser.

 

[ninjayeti]

I would suggest using Owlbear Rodeo for this (it is free and pretty friendly for new users to pick up). You can have the map up on a laptop and cast it to a TV screen using these instructions. You can also use a wired setup if you don't have a monitor you can cast to. Here is a video of someone using a wired setup with an older version of OR.

The map tool and fog of war are pretty easy to use on OR, and there are some decent tutorials, but you might want to spend 15 minutes or so tinkering with it to get the hang of.

If you do a Google images search for Craigmaw Castle you will find plenty of high quality maps. There are tons of great maps on the internet so you should be able to find almost anything you need.

 

[aco175]

I do not play digitally, so not sure if this works. Can you take the base map and make 10 copies with each copy having only the room you need showing. Have a couple more with groups of rooms open to show a larger section. Certainly not as cool as sliding open sections or a program showing where PC lights can illuminate.

Mine was drawn using the grid inside of wrapping paper and then covering the areas with cardboard.

 

[vayasen]

Thats right, I wondered why I hadnt seen 'maps' before...no fancy sub for me sorry to say. I will check Owlbear rodea, thanks


Also thanks, Owlbear Rodeo as above sounds exactly what I want.


Also worth considering, thanks.



thank you all who have replied.

 

[vayasen]

I would suggest using Owlbear Rodeo for this (it is free and pretty friendly for new users to pick up). You can have the map up on a laptop and cast it to a TV screen using these instructions. You can also use a wired setup if you don't have a monitor you can cast to. Here is a video of someone using a wired setup with an older version of OR.

The map tool and fog of war are pretty easy to use on OR, and there are some decent tutorials, but you might want to spend 15 minutes or so tinkering with it to get the hang of.

If you do a Google images search for Craigmaw Castle you will find plenty of high quality maps. There are tons of great maps on the internet so you should be able to find almost anything you need.

I am just working Owlbear Rodeo out now. I have a Cragmaw map up in a 'scene'. Not quite got to this part yet but one query, If I just use a laptop, and cast it to a TV...wont the TV cast show my screen which dosnt have fog? Or will all be covered in fog(laptop included) and you just remove it piece by piece?

Thanks again.

 

[ninjayeti]

I am just working Owlbear Rodeo out now. I have a Cragmaw map up in a 'scene'. Not quite got to this part yet but one query, If I just use a laptop, and cast it to a TV...wont the TV cast show my screen which dosnt have fog? Or will all be covered in fog(laptop included) and you just remove it piece by piece?

Thanks again.

I haven't used it myself but it sounds like it gives the TV screen you are casting to the "player" view (not what is actually on the laptop screen) meaning it can't see through the fog of war until it is revealed.

If not you can log into the room as a player (you can do it on the same computer, you just need to use a different browser or an "incognito" window in Chrome so OR thinks you are a different user). You can then cast the player version to the TV. This is what the guy in the youtube video did.

If you are testing it out you might want to join the room as a player anyway, just so you can see how the fog of war looks from the player side.