OnlineDM
Adventurer
I just draw my own maps using the drawing tools in MapTool, too, and I've been happy with the results. It does take time to create the maps, but everything seems to run smoothly.
? for all those that use a VTT program currently
- Thread starter mysticknight232
- Start date
I just draw my own maps using the drawing tools in MapTool, too, and I've been happy with the results. It does take time to create the maps, but everything seems to run smoothly.
One thing I really enjoy about maptools is the ability to build/explore a complete dungeon. Lets face it, with 4E, there isn't always time to deal with sneaking down a hall. With maptools, my players move their tokens, the fog of war is lifted, and they see only what their light source allows. It's awesome. I find I prep differently now. I tend to draw the map first, which helps me to design the encounter I want.
We've been using the old greyhawk map as our world map and the other day, they had to cross the continent in their flying ship. I loaded the map into maptools, played some Indiana Jones theme in the background and drew the red line(s) as they traversed the map. Sure, it was a gimmick, but everyone loved it.
We've been using the old greyhawk map as our world map and the other day, they had to cross the continent in their flying ship. I loaded the map into maptools, played some Indiana Jones theme in the background and drew the red line(s) as they traversed the map. Sure, it was a gimmick, but everyone loved it.
AbdulAlhazred
Legend
Yeah, the vector maps that you draw in Maptool work great. It isn't the best drawing program out there and it will be pretty nice when they do a bit of enhancement on that, but it is perfectly adequate and you can get some nice results. MT 1.4 looks like it will definitely fix a few of the minor deficiencies there.
FoW and the related lighting and vision stuff is the real cream for sure. It really does add a whole dimension. There are still a few unavoidable limitations of course, like what I call the 'wall problem' (either you can see 'into' the wall a bit in which case the players get a bit of extra info on secret passages etc OR the whole wall is just not visible at all, which can be confusing for players). Not sure how other VTTs handle that, but it seems to be just a limitation in presentation that is unavoidable, and minor.
OnlineDM
Adventurer
I haven't had the ambition to deal with the fancy lighting and vision capabilities of MapTool. I handle this very simply: Each map begins with mostly fog, and then I manually de-fog areas as players walk far enough to see them. It doesn't let me have certain areas being visible to one player but not another, but that's okay - the way I do it feels a lot like sitting around an actual table, drawing a bit more of the map as the party moves farther into the dungeon. And let's face it - it's easy! I like easy.
As for secret passages, I don't draw them right on the surface of the wall - I have a square of solid wall, and then the passage continues on the far side. When I de-fog the room, I de-fog just a little bit of each wall, so the players can't tell if there's a secret passage or not. If they discover it, I reveal it on the fly and either plunk down a door object or just let it be understood that the wall isn't really present in that square.
IronWolf
blank
This is similar to how I do it as well. Like you said it is easy.
I have played in a PFS scenario where the DM setup fog of war and vision blocking to be dynamically revealed. It was a sweet experience! But it takes me a long time to get that setup - I probably just need more practice.
AbdulAlhazred
Legend
Yeah, I've been using vision blocking and FoW/Lighting now for a couple years in MT. It actually works pretty well. You DO have to set up the vision blocking layer, which for a complex map can take some time, but you get the hang of it pretty quick. Likewise you may have to set up light sources for areas that have existing lighting, but it is really not much more than just designating the light source of a given object or token. If you need an area to be just generally 'dimly lit' for instance just drop an object onto the map and give it a light source with a LARGE radius, it will light the whole room, then make it invisible to the players. They'll still see the light, but not the object casting it.
MT does also support individual player vision, so you can have each player only see what their character can see. I find it tends to be more annoyance than it is really worth, but it does work well for those situations where the party is really split up or something like that. In general I just use common vision and let all the players own all the PC tokens. That makes things quicker and reduces the DM load. As long as your players are reasonably well behaved there's no problem. If you get players that are going to make trouble you might as well just boot them anyway...
MT does also support individual player vision, so you can have each player only see what their character can see. I find it tends to be more annoyance than it is really worth, but it does work well for those situations where the party is really split up or something like that. In general I just use common vision and let all the players own all the PC tokens. That makes things quicker and reduces the DM load. As long as your players are reasonably well behaved there's no problem. If you get players that are going to make trouble you might as well just boot them anyway...
