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Message: <blockquote data-quote="MerricB" data-source="post: 2731858" data-attributes="member: 3586">I can say from personal experience that my recent D&D experiences have significantly changed when I've been using a predrawn battlemat.I've run part of Fane of the Drow, and I've also just finished running Mike's "Three Faces of Evil." For the latter, I either drew out the battlemat on the spot (for the maze section), or I had it all drawn out beforehand (temple of hextor).It changes things. One thing it does is allow more reactive play from the monsters. If I'd been running in my traditional (no minis) way, I would have had the high priest turn up only when the characters entered his room. That's the way the dungeon key layout encourages.However, when you have the room drawn out on the mat, it's very easy to just put his figure down there and realise that "hey, he'd notice that his acolytes are being slaughtered", and work out how he'd engage the enemy.Then too in the maze. Plenty of secret doors and enemies popping out of them.It also make movement an actual factor in the game for players. I can't think of the number of games of AD&D (and 3e) that devolved into: I move to engage - and that was it for the combat. Apart from giving flanking, and thus tactical positioning, a game bonus, there is also the possibility of tactical withdrawal to a better position.The trouble I have with the maps in the Fantastic Locations products can simply be boiled down to usefulness past the scenarios they were designed for.Here's how I'd rate those in "Fane of the Drow"* Mithral Mines: High usefulness. (Cave tunnels are readily adaptable)* Tomb of Queen Peregrine: High usefulness. (Crypt complex likewise)* Drow Enclave: Medium usefulness (not bad for a wizard's or summoner's lab)* Fane of Lolth: Low usefulness. (The spider & altar motifs are problematic)And for Dungeon #337:* Drow Outpost: High usefulness. (Cave tunnels with chasms? I'm sold <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />)I haven't got Hellspike Prison yet, although the lava rivers do limit its usefulness somewhat. (I guess you might call them normal rivers?)Mike's slightly misquoted my law: it's "a large range of minis" not "prepainted figures", but the two terms are very similar. Call it a "large range of prepainted figures". <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /> And the thing about D&D is that it uses a lot of different monsters. You have to have a large range of figures.Such is a nightmare for the retailer and distributor to stock. It also precludes the possibility of weird creatures. The random model allows figures with limited usefulness to be made, and thus available to those people who *do* want them.(Non-random means you have to be a mind reader to not have a lot of stock left over. There's a premium on non-random figures to cover that cost.)Cheers!</blockquote>

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