Going digital with Maptools and 4e

[jcayer]

After years of thinking about it, this weekend, we went digital with our 4E campaign.
I spent the better part of a week playing with maptools, learning how to draw maps with it, etc. Then I mounted a projector from some beams above our game table and hooked everything up. My players were in awe, even my non-gamer wife was impressed.

Watching the Maptools tutorials really showed me some of the things you can do with it and I did my best to share it with the players. I really liked the interactivity the software allowed me with the map. The first time someone cast a Wall of Fire, I drew the fire right on the map. Someone cast something that made difficult terrain, so I dropped an overlay on it and it was so easy to keep track of. It was awesome. I used some of the built int condition trackers(on monsters), which really helped keep track of things.

In the end, we considered it a beta/proof of concept, but I think we are committed. On top of that, one of our players is going remote fulltime and another travels a lot for work, so Maptools will be a boon for everyone.

Next on my list is to build a portable table and rear project the image up at it.
Post that, I'll be looking at Rumble's 4E framework and some of the cool things like making it into a touch screen.

 

[Festivus]

Curious, if you are playing face to face, why the need for a framework? Wouldn't it be faster and more efficient to have players track stuff as they always have with pen and paper (and a plastic mini)?

We do some of this with my friends Pathfinder game, he uses Maptool to present the maps and the bad guy tokens, but the players use physical tokens and move around.

We find this saves a lot of time in terms of encounter setup, plus things move quickly when everyone can control what they can control.

 

[jcayer]

I'd like to look at the framework since my guys tend to spend a lot of time housekeeping. I'm hoping that will remove a lot of the burden from them. Maybe it won't, I've only seen a bit of it.

I think we're more in the exploratory phase of what this can do for us. I enjoyed using maptools for prep because it allowed me to build an entire building/complex all within one map. That allowed the players to move around easier, instead of constantly erasing the whiteboard, or using printed Dundjinni maps.

I've seen the whole wiimote/ir Pen thing and definitely want to look at that. If they each have a pen they should have a fair amount of control at the table.

I do need to work on the Fog of Way and Vision stuff. I'm starting to get the hang of that, and everyone thinks that is exceptionally cool.

 

[amerigoV]

Curious, if you are playing face to face, why the need for a framework? Wouldn't it be faster and more efficient to have players track stuff as they always have with pen and paper (and a plastic mini)?

Even F2F, the framework has its uses. Especially for something like 4e where every PC kinda works the same (mechanically, not roles obviously). Its a great help when a player is out. No digging for character sheets, the token has the key stuff.

As a GM I find it a useful as well. I code up the basics for the opposition. I get to roll the dice enough - its much faster to let the framework handle it (plus I can point to computer when it CRUSHES some hapless PC - muahahahahah!).

Tracking conditions is fantastic. Sure, the player could track their own, but its easy to for people to forget some of them in the heat of the action (or convienently forget.....)

In a 3.5 game I ran a rogue. No framework, but it was worth coding up the PC. So much quicker to resolve TWF/Sneak attack when I already did the math in the macro. More blood, less looking at the character sheet I say.

As a GM, I run Savage Worlds now and that framework for MT is fantastic, especially for initiative (it deals cards to init, not dice). I find it helps get the rules out of the way since the token has the basic code.

 

[jcayer]

Like I said, the biggest thing for me, so far has been tracking conditions and editing the map. Being able to draw the wall of fire was awesome as everyone could really see it.

Then dropping halos or other markings on creatures/characters really helped with condition tracking, and let me tell you, at the end of paragon tier, there is a lot to track!

 

[IronWolf]

MapTool is a great tool. I've used it for a few online sessions. I've been tempted to use it for in-person gaming, but get wary of bringing too much tech to the table - even if it is great.

 

[jcayer]

The level of tech was ridiculous. In addition to the projector and DM laptop, there was also a laptop for displaying the player view. And I've got one guy that uses iplay4e.com to track his character at the table.

The setup took a bit longer than usual, but it was definitely worth it

 

[IronWolf]

The level of tech was ridiculous. In addition to the projector and DM laptop, there was also a laptop for displaying the player view. And I've got one guy that uses iplay4e.com to track his character at the table.

The setup took a bit longer than usual, but it was definitely worth it

Oh, I am sure the end result was worth it. I've seen some of the setups and having played online with MapTool I certainly see its worth for even in-person gaming.

Not sure my group is up for it and there is a certain feeling of freedom just needing to grab my backpack of books and some dice and going with it. I sit on the fence!

 

[jcayer]

Conveniently, we play at my house, and I have a very understanding wife.

She was happy I made the whole setup portable, so I can take it down and throw it together again in about 10 minutes. But I do need a step ladder.

 

[OnlineDM]

Awesome! Welcome to the ranks of MapTool DMs.

I did the same thing myself this summer. I started an online campaign using MapTool, and I liked the program so much that I ultimately took the plunge to build a portable projector setup so that I could use MapTool to run games at a local convention and at my local game store. It's been a huge hit with the players - they really like it.

Since I'm using it with whoever drops in rather than a continuous home game, it's impractical to use MapTool tokens for the players. The players use their own minis and are responsible for keeping track of the conditions on them. Monsters are MapTool tokens, though, and I keep track of conditions on them electronically.

If you decide to build a truly portable projector setup, feel free to look at what I've done for inspiration if you like. And if you have any questions about MapTool, let me know. I'm not an expert yet, but I've learned it from the ground up over the past several months and I love figuring out new things it can do. I don't use a pre-packaged framework, but that's just because I enjoy writing macros. From the little that I've seen of them, the frameworks are awesome.

More info on my blog:

• My projector rig
• My experience running games with it
• MapTool info

Enjoy your new setup!