Hex or grid?

[Kynn]

I don't understand why you need hexes at all on large maps.

I remember the Al-Qadim maps from 2e; they had no hexes on the map, but had a clear overlay with hexes on it. That seemed reasonable.

 

[CleverNickName]

I'm kind of hoping they get rid of grids altogether, along with the feats and abilities that depend on them. From what I've seen, they only slow the game down.

 

[Ratskinner]

I'm kind of hoping they get rid of grids altogether, along with the feats and abilities that depend on them. From what I've seen, they only slow the game down.

Ditto, would've XP'd you, but must spread it around....

 

[FATDRAGONGAMES]

I prefer grids for man-made structures, and hexes for outdoor/natural terrain. All the same, I have to admit I am fond of gridless gaming.

 

[Traken]

Whatever this is.

Draw the map/building on the isometric square grid. Use the hexagon grid for movement.

 

[Lanefan]

Grid for everything. Hexes are a bloody pain; a compass has 8 points but a hex only goes 6 ways.

Also, something we found out the hard way when our DM ran us through a hex-mapped dungeon recently (which we were also mapping on hex paper): if the players don't start their map on the same hex orientation as the DM's map the count goes out of whack. It's hard to explain, but it took us ages to figure out why the rooms on our carefully-drawn maps never quite lined up like the DM was telling us they should.

Pretty hard to have this problem with a grid.

Maps: all outdoors including cities free-form with a scale. Indoors, grid.

All grids have issues. None of them allow for NNE travel for example.

Sure they do. For NNE go 1 square E for every 2 you go N.

[RANT]
Also, can we PLEASE switch to METRIC?!?!
[/rant]

I live in a supposedly-metric country.

I vote NO to metric in D&D.

Lan-"a metric compass would, of course, have 10 points; and good luck mapping that"-efan

 

[Infiniti2000]

Here is a follow up question, how do you prefer your multi level maps (buildings, forts, dungeons etc) isometric, top down? Or something else?

Just like Strahd's castle in I6, the best map ever IMHO.

 

[Shemeska]

Neither.

I don't use any sort of grid and minis.

 

[Savage Wombat]

Neither.

I don't use any sort of grid and minis.

Of course you don't. It's all about rings out on the planes, cutter.