How do you. . .

[jdrakeh]

How do you use the battlemat to recreate scenes that require far less than five feet of maneuverability? For example, I was thinking (earlier thsi week) of a planning a fight scene atop a tower under construction, with PC fighting atop wooden support beams. . . when I realized that (to my knowledge) such a thing isn't supported very well by the rules.

The beams in question are roughly eight inches wide -- quite a bit narrower than five feet. One wrong inch in either direction is going to seriously hinder a PC. If it helps, put this fight in the context of steel "I" beams, as this is where I got the inspiration (Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins is the specific source).

How do you or would you handle this kind of environment on the 1" squares battlemat?

 

[JustKim]

Abstractly, with skills such as Balance and Jump. I don't reduce the scale for each stair in a staircase or narrow footholds along a cliff. I use the 5' square to represent where each person is and handle tricky movement with skill checks or the rules for rough terrain.

 

[Particle_Man]

Easy. Make each square of the battle mat stand for 8 inches by 8 inches. Then find large plush toys to stand in for the miniatures!

 

[el-remmen]

I don't understand the problem.

Why not just use a thick marker to draw the beams and move the minis along them. If they are so close that more than one would be in a 5' area then allow people to be in the same box but call for more difficult balance checks, or apply a circumstance bonus for those with long enough legs to stand with a foot on each beam.

 

[jdrakeh]

I don't understand the problem.

The problem is that PCs don't have 5 feet to move in all directions. They can move along the beam in five foot* increments (forward or back) but only one inch** or so to either side (left or right) before they fall to almost certain doom. I mean, common sense abstraction (as recommended by JustKim) seems like the best answer but I suspect that some of the people interested in my game will not like this solution.

*One inch on the tabletop
*Less than one millimeter on the tabletop.

 

[Varianor Abroad]

How about using a 1" = 1.25 or 1 foot scale?

 

[theredrobedwizard]

Draw the rails on the battlemat. Then, have the PCs move their minis along inside the 5' squares. Require balance checks for moving, with scaling DC based on how far they move.

Everything else is just dramatic scene dressing.

-TRRW

 

[Klaus]

The problem is that PCs don't have 5 feet to move in all directions. They can move along the beam in five foot* increments (forward or back) but only one inch** or so to either side (left or right) before they fall to almost certain doom. I mean, common sense abstraction (as recommended by JustKim) seems like the best answer but I suspect that some of the people interested in my game will not like this solution.

*One inch on the tabletop
*Less than one millimeter on the tabletop.

If they step of the beam, they fall.

If it's in lava, they die.

Use the rules for fighting in constrained spaces.

 

[rkwoodard]

How do you use the battlemat to recreate scenes that require far less than five feet of maneuverability? For example, I was thinking (earlier thsi week) of a planning a fight scene atop a tower under construction, with PC fighting atop wooden support beams. . . when I realized that (to my knowledge) such a thing isn't supported very well by the rules.

The beams in question are roughly eight inches wide -- quite a bit narrower than five feet. One wrong inch in either direction is going to seriously hinder a PC. If it helps, put this fight in the context of steel "I" beams, as this is where I got the inspiration (Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins is the specific source).

How do you or would you handle this kind of environment on the 1" squares battlemat?

Jenga blocks on top of your battle mat. You can still tick off the length, and the players see that they have no wiggle room.

RK

 

[Hypersmurf]

If it's in lava, they die.

That sounds awfully... absolute. Are you sure?

-Hyp.