I probably ruined my battlemat!

[Oryan77]

I got married at the beginning of July and we played our last session before the vacation the weekend before that.

For the first time ever, I actually drew the entire floor plans of a gigantic beast with a fort on top of its back. it covered the whole battlemat. I even colored in parts of the mat to illustrate the beasts body and the color of the buildings. I've never been so elaborate and it looked really good.

Then the game starts...and finishes right as the PCs encounter this beast/fort. Crap, I was not going to erase all that work and redo it. It's been almost 2 months and it still looks like we won't continue the game until the middle of September

So should I assume that my battlemat is pretty much history? It's one of those Chessex 34.5x48 Megamats (wet erase).

 

[heirodule]

If you used red marker, maybe. since red is the worst

I recommend a rubbing alcohol solution when you get around to cleaning the mat. Works great

 

[Scribble]

I got married at the beginning of July and we played our last session before the vacation the weekend before that.

For the first time ever, I actually drew the entire floor plans of a gigantic beast with a fort on top of its back. it covered the whole battlemat. I even colored in parts of the mat to illustrate the beasts body and the color of the buildings. I've never been so elaborate and it looked really good.

Then the game starts...and finishes right as the PCs encounter this beast/fort. Crap, I was not going to erase all that work and redo it. It's been almost 2 months and it still looks like we won't continue the game until the middle of September

So should I assume that my battlemat is pretty much history? It's one of those Chessex 34.5x48 Megamats (wet erase).

What??? This is not a topic about 4e... What's the matter with you???

To answer your question... I've had both scenarios happen... where you put something on for a long time, but it still comes clean... and where you put something on for only a moment and it leaves a stain... Alcohol sometimes works to clean the stains... and um,mm if all else fails, to deaden the pain of having to shell out money for a new mat...

 

[billd91]

I've had good luck with hair spray. I can't remember the variety... Aqua Net, maybe? Cut through some of the old ink stains immediately.

 

[Oryan77]

What??? This is not a topic about 4e... What's the matter with you???

Naw, I used some of those 4e markers on my 4.5e mat.

 

[Glyfair]

I've had luck with simple green. Then again, I have had luck with water

My original battlemap I've had since the early 80's. It's been written on in permanent marker, and in black ink that left red behind (that used to be common). The stains are barely visible today unless you flip it over (a lot bleed through, and the bleed is more visible than the original stain).

As far as the mandatory 4E content: I hear the "stains" you have to worry about in 4E battlemats is called screen burn.

 

[phindar]

Bug Spray (like OFF) works pretty good (which makes sense, since its alcohol-based, but its what we used to use).

If all else fails, try a cleaning solution called Simple Green. It comes in a windex-like squirt bottle, its dark green, and it smells like a really chemical sasparilla. (If you don't know what sasparilla is, go smell some Simple Green to get an idea.)

Fair warning, the harsher chemicals might take some of the grid lines off the mat. So you could either just take everything off and have a blank battlemat (which would be cool), or you just mount the creature-mat on the wall of the gaming room, and then make sure the party gets attacked by a gigantic monster with a fortress on its back every few sessions (or make it a recurring location).

 

[blargney the second]

I just used up the last sheets of my easel pad of 1" grid paper last night drawing up a couple of big maps. $10 lasted us a year, and I've still got the prettier and re-usable ones available.
-blarg

 

[Slife]

Have you tried Silly Putty? I have no idea whether or not it would work.

 

[Oryan77]

Have you tried Silly Putty? I have no idea whether or not it would work.

Yeah but when I removed it from my mat there was an imprint of a Dennis the Menace cartoon underneath the putty