Siberys
Adventurer
My biggest complaint with the Zeitgeist Adventure Path is not one of rules support, or of release schedule, or presentation. It is one of cartography. See, I have two BIG problems with the maps. That's one of them - they're HUGE! And the other is that they're positively beautiful. That last one may not seem like much of a problem, but bear with me.
Basically, I have four options when it comes to map presentation, and each has its positives and negatives. Under certain circumstances, I'd have a clear choice, but given the particulars of system and the maps as they exist it isn't clear which option I should go for.
BATTLE MAT
This would, under normal circumstances, be my first choice. I have a wet erase grid I use, I draw out the map, and I'm golden. The problem is it's limited in size, and a fair number of the maps are much too large to fit onto it. Additionally, many maps use irregular or round shapes that I find difficult to draw, especially quickly.
The solution I've devised for this particular set of circumstances is to draw out smaller, self-contained "zones" and create basic rules for moving between them, and to carefully re-map the maps to accomodate the lower "resolution" at which I'd end up drawing them. Redrawing almost every map is a lot of work, though, and this runs into the "pretty" problem - the maps look so nice, and I want to make proper use of them. It's a nice problem to have, but it's still a problem.
DIGITAL
The best way to maintain both existing scales and use the gorgeous artwork that's provided is to use a digital battle map. I have several options, but they trade the issues I'm already complaining about for logisical problems. I prefer to play face-to-face, so using something digital would require that I - and potentially the players - bring our laptops to the table (something that might be difficult to arrange), or that I would have to use my iPad for the battle map, something I'm not keen on doing. I use it as a reference and initiative tracker currently, and I wouldn't be overly fond of passing it around during play.
Additionally, the easiest copies of the maps to get a hold of are the ones in the PDFs themselves. I'm capable of ripping the pictures from the document, but they're too small a resolution to truly look good in a digital map program. I know Ryan Nock has hi-res versions of some of the maps available, but they can be hard to track down and I'm sure it isn't all of them.
PRINTING
This avoids the logistical issues of Digital, but maintains the resolution problem and has monetary costs associated with it. This would be my "last resort" decision.
THEATER OF THE MIND
Finally, there's just imagining the map - I can show players the unscaled picture from the book, and everything will work out. The problem here is one of rules. If I were to run this AP in Fate Core - and I'm actively considering it - then, hey, problem solved. But if I were to choose 4e D&D, and I'm fairly certain I would - TotM would not be acceptable. Any houseruled attempts I've seen to run TotM combat in 4e fall flat by my estimation, and it isn't playing to the system's strengths anyway.
So, here's my question; given the constraints I'd be working under, which of the following options do you think would be the most satisfying?
4e - Hand-draw "zoned" maps
4e - Use a VTT
Fate - Theater of the Mind
Basically, I have four options when it comes to map presentation, and each has its positives and negatives. Under certain circumstances, I'd have a clear choice, but given the particulars of system and the maps as they exist it isn't clear which option I should go for.
BATTLE MAT
This would, under normal circumstances, be my first choice. I have a wet erase grid I use, I draw out the map, and I'm golden. The problem is it's limited in size, and a fair number of the maps are much too large to fit onto it. Additionally, many maps use irregular or round shapes that I find difficult to draw, especially quickly.
The solution I've devised for this particular set of circumstances is to draw out smaller, self-contained "zones" and create basic rules for moving between them, and to carefully re-map the maps to accomodate the lower "resolution" at which I'd end up drawing them. Redrawing almost every map is a lot of work, though, and this runs into the "pretty" problem - the maps look so nice, and I want to make proper use of them. It's a nice problem to have, but it's still a problem.
DIGITAL
The best way to maintain both existing scales and use the gorgeous artwork that's provided is to use a digital battle map. I have several options, but they trade the issues I'm already complaining about for logisical problems. I prefer to play face-to-face, so using something digital would require that I - and potentially the players - bring our laptops to the table (something that might be difficult to arrange), or that I would have to use my iPad for the battle map, something I'm not keen on doing. I use it as a reference and initiative tracker currently, and I wouldn't be overly fond of passing it around during play.
Additionally, the easiest copies of the maps to get a hold of are the ones in the PDFs themselves. I'm capable of ripping the pictures from the document, but they're too small a resolution to truly look good in a digital map program. I know Ryan Nock has hi-res versions of some of the maps available, but they can be hard to track down and I'm sure it isn't all of them.
PRINTING
This avoids the logistical issues of Digital, but maintains the resolution problem and has monetary costs associated with it. This would be my "last resort" decision.
THEATER OF THE MIND
Finally, there's just imagining the map - I can show players the unscaled picture from the book, and everything will work out. The problem here is one of rules. If I were to run this AP in Fate Core - and I'm actively considering it - then, hey, problem solved. But if I were to choose 4e D&D, and I'm fairly certain I would - TotM would not be acceptable. Any houseruled attempts I've seen to run TotM combat in 4e fall flat by my estimation, and it isn't playing to the system's strengths anyway.
So, here's my question; given the constraints I'd be working under, which of the following options do you think would be the most satisfying?
4e - Hand-draw "zoned" maps
4e - Use a VTT
Fate - Theater of the Mind