Speeding up Gameplay in 4E

[SlyFlourish]

The DM for my weekend game uses the 1" sheets and he loves them. He can spend a good bit of time making it just right, putting in the difficult terrain symbols, and adding nice effects here and there.

You can do something similar with Dungeon Tiles. You can use a sheet of poster board and blue sticky tack to build out each battlespace ahead of time. This works nicely.

I try to have the layout already done before the game starts but sometimes we just take a pee break or a snack break while I get things ready.

 

[Stalker0]

Buy dungeon tiles. For the price, probably the best little dm tool I've seen WOTC put out. They are decently sturdy and colorful enough. Just slap a few down and go go go!!

 

[doctorhook]

I've got to try this.

What do you do about areas that should only be revealed to the players as they get to them? Do you just cover them up with sheets of paper?

What about transitional events, when the players have real time encounters that cross areas?

I use the 2'x3' pad of 1" grid paper as well, and I will swear by it. One pad, which I paid $9.99 (Canadian dollars) for at Staples, has got my group through more three whole published adventures so far. The advantage is that you can make maps highly customized (to whatever greater or lesser extent that you desire) beforehand, so switching areas is a simple matter of laying out the next map. I draw the maps with a 12-color pack of Papermate permanent markers that I picked up pretty cheap, but I'm sure any will do. (Get extra black!)

As for revealing areas, I recommend drawing the whole thing out, then using newspaper to cover the other areas. (Be sure to use parts of the newspaper that your players won't find interesting, if they're the distractable type!) I used to draw the rooms separately then stick them down with double-sided tape as they were revealed, but this added a fair bit to my workload, and it's tough to lay the sheets down to make the grid match in the middle of a session. I still use this technique for hidden rooms and terrain that changes, for example.

Some other tips I discovered: Before you start drawing, tear off the grid page you're going to use, then flip over the pad and use the cardboard backing as a mat. This'll keep you from accidentally bleeding colour through five extra pages, and well as protect against staining the table while you draw. Also, use a ruler for straight lines. Since you're preparing the map ahead of time, you might as well make your drawing look half-decent. Finally, if you want to make sure different maps you draw will match up, be aware of the exact size of the grid you're using. For example, even though I use it as a 1" grid, in actuality the paper I've got is 1" x 7/8", which means that if I use two pieces of that grid paper together, perpendicular to one another, the grid won't match up. (If you're a perfectionist like me, this will quickly bug the hell out of you, the first time you experience it.)

Anyway, I definitely recommend drawing maps ahead of time! Like Rel said, it's the best money you'll ever spend for your D&D game!

 

[Rel]

Buy dungeon tiles. For the price, probably the best little dm tool I've seen WOTC put out. They are decently sturdy and colorful enough. Just slap a few down and go go go!!

I don't know that much about dungeon tiles but before you buy them, do a price comparison to the Descent boardgame from Fantasy Flight Games. It's got similar tiles (though I don't know how the number of tiles compares to packs of dungeon tiles) except they fit together like puzzle pieces so you needn't worry about jostling them apart during the game. But you ALSO get a TON of counters that represent anything from fire to webs to poison and terrain (like pits and boulders), 80 miniatures (plastic but unpainted in a huge variety of shapes and sizes) and of course a pretty fun boardgame (though it takes forever to play).

I often say that that game is the best money I've ever spend on an RPG product that wasn't a core game book.

 

[FireLance]

I don't know that much about dungeon tiles but before you buy them, do a price comparison to the Descent boardgame from Fantasy Flight Games. It's got similar tiles (though I don't know how the number of tiles compares to packs of dungeon tiles) except they fit together like puzzle pieces so you needn't worry about jostling them apart during the game. But you ALSO get a TON of counters that represent anything from fire to webs to poison and terrain (like pits and boulders), 80 miniatures (plastic but unpainted in a huge variety of shapes and sizes) and of course a pretty fun boardgame (though it takes forever to play).

I often say that that game is the best money I've ever spend on an RPG product that wasn't a core game book.

You just might have made FFG another sale, if I can find Descent in my FLGS .

For me, I save time by using the pre-printed maps from the various 4e modules. I've also inherited a number of similar maps from the 3e Fantastic Locations series. I occasionally use Dungeon Tiles, but mostly to add additional terrain features to an existing map.

 

[Rel]

You just might have made FFG another sale, if I can find Descent in my FLGS .

It's not cheap (around $80) but I'm a bit of an evangelist since I have used some part of this game (mostly minis or the map tiles) in virtually every single game I've run since I've got it around 3 years ago. I'm particularly looking forward to using the counters to represent conditions and marks when we start our 4e game.

 

[buzz]

..., but it's also an iron-clad tip to the players that they've found a Significant Encounter once it becomes obvious you've put the effort into pre-drawing a map for it. :

Why is this a bad thing?

 

[ExploderWizard]

Why is this a bad thing?

I think it depends on the type of campaign. If every encounter is particularly meaningful and planned then its no biggie.

If the DM likes to use wandering monsters and let the players decide if fighting or avoiding is the best option then a pre-made map is a signal that the encounter may actually mean something and/or have rewards worth risking battle for.

 

[buzz]

If the DM likes to use wandering monsters and let the players decide if fighting or avoiding is the best option then a pre-made map is a signal that the encounter may actually mean something and/or have rewards worth risking battle for.

Okay... Why is this a bad thing?

 

[ExploderWizard]

Okay... Why is this a bad thing?

It doesn't have to be. Like I said it all depends on DM style.