D&D 5E Using Zones instead of Battlemaps

[BookTenTiger]

It reminds me a lot of how Fate works. I love zones in Fate so it's worth a shot, though there's a fair amount that you'd need to adapt.

For example there's a lot of things that trigger on being within 5 feet of somebody. Just being in the same zone wouldn't cut it. Though theater of the mind deals with that all the time, so I'm sure you can work it out.

Yeah FATE is definitely an inspiration!

For Adjacent actions and reactions, I think we would put miniatures next to each other to represent being within 5 feet.

 

[J.Quondam]

So just thinking aloud here, with no playtesting....

As others have suggested, the main trip up is probably those cases where being adjacent to another character is important (eg, opportunity attacks; small aura effects; helping actions; judging distance for things like picking pockets, whispering, etc; and the like).

To account for those cases, maybe consider a tiny "zone" attached to each character to represent being close enough to directly interact with someone? In fact, this little thing is sort of a cross between a "zone" and a "tag"; and conceptually, it just means "within a step or two of." It could be called "engaged with" or "toe to toe zone" or something. It'd be a little extra bookkeeping than just zones, but still less than a grid.

 

[Lyxen]

If you had 5 goblins the DM might just write on paper five G letters and write next to each the damage, people point to which one they attack, but there is no grid.

Or, you know, most people including children can remember that there are only 5 goblins from one round to the next.

So many, like being able to push someone 10 feet back in order for the next person to land their adjacent greenflame blade. Or pretty much any opportunity attack. The list goes on, most things are measured.

Measured does not mean that there is a grid with squares. It can be at any angle. 5e's grid rules are not completely developed anyway, they are just an option that we never use:

• Full TotM: we remember roughly where the clumps of combatants are and that there is a defenseive line.
• "Grouping": Yes, the fighter and cleric are battling 5 goblins by the pool, and the wizard is fighting a ranged battle with the goblin archers on the ledge.
• Battlemap, whether face to face or on a VTT: just move wherever you want, there is no grid displayed, and the distances are showed in any direction anyway, this is not 1990 anymore...

 

[GMMichael]

Zones are significantly better than grids for imagination! I see three issues with the above proposal:

• Players will want to be adjacent to/engaged with an opponent in the next zone, without moving into that zone. "But if he's standing at the edge of the stream, then I should be able to reach him from the cave floor!"
• The tags, while increasing engagement, will also increase the mind's focus on the map instead of the imaginary space. You can provide the tags in your descriptions, without writing them out, and they'll be part of the environment instead of a part of a list.
• Continued use of minis (and specific placement of minis) will probably perpetuate the issues raised by grid usage.

I use "postures" for characters instead of zones, which is like an abstract tactical positioning. Offensive posture characters are in the thick of it, along with other offensive characters. Defensive posture characters are staying back, so they have a bit of safety, due to different circumstances. Postures apply to the character, not the map, so there are no artificial barriers to illustrate. Postures also assume fluid movement, so PCs feel less stuck-in-place during the round - and the exact position of a mini (if used) isn't important.

 

[aco175]

I remember the DM having all the say in his mind back in the day when we used a loose scene like this before the grid. If I was a thief and wanted to sneak around for a backstab, I would ask if the distance was short enough to sneak and get behind the monster. Sometimes the DM would say yes, that is fine, roll a move silently check, other times he would no, you only get partway with no real explanation when I thought it was about the same distance. It worked and we had fun, but it left a lot open for the DM to guess at. Not sure if you can make the players have more say in the environment and how super their hero is able to be. You will likely need to reel some players into a middle ground someplace.

 

[BookTenTiger]

I tried it out in a one-shot last night and it worked really well! Even though I have a ton of premade, beautiful battlemaps on Roll20, I just loosely drew some maps, and when it came time to fight I added zones and tags. Here's an example:

(Ignore the blue squiggles at the top and the orange squares below, those were other maps.)

The characters were taking a shortcut through a dry gulch when they encountered two enemies (an elf captain and a gnome screamer) cutting a swatch through the forest on the other side of a grove of trees.

The characters wound up moving through the zones a lot, being chased by the Screamer (whose slow speed made him unable to dash through two zones), and firing spells from afar at the Lieutenant who had taken cover in the thick grove of trees.

At one point, the druid had climbed up a tree on the Steep Slope and was concentrating on Heat Metal on the Screamer (in this game, the Screamer was a gnome wearing a mech suit). The Screamer wound up launching rocks from the gulch at the tree, knocking the Druid down to the ground. Very cinematic and fun!

You can also see Spike Growth listed as a tag in the Grove, as the druid had cast it there at the end of the combat.

Some quick little rules we came up with on the fly:

1) Each Zone is "about" 30 feet across, unless otherwise stated.

2) Creatures cannot be adjacent if they are in two different zones.

In the future I might add something like "half cover" or "3/4 cover" or "lightly obscured" to zones, to remind me to use those rules for enemies. I forgot in the first round to give the Lieutenant cover in the trees, even though it made sense narratively.

Overall, a big success!

 

[BookTenTiger]

Or, you know, most people including children can remember that there are only 5 goblins from one round to the next.

Respectfully, I need to disagree with this. There is a lot happening at a gaming table, and between making rulings, side conversations, ordering pizza, opening beers, rolling dice, making jokes, and having fun, it's actually very easy to forget how many goblins are in a room without notation! At least, that's how it's been in my experience.